Author: Serkadis

After Consumer Reports warned readers earlier this week that the 2010 Lexus GX 460 could flip over in hard turns, Toyota suspended sales of the model. The automaker announced today that it will be testing all of its SUVs and will suspend sales of the GX 460 on a worldwide scale.

Just a couple hours after Consumer Reports issued a “Do not buy” warning, Toyota announced it was suspending sales of the 2010 Lexus GX 460 in the U.S. and Canada. Toyota spokeswoman Mieko Iwasaki said Thursday that the company is expanding the suspension to the Middle East and Russia, the only other markets where the SUV is sold.

Asked when Toyota will resume sales of the GX 460, Iwasaki said: “We have no specific target in mind when to resume the sales. We are now investigating the case by trying to replicate the situation that Consumer Reports pointed out.”

Consumer Reports said that buying the model is a safety risk because of problem that popped up during standard emergency-handling tests.

“When pushed to its limits on our track’s handling course, the rear of the GX we bought slid out until the vehicle was almost sideways before the electronic stability control system was able to regain control,” the magazine said. “We believe that in real-world driving, that situation could lead to a rollover accident, which could cause serious injury or death. We are not aware, however, of any such reports.”

– By: Omar Rana

Source: CNNMoney

Online search keeps getting better and better, but it’s starting to become clear that search as we know and understand it today has some big, inherent limitations. In the first decade of this millennium, the web was defined by search and it still is one of the biggest things online. Google search is the most visited site in the world… (read more)

Analysts were looking for about 458,000, so this is obviously a disappointment.

We’re still just not seeing the kind of steady decrease in initial claims we’re looking for.

This is two misses in a row.

Says CNBC’s Steve Liesman: “Next week it becomes worrisome”

Why? Apparently the government is saying this weakness still has something to do with holiday timing. Let’s hope.

Stocks are still lower on the day.

Here’s the full announcement from the Department of Labor.

Join the conversation about this story »

(This guest post previously appeared at the author’s blog)

It’s almost like bad case of 2008 deja vu.  Goldman Sachs says oil is going to $99 in the next 12 months as Bernanke’s reflation experiment drives prices higher.  According to their analysts energy and metals prices have “broken out” of their trading range and could head higher:

“Energy and industrial metals prices break out of recent trading ranges, rising to the highest levels seen since 2008. After trading in an increasingly narrow range in March, energy and metals prices broke out to the upside as March rolled into April, with WTI crude oil prices rallying above $85/bbl.”

“We expect the supply-demand balance to continue to tighten in 2010 as the global economic recovery continues to strengthen demand, draw inventories and draw OPEC spare capacity back into the market.”

Based on the improving fundamentals they see oil prices touching $99 at some point in the next 12 months.  Of course, this doesn’t mean the oil market is without risk.  Goldman sees potential policy risks and still believes the economic recovery could falter:

“While we remain confident that oil prices will continue to strengthen as the global economy recovers against a supply backdrop that remains constrained, policy risks to the economic recovery remain. While we continue to expect the supply-demand balance to tighten, significant downside risk remains should the market’s concerns regarding a slowdown in economic growth be realized. As we move further into 2010 and even 2011, we think the market’s focus will increasingly turn from the downside risk from demand to the upside risk from supply.”

How to play it?

Goldman wants to buy December 2010 NYMEX WTI and June 2010 NYMEX WTI call struck at $85/bbl.

Source: GS

Read more market commentary at The Pragmatic Capitalist >

Join the conversation about this story »

“One way to count the value of different kinds of coins is to count the most valuable coins first. “  The book I Can Count Money teaches students many tricks like this one that can help students learn to count money.  The book also contains a review section, index, and a “learn more” section for students.

Curriculum Connections

This book could be used when discussing the differences between barter and the use of money in the exchange for goods and services(SOL 2.8.j).  It would teach students the different types of coins and paper money and their values.  The book would be most appropriate for grade levels 1-2.  A great cross curriculum book, this book ties nicely with math units on money!

Additional

Interactive money games such as” flipping coins” and “adding money stacks” are posted on this site- a great teaching tool!

A coloring page called “money match” teaches the values of coins through a matching game.

A song to teach the students the value of coins on this web page.

Book: I Can Count Money
Author: Rebecca Wingard-Nelson
Publisher: Enslow Elementary Publishers
Publication Date: 2009
Pages: 24 pages
Grade Range: 1-2
ISBN: 978-0-7660-3658-1

	Aptera 2e moves forward, eyes set on X Prize Silence is broken.		SAE 2010: General Motors investigating battery electric urban commuter for 2015 and beyond Megacities need love, too.
	Honda unveils EV-neo, promises Japanese sales in 2010 We wish it were the electric Cub instead, but nobody asked us for our opinion.	Other news: Coda confirms Los Angeles county as site for electric sedan’s final assembly Envision Motor Company to launch with trio of electric vehicles GM invests $8 million to double size of high-tech battery lab

AutoblogGreen for 04.15.10 originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 15 Apr 2010 06:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

With 55 million new tweets every day, there is starting to be a need to preserve the increasing amount of data that Twitter generates. Now, you’re probably thinking that the vast majority of tweets can’t possibly be worth preserving, but it’s not just the value of the individual tweets that’s importa… (read more)

Article Tags: ClimateGate

CLIMATE scientists who are accused of ­manipulating research to prove that global warming is caused by man, failed to get their data analysed by experts, an inquiry has found.

An international panel of scientists reviewing the “climategate” scandal at the University of East Anglia’s Climatic Research Unit said it was “very ­surprising” the team had not collaborated with professional statisticians despite relying on statistical methods.

The review was ordered after leaked emails appeared to show scientists exaggerating data to support the ­theory of man-made climate change.

Climate-change sceptics also accused the unit’s director, Professor Phil Jones, of trying to hide the data by refusing to answer requests under the Freedom of Information Act.

The review, led by Lord Oxburgh, said the potential for misleading data was “very great” and recommended the unit improved its record-keeping.

It said: “It is very surprising that research in an area that depends so heavily on statistical ­methods has not been carried out in close collaboration with professional statisticians.”

Source: express.co.uk

Read in full with comments »   

7 million households are behind on their mortgages. Now that the worst of the financial crisis appears to be over, banks are finally stepping up the foreclosure process again.

IRVINE, Calif. – April 15, 2010 — RealtyTrac® (realtytrac.com), the leading online marketplace for foreclosure properties, today released its U.S. Foreclosure Market Report™ for Q1 2010, which shows that foreclosure filings — default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions — were reported on 932,234 properties in the first quarter, a 7 percent increase from the previous quarter and a 16 percent increase from the first quarter of 2009. One in every 138 U.S. housing units received a foreclosure filing during the quarter.

Foreclosure filings were reported on 367,056 properties in March, an increase of nearly 19 percent from the previous month, an increase of nearly 8 percent from March 2009 and the highest monthly total since RealtyTrac began issuing its report in January 2005.

“Foreclosure activity in the first quarter of 2010 followed a very similar pattern to what we saw in the first quarter of 2009: a shallow trough in January and February followed by a substantial spike in March,” said James J. Saccacio, chief executive officer of RealtyTrac. “One difference, however, is that the increases were more tilted toward the final stage of foreclosure, with REOs increasing 9 percent on a quarterly basis in the first quarter of 2010 compared to a 13 percent quarterly decrease in REOs in the first quarter of 2009.

“This subtle shift in the numbers pushed REOs to the highest quarterly total we’ve ever seen in our report and may be further evidence that lenders are starting to make a dent in the backlog of distressed inventory that has built up over the last year as foreclosure prevention programs and processing delays slowed down the normal foreclosure timeline.”

Foreclosure Activity by Type
During the quarter a total of 304,799 properties received default notices (Notices of Default and Lis Pendens), an increase of 1 percent from the previous quarter but down 1 percent from the first quarter of 2009. Default notices were down nearly 11 percent from a peak of more than 342,000 in the third quarter of 2009.

Foreclosure auctions were scheduled for the first time on a total of 369,491 properties during the quarter, the highest quarterly total for scheduled auctions in the history of the report. Scheduled auctions increased 12 percent from the previous quarter and were up 21 percent from the first quarter of 2009.

Bank repossessions (REOs) also hit a record high for the report in the first quarter, with a total of 257,944 properties repossessed by the lender during the quarter — an increase of 9 percent from the previous quarter and an increase of 35 percent from the first quarter of 2009.

Nevada, Arizona, Florida post top state foreclosure rates in first quarter
As it has for the past 13 quarters, Nevada continued to document the nation’s highest state foreclosure rate in the first quarter of 2010. One in every 33 Nevada housing units received a foreclosure filing during the quarter, more than four times the national average and an increase of nearly 15 percent from the previous quarter. Still, Nevada’s total of 34,557 properties receiving a foreclosure filing in the first quarter was down 16 percent from the first quarter of 2009.

Arizona foreclosure activity in the first quarter increased on a quarterly and annual basis, helping the state to post the nation’s second highest state foreclosure rate for the third consecutive quarter. One in every 49 Arizona properties received a foreclosure filing during the quarter — nearly three times the national average.

With one in every 57 Florida properties receiving a foreclosure filing during the quarter, the state posted the nation’s third highest state foreclosure rate for the second straight quarter. Florida’s Q1 foreclosure activity increased on a quarterly and annual basis.

California foreclosure activity decreased 6 percent from the first quarter of 2009, but the state still documented the nation’s fourth highest foreclosure rate — one in every 62 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing.

Utah foreclosure activity increased 75 percent from the first quarter of 2009, the highest annual increase among states with top-10 foreclosure rates and giving it the nation’s fifth highest state foreclosure rate. Foreclosure filings were reported on 10,756 Utah properties, a rate of one in every 88 housing units and an increase of 21 percent from the previous quarter.

Other states with foreclosure rates ranking among the top 10 in the first quarter were Michigan, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois and Colorado.

Ten states account for more than 70 percent of nation’s first quarter total
California alone accounted for 23 percent of the nation’s total foreclosure activity in the first quarter, with 216,263 properties receiving a foreclosure notice — the nation’s highest foreclosure activity total.

Florida’s total was second highest, with 153,540 properties receiving a foreclosure filing during the quarter, and Arizona’s total was third highest, with 55,686 properties receiving a foreclosure filing during the quarter.

Despite a nearly 5 percent decrease in foreclosure activity from the previous quarter, Illinois documented the fourth highest foreclosure activity total, with 45,780 properties receiving a foreclosure filing — still a 17 percent increase from the first quarter of 2009.

A total of 45,732 Michigan properties received a foreclosure filing during the quarter, the fifth highest state total. Michigan foreclosure activity increased nearly 11 percent from the previous quarter and was up nearly 38 percent from the first quarter of 2009.

Other states with foreclosure activity totals among the nation’s 10 highest were Georgia (39,911), Texas (37,354), Nevada (34,557), Ohio (33,221) and Colorado (16,023).

Report methodology
The RealtyTrac U.S. Foreclosure Market Report provides a count of the total number of properties with at least one foreclosure filing entered into the RealtyTrac database during the month and quarter — broken out by type of filing. Some foreclosure filings entered into the database during a month or quarter may have been recorded in previous months or quarters. Data is collected from more than 2,200 counties nationwide, and those counties account for more than 90 percent of the U.S. population. RealtyTrac’s report incorporates documents filed in all three phases of foreclosure: Default — Notice of Default (NOD) and Lis Pendens (LIS); Auction — Notice of Trustee Sale and Notice of Foreclosure Sale (NTS and NFS); and Real Estate Owned, or REO properties (that have been foreclosed on and repurchased by a bank). For the quarterly report, if more than one foreclosure document is received for a property during the quarter, only the most recent filing is counted in the report. Both the quarterly and monthly reports check if the same type of document was filed against a property previously. If so, and if that previous filing occurred within the estimated foreclosure timeframe for the state where the property is located, the report does not count the property in the current month or quarter.

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• Remember The Mortgage-Modification Program? It’s Still Not Working
• Here’s Why Mortgage Delinquencies Are Still A Big And Growing Problem
• 13 Reasons You Should Sell Your House Now Before It’s Too Late

11% Chinese GDP growth? Snooze.

Now this is growth.

Bloomberg:

Singapore’s economy grew at its fastest rate in at least 35 years in the first three months of 2010, bouncing back from a contraction the previous quarter as manufacturing activity more than doubled.

Gross domestic product grew at an annualized, seasonally adjusted 32.1 percent in the first quarter, the biggest leap since quarterly results began in 1975, the Trade and Industry Ministry said Wednesday.

Now that’s more like it.

Join the conversation about this story »

As goes the euro, so goes the market.

After yesterday’s wild, party-like atmosphere in the stock market, which saw the S&P crack 1200 and get within spitting distance of the pre-Lehman highs, everything is selling off today. Well, the do lar, the yen, and lumber are up, but really, that’s it.

Join the conversation about this story »

Depending on how you look at it, Twitter couldn’t have picked a better or a worse time to anger its developers. With less than a week until its first developer conference, Chirp, it launched its own official BlackBerry app and acquired the makers of the most popular iPhone app, Tweetie. Effectively, Twitter would be compe… (read more)

The incremental encoders Series IE3 from FAULHABER are now available in higher resolution. Constructed using revolutionary single chip magnetic encoder technology, the encoders are now available with resolutions of 32, 64, 128, 256, 512, and 1024 pulses per channel per rotation. Other resolutions are available on request. The standard index channel provides the necessary signal output for even the most challenging positioning applications. The encoders are available with an optional line driver which includes differential signal outputs.

These compact and robust encoders are available for modular combination with FAULHABER CR and CXR series graphite commutated motors or as an integrated component in the FAULHABER BX4 high power brushless motors with 4-Pole technology. Speed and position control are provided using FAULHABER’s versatile SC2804 speed controllers or MCDC / BL 3006 motion controllers.

Parker is introducing a new range of high torque / low speed frameless torque motors that will help customers to reduce the complexity of their machines, improve their reliability and reduce their costs as well.
The new TK series of torque motors leverages Parker’s unequaled experience and know-how in the design, manufacture and
integration of frameless servomotors
Efficient and effective gearless design.
Especially designed to remove unreliable and weary transmission elements such as gearboxes, worm gears or belts and pulley, Parker TK series offers tremendous advantages over traditional technologies.
Delivered as kits consisting of separate stator and rotor elements with large inner diameters, TK motors are intended to be directly integrated into the mechanical structure of the machine. The load is directly connected to the motor’s moving part, leading to simplified mechanical designs, reduced footprints and lighter weights.
As there are no more mechanical parts subject to wear, the lifetime of the whole system is increased, and maintenance costs are reduced. The absence of gears between the load and the motor also suppresses backlashes and looseness inherent to
mechanical transmissions. Finally, this results in higher stiffness and superior accuracy.
Removing mechanical transmission components between the motor and the machine load yields also additional electricity consumption savings, which can amount to significant amounts in the case of continuous production processes.
Particularly suitable for use in harsh environments, Parker TK series offer high temperature resistance, up to 150°C, as well as per fect immunity to lubricants.
Relying on a highly skilled support team, Parker TK motors benefit from a large set of customization possibilities, as well as advanced engineering services such as tailored mechanical design and sub-systems integration.

Here it is… everything was going swimmingly for Europe up until a few hours ago.

And then suddenly everyone started freaking out about Greece again. Accord in to CNBC the country has just can celled a debt roadshow and well, look what happened right after 2:00 AM.

Join the conversation about this story »

Twitter is holding its first-ever developer conference these couple of days, Chirp, and the ‘information network’ came out in full force on the first day. Given the rising tensions between Twitter and its developers over the past week, it now looks like the company managed to do more than damage-control, it got most of the developers back … (read more)

Verder has designed a complete new series of Verderair diaphragm pumps, based upon the existing reliable trustful Verderair VA concept.

The new pump offers a 30% higher air efficiency than the competition. Designed with additional features that optimize performance, the Verderair 25 includes a stall-free modular air valve for low pulsation and a smooth changeover. In the standard execution, the diaphragms of the new Verderair are overmolded. Also the diaphragms last 5 times longer and have a 20% flow increase thanks to the new design.

Many material options can be combined. Therefore the Verderair VA25 diaphragm pump can be used for many applications; drum fluid transfer, unloading fluids, chemical evacuation, ceramic glaze supply, dewatering and sump evacuation and repackaging of fluids from original container to smaller receptacles.