Author: Serkadis

Ah, remember Michael Atkinson? He’s the Attorney General in South Australia who was vehemently against allowing adults in Australia to play adult-rated video games. Among his rather recent list of hits were his pushing through legislation that banned anonymous comments in online political forums during election time. After lots out outcry about this, he backed down, promising not to enforce it, and also that he’d repeal it after the election (which struck many as being a bit presumptuous). Of course, none of that stopped him from demanding $20,000 from a commenter on a website who called Atkinson a “crook.” And, of course, he recently claimed that video gamers were a threat to his family. Great guy.

Well, it looks like South Australia won’t be having to deal with him for now. He’s standing down as attorney general, though it looks like he’s going to stay in Parliament for a while.

Permalink | Comments | Email This Story

Designed to create a remarkable sense of space, the BRAVIA NX800 HDTV features a stunning monolithic design and innovative six-degree tilt, so you can position your TV at lower levels for a more comfortable and enjoyable viewing experience. An Edge LED backlight and BRAVIA Engine 3 video processor delivers superior, life-like image with amazing contrast and color. Fast moving images will never look smoother either with incredible 240hz Motion Flow technology, which delivers an unbelievably smooth, crisp and fluid picture. Furthermore, break away from the norm with attractive features such as integrated BRAVIA Internet Video and widgets, built-in Wi-Fi, a USB input, LightSensor technology and Energy Saving Switch round out the feature set. There are three NX800 models available – 46″ BRAVIA KDL-46NX800, 52″ BRAVIA KDL-52NX800, and the mammoth 60″ BRAVIA KDL-60NX800. Unfortunately, the metallic stand is sold separately and seems to be only available for the 46″ and 52″ NX800 models – we think they should have just included it in the package.

Featuring a stunning monolithic design with a unique six-degree tilt option, the Edge LED backlit BRAVIA NX700 Series HDTV creates a remarkable sense of space by allowing you to position the TV at lower levels for a more comfortable viewing experience. Motionflow 120Hz refresh rate technology delivers smooth motion detail in fast-paced scenes while BRAVIA Engine 3 video processor produces superior, life-like image with amazing contrast and color. Integrated BRAVIA Internet Video and Widgets, built-in Wi-Fi, a USB input and LightSensor technology round out the feature set. There are two NX700 models available – 40″ BRAVIA KDL-40NX700 and the 46″ BRAVIA KDL-46NX700. The metallic stand is sold separately and is available for both models.
Here is a video of Sony USA President/COO Stan Glasgow introducing the BRAVIA NX series at CES 2010:

Square Enix President and CEO Yoichi Wada has finally acknowledge the fan demand of Final Fantasy VII and has said that the Japanese publisher is willing to “explore” the possibility of remaking game.
 

We’ve spoken to a high level Sony representative about some specifics regarding their upcoming 3D strategy as there are still many questions out there. One of the most important aspects of the upcoming 3D home theater experience is the active shutter glasses that you must wear to enjoy the experience. Active shutter technology is far different than the plastic polarized glasses one may have used at a movie theater – click here to learn more. Sony Japan recently gave us an idea about how much this necessary accessory would cost, but we were still unsure about a very important fact: battery life.

Sony expects the battery life for the TDG-BR100 and TDG-BR50 active shutter 3D glasses to be 100 hours of use. The glasses are only in use when they receive the 3D sync signal from the TV, otherwise they go into standby mode with no drain on the battery. At launch time Sony will only offer battery powered glasses, and have not detailed induction-based (e.g. Powermat) models. We were pleased to learn that you can also use as many glasses as you want as long as they can receive the IR signal.

Google obviously made a big splash earlier this year when it threatened to leave China in response to a hack attack. There’s been a lot of back and forth, and some questions about whether or not Google would really leave. Just last week, China ratcheted up the rhetoric, warning Google not to stop censoring search results. Now Google has made its strategy a bit clearer, by saying that it’s going to redirect all Google Chinese searches to the Hong Kong version of its search engine, which is not censored. And, now, it waits for China’s response. Amusingly, Google has also set up a little dashboard that highlights what Google services China is currently blocking. The next big question, of course, is whether or not Google will also start looking for ways to help people get around the blocks…

Permalink | Comments | Email This Story

If you thought paid DLC’s are bad enough, well, how about paying for a game demo? Wedbush Morgan’s resident gaming guru Michael Pachter has revealed EA’s plan to offer extended downloadable demos for a price prior to

Filed under: Etc., Safety, Tata

Car fires are nothing new, but when it happens to the world’s cheapest car on its way to its new home, the Tata Nano tends to lose its allure.

According to our friends at IndianAutosBlog, Satish Sawant, a Mumbai-based (irony alert) insurance agent, took delivery of his $2,500 hatchback, and while being chauffeured back to his house (Sawant doesn’t have a license yet), a motorcyclist overtook him and pointed to the rear of his new baby. At which point, the driving duo noticed flames coming from the rear. Says Sawant, “I have no idea what happened… The engine was behind me and I did not realize the car was on fire.”

This is apparently the second incident of a Nano catching fire, which, along with a recent spate of electrical issues, has some questioning the quality of the budget runabout. Naturally, today’s lesson is: You get what you pay for.

[Source: IndianAutosBlog]

Tata Nano becomes CarBQ in Mumbai originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 22 Mar 2010 19:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Review: 2010 Land Rover LR4 makes a better boxy SUV

We test the all-new LR4 in its natural environment and official approve the new ‘ute for suburban duty.

Manual Labor: 3-pedal Ferrari California slower, less efficient

The manual-equipped California is slated to go on sale later this year, and it might be the last chance for devout stick-shifters to row their own gears in a new Ferrari.

Book Review: The Yugo: The Rise and Fall of the Worst Car in History

The Yugo has been the butt of lazy stand-ups for decades, but in a new book, Jason Vuic provides even more comic fodder into the development and sale of everyone’s favorite punchline.

Also of interest:

• 2012 BMW 3 Series to include Gran Turismo, M3 to get twin-turbo six
• Audi working on high-performance Q5?
• Ram still considering small unibody pickup
• Chrysler developing all-electric Fiat 500EV for U.S. market
• Carbon Motors to use BMW diesel in new E7 police car

Browse our archive of Daily U-Turn posts or subscribe to the RSS feed

Daily U-Turn: What you missed on 3.22.10 originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 22 Mar 2010 19:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Permalink | Email this | Comments

Article Tags: Tim Ball

History and science of El Nino, Severe Limitations of IPCC Science

IPCC Reports claim with certainty that increases in global temperature since the 19th century are due to human addition of CO2. There are a multitude of problems with the claim not least the omission or lack of understanding of major temperature altering mechanisms. We are in the middle of an El Nino event, more commonly called El Nino Southern Oscillation (ENSO) that is modifying temperatures beyond human effect (Figure 1).

As Happ notes, “The gorilla in the climate change closet is ENSO. Until the mechanism responsible for the fluctuation in tropical temperatures that feeds into global temperatures is described and the resulting contribution to global temperature is quantified we have no hope of quantifying the temperature change that is due to ‘anthropogenic’ causes.”

Global warming advocates made much of the warm temperatures and lack of snow for parts of the recent Winter Olympics in Vancouver. Skeptics pointed to the cold and snow on the east side of the continent. The pattern was created by the waves in the Polar Front separating cold polar air from warm tropical air pushing north on the west side and south on the east side.

El Nino in the Pacific enhanced the situation. Everything about the winter was normal but that is not what alarmists claim.

Source: canadafreepress.com

Read in full with comments »   

Article Tags: Geoffrey Lean

Is this some really good news about climate change? One of its most worrying manifestations has long been the shrinking of the polar ice cap in summer. Concern reached unprecedented heights two and a half years ago when over 200,000 square miles were found to have melted for the first time, bringing the extent of the ice cap in September 2007 down to levels that the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change’s models had predicted would not be reached before 2050.

Scientists at the National Snow and Ice Data Centre in Boulder, Colorado – probably the world’s leading institution in the field – then said that they feared that the ice had entered a ‘death spiral’. And, even though the extent of the ice has recovered somewhat in the succeeding two Septembers (always the month with the least amount after the summer heat) many experts still believed that a ‘tipping point’ had been reached, with some suggesting that the Arctic could be ice-free in summer as early as 2013. This, others added, could have catastrophic worldwide effects, including disrupting the Indian monsoon and causing prolonged drought in the American Mid-West, which helps feed over 100 countries worldwide.

But now reports of new research, due to be published in the journal Geophysical Research Letters, suggest that much of the loss of ice may not be directly caused by global warming after all. They say that the research – led by Masayo Ogi of the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology in Yokohama, Japan – has found that changes in wind patterns account for about half of the variation in September ice cover. In the years of higher loss, the scientists found, the winds blew large amounts of ice south through the Fram Strait between Greenland and the Svarlbard Archipeligo to melt in the warmer waters of the North Atlantic.

Source: blogs.telegraph.co.uk

Read in full with comments »   

Article Tags: CowGate

WASHINGTON – Eating less meat will not reduce global warming, and reports that claim it will are distracting society from finding real ways to beat climate change, a leading air quality expert said on Monday.

“We certainly can reduce our greenhouse gas production, but not by consuming less meat and milk,” Frank Mitloehner, an air quality expert at the University of California-Davis, said as he presented a report on meat-eating and climate change at a conference of the American Chemical Society in California.

Blaming cows and pigs for climate change is scientifically inaccurate, said Mr. Mitloehner, dismissing several reports, including one issued in 2006 by the United Nations, which he said overstate the role that livestock play in global warming.

The UN report “Livestock’s Long Shadow,” which said livestock cause more anthropogenic greenhouse gases than all global transportation combined, merely distract from the real issues involved in climate change and are a distraction in the quest for true solutions to global warming, Mr. Mitloehner said.

The notion that eating less meat will help to combat climate change has spawned campaigns for “meatless Mondays” and a European campaign launched late last year, called “Less Meat Less Heat.”

Source: nationalpost.com

Read in full with comments »   

This sort of debate comes up every so often among folks who run news/commentary sites, and it seems to have boiled over again recently, as a bunch of newspapers/blogging folks got into a nice little discussion on the goodness or evilness of anonymous comments. Not surprisingly, I side with Mathew Ingram on this one. Since we began, we’ve always allowed anonymous comments, and, for the most part, find that we’ve benefited tremendously from allowing that sort of level of speech.

Does this mean we prefer people comment anonymously? Not at all. In fact, we try to encourage people to identify themselves in some manner, but we generally do so by providing greater and greater benefits for those who have verified accounts (with a lot more on the way). However, we recognize that there are times when there are benefits to having people comment anonymously, and we see no reason to take away those benefits.

Does this mean that people don’t abuse this privilege? Again, not at all. However, it is actually quite rare that anonymous commenters abuse their ability to be anonymous. It does happen at times, and, in our opinion, there are ways to deal with this that don’t involve banning anonymous commenters at all. Some of these methods we have not implemented yet, but we’re working hard on them (and, yes, this blog post will hopefully act as a push to those doing the coding…).

Techdirt gets an awful lot of comments, and we’ve been at this for a long time. We’ve seen no evidence that anonymous comments, by themselves, are a problem. You can have an occasional annoying commenter at times, but on the whole, the quality of the discussions we see in the comments here is much better than on many other sites that do not allow anonymous comments, and seem to stall out with just a few comments on each story (even on sites that get a lot more traffic than us).

There is a bit of a balancing act that needs to go on. At times, people start demanding we moderate comments (when a particularly annoying commenter hijacks a thread, for example), but then, when a legitimate commenter accidentally gets his or her comment caught in our spam filter, suddenly they get angry and ask “how dare you moderate comments!” Of course, as we explain, if you have a legitimate comment and it gets caught, we free it up within a few hours. If your comment is blatant spam, however, it gets deleted — and at times, we have noted that “pure trolling” is spam (i.e., comments that don’t advertise anything commercial, but are so far off-topic that they are designed solely to send the discussion off-topic). We will never block commenters just because you disagree, however, no matter how wrong you might be or are anonymous. We did have an issue for a while, where our UI confused some commenters into submitting totally blank comments (which automatically get held as spam) because two submit buttons could be seen, and some people clicked the wrong one — but we recently fixed the comment UI to solve this. Unfortunately, this did confuse some people, including some people who accused us of moderating legit comments, and we apologize for that UI confusion.

On the whole, we have a pretty great community of folks around here — including those of you who I regularly disagree with. It makes for a fun conversation. Sure, every so often, an immature person tries to cause trouble, but those are few and far between, and it’s not because they’re anonymous, but because they’re jerks. The vast majority of our anonymous commenters (even those we disagree with) add value to the conversation, and blocking them completely seems counterproductive.

Permalink | Comments | Email This Story

IS THERE MORE DOWNSIDE TO HOUSING PRICES? – Good thoughts here from David Rosenberg on the price of real estate in the United States.  Rosenberg points out that housing is still an excessively high percentage of household assets.  If history is any guide it could mean there is at least another 10% downside in house prices … – The Pragmatic Capitalist

————

Citi Mortgage Workouts Outnumber Foreclosures 15 to 1 in Q409 – by JON PRIOR – HousingWire  – (great news, I wonder how much shadow inventory they have?  BC)

————

Do We Really Want Housing Starts to Increase? – Zachs.com – … We still have a massive inventory of houses, both new and used. This is especially true if one considers the shadow inventory of people who are far behind on their mortgages, or houses that are already in the foreclosure pipeline but not yet listed for sale. Until we get the inventories under control, each new house built simply adds to the problem. … – Seeking Alpha

————

about Annaly – High Conviction: An Attractive Residential Mortgage REIT (Yes, You Read That Right) – Greg Merrill – Seeking Alpha

————

Elliott Wave Analysis of Mortgage Rates:  Mortgage Rates Headed Higher – By Jason Farkas – Hard as they may try, the government doesn’t control the market.
Here are the Elliott details:
1.    A downward zigzag pattern began in 1981 when rates were at 18.63%.
2.    Five waves down completed wave (A) in 1993.
3.    Five waves down completed wave (C) at 4.71% in December.
4.    Within wave 5 of (C), five waves down are now visible.
5.    Now that the zigzag correction is complete, a rally up to the 8.64-65 area is expected.  – Elliott Wave International

————

Federal Home Loan Bank Sues Over Mortgage Securities – By Karen Gullo and Jody Shenn – The Federal Home Loan Bank of San Francisco sued nine securities dealers alleging they misled it about the credit quality and risks of loans behind $19.1 billion in private-label residential mortgage-backed securities. – Bloomberg

————

Fannie Mae Slashes Mortgage Investment Forecast – By Al Yoon – (Reuters) – Fannie Mae, the largest provider of U.S. residential funding, on Wednesday slashed its forecast for residential investment this quarter following a "setback" in home sales, and warned on its impact on the economic recovery.  Fannie Mae also cut its forecast for 2010 mortgage originations for a second month, according to its monthly outlook.  Residential investment is likely to drop 17.2 percent in the first quarter … Just a month ago, they expected the first quarter’s residential investment would rise 2.8 percent.  For all of 2010, residential investment will grow 10 percent, slightly below the previous forecast, they said…. – ABC News Money

————

Awaiting The Onslaught Of Foreclosed Properties – by TONY O’NEILL -  For some time now, commercial real estate professionals have been anticipating a wave of foreclosures. Hundreds of billions of dollars worth of commercial real estate loans either have matured or are expected to mature in the coming months, leaving borrowers unable to refinance or pay back what they owe.  However, with the exception of a small percentage of upside-down properties, most of these properties have not yet been foreclosed upon. So, why are commercial properties continuing to avoid foreclosure, and what needs to occur in order for these assets to be returned to the market? – MortgageOrb

PenFed, Sun West Mortgage Team On HECM Pilot – … PenFed says it expects to launch this product nationwide after the initial pilot is complete. PenFed’s reverse mortgage eliminates the up-front origination fee – 2% of the adjusted property value – and the $35 monthly servicing fee that are customary in the industry, the credit union says…. – MortgageOrb – (if GNMA HECM 5.5’s trade over 109, there are enough points for them to cut out these fees – BC)
————

California’s median home sale price jumps 11.2% in February – By Alejandro Lazo – Analysts attribute the increase, to $249,000, to more higher-end houses and fewer bank-owned properties changing hands. – LA Times Business

————

Is The United States Headed For A Commercial Real Estate Crash Of Unprecedented Magnitude? – …  It is being projected that the largest commercial real estate loan losses will be experienced in 2011 and the years following.  Some analysts are estimating that losses from commercial real estate at U.S. banks alone could reach as high as 200 to 300 billion dollars.  … According to a recent report by the Congressional Oversight Panel, approximately 3,000 U.S. banks are currently classified as having a risky concentration of commercial real estate loans.  All of them are small to mid-size banks … – Economic Collapse Blog

————

bbr1  Loan Spread Points to Limits on U.S. Housing: Chart of the Day – By Alex Tanzi and Courtney Schlisserman – … average 30-year rate on a jumbo mortgage is about 80 basis points higher … Before July 2007 during the housing boom, the difference was about 20 basis points. … The spread “absolutely means it’s more difficult for people who own those more expensive homes to sell them and less desirable for homebuilders to build those types of homes,” … – Bloomberg

————

video:  FHA: Springing Forward – Diana Olick interviews David Stevens – CNBC  – (6% of borrowers taken out of consideration are 31% of their problems)
————

Many Californians Faced with High Taxes on Mortgage Debt Forgiveness – Huliq News

Back in 1963, General Motors had originally planned to build 125 Chevrolet Corvette Grand Sport roadsters for competition in world championship racing. However, in early 1963, GM Chairman Frederic Donner canceled production after five units were built.

However, an Ohio company by the name of Mongoose Motorsports LLC started producing replica versions that sell for less than $90,000. GM is now suing the Cuyahoga Falls company, which specializes in building replica 1984-88 GTP models and the legendary Grand Sport. The lawsuit was filed earlier this month in the U.S. District Court.

The lawsuit is a move by GM to protect valuable and lucrative trademark rights to an iconic brand that is highly popular with enthusiasts. The Detroit automaker is suing for trademark infringement and claims that the brand has been harmed by the production of the replicas, which it says is a copy of Corvette’s design.

GM says it wants the judge to bar the company from making and selling models, order the destruction of all labels, signs and ads bearing the Corvette name. It also want to let the judge to let it inspect Mongoose’s office and financial records.

Mongoose’s operation manager Gary Krause Jr. said he was unaware of the lawsuit until being contacted by The Detroit News.

– By: Stephen Calogera

Source: Detroit News

In a speech today, Atlanta Fed President Dennis Lockhart revealed three ways the (surprisingly) still ongoing Greek crisis could hurt the US:

I see three ways the Greek crisis might directly affect the U.S. economy. First, adjustment across the EU to fiscal problems could dampen euro area growth and constrain U.S. exports to that region. The European Union as a whole is this nation’s largest export market. Second, related to this, safe haven currency flows from the euro into dollar assets could cause appreciation of the dollar and hurt U.S. export competitiveness. Third is the possibility that the Greek fiscal crisis could lead to a broad shock to financial markets. This could play out in the banking system or in the form of a general retreat from sovereign debt.

Below is the full speech, in which he also talks about recovery prospects and the muni debt situation. Good stuff:

—————

This afternoon, I will give you an update on the U.S. economy and comment on conditions in the global economy that affect this country. I’ll also offer views on the interplay between fiscal uncertainty here and abroad and appropriate monetary policy to achieve both growth and control of inflation.

The views that follow are mine alone and don’t necessary reflect the views of my colleagues on the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC).

Current economic juncture
First, the national economy: I expect first quarter gross domestic product (GDP) growth numbers will show the economy continues to recover. The recovery began last summer and accelerated in the fourth quarter. Fourth quarter growth was driven by what I believe was the transitory phenomenon of slowing inventory liquidation. Most forecasters expect the first quarter to clock in at a slower but quite respectable pace of around 3 percent, and I agree with that view.

Underlying continued growth is a steady improvement in private spending in the United States. Consumer spending is expanding modestly.

Business spending on equipment and software is helping to offset softer housing and commercial construction.

Here in southwest Florida, you are well aware of the challenges faced in housing. In Naples, house prices have declined 64 percent from their peak in the second quarter of 2006 and have yet to stabilize.

Nationally, home sales slowed late last year, and sales have eased further so far this year. Continued stabilization of the housing sector—especially house prices—is likely a precondition for sustained economic recovery.

Although job cuts in the United States appear to have tapered off in recent months, the share of jobless receiving extended unemployment benefits has continued to grow. Last month’s U.S. unemployment rate remained very high at 9.7 percent.

Another gauge of the labor market is the percentage of people who, along with the unemployed, have stopped looking for work—so-called discouraged workers—as well as those who are working fewer hours than they want. The combined unemployed and underemployed figure is about 17 percent of the workforce.

With job growth negative to flat, real incomes have stagnated. Total personal income, including transfers from the government, has grown modestly, but income from wages and salaries has declined from a year ago.

To give a context for these domestic developments, let me comment on the international environment in which our economy is evolving. Overall, the outlook for the global economy continues to improve, and international trade has rebounded sharply.

Emerging Asia is driving the global rebound, led by China and India. China’s economic growth has been especially strong, lifting global demand for raw materials and capital goods. Latin America has weathered this global crisis much better than previous downturns thanks to stronger economic fundamentals. The region is further benefiting from rising commodity prices.

Meanwhile, recoveries in key developed economies, which still account for the largest share of our export market, have been much less dynamic. Japan’s economy has fallen back into deflation, and its economic growth trajectory remains very uncertain. Europe’s recovery is fragile as concerns mount about Greece and other countries with large fiscal burdens. I’ll discuss this topic more in a moment. Overall, despite the notable divergence in growth rates between developed and emerging economies, the global economy is expected to expand at a solid pace this year, continuing to provide support for U.S. exporters.

Looking ahead, the central question for the United States is how strong the recovery will be and how long it will take to reduce unemployment.

Views about the economic outlook fall roughly into two narratives. Scenario one is the familiar V-shaped, strong bounce back from severe recession. In this scenario, growth exceeds the underlying long-term potential of the economy, and unemployment declines at a steady pace. Both consumer activity and business investment show growth. Exports contribute measurably to GDP, reflecting growth of our principal trading partners, particularly in Asia. The banking system successfully navigates a troubled commercial real estate sector and expands credit to both businesses and consumers, fueling a rather strong recovery.

By contrast, the second scenario is a relatively modest recovery, with slow reduction of unemployment. Various headwinds hold back GDP growth. They include (1) a weak banking sector that is slow to expand credit in part because of weak loan demand and commercial real estate problems, (2) subdued consumer activity reflecting a more frugal consumer mindset as well as restricted consumer credit, and (3) extremely cautious business investment in both inventory and capital goods.

Most forecasters see a future resembling the second narrative. My forecast—and that of my staff at the Atlanta Fed—is close to the second narrative. The recovery under way seems at this juncture to be tentative and fragile.

Greece and fiscal uncertainty
My staff and I typically incorporate known, somewhat quantifiable risks into our forecasts. I referred to these as headwinds. They are factors we expect to be drags on growth. There are other plausible emerging scenarios that are not factored into my formal outlook. I monitor these for evidence that they’re materializing—becoming real—and need to be more formally considered. One such concern is what might be called “fiscal uncertainty.”

You’ve all been reading about Greece and the European Union’s handling of the Greek fiscal crisis. At the moment a nexus of fiscal uncertainty is the situation playing out in Greece.

Last October, the government of Greece revised its 2009 fiscal deficit sharply higher to more than 12 percent of GDP. Consequently, the ratio of public debt to GDP was revised up by 17 percentage points this year to 125 percent of GDP.

Investors around the world are concerned about Greece’s deficit and rising debt. Market pressures, along with European Monetary Union mandates, have forced the government to present a credible plan to tame its deficit. As of today, how this will play out is not clear.

It’s worth considering whether this is just a distant development or one with relevance to us here in the United States. What do fiscal problems in Greece have to do with my economic outlook for the United States?

I see three ways the Greek crisis might directly affect the U.S. economy. First, adjustment across the EU to fiscal problems could dampen euro area growth and constrain U.S. exports to that region. The European Union as a whole is this nation’s largest export market. Second, related to this, safe haven currency flows from the euro into dollar assets could cause appreciation of the dollar and hurt U.S. export competitiveness. Third is the possibility that the Greek fiscal crisis could lead to a broad shock to financial markets. This could play out in the banking system or in the form of a general retreat from sovereign debt.

At this point, these possibilities are not factored into my outlook in any way. But developments around the Greek situation deserve rapt attention.

We have our own set of fiscal uncertainties in this country—at all levels of government. The National League of Cities projects that municipal governments will face a shortfall of $56 billion to $83 billion from 2010 to 2012. Local governments in this country are pressured by lower sales tax revenues and shrinking property tax digests along with other demands.

On average, state-level governments began fiscal year 2010 with a revenue-expenditure gap of 17 percent. Three states had expected budget gaps in excess of 40 percent. Florida’s budget gap going into the current fiscal year (2010) was 23 percent.

Across the country, state governments have responded to these strains by drawing down rainy day funds, raising taxes, cutting budgets, and furloughing employees.

To date, some amount of spending cuts and tax increases at the state level have been avoided thanks to the federal stimulus package, but that infusion of money is temporary. It appears state budgets next year will need to shrink considerably to get to balance.

I’m sure you’re familiar generally with the situation at the federal level. According to the Congressional Budget Office, under current law federal budget deficits rose from an average of about 2.4 percent of GDP in the period from 1970 to 2008 to 10 percent in 2009. No budget path currently under consideration would keep the public debt from growing relative to gross domestic product. Clearly, an ever-rising debt-to-GDP ratio is unsustainable and a matter of great concern.

Government finances are severely strained at all levels. All of these fiscal pressures represent another downside risk for the broad economy. But I see a connection to inflation risk as well. Let me explain.

The FOMC met last week. In that meeting the federal funds rate target was kept at the “low as it can go” range of 0 to 25 basis points. Also, the Committee, in its post-meeting statement, said that economic conditions are “likely to warrant exceptionally low levels of the federal funds rate for an extended period.” This policy is obviously very accommodative, and, in my opinion, is appropriate for a recovery that is tentative and facing headwinds.

Policy dilemma forming
By congressional mandate, the Fed in conducting monetary policy must balance support for economic growth and the associated goal of bringing down unemployment with pursuit of price stability—low inflation. In my view, the current accommodative stance of policy is not inconsistent with the dual mandate as long as inflation expectations remain well anchored.

In these times of fiscal uncertainty I am concerned about the possibility of a monetary policy dilemma developing. If you, the public, become convinced nothing will be done to restore the federal fiscal balance, especially at the federal level, this skepticism may be reflected in inflation expectations. You may come to believe that the only plausible scenario is inflating our way out of the problem.

If such a situation begins to develop, the Fed will face a difficult trade-off between continued support for the recovery and aggressive action to reanchor inflation expectations.

For the time being, inflation expectations are holding steady, and incoming data suggest price pressures are muted. It is hard for me to summon much concern about inflation in the immediate future. Almost all measures of core inflation show indications of disinflation. But this pattern could shift. As a policymaker, I have to pay constant attention.

Inflation expectations as critical factor for policy
In my view, the capacity to maintain interest rates at the level appropriate to support the recovery depends critically on containment of inflation expectations.

The Greek drama we’re watching with such great interest should heighten recognition of the urgent need here in the United States for a credible path to fiscal sustainability. Rising public awareness of the country’s serious fiscal imbalances should serve as a call to action.

The nation has successfully navigated such challenging circumstances in the past and can do so again. With a credible fiscal plan, monetary policy should be able to remain supportive of the recovery that I’m confident will build in strength.

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• The New Rift In Europe: France And Germany Increasingly At-Odds Over Greece And EU As A Whole
• Greece Has A Completely Unrealistic Rescue Plan For Itself
• Get Real, Here’s Why The UK Is NOTHING Like Greece

Filed under: Motorsports, Coupe, Performance, Ferrari, Celebrities

Formula One pundits have for years been saying that Ferrari was the team where Fernando Alonso was always supposed to be. The folks at the Scuderia evidently agreed when they finally signed the only driver to beat Schumacher at his own game. And they aren’t about to let him forget it now that he’s home.

So it should come as little surprise that, after handing him the keys to a Maserati GranCabrio, reports are surfacing that the champ has also received (or is soon to receive) a Ferrari 458 Italia as well. Sources suggest that the car may have been part of his contract.

The car in question was spotted by a FerrariChat forum member while in Maranello, decked out in Bianco Fuji (Ferrari-speak for pearl while) with Alonso’s signature logo embroidered into the headrests right below the Prancing Horse… right where it’s always belonged. Thanks to Patrick for the tip!

[Source: FerrariChat]

Alonso’s other other ride: Ferrari 458 Italia originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 22 Mar 2010 18:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

Venezuela’s Electricidad de Caracas CA, which provides electricity to the capital Caracas, will suspend power to 80 businesses tomorrow for 24 hours. The businesses, including Sony’s local unit, Sony de Venezuela SA, failed to reduce electricity consumption by 20 percent or more as ordered by President Hugo Chavez. He issued the decree to avoid a collapse of the power grid as a severe drought shrinks hydroelectric production that provides more than 66 percent of Venezuela’s electricity, according to a statement published today in the Ultimas Noticias newspaper.

Those losing supply mostly include restaurants in Caracas along with the Caraballeda Yacht Club, several hotels and the state-run Fondo Unico Social which handles financing for Chavez’s social programs, the statement said.

The businesses may lose power for as long as three days or face an indefinite cut if they fail to reduce power consumption in coming weeks, the statement said.

“We have to cut power to a group of nearly 100 high consumers,” Chavez said today on his “Alo Presidente” on state television. “Others are on a waiting list because they continue to waste electricity. If they continue like this they’ll lose power indefinitely.”

Danish food maker East Asiatic Co.’s local unit Plumrose Latinoamericana CA, Mexican food maker Grupo Bimbo SAB’s local unit, China’s Huawei Technologies de Venezuela, Canadian oil field servicing company Eveready de Venezuela CA and state oil company Petroleos de Venezuela SA were all recognized for complying with the energy decree, according to the statement.