We’ve certainly discussed the work of David Levine and Michele Boldrin plenty of times before — and both were kind enough to participate in our CwF+RtB experiment earlier this year. If you haven’t read their book, then you are missing out. Now, Levine and Boldrin have a new editorial up in the CSMonitor, explaining why they think the patent system should be abolished. If you’ve read their work, there’s nothing surprising, but if you have not, it’s a quick summary of the key points:

As a matter of theory, intellectual property is a double-edged sword. On the one hand, giving a reward increases the incentive to innovate. On the other, allowing the monopolization of existing ideas taxes the creation of new ones, thereby decreasing the incentive to innovate. The bottom line: Contrary to widespread belief, economic theory does not provide support for the continuous extension of IP. The only answer to the question of whether IP serves the desired purpose must be empirical. Does it work in practice?

A great deal of applied economic research has tried to answer this question. The short answer is that intellectual property does not increase innovation and creation. Extending IP rights may modestly boost the incentive for innovation, but this positive effect is wiped away by the negative effect of creating monopolies. There is simply no evidence that strengthening patent regimes increases innovation or economic productivity. In fact, some evidence shows that increased protection even decreases innovation. The main finding is that making it easier to get patents increases … patenting!

No matter what your stance on this topic is, you have to admit it’s impressive to see it getting attention in a mainstream publication like the CSMonitor.

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Retailers have pulled off all sorts of gimmicks to sell their stuff, but one HD TV retailer in Japan is doing something that’s a little more on the unique side: they’re playing Final Fantasy XIII trailers on

Filed under: Marketing/Advertising, Earnings/Financials

Automobile manufacturers and dealers spent $7.5 billion on advertising during the first six months of 2009, says TNS Media Intelligence. The company that keeps track of nearly every form of advertising for all industries is reporting that the figure represents a 30.8% drop compared to the same period last year, when it was $10.8 billion in spending. Not surprisingly, the plummet nearly mirrors the decline in motor vehicle sales (which dropped 27.4% during the exact same period).

The decline in advertising expenditures isn’t is exactly new news as automotive advertising has dropped for seventeen consecutive quarters, reports TNS. Among the nation’s top ten advertisers for the same period, General Motors was the only automaker to make the cut in third place behind Proctor and Gamble Co. and Verizon Communications Inc. -although GM only spent $1.4 billion this year (a reduction of 15.5% from last year). Overall, across all industries, advertising is down nearly 15% from last year according to TNS Media.

[Source: Detroit Free Press, image: Productioncars.com]

REPORT: Automotive advertising plummets 30.8% originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 10 Dec 2009 09:59:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google is known for its ‘small-updates’ approach which it uses throughout its product lineup. Sometimes though, it can mean that a product gets a bunch of new features in a short amount of time which is exactly what happened with Docs, which introduced quite a few new features and updates in just a couple of days.

Probably the most important change is the new relevance sorting method in search results. For a company deeply rooted in search technologies, Docs search was severely lacking and only sorted the results by the date when they were last modified. Especially for those with a big amount of documents it wasn’t very practical or useful.

Thankfully, all that is in the past as Google has introduced a revamped search which lists the most relevant documents first. There is also the option to sort the results by “relevance,” “starred” and “last modified date.” Furthermore, the search now includes synonyms and similar words to ensure that you find what you are looking for, even though you’re not exactly sure how you named the document.

“So if you search for ‘check account’, we’ll also include results for a few variations of those words, including ‘checking account’ (which is what you probably meant to type). Or if you search for “mac book”, we’ll a… (read more)

Dennis Gartman today addresses the seemingly endless pitfall of gold this week in The Gartman Letter this morning. He predicts the appropriate price to be in the $1025 to $1065 range:

The Gartman Letter: Gold in US dollar terms, having run from $900/oz in August to $1225 late last week, is long overdue for a correction, and it is suffering through that correct with a sense of seriousness. Late longs have been treated quite roughly in the past week, and given the near parabolic nature of the rise throughout November, no one really should be surprised.

We look for support for gold into what our long standing clients know that we shall call “The Box”… late level on the chart that marks the 50-62% retracement of the previous move. In this case that argues for gold in US dollar terms to fall toward the $1025-$1065 range. Thus, we must understand that gold could indeed fall to those levels and do nothing… absolutely nothing… to the major bull market’s trend, other than cause a great number of ill-capitalised gold owners to throw their positions overboard. Or more properly, to have had their gold positions thrown overboard by zealous margin clerks intent upon keeping their firms’ capital intact. That is the duty of the margin clerk, and she does her job well.

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See Also:

• Gold Is On A Four-Day Losing Streak (GLD)
• As Gold Slides, One-By-One, The Haters Come Out Of The Woodwork
• Gold: The Next Few Days Are Crucial

Even though it feels like a good portion of the country is currently buried under snow, the holiday season is still a great time to splurge a little on the outdoor cook in your family. Check out some of our suggestions and don’t forget to add your own to the list!

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Rely on Horror has the skinny on Dead Space 2 thanks to a subscriber’s copy of the new Game Informer. There’s a whole load of info here, so may want to go grab a snack first.

Filed under: SUV, Renault

Renault hasn’t been in the US market since 1987, the year the Alliance and the Encore stopped trickling out of AMC factories. Few have missed the French automaker’s presence since it left our shores, though many thought the doors would once again open to the land of opportunity once Nissan was in the fold. That hasn’t happened so far, but a story in The Wall Street Journal shows that Renault is at least thinking about once again coming Stateside to sell cars and SUVs. Gerard Detourbet, head of Renault’s entry-level vehicle division, told WSJ that the company is studying a move to North America, and the vehicle that could influence the decision is the low-cost Duster SUV.

The Duster, which for now is being build by Dacia in Romania, will eventually be sold as a Renault once production ramps up. If the apparently capable Duster is a success in emerging markets like South America and Eastern Europe, there could be a chance Renault would give the mini ute a chance in the U.S. But Detourbet reportedly doesn’t see Renault entering the U.S. market with just one vehicle like it did with the Alliance in late 1982, instead favoring a family of affordable vehicles as the best approach. And with Renault’s Logan line already established in many parts of the world, the budget-minded nameplate could be reworked for U.S. duty at some point in the future.

While it’s nice to hear that Renault is at least considering a return to America, we’re not all that hopeful that anything will happen within the next three to five years. Besides, once the Duster is retrofitted for U.S. duty it’ll probably be heavier, more expensive and overwhelmingly diesel-less.

[Source: Wall Street Journal – Sub’s Req’d]

WSJ: Renault pondering return to North America originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 10 Dec 2009 09:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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2009Dec10: The Met Office forecasts global average surface temperature for 2010 will be 0.58 degrees C above the long-term average for 1961-1990, compared to the average for 1998 (the warmest year on record), which was 0.52 degrees above (Met Office).

Reference: Met Office http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/corporate/pressoffice/2009/pr20091210b.html

Image Description: Example of Met Office forecast graphic http://www.metoffice.gov.uk/science/creating/monthsahead/decadal/index.html Image Permission: This work is copyrighted and unlicensed. However, it is believed that the use of this work to illustrate the subject in question, Where no free equivalent is available or could be created that would adequately give the same information, on Interlinked Challenges, hosted on servers in the United States by Michigan State University, qualifies as fair use under United States copyright law.

Google doesn’t like desktop software, at all. It makes desktop apps when it absolutely has to, but even then it’s visible that they’re more of an afterthought. One the most popular such apps, Picasa, is a great photo album manager, but it has always trailed behind the online version in most aspects, obviously, the features which are available in both versions. Now, with the latest Picasa 3.6 update, the most touted new feature is one which has been online for months now, like the possibility to have multiple users upload to the same photo album.

“In August, 2009, we released collaborative albums for Picasa Web Albums, making it possible for multiple people to add pictures to the same album. Since the easiest way to upload to Picasa Web Albums is using the Picasa software, we’re happy to announce that in Picasa 3.6 you can upload photos and videos directly to friends’ collaborative albums,” Susanna Leng, software engineer wrote.

The feature was launched a few months ago making it possible for users to collaborate on albums. This was very useful in a lot of cases, allowing users to share photos from an event in one place, for example. However, at the time of launch it was only possible for others than the album’s owner to upload the photos from the web interface, which works for a couple of photos but quickly becomes useless as the number of image… (read more)

Out of all of the different species out there, the anaconda snake is the largest constrictor reptile that inhabits in the Americas. This species of snake is a strong and sleek predator which kills it prey by squeezing them to death.

They can swim but they tend to prefer to live in marshy or stagnant river areas, and during the day, they like to curl up in branches that overhang into the river. At night, they will hide themselves waiting for unsuspecting prey that decides to come out for a drink.

This snake is not poisonous but it uses it teeth to drag prey under the water to drown them and when they are away from the water, they will use their coils to wrap around the prey which suffocates them.

The anaconda will dislocate its own jaw and stretch its neck to allow it to swallow creatures larger than it’s self. If it has had a huge meal, it may not feed again for weeks. So, whilst it is not poisonous, it is certainly dangerous!

WMExperts have published their review of the HTC Imagio, HTC’s TV-focussed device on Verizon.

Overall they seem pretty happy with the device, with their biggest complaint appearing to be the lack of a dedicated power button.

They concluded:

HTC has churned out some outstanding Windows phones lately. Take your pick of the Touch Pro 2 line and you’ll find a great phone. The Pure and Diamond 2 are equally impressive and everyone is waiting with anticipation for the HD2. The Imagio slipped in under the radar, so to speak, and is another very good HTC Windows phone.

It has one glaring omission that is really tough for me to overlook. Had Verizon and HTC placed a power button on the Imagio I would easily label it as a great Windows phone. While you can press/hold the end key to put the phone to sleep, having a dedicated power/sleep button is more convenient and efficient.

Otherwise, it’s hard to find much to complain a lot about with the Imagio. Call quality is very good, the screen looks great, the touch navigation is responsive, and the processor moves things along nicely. Battery life is good and the Imagio feels good in your hand. The large screen compliments Verizon’s V-Cast services (as well as any video playback) really well.

If you can live with the odd power/sleep button issues, a Verizon customer (or potential customer), and looking for a "black slab" styled Windows phone the Imagio is worth considering.

Read their full review here.

Filed under: Etc., Humor

The holidays are almost here and your gearhead loved ones need presents. Badly. But what to get them? Well, we like tools. Gloves to protect us from grease, too. Oh, and we love models of cars. Of course most spouses we know don’t really want tools, gloves or small cars sitting on the coffee table. So what about a nice book?

You’re in luck, as there are lots of books about cars, usually filled with lovely pictures that look totally fabulous when displayed proudly in the living room (says us). Speaking of books, one of our favorite authors, P.J. O’Rourke, reviewed a new book for the New York Times called Cars: Freedom, Style, Sex, Power, Motion, Colour, Every­thing.

If you don’t know, O’Rourke is one of our favorite authors because he refuses to pull punches. Like this, “Buy this book, but don’t read it.” Why would P.J. recommend purchasing a book but not reading it? Well, as he tells it, the pictures are beautiful but the words aren’t. As O’Rourke says towards the end of his review of Cars, “I have no idea what he’s talking about.” Still, the pictures look good.

[Source: New York Times]

P.J. O’Rourke reviews a book about cars called, “Cars” originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 10 Dec 2009 08:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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New jobless claims are up, but the good news is that they remain below 500,000, which is seen as a crucial level.

So we’ll call a wash.

————————-

AP: The number of newly laid-off workers seeking unemployment benefits likely rose last week, after dropping for five straight weeks.

A Labor Department report is expected to show new unemployment insurance claims rose by 3,000 to a seasonally adjusted 460,000, according to economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters.

Economists closely monitor initial claims, which are considered a gauge of the pace of layoffs and an indication of companies’ willingness to hire new workers.

A recent, rapid drop in claims has given hope to many analysts that job cuts are slowing and hiring may even improve as soon as January or February. Claims have dropped by 75,000, or 14 percent, since late October.

Last week’s report said 457,000 people filed first-time claims, the lowest total since the week of Sept. 6, 2008. Thursday’s report is due at 8:30 a.m. EST.

Despite the recent improvement, claims likely have to fall to about 425,000 for several weeks to signal the economy is actually adding jobs, according to many analysts.

Last week, the Labor Department said employers shed a net total of 11,000 jobs in November, down from the 111,000 lost in October and a much better figure than analysts expected. The unemployment rate fell to 10 percent from 10.2 percent.

The number of people continuing to claim benefits, meanwhile, is expected to drop by about 25,000 to 5.4 million for the week ending Nov. 28. Those figures lag initial claims by a week.

But the so-called continuing claims do not include millions of people that have used up the regular 26 weeks of benefits typically provided by states, and are receiving extended benefits for up to 73 additional weeks, paid for by the federal government.

About 4.5 million people were receiving extended benefits in the week ended Nov. 14, the latest data available. That’s an increase of about 300,000 from the previous week, and reflects an extension of benefits that Congress enacted last month.

The economy grew at a 2.8 percent pace in the July-September quarter and analysts say it is likely growing at a similar pace in the current quarter. But that is much slower than the average 6 percent rate in previous economic recoveries. As a result, most economists expect the unemployment rate to rise in coming months and remain above 9 percent through the end of next year.

Some employers are continuing to lay off workers. Consol Energy said Tuesday that it will lay off nearly 500 workers and idle a mountaintop removal mining operation near Bickmore, W.Va. The Pittsburgh-based company blamed an environmental lawsuit.

The Los Angeles School Board on Tuesday approved a budget plan that would cut 5,000 jobs, including about 1,400 teachers.

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• David Goldman: 10 Reasons To Doubt The Government’s Rosy Employment Data
• New Yorkers Shocked To Discover What It’s Like To Cut Back On Spending On Themselves
• Rosenberg: There’s Just A 1-In-35 Chance Friday’s Employment Number Was Right

More evidence that trade activity isn’t up to snuff.

Reuters: The U.S. trade deficit narrowed unexpectedly in October as the weak U.S. dollar helped boost exports and demand for imported oil fell to its lowest daily level since January 2000, a Commerce Department report showed on Thursday.

The trade gap shrank 7.6 percent to $32.9 billion, from a downwardly revised estimate of $35.7 billion in September. Analysts surveyed before the report had expected the gap to widen to about $36.8 billion.

Here’s the full report from the Commerce Department

—-

Goods and Services

The U.S. Census Bureau and the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis, through the Department
of Commerce, announced today that total October exports of $136.8 billion and imports
of $169.8 billion resulted in a goods and services deficit of $32.9 billion, down
from $35.7 billion in September, revised.  October exports were $3.5 billion more
than September exports of $133.4 billion.  October imports were $0.7 billion more
than September imports of $169.0 billion.

In October, the goods deficit decreased $2.6 billion from September to $44.8 billion,
and the services surplus increased $0.2 billion to $11.9 billion.  Exports of goods
increased $3.2 billion to $93.5 billion, and imports of goods increased $0.7 billion
to $138.4 billion.  Exports of services increased $0.2 billion to $43.3 billion, and
imports of services increased $0.1 billion to $31.4 billion.

In October, the goods and services deficit decreased $26.5 billion from October 2008.
Exports were down $12.9 billion, or 8.6 percent, and imports were down $39.3 billion,
or 18.8 percent.

Goods (Census basis)

The September to October increase in exports of goods reflected increases in capital
goods ($1.2 billion); consumer goods ($1.0 billion); other goods ($0.6 billion);
industrial supplies and materials ($0.4 billion); automotive vehicles, parts, and
engines ($0.4 billion); and foods, feeds, and beverages ($0.2 billion).

The September to October increase in imports of goods reflected increases in capital
goods ($1.1 billion); consumer goods ($1.0 billion); automotive vehicles, parts, and
engines ($0.4 billion); and foods, feeds, and beverages ($0.2 billion).  Decreases
occurred in industrial supplies and materials ($1.8 billion) and other goods ($0.4
billion).

The October 2008 to October 2009 decrease in exports of goods reflected decreases in
industrial supplies and materials ($3.9 billion); capital goods ($3.8 billion);
automotive vehicles, parts, and engines ($2.1 billion); and foods, feeds, and beverages
($0.7 billion). Increases occurred in consumer goods ($0.4 billion) and other goods
($0.1 billion).

The October 2008 to October 2009 decrease in imports of goods reflected decreases in
industrial supplies and materials ($25.0 billion); capital goods ($5.2 billion);
consumer goods ($3.7 billion); automotive vehicles, parts, and engines ($1.2 billion);
foods, feeds, and beverages ($0.7 billion); and other goods ($0.7 billion).

Services

Services exports increased $0.2 billion from September to October.  The increase was
more than accounted for by increases in other private services (which includes items
such as business, professional, and technical services, insurance services, and
financial services), other transportation (which includes freight and port services),
and passenger fares.  A decrease in transfers under U.S. military sales contracts was
partly offsetting.

Services imports increased $0.1 billion from September to October.  The increase was
mostly accounted for by an increase in passenger fares.  Changes in the other categories
of services imports were small.

The October 2008 to October 2009 decrease in exports of services was $2.6 billion.
The largest decreases were in travel ($1.1 billion), other transportation ($0.8 billion),
and royalties and license fees ($0.6 billion).

The October 2008 to October 2009 decrease in imports of services was $2.5 billion.
Decreases occurred in other transportation ($1.6 billion), passenger fares ($0.8
billion), and travel ($0.5 billion).

Goods and Services Moving Average

For the three months ending in October, exports of goods and services averaged $133.3
billion, while imports of goods and services averaged $166.3 billion, resulting in an
average trade deficit of $33.0 billion. For the three months ending in September, the
average trade deficit was $32.5 billion, reflecting average exports of $130.8 billion
and average imports of $163.3 billion.

Selected Not Seasonally Adjusted Goods Details

The October figures show surpluses, in billions of dollars, with Hong Kong $1.6 ($1.9
for September), Australia $1.3 ($0.9), Singapore $0.9 ($0.3), and Egypt $0.4 ($0.3).
Deficits were recorded, in billions of dollars, with China $22.7 ($22.1), OPEC $5.8
($7.9), European Union $4.9 ($5.5), Mexico $4.6 ($4.6), Japan $4.4 ($4.1), Canada $2.0
($1.5), Venezuela $1.7 ($2.0), Nigeria $1.4 ($1.9), Taiwan $0.7 ($0.7), and Korea $0.5
($0.8).

Advanced technology products exports were $23.7 billion in October and imports were
$29.3 billion, resulting in a deficit of $5.6 billion.  October exports were $3.2
billion more than the $20.5 billion in September, while October imports were $2.8
billion more than the $26.5 billion in September.

Revisions

Goods exports for September were virtually unrevised.   Goods imports for September
were revised down $0.3 billion.  Goods carry-over in October was $0.1 billion (0.1
percent) for exports and $0.6 billion (0.4 percent) for imports.  For September,
revised export carry-over was virtually zero.  For September, revised import carry-over
was $0.2 billion (0.2 percent), revised down from $0.9 billion (0.7 percent).

Services exports and imports for April 2009 through September 2009 reflect the
incorporation of more comprehensive and revised quarterly and monthly data.  For
services exports, the largest monthly revisions were in other private services,
transfers under U.S. military sales contracts, and royalties and license fees.
For services imports, the largest monthly revisions were in other private services.

Services exports for September were revised up $1.5 billion to $43.1 billion.  The
revision was mostly accounted for by upward revisions in other private services,
transfers under U.S. military sales contracts, and royalties and license fees.
Services imports for September were revised up $0.9 billion to $31.4 billion.
The revision was mostly accounted for by an upward revision in other private services.

NOTICE

Changes to Low Value Estimates For Goods

Beginning with the January 2010 statistics, to be released on March 11, 2010, the U.S.
Census Bureau will change the current import and export low value estimation methodologies
to improve coverage and quality.  The U.S. Census Bureau estimates imports and exports
of goods valued below the established filing exemption levels. Data users will see
a change in the low value estimates as a result of the implementation of these
methodologies. Additional information is available at http://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/
aip/lvpaper.html.

State Import Data For Goods

Beginning with the January 2010 statistics, to be released on March 11, 2010, the U.S.
Census Bureau will introduce a state import data series.  The state of import will
reflect the U.S. state or territory of ultimate destination of the imported merchandise.
A new exhibit will be added to the FT900: U.S. International Trade in Goods and Services
Supplement.  In addition, the following data products will be produced: state import
data by 6-digit Harmonized System (HS) and state import data by 4-digit North American
Industry Classification System (NAICS).  An example of the data structure for these
products can be found at http://www.census.gov/foreign-trade/reference/products/layouts/
index.html. With the release of the January 2010 statistics, historical data tables
and products back to January 2008 will also be made available.

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• Small Business Confidence Collapsed From October To November
• Rosenberg: The Manufacturing Collapse Has Resumed
• JPMorgan: The Global Recovery Stalled In November

Analyst Dave Rosenberg presents a series of enlightening charts this morning that show that for the first time in 14 months, manufacturing inventories are up across the board.

Rosenberg: Looking at the sector breakdown of the report, the charts below highlight the sectors that are seeing an outright inventory re-stocking at this time. In addition, what makes these sectors pop out is that they were also cited as areas of expansion in the latest Fed Beige Book.

The charts focus on everything from construction to defense research. While some sectors have been more turbulent in past months, it’s interesting to see them all rise for the first time in quite awhile.

Click here to view the charts >>>

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• Rosenberg: Get Real, The Inventory Re-Stocking Cycle Is Coming To An End
• About That GDP Inventory Decline…
• Small Business Confidence Collapsed From October To November

Filed under: Aston Martin

We love us a nice Aston Martin here at Autoblog. But if the British purveyor of the grandest of grand touring cars has a counterpart in the watchmaking industry, it’s surely Jaeger-LeCoultre. Good thing the two of them just signed a three-year renewal of their partnership, then.

The collaboration between these two esteemed marques has resulted in some of the most lust-worthy wrist-machines known to man, not the least of which is the AMVOX2 Chronograph. Its innovative design actually incorporates a transponder to open and close the doors on an Aston sports car. Plus it’s just one of the slickest looking timepieces we’ve seen yet.

While JLC has to date only produced wristwatches to compliment Aston’s road cars, the Swiss watchmaker has just come out with the AMVOX2 Chronograph Racing, in tribute to Aston’s considerable motorsport prowess on the streets of Le Mans. The 280-piece, 41-jewel 751E manufacture movement – only 5.65 millimeters thick – is housed in a PVD-coated titanium case and held to the wrist by a perforated and top-stitched calfskin strap.

It is, to our eye, one of the most beautiful machines – of any kind – to carry the Aston Martin name, but while the series has bred numerous editions, only 24 examples of this particular one will be made available exclusively at JLC’s boutique on Place Vendôme in Paris. So we’ll just have to content ourselves with the press release after the jump and images in the gallery below.

[Source: Jaeger-LeCoultre]

Continue reading Jaeger-LeCoultre pays tribute to Aston Martin Racing with exclusive chronograph

Jaeger-LeCoultre pays tribute to Aston Martin Racing with exclusive chronograph originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 10 Dec 2009 08:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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