Author: Serkadis

American manufacturer Ford saw its exciting, yet troubled 2009 end as it should have, with the recognition of both its models and efforts made to survive without tapping too much into the taxpayers’ pockets.

During the North American International Auto Show (NAIAS) opening day, Ford’s Fusion Hybrid and Transit Connect were named 2010 North American Car and Truck of the Year, marking the third time in 17 years that one manufacturer has won both awards.

"Winnin… (read more)

In the ongoing saga of Hollywood’s bizarre and self-defeating attack on RealNetworks for its RealDVD offering, a judge has dismissed Real’s countersuit claiming antitrust violations by the Hollywood studios in effectively creating a cartel that controls the encryption on DVDs and refusing to license it to Real for the purpose of its DVD backup solution. The court basically said that there is no harm to Real caused by any actions of the Hollywood studios, because the real “harm” is in the fact that it created an infringing product in RealDVD.

This reasoning isn’t surprising given the earlier rulings in this case, but is no less ridiculous when looked at in context (and with any bit of common sense). Remember, the product in question does not allow for anyone to make a bunch of copies and pass them along. It allows you to make a single backup copy for personal use — a use that has been found to be perfectly fair use for software and music. It makes little sense that the law did not intend for movies to be backed up in this manner as well. The only reason this is stopped is because of the bogus DRM that the studios put on DVDs, known as CSS. This has been widely broken and does absolutely nothing whatsoever to stop copying of DVDs. The only thing that CSS serves to do these days is act as a tool for the Hollywood studios to team up to prevent products like RealDVD, because they can use the DMCA’s anti-circumvention rule to claim that products like that circumvent the broken DRM they use. And, even if it’s for a legal backup that can’t be copied again (i.e., like RealDVD, it puts new DRM on top of it), suddenly it’s “infringing” thanks to the DRM. In other words, the only purpose CSS serves is for the Hollywood studios to have full veto control over any software product that wants to be marketed legitimately, rather than underground. Under almost any definition of antitrust, it’s difficult to see why this is not an antitrust violation. It’s the major companies in a market, putting in place a tool whose sole purpose is to block others from offering up products.

Of course, the whole lawsuit and this whole charade is incredibly self-defeating for the studios anyway. Because now, instead of having a product on the market that limits what kind of copies people can make, instead, people who want to back up their DVDs simply get one of the long list of underground products out there that will let you rip your DVDs with no limitations whatsoever. It’s simply stunning that the studios think it makes sense to drive users to such a solution. The only possible way it makes sense is if you put on your “studio thinking cap” and realize that the studios, in their infinite wisdom, think that they can ship these special — much more expensive — dual layered DVDs that have a DRM’d-up digital copy included. But, again, this should raise an antitrust flag, in that the studios are killing off the RealDVD product to try to protect their own sales of these DVDs with the silly Digital Copy technology. But, instead, many users are simply using the underground technology that doesn’t cost them anything and gives them much more value.

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The former Mr. Madonna, film director Guy Ritchie, has launched a record label named after his London pub The Punchbowl. Punchbowl Recordings, a subsidiary of label giant Universal Music, has already made its first signing — the pub’s in-house Irish group, The Punchbowl Band.

“It’s exciting to venture into the world of the music industry,” Ritchie said in a statement issued by Universal on Monday. “It’s a tough place, but I’ve witnessed this band connect with people first hand. They have every chance of being embraced by a wider audience and I genuinely wish them the very best of luck with their debut album.”

The Punchbowl Bowl — featuring Willy Barr, Brendan McAuley, Steve Mulhern, and Daniel Gott — preformed on the soundtrack of Ritchie’s current box office blockbuster Sherlock Holmes.

Article Tags: John Coleman

The small makeup room off the main floor of KUSI’s studios, in a suburban canyon on the north end of San Diego, has seen better days. The carpet is stained; the couch sags. John Coleman, KUSI’s weatherman, pulls off the brown sweatshirt he has been wearing over his shirt and tie all day and appraises himself in the mirror, smoothing back his white hair and opening a makeup kit. “I kid that I have to use a trowel, to fill the crevasses of age,” he says, swiping powder under one eye and then the other. “People have tried to convince me to use more advanced makeup, but I don’t. I don’t try to fool anyone.”

Coleman is seventy-five years old, and looks it, which is refreshing in the Dorian Gray-like environs of television news. He refers to his position at KUSI, a modestly eccentric independent station in San Diego whose evening newscast usually runs fifth out of five in the local market, as his retirement job. When he steps in front of the green screen, it’s clear why he has chosen it over actual retirement; in front of the camera he moves, if not quite like a man half his age, then at least like a man three quarters of it. His eyes light up, and the slight stoop with which he otherwise carries himself disappears. His rumble of a voice evens out into a theatrical baritone, full of the practiced jocularity of someone who has spent all but the first nineteen years of his life on TV.

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Source: cjr.org

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• Key Competitors: Audi A8, Jaguar XJ, Lexus LS, Mercedes-Benz S-Class.
• Power: 3.0L twin-turbocharged inline-6 – 315-hp / 330 lb-ft.
• Transmission: 6-speed automatic.
• Availability: Spring 2010.
• Pricing: TBA.

BMW has finally reintroduced 6-cylinder power back to the 7-Series lineup with the new 2011 BMW 740i / 740Li. The twin-turbocharged straight six, mated to a 6-speed automatic, allows for a total of 315-hp and 330 lb-ft of torque.

The 740i and the 740Li will both offer other 7 Series options and packages, including the M Sport Package, Driver Assistance Package, Luxury Seating Packages, Rear Entertainment Package, and even the BMW Individual Composition Package.

Pricing will be announced closer to launch date.

More high-res photos from Detroit after the jump.

2010 Detroit: 2011 BMW 740i:

All Photos Copyright © 2009 Stephen Calogera – egmCarTech.

– By: Stephen Calogera

Bruce V. Bigelow wrote:

It’s probably not much consolation for the entrepreneurs who tried to raise venture funding last year, but U.S. venture capital firms raised much less money from their institutional investors in 2009 than they have in recent years.

New figures from Dow Jones LP Source show that fund-raising by venture firms in 2009 fell almost 55 percent compared to 2008, with 120 funds raising slightly more than $13 billion nationwide. In 2008, 204 VC firms raised a total of $28.7 billion from pension funds, university endowments, insurance companies, wealthy individuals, and other investors. It hasn’t been that slow for VCs since 2003, according to Dow Jones.

The drop in VC fund-raising reflected a broader decline across the U.S. private equity spectrum, with buyout firms, funds-of-funds, and mezzanine firms all showing precipitous drops last year. Altogether, Dow Jones says 331 U.S. funds raised a total of $95.8 billion in 2009—down a staggering 68 percent from the $299.9 billion that 508 funds raised in 2008.

It was the first time in six years that private equity firms raised less than $100 billion. Bear in mind, though, that fund-raising by venture firms in 2008 was approaching a record pace until the fourth quarter, when the collapse of Lehman Brothers precipitated a plunge in PE fund-raising.

The only category showing an increase in fund-raising was the secondary firms that specialize in paying bargain-basement prices to take over the companies that conventional VCs are forced to throw overboard. Here’s a breakdown of fund-raising by firms in Xconomy’s cities, as well as nationwide totals for each of the five PE fund categories:

—The Boston region showed the strongest activity by far, with 34 PE funds raising almost $10.4 billion in 2009, according to the Dow Jones figures. More than …Next Page »

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The tuners at RevoZport Racing recently revealed the Volkswagen Golf VI GTI RZR body kit which will hit the shop starting from next month, but is already available for ordering.

We have certainly overlooked the legendary Golf GTi market and it is time we also contribute to the market and offer our own unique styling for GTi-ers to choose from. said Kenny Cheung, the director of international sales and marketing.

The Golf VI GTi RZR bodykit is produced by using ligh… (read more)

Article Tags: ClimateGate, Front Page News, Headline Story, Pachauri Conflict of Interest

Rajendra K. Pachauri, chairman of UN’s Nobel Peace Prize-winning Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), had advocated emission reductions at the recently concluded Copenhagen Climate Summit.

But back home in India, he seems to be failing to uphold standards of propriety in his professional dealings.

During his tenure, first as director from 1982, and then as director-general of The Energy Research Institute (TERI) since 2001, Pachauri was a member of the boards of the Oil and Natural Gas Commission (ONGC), Indian Oil Corporation (IOC) and National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), three of India’s biggest public sector energy companies, all of whom by the very nature of their business contribute heavily to greenhouse gas emissions. These emissions, according to the IPCC, are adding to the country’s growing carbon footprint and hastening climate change.

Source: indiatoday.intoday.in

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Democratic Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid — a noted champion of civil rights — has apologized for referring to President Barack Obama as “light-skinned” with no “Negro dialect” during the 2008 presidential campaign.

Thoughts on this? Fire away in the comments section!

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Starwood Energy Infrastructure Fund, a dedicated energy fund managed by private equity firm Starwood Energy Group, is planning to significantly expand its solar photovoltaic generation portfolio north of the border, in Ontario.  Last week, the fund officially closed financing on two PV solar power plants that combined will generate 20 megawatts of electricity and cost C$100 million ($96.6 million) to develop.

It turns out that’s just a start for Starwood. The Connecticut fund is in active discussion to secure regulatory approval to add another 40 megawatts to the 20-megawatt project. An industry source tells us that Starwood expects to get a regulatory green light for the 40-megawatt extension by the end of the first quarter. The plant’s initial 20-megawatts are scheduled to be operational in the third quarter of this year.

Like the initial phase, the extension would be located in Sault Saint Marie, Ont. The output  would be sold  as part of a 20-year power purchase agreement to the Ontario Power Authority under the Renewable Energy Standard Offer Program (RESOP), a provincial initiative that, among other things, seeks to replace coal-fired power plants with renewable energy projects.

A source tells us that the 40-megawatt PV facility will use panels from Q-Cells, the German PV maker, and is estimated to cost about C$200 million ($193 million) to develop.

German project finance bank Norddeutsche Landesbank Girozentrale (Nord/LB), which has provided bank debt to support the construction of the initial 20 megawatts, will likely clinch the funding mandate for the additional 40 megawatts as well. Executives at Starwood and Nord/LB declined to comment.

Photo Credit: Wikimedia Commons

Wi-Fi has been one of the revelations of the past years, and being able to enjoy a quality Internet connection on the move has changed the way many people use the web. Some people are less than keen on Wi-Fi’s advantages, in fact are pretty much against the technology. It’s not the technical short-comings that they have a problem with, their comp… (read more)

Andrew Lloyd Webber is grateful to be alive after receiving an all-clear in his battle against prostate cancer.

“It is a huge relief. We have arrived at the end of a long journey at the best possible outcome. In my case, I will be 62 next year and I have five children. Most importantly, I am alive, my children have a father,” he says.

The legendary composer is recovering quickly after finishing treatment and surgery to remove his prostate gland at a clinic in London last year.

Lloyd Webber’s cancer diagnosis came after an E. Coli infection began aggravating his prostate. The theater star is now urging fans to get regular check-ups, championing early detection as the best weapon against the disease.

“If that infection had been found and cured, I could have been blissfully unaware that I had a cancerous tumour that was on the verge of breaking loose around the rest of my body. I could have thought my frequent trips to the bathroom were due to a weak bladder. I have been lucky…..”

General Motors’ Vice Chairman Bob Lutz has officially confirmed that the Cadillac Converj Concept will enter production and will use the same Voltec technology as the Chevrolet Volt.

Speaking at a Society of Automotive Analysts meeting Sunday, Lutz declined to give any official date on the production Converj, but said it would appear after 2012.

“You’ll see it when you see it,” he said. “We have to slot it into the product lineup.”

Who is GM targeting with the Converj? Lutz said that the Detroit automaker is looking at those folks living in congested U.S. coastal areas who are willing to pay high prices for fuel-efficient luxury vehicles.

Click here for more news on the Cadillac Converj.

Refresher: The Cadillac Converj Concept is powered by GM’s Voltec-system along with 4-cylinder engine that produces 161-hp with a maximum torque of 273 lb-ft. The Converj can travel up 40 miles on battery-power alone. Top speed is rated at 100 mph. GM says that it takes less than 3 hours to recharge the battery at 240V and about 8 hours from a 120V outlet.

Cadillac Converj Concept:

– By: Omar Rana

Source: Automotive News (Subscription Required)

Nothing like free money and the remembrance of good things past to drive stocks into the stratosphere.

As the latest update of Professor Robert Shiller’s cyclically adjusted PE ratio shows, US stocks are now more than 30% overvalued, at 21X earnings.  That’s more reasonable than the 100%+ overvaluation in 2000, but it’s close to the level of the three other bubble peaks of the 20th Century: 1901, 1929, and 1966.

Note also in this chart the fallacy of the “Fed model”, which argues that PEs should be high because interest rates are low, and vice versa.  That relationship has held for the last 30 years, but not earlier.  For two decades after the Great Depression (and, today, in Japan), interest rates were very low — and so were stock valuations.

Of course, today’s overvaluation doesn’t tell you much about what stocks will do next week, next year, or even the next 5-10 years.  As the chart above shows, before the 2007 market crash, stocks were overvalued for the better part of 20 years–and observing that didn’t help you make money.  On the contrary, it usually got you fired.

What today’s valuation does suggest is that stocks are priced to return a bit less than average over the next decade, perhaps 3%-4% real per year (inflation adjusted), as compared to the 6%-7% average.

Today’s valuations also suggest that stocks may have gotten way ahead of themselves, especially in light of the structural problems that will continue to bog down the economy.

As the chart above illustrates, every one of the prior mega-busts in the past century has been followed by a “trough” in which the cyclically adjusted PE ratio hit the high single-digits.  We didn’t quite make it there in March (the P/E bottomed around 12X), although we did get close.

This, combined with what is likely to be a decade of deleveraging, consumer retrenchment, and sluggish growth as we work off our debt binge, suggests that we still yet might hit that single-digit low before we take off on another secular bull market again.  This could be achieved either through another market crash, or a prolonged period of backing and filling as earnings growth gradually reduces the long-term PE ratio (this is what happened in the 1970s).

On the other hand, it is possible that that enormous stimulus and zero interest rates over the past two years will produce that “v-shaped” recovery.   At this point, given the extent of the recent rally, it would presumably have to be one heck of a “V” to send stocks soaring from here.  But the last eight months have already made idiots out of almost everyone.

See Also: Here It Is, The Sign Of The Top

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See Also:

• Here It Is, The Sign Of The Top
• Eric Sprott: Stocks Heading Below March Lows, We’re In A Two-Decade Bear Market
• El-Erian: We’re Still Riding The Sugar High, Stocks Could Drop 10% In 3-Week Span