Category: News

No change… rates to stay low “for extended period”… Dow soaring.

This statement is a cut+paste job from last time. There was one dissenter: Thomas Hoenig, who has been sounding a warning of late about asset bubbles.

Here’s the full announcement:

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Information received since the Federal Open Market Committee met in March suggests that economic activity has continued to strengthen and that the labor market is beginning to improve. Growth in household spending has picked up recently but remains constrained by high unemployment, modest income growth, lower housing wealth, and tight credit. Business spending on equipment and software has risen significantly; however, investment in nonresidential structures is declining and employers remain reluctant to add to payrolls. Housing starts have edged up but remain at a depressed level. While bank lending continues to contract, financial market conditions remain supportive of economic growth. Although the pace of economic recovery is likely to be moderate for a time, the Committee anticipates a gradual return to higher levels of resource utilization in a context of price stability.

With substantial resource slack continuing to restrain cost pressures and longer-term inflation expectations stable, inflation is likely to be subdued for some time.

The Committee will maintain the target range for the federal funds rate at 0 to 1/4 percent and continues to anticipate that economic conditions, including low rates of resource utilization, subdued inflation trends, and stable inflation expectations, are likely to warrant exceptionally low levels of the federal funds rate for an extended period. The Committee will continue to monitor the economic outlook and financial developments and will employ its policy tools as necessary to promote economic recovery and price stability.

In light of improved functioning of financial markets, the Federal Reserve has closed all but one of the special liquidity facilities that it created to support markets during the crisis. The only remaining such program, the Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility, is scheduled to close on June 30 for loans backed by new-issue commercial mortgage-backed securities; it closed on March 31 for loans backed by all other types of collateral.

Voting for the FOMC monetary policy action were: Ben S. Bernanke, Chairman; William C. Dudley, Vice Chairman; James Bullard; Elizabeth A. Duke; Donald L. Kohn; Sandra Pianalto; Eric S. Rosengren; Daniel K. Tarullo; and Kevin M. Warsh. Voting against the policy action was Thomas M. Hoenig, who believed that continuing to express the expectation of exceptionally low levels of the federal funds rate for an extended period was no longer warranted because it could lead to a build-up of future imbalances and increase risks to longer run macroeconomic and financial stability, while limiting the Committee’s flexibility to begin raising rates modestly.

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[JURIST] The US Supreme Court heard oral arguments Wednesday in Doe #1 v. Reed on whether the First Amendment allows a state to compel the release of identity information about petition signers. The case arose over an order to publish the names of those who signed a Washington state petition to overturn a state law giving same-sex partners the same rights as married partners. The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that the names should be released, but the Supreme Court issued a temporary stay in October. Counsel for the petitioners argued that, “o person should suffer harassment for participating in our political system, and the First Amendment protects citizens from intimidation resulting from compelled disclosure of their identity and beliefs and their private associations.” Counsel for the state of Washington argued that the names can be made public. The court appeared skeptical of petitioners’ arguments, with Justice Antonin Scalia saying “emocracy requires a certain amount of civic courage.”

Quick summary – LeBron James has had an aggravating elbow injury for some time now, and because he eased up on it and carried it gingerly at the end of the game last night, it’s become a major story.

However, breathe easy Cavalier fans.  The elbow is just fine.  It told me so;

Whoever created this Twitter account did so shortly after Midnight last night, and has been growing followers hand-over-fist since then. Pure brilliance.

The US EPA just released an excellent report on climate change indicators in the US. In this first of a series of Planetsave posts summarizing the report, we look at greenhouse gases.

The US Environmental Protection Agency just released Climate Change Indicators in the U.S., a report showing “compelling evidence that the composition of the atmosphere and many fundamental measures of climate in the United States are changing.”

Although there is surely much more happening as a result of climate change than what is in this report, the range of indicators presented by the EPA here and their significance for humans and life everywhere on the planet are profound.

(more…)

The Camel Mini-Conference
May 26, 2010, 1:30-5:00pm
Khalili Theatre
School of Oriental and African Studies
University of London

As part of the preparations for the conference “Camel Cultures: Historical traditions, present threats and future prospects” there will be a half-day mini-conference at SOAS next month, on the afternoon of Wednesday 26 May. This will give a general introduction to camel cultures worldwide. It will also focus on specific areas of problems – for instance the survival of Wild Bactrians in Mongolia. And it will present a summary of the Country Situation Reports which our colleagues in camel research have kindly sent to us.

Members of the public are very welcome to attend this conference. You can reserve a place by sending an e-mail to
[email protected]

www.youtube.com/soascamelconference

JOHN HARE [Wild Camel Protection Foundation]: The Wild Bactrian Camel: A critically endangered species; STEFAN SPERL [SOAS]: Images of the Camel in Arabic Poetry

SALLY WREN [ZSL]: London Zoos Edge Project

ADEL AULAQI [SOAS]: Remembering Camels

ED EMERY [SOAS]: A Documentation of World Camel Cultures: Country situation reports

Introduced by William Gervase Clarence-Smith [SOAS]

The Great One opines thusly:

To be perfectly honest here, as much as I love to dig into all the money-politics issues — including the financial-reform bill — I’m much more interested in these big profits and capital gains. This V-shaped recovery is the most important item on my radar screen. It’s the single-biggest investor issue out there right now. I don’t think the bull market in stocks is over yet. Again, regarding taxes and regulations, I’ll warn about next year. But frankly, I think the prosperity theme is issue number one.

La integración de la gestión de la identidad online en Firefox está más cerca. La nueva funcionalidad se llama Account Manager y la idea es que el control de con qué cuenta está uno identificado en cada web pase a gestionarse desde un la de barra en el navegador. Lo interesante de la propuesta es su aproximación abierta, con soporte de OpenId, Oauth y distintos sistemas de identificación (Facebook y Google entre ellos). Se puede ir probando instalando un plugin y hay un análisis más detallado en Webmonkey.

Trasladar la gestión de la identidad digital al navegador desde el sistema que cada web implementa me ha parecido siempre una idea muy buena: experiencia uniforme a lo largo de toda la web, mayor sensación de control por parte del usuario y un empujón a estándares abiertos como OpenId. Lo único es que, para cuando añadan Account Manager a Firefox podría ser demasiado tarde: OpenId parece difícil de salvar (hace un par de años mejorar su experiencia de usuarios nos hubiese venido genial a muchos) y mientras la experiencia de Facebook Connect se hace más común y aceptada por los usuarios… a la par que Firefox no crece a ritmos pasados en el mercado de navegadores. Ojalá me equivoque porque integrar la gestión de la identidad en Firefox me parece una idea excelente.

(This guest post comes courtesy of The Mad Hedge Fund Trader)

The success of the recent oil auctions in Iraq is creating a windfall for American oil services companies. Schlumberger (SLB), Baker Hughes (BHI), Weatherford (WFT), and Halliburton (HAL) have committed to drilling 2,500-3,000 new wells per year and building new pipeline and shipping terminal infrastructure that could make the country the world’s largest oil exporter. The value of these contracts may reach a massive $60 billion over the next six years, and could generate $1 billion in new revenues for each company per year. Two offshore terminals are already under construction, and another two are on the drawing board. If successful, the project will boost the country’s oil production from the current 2.5 million barrels a day to 12 million b/d by 2016. Iraq’s oil production peaked at 3 million b/d in 1979, and then went to nearly zero after it invaded Iran.

I remember those days well, as I was issued a visa to accompany Saddam’s troops to Tehran, only to see it cancelled when the Iranians were able to mount a counter offensive. I still have the dessert camos and telephoto lenses need to cover the desert war, although the pants, regrettably, no longer fit. Iraq’s oil industry never recovered. UN sanctions limited the regime to minimal “official” exports that covered humanitarian imports like baby food and drugs. Tanker trucks smuggled out through Jordan what they could, with the proceeds going directly to Saddam’s family. When the US invaded, bails of hundred dollar bills were found stashed in private homes, the proceeds of these black market deals.

American oil engineers were shocked by the poor state of Iraq’s energy infrastructure after 40 years of neglect. It all has to be rebuilt from scratch. If the new Iraqi government can provide the necessary infrastructure, and stabilize the political and security environment, it will become one of the largest changes to the landscape for international trade in decades. Those are all very big “if’s”. It will dump another Saudi Arabia’s worth of crude on the market.

It will also go a long ways towards meeting China’s insatiable demand for oil, and put a long term cap on prices. Of course, this is the scenario that antiwar activists predicted eight years ago, but no one else, especially the Bush administration, thought it would take so long to play out. This is so important that I can’t believe no one else is talking about it. 

Read more market commentary at The Mad Hedge Fund Trader >

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2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee

The folks at CARandDRIVER recently caught up with the Jeep crew and asked them the question we’ve all been waiting an answer for. Will there be a Jeep Grand Cherokee SRT8? While they didn’t officially confirm anything (or deny anything), they did say that when Chrysler does do an SRT8 version of the new 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee, you can expect it to appear within the first couple of model years after introduction.

Power is expected to come from a 6.4L naturally aspirated HEMI V8 making between 505-hp and 525-hp.

Click here for more news on the Jeep Grand Cherokee.

Refresher: The 2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee will be offered with two new powertrains including Chrysler’s new flexible fuel 280-hp Phoenix 3.6L V6 which increases fuel-economy by up to 11 percent. The range will be topped off with a 5.7L HEMI V8 making 360-hp and a maximum torque of 390 lb-ft.

2011 Jeep Grand Cherokee:

– By: Omar Rana

Source: CARandDRIVER

Confirmed: Dreamgirls director Bill Condon will step behind the lens to direct Breaking Dawn, the eagerly-anticipated fourth and final film in The Twilight Saga, The Hollywood Reporter said Wednesday.

Summit Entertainment confirmed the deal in a press release this afternoon. For his part, Condon couldn’t be more amped-up about lending his noteworthy skills to the wildly-successful franchise.

“I’m very excited to get the chance to bring the climax of this saga to life on-screen. As fans of the series know, this is a one-of-a-kind book — and we’re hoping to create an equally unique cinematic experience,” said Condon in the statement.

“I’m so thrilled that Bill wants to work with us. I think he’s going to be a great fit, and I’m excited to see what he does with the material,” Twilight writer Stephenie Meyer added.

The film is expected to go into production in Canada in November.

HTC Corp has said that it expects record revenue in Q2 2010, and expects to ship 4.5 million devices, 50% up on the same period last year.

HTC has launched 6 devices this quarter, only one of which, the HTC HD Mini, is Windows Mobile, but HTC’s director of investor relations Joey Cheng Cheng said that despite the early adoption of Google Inc’s Android by US consumers, Europeans and Asians continued to be more familiar with smartphones running on the Windows platform.

“There is a new learning curve for each new platform,” Cheng said.

HTC said that it still expects to launch 2 further devices this quarter, and is widely expected to release 2 further Windows Mobile devices, the HTC Tera and the much anticipated HTC Trophy before the end of June 2010.

HTC has re-affirmed separately that they still expect to ship their first Windows Phone 7 device by the end of the year.

HTC’s first-quarter profits grew 2.5 percent from a year ago to NT$5 billion, amid growing momentum from Europe and Asia.

Via TaipeiTimes.com

A cualquiera que lea esta noticia, le puede parecer cuanto menos asombroso y extraño tener la posibilidad de comprar un coche, personalizarlo y elegir la financiación a medida por Internet. Y es que, en la vida cotidiana, compramos numerosos gadgets por la red, ¿por qué no íbamos a comprar un coche?

Ya buscamos coches de ocasión a través de Internet, así que comprar uno nuevo no debería ser extraño. La marca nipona lo sabe, y con más razón cuando el perfil de su cliente es sobre todo internauta y varón entre 30 y 40 años. Si además de ofrecer la posibilidad de financiarlo a su gusto desde casa y sólo acudir al concesionario a recoger su vehículo y sus regalos, la cosa se hace muy interesante.

Mazda en los últimos años ha ido evolucionando para adaptarse al mercado, sobre todo, innovando con sus coches con el fin de ofrecer a su usuario lo que él desea. Así pues nació la generación zoom-zoom de vehículos, con una deportividad notoria en toda la gama, y donde conducir estaba asociado con divertirse.

Con Mazdashop se pretende llegar a un paso más allá, donde comprarse el coche sea también una diversión y una comodidad. Nada más empezar nos regalan un Parrot Bluetooth con conexión para iPod y USB, pero a medida que avanzamos en la configuración, obtenemos más puntos canjeables por regalos.

El procedimiento es muy sencillo. Tras elegir la carrocería de 3 o 5 puertas, el motor, la versión y los accesorios, se da opción a financiar el coche. Se puede aumentar o disminuir la entrada inicial, el período e incluso el tipo de seguro (coche, vida, desempleo) para después disfrutar de los regalos como ampliaciones de garantía, revisiones de mantenimiento, teléfonos móviles de alta gama, consolas e incluso cheques regalo en gasolina y marcas de ropa. Todo pensado para que estrenar coche sea inolvidable.

Mazdashop se une a las dos propuestas ya lanzadas por Mazda como son Mazda Outlet y Mazda Selected. La primera abarca los coches de la marca ya usados, bien de directivos o de particulares y la segunda son vehículos nuevos fuera de temporada. El éxito es rotundo, ya que se han vendido más de 1.400 coches en Mazda Selected desde su lanzamiento en noviembre de 2008.

La iniciativa está lanzada. Sólo queda que el resto de marcas aprovechen el tirón de la Red para facilitar la venta de sus coches y que acercarnos al concesionario sea únicamente para disfrutar de nuestro coche, sin habernos recorrido cientos de kilómetros entre uno y otro, gastado el tiempo y asegurarnos así un precio más que competitivo, con la confianza de que no lo encontraremos más barato por más que apretemos al vendedor, obteniendo además, regalos más que interesantes.

Página oficial | Mazdashop

by Jen Harper

Courtesy of IHOPMan, I sure could use a cheesecake sandwich right about now. But instead of bread on either side of the cheesecake, I want pancakes. And then I want to top it with strawberry compote and whipped topping. And because that probably won’t be enough, let’s tack on eggs, hash browns, and bacon on the side. Unfortunately, this is no dream (or grodie nightmare).

Not to be outdone by KFC’s disgusting Double Down (that’s two fried chicken breasts instead of a bun, with bacon and cheese in between), IHOP’s stepped up with its own answer to the question, “How can we keep Americans fat?” Pancake Stackers, a crustless cheesecake sandwiched by pancakes—for a limited time, thank goodness, according to ads.

No word on the calorie count for the new cheesecake-pancake sandwich, but the company’s regular Pancake Stackers combo (no cheesecake in between and with all the sides mentioned above) tops out at 1,250 calories, more than double the Double Down, which is 540 calories.

So cheesecake sandwich for breakfast, Double Down for lunch, and what for dinner? Here’s one idea:

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Proxy season is almost over and the folks here at footnoted are looking forward to turning our attention over to the first quarter Qs, which have already begun to trickle in. Not that proxies aren’t lots of fun — they’re chock full of all sorts of information. But as with all SEC filings, sometimes what’s not there in black and white is much more interesting than what is there.

That’s why we appreciate footnoted friend Ric Marshall, chief analyst at The Corporate Library bringing something that’s MIA from Owens Corning’s (OC) proxy to our attention: a seemingly important detail from the biography of Audit Committee Chair Norman P. Blake.

You see, Blake, who has been a director at Owens since  1992, used to serve on the board of a company called Enron, something you wouldn’t know unless you went all the way back to the proxy that Owens filed in 2000. And, since most people aren’t likely to do that, they’re left with the extensive bio that Owens Corning does provide on Blake:

Norman P. Blake, Jr 68, formerly Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Comdisco, Inc., global technology services, Rosemont, Illinois, until 2002. Director since 2006; formerly a Director of the Predecessor since 1992. A graduate of Purdue University, Mr. Blake also previously has served as Chief Executive Officer of the United States Olympic Committee; Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Promus Hotel Corporation; Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of USF&G Corporation; Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer of Heller International Corporation of Chicago; and Executive Vice President—Financing Operations, General Electric Credit Corporation, General Electric Company. Mr. Blake is a member of the Purdue Research Foundation, Purdue University’s President’s Council and Dean’s Advisory Council, Krannert School of Management and a member of the Board of Trustees of the Army War College Foundation. He is also a member of the Board of Directors of Keraplast Technologies, Ltd. He received his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Purdue University and is the recipient of the degree of Doctor of Economics honoris causa from Purdue University, granted jointly by the Krannert School of Management and School of Liberal Arts. He has also been awarded The Ellis Island Medal of Honor.

While Blake’s membership on Enron’s board has been whitewashed from Owens’ proxy for the past 10 years, this year, it seems even more significant, in light of the SEC’s new rules (pdf) requiring greater disclosure on the background of board members and their qualifications. Indeed, one would think this would be particularly important, given Blake’s role on Owens’ Audit Committee.

“This is clearly a case of compliance with the letter, but NOT the spirit, of the new regs,” Marshall writes. “The lawyers must have had a field day!” Of course, isn’t that what lawyers are trained to do? Earlier today, Owens filed its 10-Q, which makes us wonder what’s been lawyered-out there.

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Article Tags: Climate Fools Day, Met Office, Sammy Wilson, You could not make it up

Press Release: Book Published 24th June 2010

The Met Office Book of the British Weather 978-07153-3640-3 · £9.99 · paperback with flaps

· Forecasts the likely weather for the British Isles over the next thirty years

Source: cisionwire.com

Read in full with comments »   

When Arizona passed its highly controversial immigration bill — which among other provisions requires police to ask people about their legal status if they have reason to believe they might be illegal immigrants — into law last week, national Democrats hoped to turn the issue into a wedge for Republicans. And things seemed to be going their way at first, as high-profile conservatives like Florida Senate candidate Marco Rubio came out against the Arizona law.

But this morning, polls showed a healthy approval rating bounce for Gov. Jan Brewer (R-Ariz.) after she signed the immigration bill. And now at least one Republican gubernatorial candidate is hoping to follow Brewer’s lead.

The Colorado Independent reports:

On the Peter Boyles talk radio show Wednesday morning, Republican gubernatorial candidate Scott McInnis said that if he were governor, he would seek to pass the same kind of harsh anti-illegal immigration laws recently passed in Arizona.

“I am going to wave the magic wand. You’re governor. What would you do?” Boyles asked McInnis.

“I would do something very similar [to what Gov. Jan Brewer did in Arizona],” said McInnis, lauding Brewer for signing the legislation. “Finally some governor stood up and said ‘We are stopping the retreat. No more retreat. Federal government if you are not going to do it, we are going to do it.’”

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

Canadian heartthrob Justin Bieber, NBC News correspondent Ann Curry, and Pretty Woman Julia Roberts are among the stars featured on PEOPLE Magazine’s annual roundup of entertainment’s “Most Beautiful People.”

Can you guess the other Hollywood hotties who made the cut?

Jesse has turned to Consumerist for help because he is being haunted by a relic from his past. Specifically, he writes that a debt collector has contacted him, claiming that he owes them for having a gas service account that he never used–in an apartment where he thought all utilities were included. What should he do?

Here’s his email:

I’ve run into a small problem recently, and I’m not sure what to do about it. I got a call from a debt collector saying I owe a gas bill from a couple apartments ago. I’ve never heard of the company and certainly never opened an account with them.

The debt collector gave me a phone number and an account number, so I called the company to learn what I could. They said if I lived there, I owed the bill, which is comprised entirely of fees for even having an account (I was a single bachelor and NEVER ONCE used the stove in that apartment).

As far as I knew, gas was included in the rent for that place. I’m not confident I still have a copy of the lease agreement, though. If I’m mistaken about utilities being included, what are my options? I’m quitting my job in 6 weeks and moving across the country, so I’m a little strapped for cash just now (there’s no lucrative job on the other end of the move).

We’ll turn this over to the Consumerist hive mind in case any of you have been in similar situations, but here are some places to start: First, Jesse should get hold of that former landlord, whether it was an individual or a company, to see whether they have any idea what’s going on. It’s possible that the building just recently switched to having tenants pay gas–and former tenants like Jesse were caught up in some kind of crazy billing error.

If hecan turn up evidence that the debt is invalid (or if he’s really, really sure that the gas was included) dispute the debt after making sure that the zombie agency really does own the debt.

Check out the comments of this classic post from 2008 for more ideas. And the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities may also be able to help out in this situation–give them a call.

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