Author: Serkadis

Illinois Attorney General Lisa Madigan says consumers should steer clear of refund anticipation loans while preparing 2009 tax returns.

Some tax-preparation firms offer the loans as a way to get money quickly. Tax filers get a cash advance based on their expected tax refund instead of waiting for the refund from the government. The loans are legal.

Madigan says it’s tempting to get fast cash, especially during tough economic times. But she says the costs outweigh the benefits.

The loans can include high costs and fees, which are deducted from the consumer’s tax refunds.

The Internal Revenue Service says more than 8 million Americans used refund anticipation loans in 2007, the latest year data was available.

Read the original article on DailyHerald.com.

Distributed via Chicago Press Release Services

Here is a perfect way to start off the hump day of the week – 120 new high-res photos of the new 2010 Aston Martin Rapide (yes, you can thank us in the comments section after the jump).

Check out photos of the new 2010 Rapide sedan in all of its exterior colors including Hardly Green, Magma Red, Quantum Silver and Silver Blonde.

Click here for more news on the Aston Martin Rapide.

Make the jump for the high-res image gallery.

Refresher: Power for the 2010 Aston Martin Rapide comes from a 6.0L V12 engine making 470-hp and a peak torque of 443 lb-ft. Mated to a Touchtronic 2 6-speed gearbox with electronic shift-by-wire control system, the Aston Martin Rapide can go from 0 to 60 mph in 5.1 seconds with a top speed of 188 mph.

2010 Aston Martin Rapide:

– By: Omar Rana

Yesterday, President Obama announced funding loans for the construction of a new Nuclear Power Plant in Georgia. This will be the first Nuclear Power Plant built in almost thirty years. One report of this story is at this link.

The new plant will cost in the vicinity of $8 Billion. The major concentration was on the jobs that it will provide, both in the construction phase and also in the 50 to 75 years that the plant will be in operation.

Almost immediately, the anti nukes have started to crawl out from wherever it is that they reside, and have said the same old things that they always have said.

Some of those things are that the money would be much better spent on renewable power plants, that a dollar spent on renewables is ten times better than spending it on Nuclear power.

They also trucked out the old standby referring to the ‘melt down’ at Three Mile Island.

Needless to say, the incident at Three Mile Island was not a melt down, and in fact the only things that did melt were some of the control rods at the top of the reactor. It was in fact an overheat situation that caused the release of steam from the plant. There were no adverse effects to human life, animal life, or even plant life, and after decades of monitoring, no effects have ever been perceived at all. The radioactivity in the steam that was released was in the amount of what would normally be experienced in a simple chest X Ray for those in the actual vicinity. For the people living in the immediate vicinity in Harrisburg PA, that radiation dose was less than 1% of what an average U.S. citizen might receive in background radiation in normal everyday life. That’s not living beside a Nuclear reactor, but for every U.S. citizen, no matter where they live. For confirmation of this, don’t just believe me. This link details the cause and the effects of that incident.

However, what I specifically want to address is a dollar for dollar comparison, considering those renewable power fans always quote this old standby as well, so what I will do here is to actually compare this nuclear plant with renewable plants, all three types most currently in favour.

This $8 Billion might sound like a huge amount of money for just one plant, but when the math is worked out, it becomes plainly obvious that a Nuclear plant is not only value for money, but in fact is so superior to renewable power as to not even bear comparison.

This amount of money will see the construction of one large plant. It will have two reactors. Each reactor will drive a huge multi stage turbine which in turn will drive one large generator. So, two reactors and two large generators.

The Nameplate Capacity will be in the vicinity of 2,200MW of power.

The actual power delivered to the grid for consumption can easily be calculated with a simple formula, and I will use this same formula for all calculations for all the plants discussed here. That formula is as follows:

NP X 24 X 365.25 X 1000 X ER. NP is NamePlate Capacity. 24 hours in a day. 365.25 days in a year. 1000 to convert MW down to KWH. ER is the efficiency rate of power delivered vs nameplate capacity.

For this Nuclear Plant, that efficiency rate is the highest of all, and is currently around 92.5%, and that’s a conservative value, because some plants operate close to and even over 100% when that power is extrapolated out over the whole year, depending mainly on down time for refueling, the replacement of the fuel rods.

So this Nuclear Plant will actually deliver to the grid, 2200 X 24 X 365.25 X 1000 X 0.925.

This comes to 18 Billion KiloWattHours. (KWH) This is actual power delivered to consumers over one whole year.

WIND POWER

Let’s do the math for wind power then, and for this we can use as an example Cape Wind, where there will be 140 huge towers each topped with a 3MW nacelle. This plant will cost $1.1 Billion.

So for $8 Billion, we will get 1,020 Towers each topped with a 3MW nacelle giving us a Nameplate Capacity of 3060MW, which when looking at it in isolation, is half as many MW again as the large Nuclear Plant. However, they deliver power only on a sporadic basis, and from US Government data for the already installed 36,000MW of installed wind capacity, and also for the German 26,000MW of installed capacity, they are only delivering their power at a 20% efficiency rate. See this link and this link. Each of those links has further links as well, each with more information.

So, using the same formula as above for this Wind  plant, the actual power delivered to the grid comes to only 5.3 Billion KWH, not even 30% of the power from the Nuclear Plant on the same 12 month basis.

Here, it also needs to be taken into account the fact that Wind plant towers have a life expectancy of 25 years, while the Nuclear Plant can feasibly have a lifespan of 75 years, so in fact, that delivery of power becomes manifestly less, in fact more like only 10% of the power, hence the one Nuclear plant can deliver ten times the power to consumers.

SOLAR PHOTOVOLTAIC – Solar Panels

For the comparison here, we need to go to Florida, where the President opened the new plant there, detailed at this link.

This plant produces 25MW Nameplate Capacity and cost $150 Million.

So, for the $8 Billion, we will get 53 plants the same as this.

This gives us a Nameplate Capacity of 1325MW, not bad, almost 60% the size of the Nuclear Plant.

However, these plants can only deliver power at the rate of 12.5% when compared to that Nameplate Capacity. The plant in Florida is quoted at nearly 19%, but that takes into account the location, being in Florida, and having access to reasonably good sunlight for most of the year, while the US average, also the same as for other areas on the Planet that have these plants is closer to 12.5%.

So, same formula. These solar plants  can deliver to the grid 1.45 Billion KWH, barely 8% of what can be delivered by the one Nuclear Plant. These plants also have a life span of barely 25 years, so the nuclear plant will deliver 38 times as much power over its life than for the same $8 Billion spent on Solar PV.

CONCENTRATING SOLAR – Solar Thermal.

For comparison here, we go to Gila Bend, near Phoenix in Arizona, and the Abengoa Solana Plant. This plant will cost $1.2 Billion and will produce 150MW of power. Having said that, it needs to be realised here that even though the advertising campaign says this plant can produce its power on a 24 hour basis, that statement is indeed true. However, how it actually does that is with the backup of a natural gas fired turbine driving the generator when the solar component is not doing this. In a simplified manner, the mirrors focus the light onto pipes carrying a compound. This compound then becomes molten and this then is used to boil water to steam to drive a conventional steam turbine which drives the generator. The Molten compound can drive this unit for up to 12 hours, before the molten compound loses its ability to boil water to the required amount of steam, and for the remainder of the time, the natural gas fired turbine then takes over and drives the generator.

So, even though the bold headlines state renewable, concentrating solar plants like this will still be emitting CO2, from the burning of natural gas. This effectively means that this one plant in Arizona will still be emitting 1,200 tons of CO2 each and every day of operation. For further details on this, go to this link.

So, in this case for Concentrating Solar power, for the same $8 Billion, we will get 1000MW of Nameplate Capacity, from what amounts to 6.7 of these plants. The efficiency rate of power delivery approaches 80% at best, considering that now it has two driving methods, one of which still emits CO2.

So, same formula, we now see delivered to the grid power amounting to 7 Billion KWH, still only 38% of the power from the one Nuclear Plant. These plants also only have a life expectancy of 25 years, so the Nuclear plant will deliver nearly 8 times the power than for these Concentrating Solar Plants. Again keep in mind that this plant still emits CO2, so while the Nuclear plant emits none, this so called new renewable plant will have emitted 74 Million tons of CO2, or an amount of nearly 3 Million tons of CO2 each year.

Now, just look at the figures in Bold on this page.

By far the greatest point in favour of the Nuclear plant, even if that total power delivered is not enough, is the fact that the Nuclear Plant delivers its power over the full 24 hour cycle. The Wind plants at their 20% efficiency rate are only delivering that power for around 5 hours out of every 24 on average. The Solar PV plant delivers its power for around three to four hours a day. The Concentrating Solar Plant while it may deliver its power for the full 24 hours a day has to be offset against the fact that it is emitting large amounts of CO2 to actually achieve that.

You tell me which form of power generation offers the best value for every dollar spent.

Nuclear power is far and away the best of all of these four methods of power generation. However, one plant is just a beginning. What is really needed is a concerted effort to start construction of these plants on a more widespread basis. If the Government is throwing literally hundreds of Billions of dollars in subsidies at renewable plant, what I have indicated above is a startling example of how those dollars could be spent in a much better way by building new generation Nuclear power plants. Let’s hope that someone actually comes to their senses, and actually bites the bullet to start more of these plants. That can only happen if someone somewhere gets serious, and actually takes notice of the facts, and not the dreams of misinformed environmentalists.

THERE JUST IS NO CONTEST

Filed under: America (USA), Blundering Bureaucrats, Climate Alarmists, Climate Change, Conniving Politicians, Environment, Environmental activists, Fanatics, Fear-mongering, Fraud/Waste, Global Warming, Infrastructure Problems, Liberals, Lily-Livered Liberals, Limp-Wrist Liberals, Politics, Power Hungry, Propaganda, Public Opinion Tagged: Climate Change Hypocrisy, Concentrating Solar Power, Global Warming Hype, Nuclear power Generation, Nuclear Power Plants, Power Plant Cost Structures, Renewable Power, Solar Photovoltaic Power, Wind Power Generation

More and more I have been noticing friends and colleagues (that lean and vote right) claiming ‘things aren’t fair’ and ‘that shouldn’t be allowed.’ It’s disturbing how the MSM’s talking points seep into the psyche of the unsuspecting. Bonuses and profits…loopholes and salaries all vilified and in dire need of regulation. Little by little convincing the American people that we can’t exist without government intervention. That we’re too small and insignificant to look after our own interests. That we’re just too dumb to see the big picture. And it’s working! My friends are lamenting the giant bonuses for bankers and begrudging the profits of insurance companies. They’re primed to let Big Brother in the door and I’m not sure they even realize it.

That’s where it starts. And this is where it ends…In Sweden with 60% or more of your pay going right to the government or in the UK where your tax dollars could be paying for this:

“…A single mother-of-six is getting more than £80,000 [$125,000] a year from the taxpayer to live in a £2million mansion in an exclusive London suburb.

Essma Marjam, 34, is given almost £7,000 a month in housing benefits to pay the rent on the five-bedroom villa just yards from Sir Paul McCartney’s house and Lord’s cricket ground. She also receives an estimated £15,000 a year in other payouts, such as child benefit, to help look after her children, aged from five months to 14.

The four-storey house in Maida Vale has five bedrooms, two bathrooms, a double living room… two large flat-screen televisions.

Miss Marjam said: ‘I moved here at the beginning of the month as I’m entitled to a five-bedroom house.

‘I was in a three-bedroom council house but I needed a bigger place once my new baby came along. So the council agreed to pay the £1,600 a week to a private landlord as they didn’t have any houses big enough…” (source)

Social programs are THE slippery slope. Full stop.

Malas noticias las que nos llegan desde una de las escuderías debutantes, USF1. Su presidente Peter Windsor acaba de afirmar que lamentablemente no estarán listo para correr en el GP de Bahrain y es muy posible que no lleguen a correr en la temporada 2010.

La principal razón de esta mala noticia sería que el mayor inversor del equipo, Chad Hurley (cofundador de YouTube) habría abandonado el proyecto para marcharse a Campos Meta. Por el momento sólo son rumores pero podría ser bien ciertos.

Aun así, no hay mal que por bien no venga ya que de ser así, este hecho podría abrir las puertas de la máxima categoría a la escudería Stefan GP. Os mantendremos informados.

Related posts:

1. Kimi Raikkonen podría estar negociando su fichaje con Red Bull
2. Jose María López podría firmar su contrato con USF1 en breve
3. Adrián Campos podría vender su equipo antes de que comience la temporada

As the weather keeps dipping into the teens, and we become experts in navigating around 5′ piles of frozen snow while we continue to sound the Amber alert for Al Gore, there arises a much more practical concern than my SUV emissions.

My dog.

To coat or not to coat? THAT, my friends, is the question. As you know I recently adopted a French bulldog named Lola (Did you see the Frenchie that won at Westminster on Monday night?). Unlike many breeds, Frenchie’s have no undercoat and most sites (including all the rescue sites) encourage owners to “dress” the dogs appropriately in the winter.

But then while I was Googling to find info about the dog in Brooklyn that was mugged for his coat, I found this article:

“…Miniature dog parkas, sweaters and vests may be adorable — and even seem sensible in the deep freeze of a New York winter — but in fact, vets say, city dog owners who play dress-up could be endangering their pets’ health.

Unless your dog is a Chihuahua or an equally tiny toy pooch with short hair, canines barely feel icy temperatures below 32 degrees, Beaver says.

“Just because we feel cold, it doesn’t mean our dogs do,” says Webb. “Maybe if the dog is coming from a very warm climate like Florida, we might recommend it wear a coat for a few weeks to acclimate. But most dogs, even if they just arrived in Alaska, are pretty much oblivious to the cold.”

In fact, some dogs — including huskies and Newfoundlands — regulate their own body temperature with an insulating layer of fur, which lifts off their bodies in warm weather and pulls in close to trap heat when the mercury drops.

Interfering with this natural climate-control system could lead to heatstroke — and, in a worst-case scenario, even death, says Beaver. (Read the whole article)

Now I feel bad putting her coat on her because I feel like I might be messing with her own body temperature regulation…but as she quakes and quivers I remind myself that this is a man-made breed…and I vacillate.

Hertz Corporation, the world’s largest car rental brand, confirmed that it has entered into a joint commitment with Nissan to bring its Nissan Leaf electric-vehicle to car rental in the U.S. and Europe by early 2011. Hertz said that under the terms of their Memorandum of Understanding, the rental company will develop a program to roll out the Leaf at select rental sites.

“The partnership with Nissan seals Hertz’s commitment to green-car rentals and firmly demonstrates our mission to advancing zero-emission mobility on a global scale,” said Mark P. Frissora, Hertz Chairman and Chief Executive Officer. “With unique solutions like the Hertz Green Collection already available to our customers, we believe in continuously providing innovative mobility solutions to sustain the growing demand for eco-travel.”

Click here for more news on the Nissan Leaf.

Hertz and Nissan eventually plan to expand Nissan Leaf electric-vehicles into Hertz’s global car share service, “Connect by Hertz,” The car sharing model will allow Renault-Nissan Alliance to scale up availability of electric-vehicles across a wide consumer base in some of the world’s most densely populated cities, the companies said.

“The flexibility and environmental credentials offered by the existing Connect by Hertz fleet presents an ideal opportunity for the expansion of electric cars into the car-share market,” said Frissora. “With its performance and energy efficient technology, we’re confident that Nissan LEAF will be popular with existing customers and help attract new eco-conscious motorists.”

Refresher: Power for the Nissan Leaf comes from a 107-hp electric-motor that runs on power supplied by lithium ion cells. On a full-charge, the Nissan Leaf allows for a driving range of 100 miles with a top speed of 87 mph. A full charge takes up to 8 hours on a standard 200V outlet. Buyers can opt for the DC 50kW quick-charger, which recharges the battery up to 80 percent in under 30 minutes.

2010 Nissan Leaf:

– By: Omar Rana

A decade into the entertainment industry’s massive game of whac-a-mole when it comes to file sharing sites, you would think that people would realize that blocking or banning any particular site doesn’t do a damn thing to slow the pace of file sharing around the globe. Instead, it does two things: (1) informs more people of the social norm of unauthorized file trading and (2) causes people to scatter to more sites, usually further underground and even more difficult to identify and stop. And, indeed, that appears to be the case in Italy. You may recall that the Italian Supreme Court recently decided that it was okay for a lower court to block The Pirate Bay (the lower court is now deciding what to do), but in response, it appears that users have already figured out how to scatter to other sites, as many other torrent sites have seen an influx of Italian users. Another mole whacked, and yet, more keep popping up. It’s difficult to see how this is a particularly good strategic policy.

Permalink | Comments | Email This Story

Earlier this month, Stile Bertone released a teaser of their Alfa Romeo concept due to debut at the 2010 Geneva Motor Show. Thanks to internet leaks, however, we don’t have to wait until March to see it. Here are the first batch of images that were leaked of Stile Bertone’s Alfa Romeo Pandion Concept.

Pininfarina and Italdesign Giugiaro will also unveil their Alfa Romeo concepts at the Geneva Motor Show.

All three concepts will provide a look into a future Alfa model.

Stile Bertone Alfa Romeo Pandion Concept (Leaked Images):

– By: Kap Shah

Source: CarScoop

Open source is a global and mainstream phenomenon today after being on the fringes for quite a while. And it’s not just in programming, many aspects of society have been changed, hopefully for the better, by the concepts and principles put forth by open-source software advocates. Big and traditionally very closed companies like IBM or even Microsoft are e… (read more)

CHAMPAIGN – How healthy you are has a lot to do with where you live, according to a new report that found a wide disparity in the health of Illinois residents, depending on which of the state’s 102 counties they call home.

The report released this morning by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the University of Wisconsin looked at the overall health and risk factors in more than 3,000 counties in all 50 states.

Vermilion County was found to be among the 10 unhealthiest communities in Illinois, in terms of both overall health and risk factors such as the number of adults who smoke, are obese and engage in binge drinking and high-risk sexual behaviors.

Champaign County was ranked 31st among the state’s counties for its overall health and 25th in risk factors.

Public health administrators in both counties weren’t surprised.

“We’ve been seeing the same kind of numbers for years, and nothing has changed,” said Steve Laker, administrator of the Vermilion County Health Department.

Laker said public health executives have known about the upcoming report since December, and he fully expected his county to rank near the bottom in Illinois for having an infant mortality rate that hasn’t improved enough, a teen birth rate that has been consistently high for four decades and factors such as poverty, unemployment and education rates that play a role in how healthy people tend to be.

Public health focuses on prevention, and many of the factors aren’t in his department’s control, Laker said. But he has called a communitywide meeting to discuss the report later today.

“These are community problems,” he said.

Champaign-Urbana Public Health District Administrator Julie Pryde said some factors pulling down Champaign County in the rankings were its air quality and some of the risk factors related to sex and alcohol that are the inevitable result of being home to a high number of college students.

“Overall, I was pleased,” she said. “Of course, I would like to see us number one, but what I like about these is it gives us something to look at.”

The County Health Rankings report, available at http://www.county healthrankings.org, evaluated health outcomes in each county in the United States by looking at the rate of people dying before they reach age 75, the percentage of people who report they are in fair or poor health, the number of days people report being in poor physical or mental health and the rate of infants with low birth weights.

Researchers also looked at factors affecting health, access to clinical care, the physical environment of the community, the number of uninsured adults, the rates of high school graduates, the number of children living in poverty, homicide rates, access to healthful foods, the density of liquor stores and such behavioral risk factors as adult smoking and obesity rates and teen pregnancies.

“These rankings demonstrate that health happens where we live, learn, work and play. And much of what influences how healthy we are and how long we live happens outside the doctor’s office,” said Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, chief executive of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, a philanthropic group devoted to improving health and health care in the United States.

The foundation contends health can be improved at the community level through programs and policies: For example, more parks and recreation choices encourage people to exercise more.

Pryde and Laker said they see an opportunity in today’s report to focus on things that need to change in their communities.

Think the health shortcomings in Vermilion County aren’t your problem because you don’t live there? Pryde contends borders are irrelevant when it comes to illness, and budget cuts and an uncertain future for the Vermilion County Health Department will have a ripple effect on Champaign County.

“The sad thing about this, and I don’t know why people don’t understand that, is prevention is so much less expensive than (health) care,” Pryde said.

Distributed via Chicago Press Release Services

RBANA – The Urbana school district has proposed $2 million in cuts for the next school year that would mean larger class sizes and fewer offerings for students in the district.

The school board saw a list of proposed cuts at its meeting Tuesday night.

“We’re short on options,” said school board President John Dimit. “The Urbana school district has already been operating in a very lean fashion. These cuts will directly affect the programs we’re able to offer children.”

The proposed reductions include:

– Six teacher and five teacher’s aide positions at the elementary level.

– The third-grade swim program.

– Part-time fine arts positions at the elementary level.

– Thirteen and a half positions at the secondary level.

– Alternative programming that provides support for students struggling in middle school and allows high school students to catch up on credits through after-school and Saturday school programs.

– Hours for summer counseling.

– Athletics budgets.

– Parent liaison positions, mentoring positions, a curriculum specialist and a grant coordinator at the district level.

– Summer school.

– Textbooks and supplies.

– Professional development.

– Substitutes for teachers who are doing assessments of students or for collaboration time.

The district’s teacher contract limits the class size at each grade level. But classrooms will likely reach those limits if the cuts in teacher positions are approved.

In deciding on the recommended cuts in positions, “We took a look at our projected enrollments, and we looked at every single building, every single configuration of teachers, and we went to the maximum class sizes,” said Don Owen, assistant superintendent for curriculum and instruction.

Owen said cuts in teacher positions will also affect the electives the district is able to offer at the middle and high schools.

“Some of these people we may be able to move into grants (to pay their salaries), but some of them we won’t,” Owen said.

The district has already begun talking with the teachers’ union about the proposed cuts. The teachers’ contract expires this year.

While the cuts will affect programs, Dimit said the district will still offer a good education.

“But many of these cuts will affect the supports we put in place … to help us better serve children who are struggling,” he said. “We’ll have to figure out a different way to help these children.”

The school board will begin talking about the proposed cuts in detail at a special meeting at 5:30 p.m. Tuesday at the Burkholder Administrative Service Center, 205 N. Race St., U. The board also plans to meet on Feb. 27 and March 9 to talk about the cuts. It will also discuss a recent demographic study, its strategic planning process and plans for building improvements.

The board is scheduled to vote on layoffs at its March 16 meeting.

The district is seeking public comment on the proposals. Residents may comment at the special meetings, and the district plans to post a survey on its Web site, at http://www.usd116.org, to solicit comments on the proposed cuts.

Dimit noted the district must make cuts at the same time it has a new source of money to make building improvements. It will begin receiving money from the county’s school facilities sales tax in April. But that money can be used only for building improvements or new construction.

On Tuesday, the board approved a resolution to abate $700,000 in property taxes this year with some of the sales tax money it will receive. Because the district won’t start receiving sales tax money until this spring, it decided to prorate the amount it will abate this year.

Beginning next year, the district plans to put $1 million toward its bond levy every year until the bonds are paid off.

Distributed via Chicago Press Release Services

URBANA – A 35-year-old Urbana man accused of stealing from his father’s business is due back in court next month.

Corey Franzen, who listed an address on County Road 200 N, was charged Tuesday with burglary, alleging that he entered a trailer belonging to Franzen Construction in St. Joseph in mid-January intending to steal.

Champaign County sheriff’s Lt. Ed Ogle said Franzen is alleged to have taken copper and aluminum used by the construction company and sold it at a local recycler for about $2,000.

Ogle said there were several thefts that occurred between Jan. 16 and Feb. 10 and were brought to the attention of police by representatives of the construction company. Some of the stolen materials were recovered, he said.

Burglary is a Class 2 felony carrying penalties ranging from probation to three to seven years upon conviction. Franzen was ordered to return to court March 30. He remains free on bond.

Distributed via Chicago Press Release Services

If you want to witness outrageous behavior and poor manners, check out The Real Housewives of New York City on Bravo. If you want to see one of these real housewives in the buff, pick up the current issue of Playboy.

Kelly Killoren Bensimon, who stars in the Bravo series, poses for a yummy 6-page nude pictorial shot by her ex-husband, famed fashion photographer Gilles Bensimon. With some help from Photoshop, I’m sure, the 41-year old mother of two shows off her curves.

While there’s not many safe for work images we can show you, here’s one more:

The March issue of Playboy hit stands last Friday.

Related posts:

1. D’Oh! Marge Simpson Poses for Playboy
2. Is This the End of Playboy?
3. ‘The Hills’ Heidi Montag Gets Dirty for Playboy

There are currently 2,200 ethanol fuel-station in the United States and that, according to GM Vice Chairman Tom Stephens, is not enough to help cut polluting emissions or U.S. dependence on foreign oil. Stephens said that the growing output of vehicles capable or running on ethanol means nothing until fuel-stations capable of providing ethanol are greatly expanded.

He said that by the 2012 model year, half of GM’s vehicle lineup will be able to run a mix of 15 percent gasoline and 85 percent ethanol.

“GM is spending about $100 million a year adding flex-fuel capability to our vehicles. We can’t afford to leave this capital stranded,” Stephens said. He said that adding the capability to run on E86 costs GM as much as $70 per vehicle.

GM has produced 4 million of the 7.5 million flex-fuel vehicles on U.S. roads now.

The Detroit automaker has worked with the National Governor’s Association and ethanol producers and dispensers to add 350 more ethanol-blend pumps in the United States.

– By: Kap Shah

Source: Reuters

If you saw the Google ad on the Super Bowl you know their tag line is now “every search tells a story.” Now the folks from Slate tell the story of Tiger Woods from Google’s perspective:

Related posts:

1. The Best Tiger Woods Crash Jokes on the Web
2. Tiger Woods Finally Sets the Record Straight
3. Google Makes Some Odd Suggestions

Everyone already knows that Facebook is the biggest timesink on the web but the latest stats show exactly how much time the average user spends on the site. In the US, that’s a little over seven hours every month, according to Nielsen numbers. That’s more than they spend on Google, Yahoo, Microsoft sites and MySpace put together. It may n… (read more)

Last night, Whole Foods (WFMI) delivered one of the most hopeful signals we’ve seen yet for the comeback of the consumer by beating earnings and lifting guidance.

Here’s a quick take from JPMorgan retail analyst Charles Grom:

1Q wrap. WFMI reported 1Q10 EPS of $0.32, which was $0.04 ahead of our estimate and $0.06 above Street consensus. However, this included a $0.04 store closure reserve adjustment, which the company had previously not disclosed: as such, the pro forma EPS was closer to $0.36 – a big beat, in our view. On the top line, total sales increased 7.0% to $2.6 billion supported by the aforementioned +2.5% ID and NSP of 71.6% (vs. TTM avg. of 66.7%). On GPM, WFMI was able to drive 84 bps of total expansion (ex. 14 bps of LIFO benefit) on better purchasing and distribution, shrink improvement, and better inventory management. Moving down the P&L, on direct store expenses (DSE; as a % of sales) Whole Foods did experience 12 bps of deleverage driven by an increase in healthcare costs. On an absolute dollar basis, DSE increased 7.7% year over year – slightly above total sales growth. Turning to G&A, the company experienced 5 bps of improvement as a result of centralized cost control efforts (ex. FTC legal costs). Finally, pre-opening and relocation expenses delevered by 26 basis points, but we point out that WFMI would have enjoyed 12 bps of improvement if not for a $10.1 million store closure reserve adjustment.

Raising our 2010 EPS outlook to $1.30. We’re raising our FY10 EPS estimate by $0.18 from $1.12 to $1.30 (ahead of company guidance of $1.20-1.25), flowing through yesterday’s beat and assuming ongoing top-line and margin improvement. Our new estimate is predicated on ID sales of positive 4.1% in FY10 (guidance of 2.9-4.9%) vs. negative 4.2% in FY09. Turning to operating margin, we are now modeling 67 basis point of expansion (ex. LIFO, charges) to 4.6%, above guidance of 4.3-4.5% (which looks conservative, in our view provided the aforementioned opportunities to reduce expenses). On GPM we are modeling 58 bps of expansion to 34.8% of sales (ex. LIFO). Turning to total SG&A we are modeling 7 basis points of improvement (2 bps improvement bps on direct store expenses, 3 bps delverage on G&A, and 8 bps improvement on pre-opening and relocation). Finally, our 2Q10-4Q10 estimates are upwardly revised to $0.36, $0.36, $0.25 from $0.28, $0.33, and $0.24, respectively, and our December 2010 price target is raised to $39 from $32.

Grom also notes that margins are well below peak, and that a long-term cost cutting program remains in place.

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• Retail Sales Whip Expectations, But They’re Not Enough To Help The Market
• Doug Kass: The US Consumer Is Sick And You Should Go Short Retail With Impunity
• Michigan Consumer Sentiment Index Delivers A Surprise Drop