You’ll recall that a few weeks ago, we interviewed the IMF on why it had blocked investor Eric Sprott’s attempt to buy gold from the fund. We then spoke with Eric Sprott and the Gold Anti-Trust Action Committee, better known as GATA for their take on the matter.

Along the way, both GATA and Sprott suggested we ask the IMF some questions that the fund has avoided answering in the past. So we did. They were:

• What are the incentives for the IMF not to sell gold on the open market or to investors, be it institutional or retail?
• What are the designated depositories for gold?
• Did gold physically change hands with the banks you have sold to so far or was the transaction basically bookkeeping stuff (the IMF still holds the physical gold in this case)?
• Are there available records on the actual serial numbers of bullion? How is the gold at the IMF tracked and accounted for?
• When the IMF says it will “phase out” the sal of available gold, could you be more specific? What amount of gold in regard to what amount of time.
• Does IMF support a need for total transparency in the sale of gold despite the effects it could have on various markets?

The official response from Alistair Thomson, the IMF’s media guy, was:

“I looked through your message; we don’t have anything more for you on this.”

Interesting, considering the IMF refused to answer similar questions posed by GATA and Sprott. Some are perfectly reasonable questions too, like did gold physically change hands? What does the term “phase out” actually mean?

Certainly this unwillingness is only fodder for skeptical gold folks out there.

Join the conversation about this story »

Posted by Hal Dardick at 3:03 p.m.



Thousands of apartment dwellers who stand to lose security deposits because of building foreclosures would get their money back under a proposed ordinance a City Council committee approved today.

Mayor Richard Daley’s proposal would require all lien holders — typically banks — in foreclosure cases to pay back security deposits to tenants who are pushed out of their homes.

Under current city law, the landlord and not the lien holder is responsible for paying back the security deposit. That often doesn’t happen, said Ellen Sahli, first deputy commissioner of the Community Development Department.

Last year, more than 8,500 rental units were affected by foreclosures, according to city statistics. With an average security deposit of $860, up to $7.3 million was lost, Sahli said.

Ald. Bernie Stone, 50th, proposed an amendment that would have given landlords 14 days to remedy alleged landlord-tenant ordinance violations related to the handling of security deposits.

As it now stands, if a landlord returns a security deposit just one day late, and the tenant sues, the landlord must pay twice the security deposit, court costs and legal fees, according to supporters of the amendment.



But critics said the 14-day remedy period would encourage landlords not to comply unless someone filed a formal complaint during that period.

“The amendment proposed by Ald. Stone today would, I believe, benefit landlords at the expense of tenants the (landlord-tenant ordinance) has protected for over 25 years,” Sahli said.

After hours of testimony from landlord and tenant organizations, the
committee sent Daley’s proposed ordinance to the full council for a vote next month, but failed to vote on Stone’s amendment.

Stone appointed a subcommittee to consider his amendment and an alternative offered by Ald. Helen Shiller, 46th, that would have only granted the 14-day remedy period to miscalculations of interest owed on security deposits.

Below are links to news stories of interest from newspapers that came up during a search today.  These links were active at the time of this e-mail, but should you want to save a story, printing it or cutting and pasting the entire article and saving it to your computer is recommended

 State News  

Daily Herald Pension Series  

Pension argument pits ‘haves’ and ‘have nots’   The difference in financial security between those with public pensions and those without has become glaringly visible during the ongoing recession, so much so that some in the “have not” camp are wondering why their tax dollars are going toward someone else’s pension while their own retirements are insecure.  

Editorial: Now is time for resolve, reason  Outrage against excesses in public pensions is warranted and understandable. But it also needs to be kept in perspective. 

In Post-Obama Illinois, Hope and Change  A school voucher bill wins strong bipartisan support.  The vehicle is an educational voucher bill that needs only the approval of the full Illinois house to land on the governor’s desk. Introduced by the Rev. James Meeks—a powerful Democratic state senator who has also been one of Mr. Obama’s spiritual advisers—the bill provides a voucher of up to $4,000 for as many as 22,000 elementary students now languishing in the worst Chicago public schools. The voucher will give them the opportunity to attend the private school of their choice. The state Senate passed the measure last month, and last week the leadership-dominated House Executive Committee approved it by a vote of 10 to 1. 

Schools districts may get state OK to issue bonds for buildings without voter approval
Chicago Tribune – the Hinsdale board didn’t transfer the money directly. Instead it parked the cash in the district’s main education fund before moving it to building funds. “Money-laundering,” one outraged school board member called it. According to court filings, 95 school districts in Cook, DuPage and Will counties sold nearly $800 million in working cash bonds between 2000 and 2008 for building   

Charleston teachers, district reach pact
Journal&Gazette Times-Courier – A tentative agreement on a new contract for Charleston school district teachers was reached Sunday night.A joint announcement from the Charleston Education Association teachers union and the school board said the tentative contract was finalized after an 11.5-hour negotiating session. It said the contract will go to union members for ratification   

Great that band played at rally  Letter to the Editor – mid page  – As the proud parent of a member of the Springfield High School Marching Band, it was disappointing to read the front page “Exclusive” in The State Journal-Register’s Saturday edition: “Should SHS band have played at pro-tax rally?” The headline and accompanying story were inaccurate, under-researched and inappropriately placed in the SJ-R’s news section. For the record, the Illinois Education Association invited the SHS band to perform at the “Save Our State” rally. IEA agreed in advance to reimburse the district for any expenses incurred  

OUR VIEW: Tax increase won’t solve problems
Freeport Journal Standard – With all due respect to local teachers, we think Governor Quinn’s idea of raising taxes is a mistake, unless he and the leaders of our State Legislature get serious about spending cuts. Teachers traveled to Springfield   

The legislators-are-chicken premise
Chicago Tribune – read “Thousands rally at Illinois Capitol — for a tax increase.” A subhead could have read, “Millions more stay at home, fuming at the very idea.” Last week’s Springfield rally of 15,000 “teachers, students, state workers, health care providers, and concerned citizens” organized by the Responsible Budget Coalition shouted “Raise my taxes” — which was a neat public relations trick 

University lobbies for change
Chicago Flame – An estimated 300 students, faculty, alumni, and administrators from the University of Illinois traveled to Springfield last week to participate in lobby day and push for increased public higher education funding in next year’s budget — and for the university to pay the 58% of the total appropriation the state owes to the University of Illinois.   

Tennis court work among projects added to Ball-Chatham school repairs
Springfield State Journal Register – with the teachers union on a new contract should wrap up before the school year ends, School Superintendent Bob Gillum said Monday. The current four-year contract with the Ball-Chatham Education Association expires this year. Bargaining has been under way since March, and another session is scheduled for May 5. “Our intent is to complete the process   

Parents speak out for dismissed teacher during Cuba School Board meeting
Canton Daily Ledger – President Sue McCance called the meeting to order at 6:30 p.m. Under the recognition of the public, a large group of parents and community members were present to speak on behalf of released teacher Amanda Rath. Several parents express their surprise of the release of Rath since they feel she is a wonderful teacher and has done much for their children.   

Lincoln Magnet computer program threatened by loss of funding
Springfield State Journal Register – For the past few years, Springfield’s Lincoln Magnet School has carved out a niche as a top-performing, technology-centered middle school. But the state’s education-funding crisis   

Most Champaign schools will receive more money for building budgets
Champaign News Gazette – schools in Champaign will get a little more money next year in their building budgets. Chief Financial Officer Gene Logas talked about preliminary building budgets for next year at Monday’s school board meeting. “In a time when other districts are cutting building budgets, we feel good we didn’t have to resort to that,” Logas said.   

Unions push to exempt evaluations
Dixon Telegraph –  HB5154 is not the first rollback of the new FOIA law. Lawmakers approved a similar carve-out for teachers and principals as part of a deal with teachers unions for the federal Race to the Top education funding program. Illinois never received any Race to the Top money, but lawmakers made the FOIA change anyway. Now, Sharon Voliva with the Illinois Federation of Teachers said the union  

A cry for school funding fix in District U-46
Arlington Heights Daily Herald – a 17 percent decrease in state funding if Gov. Pat Quinn’s proposed budget passes, U-46 in mid-march announced $30 million in cuts, including 1,100 employees. Along with the Stuecks, roughly 100 teachers, parents and students turned out to the South Elgin rally. Jaszczurowski, said she was inspired to organize it after writing letters to legislators about the school crisis and getting no response   

U High students will receive ‘netbooks’ next year
Bloomington Pantagraph – Next fall, University High School will become the first Central illinois school to provide a portable computer for every student. The Illinois State University laboratory school of 610 will provide a “netbook,” a smaller version of a computer laptop.

Lonergan takes down Facebook page
Jacksonville Journal Courier – Routt baseball coach Bob Lonergan has taken down his Facebook page. “Basically I took it down because of the kids,” Lonergan said Monday night. 

CPS budget calls for big boost in class size
Chicago Tribune – would raise some class sizes by as much as 25 percent, the result of a $600 million deficit for next school year. The specter of packed classrooms has fueled widespread anxiety among parents and teachers — but the worry may be premature. The CPS figures are based on a state budget few think will pass. That proposal from Gov. Pat Quinn would trim $1.3 billion from education   

NIU Names New Dean Of Education College
Chicago WBBH (CBS) 2 – undergraduate and graduate students and a faculty of more than 120. Neal has a master’s degree and Ph.D. in special education from the University of Texas at Austin. After working a social studies teacher in Texas, she joined the faculty at Southwestern University in Texas. 

Political News

Civic Federation rips Quinn’s proposed budget
Arlington Heights Daily Herald – A business-oriented government watchdog agency based in Chicago came out in opposition today to Gov. Quinn’s proposed 2011 state budget. The Civic Federation’s Institute for Illinois’ Fiscal Sustainability released an analysis rejecting the budget “because it is unbalanced, relies too heavily on borrowing, doesn’t address $6.2 billion in unpaid bills, and would exacerbate the state’s structural   

Civic Federation: No support for Quinn budget
Quad Cities Dispatch Argus Leader – Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn’s “credit card” solution to the state’s budget is coming under fire from outside the Capitol. The Civic Federation, a Chicago-based business and tax policy organization,   

State needs leadership, budget cuts
Bloomington Pantagraph – By State Rep. Jack D. Franks – These days, Illinois is in desperate need of a multitude of things: an influx of jobs, a fully funded pension system, a winning baseball team. Yet, what Illinois needs most during this alarming period of our history is precedent-shattering leadership.   

Limiting spending is only solution
Champaign News Gazette Editorial – Illinois is trapped in a big hole, and one legislator has wisely advised his colleagues to stop digging deeper.  State Rep. Jack Franks, a Democrat from Marengo, has established himself clearly as an apostate among the Illinois political elite.  The veteran lawmaker recently wrote an op-ed for a Chicago newspaper that makes so much sense he’ll be lucky if most of his fellow legislators – Democrats or Republicans – ever speak to him again.   

No money, but Quinn signs bill to pay for guards
Decatur Herald and Review  – Although it remains unclear where the money will come from, Gov. Pat Quinn signed legislation Monday aimed at making sure the state’s prison guards get paid in June. The stopgap spending measure was needed because the budget approved last summer was based on Quinn laying off hundreds of prison guards. But, the layoffs were blocked by the union representing the workers,  

Edgar says he’ll vote for Brady
Arlington Heights Daily – Despite recent criticism of Bill Brady’s budget plans, former Gov. Jim Edgar says he will vote for the Republican nominee for governor come November. Edgar previously called Brady’s across-the-board budget cutting ideas “naive” and had recommended he rethink his fiscal policies regarding bridging a $13 billion budget deficit.   

Cohen still considering run for governor  CHICAGO – The Illinois Democrat who quit the lieutenant governor’s race after winning the primary said Tuesday that he is considering a run for governor as an independent. During an interview on WLS Radio in Chicago, Scott Lee Cohen said he will make his decision sometime this week to run against Democratic Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn and Republican state senator Bill Brady.   

Senate eyes bill to weaken FOIA
Crystal Lake Northwest Herald – rather do that comprehensively and get input from all the parties at the table, as opposed to what we’re seeing now,” Althoff said. Supporters of the bill, such as unions representing teachers and public employees, say that evaluations will become worthless if they are public, and would contribute to hostile work environments because employees can FOIA one another’s evaluations   

Our Opinion: Don’t weaken revised FOIA
Springfield State Journal Register – The Senate vote on the revised FOIA law, May 28, 2009. “The events of the last year underline the importance of openness in government in Illinois.” — Gov. Pat Quinn, Aug. 17, 2009, on the day he signed the new FOIA law. LAST YEAR in the wake of disgraced former Gov. Rod Blagojevich’s arrest and indictment, Illinois lawmakers,   

Giannoulias says no one has asked him to step down
Decatur WAND (NBC) 17 – Democratic Senate candidate Alexi Giannoulias (jeh-NOO’-lee-ehs) says no one from the Democratic Party has suggested he step aside following the failure last week of his family’s bank. Giannoulias said Monday at a cafe in Urbana the failure of his family’s bank on Friday gives him a better understanding of the economic struggles   

After Broadway, Giannoulias Tries to Focus on Main St.
Harrisburg WSIL (ABC) 3 –  U.S. Senate Candidate and Illinois Treasurer Alexi Giannoulias is trying to turn the attention away from Broadway by showing up on Main Street. Broadway Bank, which was started by Giannoulias? late father three decades ago, was heavy into real estate loans and lost $75 million last year. Federal regulators shut it down, along with seven other Illinois banks, on Friday.   

Giannoulias to appear with Obama in Quincy
Decatur WAND (NBC) 17  – Democratic Senate candidate Alexi Giannoulias (jeh-NOO’-lee-ehs) says he’ll appear in Quincy Wednesday with President Barack Obama. He’ll be among other statewide officials to appear with the president when his “White House to Main Street Tour” stops in the Mississippi River town. That’s especially good news for Giannoulias,   

Palin heading to Illinois
Jacksonville Journal Courier – Sarah Palin has been out raising money for Republicans around the country and now she’s headed to Illinois. The Illinois Republican Party says the former vice presidential nominee will headline a party fundraiser May 12 in a Chicago suburb. Illinois Republicans don’t hold any statewide offices and the party is trying to win in some high-profile races this November. 

National News

 

Happy Meal toys: Are they helping make kids fat as well as happy?
Belleville News-Democrat  –  The proposed ban is the latest in a growing string of efforts to change the types of foods aimed at youngsters and the way they are cooked and sold. Across the nation, cities, states and school boards have taken aim at excessive sugar, salt and certain types of fats.  Believed to be the first of its kind in the nation, the proposal would forbid the inclusion of a toy

Wall Street Journal: Unions, States Clash in Race to Top

(Neil King Jr. & Stephanie Banchero, Op-Ed, National)

“The Obama administration’s signature education initiative has incited tense showdowns in states across the country as unions and state officials feud over strategies to compete for $3.4 billion in federal funding.”

New York Times: How to Lower the Burden of Student Loans

(Jennifer Schultz, Op-Ed, National)

“President Obama recently signed legislation that changes the federal student loan program. The new law eliminates fees to private bank intermediaries, expands Pell grants and makes it easier for students who borrow money, starting in July 2014, to pay it back.”

Financial overhaul blocked by GOP
Republicans voted unanimously Monday to block an effort to overhaul financial regulations from reaching the Senate floor, pledging to hold out for significant changes to the bill even as they acknowledged the political risk of appearing to obstruct a popular cause.
(By Brady Dennis and Shailagh Murray, The Washington Post)

A neighborhood watch, with guns
ARGHANDAB DISTRICT, AFGHANISTAN — Taliban fighters used to swagger with impunity through this farming village, threatening to assassinate government collaborators. They seeded the main thoroughfare, a dirt road with moonlike craters, with land mines. They paid local men to attack U.S. and Afghan…
(By Rajiv Chandrasekaran, The Washington Post)

Suburbs trail D.C. in fighting AIDS, study says
Suburban governments lag behind the District in efforts to help slow the spread of AIDS even though they are home to nearly half of the Washington area residents infected with the disease, according to a study released Tuesday.
(By Darryl Fears, The Washington Post)

Both sides in immigration fight criticize Washington
PHOENIX — On the grounds of the Capitol, in a state that only days earlier had adopted the nation’s strictest anti-immigration law, the two sides of an angry debate are united on one thing: They blame Washington.
(By Peter Slevin, The Washington Post)

TIME.com Today’s Top Stories

Goldman Steels Itself for a Senate Grilling

The first objective for the seven current and former Goldman employees testifying will be to say nothing that could be potentially incriminating, but senators won’t pass up an opportunity to savage the firm

Jones’ Jewish Joke: No Laughing Matter, for Obama or Israel

A clumsy attempt at stereotype humor undermines the National Security Adviser’s effort to reassure those fearful of the Administration’s Mideast agenda

As Patrols Increase, Somali Pirates Widen Their Reach

Despite global efforts to reign them in, Somalia’s pirates are staging bold new attacks further from home than ever before

CNN: Can a Mainstream News Outlet Survive?

In a polarized era, it’s tough to be nonpartisan. What’s a mainstream news organization to do?

Is Obama Overselling His Russia Arms Control Deal?

There are disturbing signs that the Obama Administration is overselling its progress on the new arms control treaty with Russia, raising unrealistic hopes that Moscow would genuinely help in addressing the danger from Iran

Word of the Day for Tuesday, April 27, 2010

quash \KWOSH\, transitive verb:

1. (Law) To abate, annul, overthrow, or make void; as, “to quash an indictment.”
2. To crush; to subdue; to suppress or extinguish summarily and completely; as, “to quash a rebellion.”

DJIA: Down 213 points to 10,991.

NASDAQ: Down 51 points to 2471.

S&P 500: Down 28 points to 1183.

Commodities:
Oil: Down 2.5% or $2.09 to $82.11 a barrel.
Gold: Up 1.5% or $17.00 to $1171 an ounce.
Silver: Down 0.8% or $0.15 to $18.22 an ounce.

And the big shocker:

Goldman sachs was up!

Now here’s what you need to know as you leave work today:

• Today, Goldman Sachs spent hours testifying for a Senate subcommittee about its CDO deals. Read our live blog here.
• Standard & Poors downgraded the credit ratings of Greece, which triggered a sell off in US equity markets.
• Carl Levin was more than kind enough to remind us that ABACUS was a “shitty deal.”
• Oh, and Portugal and Spain also got downgraded by Standard & Poors, causing a massive flight from the Euro.
• Gold priced in Euros soars to nosebleed highs, courtesy of European’s sovereign debt crisis.

Join the conversation about this story »

Pictures with Mercedes Concept Shooting Break

Here is the virtual model of Mercedes Concept Shooting Break. Now you can see the real concept presented by Daimler Group at Beijing Auto Show 2010.

And much more pictures are avaiable here,

Photo

Web sites are buzzing over claims that remains from Noah’s Ark may have been found on Turkey’s Mount Ararat. The finders, led by an evangelical group, say they are “99.9 percent” that a wooden structure found on the mountainside was part of a ship that housed the Biblical Noah, his family and a menagerie of creatures during a giant flood 4,800 years ago.

But researchers who have spent decades studying the region – and fending off past claims of ark discoveries – caution that a boatload of skepticism is in order.

…(read more)

At Walmart, no good deed goes unpunished. Lisa said she tried to buy up a bunch of health and beauty supplies at Walmart to donate to local homeless shelters, and instead got a lecture in economics from the shift supervisor.

Lisa writes,

At the beginning of the month I picked up some great deals at Wal-Mart using coupons for my own family. I decided to buy more for the area homeless shelters. Not wanting to “clear the shelf” and inconvenience other shoppers, I special ordered some Crest toothpaste with the manager of health and beauty. I picked it up and about a week later and special ordered some Reach Cinnamon floss,Tide detergent and more Crest. The associates in health and beauty were very friendly and helpful.

Saturday I was there and a man introduced himself as Paul the shift supervisor. He started going on how I should not be special ordering cost items and using coupons to turn over a profit. I was pretty confused about the profit, special ordering and coupons, as I am very careful to follow all of the coupon rules and had picked up my special orders. I had no idea what a “cost” item was. I asked him about making a profit and he thought I was reselling them. I told him I was not reselling them but donating them.

He started going on about how the manufacturer does not make a profit when people use coupons and how the store does not make a profit on cost items. I had no idea what a cost item was. He said they were items that were sold at cost and below cost so people will come into the store and to get what they need and then go on to buy other items that they make a profit on. I asked him what items were cost items? He said health and beauty and household good like paper products.

I am sickened by the greed!!!!

How absurd. Sounds like something worth reporting to Walmart corporate, and then take you buyin’-n-donating’ business elsewhere.

Filed under: Spy Photos, Europe, Hatchback, Audi, Luxury

Brace yourselves for another round of swoopy coupe time boys and girls. Er, let’s make that swoopy four-door coupe, which is, of course, a contradiction in terms, albeit an increasingly popular one. Of course no one wants to drive the Audi Oxymoron, which is why the brand with the four linked rings is calling their hyper-styled new offering the A7. And here’s some shots of it mushing around Germany’s famed Nürburgring.

Our impressions? It looks pretty good on the track of all tracks, with just a bit more body lean than you might expect. However, this is probably not the RS7 (or whatever they’re going to call the high performance variant). That said, why would the base model have a pop-up, downforce-generating rear spoiler? We love the fact that zee Germans seem to be creating new automotive niches out of thin air. Anyhow, the upcoming A7 seems to be carving out an entirely new space.

We know that the original push behind the A7 was to compete with the Mercedes-Benz CLS, the O.G. four-door coupe. But what’s with the Audi’s hatch? Yes, the roof seems to slope off at a precipitous angle, but there’s quite clearly a hatch – just like the Porsche Panamera. But unlike the biggest on-road Porker, the A7 rides not on a bespoke chassis but instead on a version of Audi’s modular aluminum chassis that currently underpins the new A8 and will support the upcoming A6.

Curiously, and perhaps wisely, Audi didn’t go down the BMW rabbit hole of creating a high-riding station wagon (like the 5 Series Gran Turismo), either. Best we can figure, the A7 will be just like a Jaguar XF – only with a fifth door. Why, then, would one be compelled to purchase the A7 over, say an A6 Avant? The A7 will probably be a bit larger than the A6 (perhaps just marginally bigger, but bigger nonetheless) and to some, size still matters. Besides, lots of folks simply don’t want a two-box wagon form, preferring the added flash of a more streamlined form. And if you’re Audi, you’ll probably get bigger margins out of something like this than an estate, too – especially when the A7 is rumored to be priced just under the A8.

[Source: CarPix]

Spy Shots: Audi A7 slinks onto the ‘Ring originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 27 Apr 2010 14:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Being associated with Toyota these days isn’t something to be very proud of; however, if you’re Toyota, than being associated Lotus Engineering probably works out in your benefit. The Lotus Engineering team conducted a study to develop a commercially viable weight reduction strategy for mainstream passenger cars.

The concept focuses around the current Toyota Venza crossover and reduces vehicle mass (excluding powertrain) by 38 percent.

Lotus said that the weight-reduction is possible with engineering techniques and technologies that can be made available by 2020. Lotus’ 2020 vehicle architecture uses a mix of stronger and lighter weight materials, a high degree of component integration and advanced joining and assembly methodologies.

“Based on U.S. Department of Energy estimates, a total vehicle mass reduction of 33% including powertrain, as demonstrated on the 2020 passenger car model, results in a 23% reduction in fuel consumption,” Lotus said in a statement. “This study highlights how automotive manufacturers can adopt the Lotus philosophy of performance through light weight.”

Hit the jump for the press release for more details.

2020 Toyota Venz Concept by Lotus Engineering:

Press Release:

-Study by Lotus Engineering concludes that a vehicle mass improvement of 38% versus a conventional mainstream vehicle can be achieved at only 3% cost.
– Efficient design and lightweight materials significantly reduce CO2 emissions.

Lotus Engineering has conducted a study to develop a commercially viable mass reduction strategy for mainstream passenger vehicles. This study, released by the International Council on Clean Transportation, focused on the use of lightweight materials and efficient design and demonstrated substantial mass savings. When compared with a benchmark Toyota Venza crossover utility vehicle, a 38% reduction in vehicle mass, excluding powertrain, can be achieved for only a 3% increase in component costs using engineering techniques and technologies viable for mainstream production programmes by 2020. The 2020 vehicle architecture utilises a mix of stronger and lighter weight materials, a high degree of component integration and advanced joining and assembly methodologies.

Based on U.S. Department of Energy estimates, a total vehicle mass reduction of 33% including powertrain, as demonstrated on the 2020 passenger car model, results in a 23% reduction in fuel consumption. This study highlights how automotive manufacturers can adopt the Lotus philosophy of performance through light weight.

Dr Robert Hentschel, Director of Lotus Engineering said: “Lighter vehicles are cleaner and more efficient. That philosophy has always been core to Lotus’ approach to vehicle engineering and is now more relevant than ever. Lightweight Architectures and Efficient Performance are just two of our core competencies and we are delighted to have completed this study with input from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to provide direction for future CO2 reductions. We believe that this approach will be commonplace in the industry for the future design of vehicles.”

The study investigated scenarios for two distinct vehicle architectures appropriate for production in 2017 and 2020. The near-term scenario is based on applying industry leading mass reducing technologies, improved materials and component integration and would be assembled using existing facilities. The mass reduction for this nearer term vehicle, excluding powertrain, is 21% with an estimated cost saving of 2%.

A benchmark Toyota Venza was disassembled, analysed and weighed to develop a bill of materials and understand component masses. In developing the two low mass concepts, Lotus Engineering employed a total vehicle mass reduction strategy utilising efficient design, component integration, materials selection, manufacturing and assembly. All key interior and exterior dimensions and volumes were retained for both models and the vehicles were packaged to accommodate key safety and structural dimensional and quality targets. The new vehicles retain the vision, sight line, comfort and occupant package of the benchmarked Toyota Venza.

Darren Somerset, Chief Executive Officer of Lotus Engineering Incorporated, Lotus’ North American engineering division which led the study, said “A highly efficient total vehicle system level architecture was achieved by developing well integrated sub-systems and components, innovative use of materials and process and the application of advanced analytical techniques. Lotus Engineering is at the forefront of the automotive industry’s drive for the reduction in CO2 and other greenhouse gas emissions and this study showcases Lotus Engineering’s expertise and outlines a clear roadmap to cost effective mass efficient vehicle technologies.”

Mass and Cost Summary

Base Toyota Venza
excluding powertrain Lotus Engineering Design
System Weight
(kg) 2020 Venza 2017 Venza
% Mass Reduction % Cost Factor % Mass Reduction % Cost Factor
Body 383 42% 135% 15% 98%
Closures/Fenders 143 41% 76% 25% 102%
Bumpers 18.0 11% 103% 11% 103%
Thermal 9.25 0% 100% 0% 100%
Electrical 23.6 36% 96% 29% 95%
Interior 252 39% 96% 27% 97%
Lighting 9.90 0% 100% 0% 100%
Suspension/Chassis 379 43% 95% 26% 100%
Glazing 43.7 0% 100% 0% 100%
Misc. 30.1 24% 99% 24% 99%
Totals 1290 38% 103% 21% 98%

The full report, entitled ‘An Assessment of Mass Reduction Opportunities for a 2017 – 2020 Model Year Vehicle Program’ can be found at the following link:

http://www.theicct.org/documents/0000/1430/Mass_reduction_final_2010.pdf

ENDS

The 2020 Passenger Car Technical Detail

Body
The body includes the floor and underbody, dash panel assembly, front structure, body sides and roof assembly. The baseline Toyota Venza body-in-white contained over 400 parts and the revised 2020 model reduced that part count to 211. The body-in-white materials used in the baseline Venza were 100% steel, while the 2020 model used 37% aluminium, 30% magnesium, 21% composites and 7% high strength steel. This reduces the structure mass by 42% from 382 kg to 221 kg.

The low mass 2020 body-in-white would be constructed using a low energy joining process proven on high speed trains; this process is already used on some low volume automotive applications. This low energy, low heat friction stir welding process would be used in combination with adhesive bonding, a technique already proven on Lotus production sports cars. In this instance, the robotically controlled welding and adhesive bonding process would be combined with programmable robotic fixturing, a versatile process which can be used to construct small and large vehicles using the same equipment.

Closures/Fenders
The closures include all hinged exterior elements, for example, the front and rear doors and the rear liftgate. One alternative approach included fixing the primary boot section to improve the structure, reduce masses and limit exposure to high voltage systems. A lightweight access door was provided for checking and replacing fluids.

The closures on the baseline Toyota Venza were made up of 100% steel. The low mass Venza closures/fenders would be made up of 33% magnesium, 21% plastic, 18% steel, 6% aluminium with the other 22% consisting of multiple materials. The mass savings are 41%, a reduction from 143 kg to 84 kg.

Interior
The interior systems consist of the instrument panel, seats, soft and hard trim, carpeting, climate control hardware, audio, navigation and communication electronics, vehicle control elements and restraint systems. There is a high level of component integration and electronic interfaces replace mechanical controls on the low mass model. For the 2020 model the instrument panel is eliminated replaced by driver and passenger side modules containing all key functional and safety hardware. A low mass trim panel made from a high quality aerated plastic closes out the two modules. The air conditioning module is incorporated into the console eliminating the need for close out trim panels; heated and cooled cupholders are integrated into the HVA/C module. The audio/HVA/C/Navigation touch screen contains the shifter and parking brake functions and interfaces with small electric solenoids. This eliminates conventional steel parking brake and shifter controls and cables as well as freeing up interior space.

The front seats mount to the structural sill and tunnel structure eliminating conventional seat mounting brackets (10 kg) and the need to locally reinforce the floorpan. The composite front seat structure utilises proven foam technology; the seat mass is reduced by up to 50%. The rear seat support structure is moulded into the composite floorpan eliminating the need for a separate steel support structure. The front and rear seats use a knit to shape fabric that eliminates material scrap and offers customers the opportunity to order their favourite patterns for their new vehicle. Four removable carpet modules replace the traditional full floor carpeting; this reduces mass and allows cost effective upgrading of the carpet quality. The floorpan is grained in all visible areas. The 2017 production interior mass was reduced from 250 kg to 182 kg with projected cost savings of 3%. The 2020 production interior mass was 153 kg with projected cost savings of 4%.

Chassis/Suspension
The chassis and suspension system was composed of suspension support cradles, control links, springs, shock absorbers, bushings, stabilizer bars and links, steering knuckles, brakes, steering gearbox, bearings, hydraulic systems, wheels, tires, jack and steering column.

The chassis and suspension components were downsized based on the revised vehicle curb weight, maintaining the baseline carrying capacity and incorporating the mass of the hybrid drive system.

The total vehicle curb weight reduction for the 2020 vehicle was 38%, excluding the powertrain. Based on the gross vehicle weight, which includes retaining the baseline cargo capacity of 549 kg and utilising a hybrid powertrain, the chassis and the suspension components were reduced in mass by 43%, with projected cost savings of 5%.

Front and Rear Bumpers
The materials used on the front and rear bumpers were very similar to the existing model to maintain the current level of performance. One change was to replace the front steel beam with an aluminium beam which reduced mass by 11%. The use of a magnesium beam was analysed but at the current time exceeded the allowable price factor.

Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning
The air conditioning system was integrated into a passenger compartment system and an engine compartment system. This section addressed the under hood components which included the compressor, condenser and related plumbing. The under hood components were investigated for technologies and mass.

The study showed a relatively small mass difference for the underhood air conditioning components based on both vehicle mass and interior volume. Because of the highly evolved nature of these components, the requirements for equivalent air conditioning performance and the lack of a clear consensus for a future automotive refrigerant, the mass and cost of the Toyota Venza compressor, condenser and associated plumbing were left unchanged for both the 2017 and 2020 models.

Glazing
The glazing of the baseline vehicle was classified into two groups: fixed and moving. The fixed glass is bonded into position using industry standard adhesives and was classified into two sub groups: wiped and non wiped.

Factors involved in making decisions about glazing materials include the level of abrasion it is likely to see during the vehicle life, the legislative requirements for light transmissibility, the legislative requirements for passenger retention and the contribution it will make to interior noise abatement.

The specific gravity of glass is 2.6 and the thickness of a windshield is usually between 4.5 mm and 5 mm, therefore the mass per square metre of 5 mm glass is approximately 13 kgs. The high mass of glass provides a strong incentive to reduce the glazed area of the body, reduce the thickness of the glass and find a suitable substitute that is lighter. Fixed glass on the side of the vehicle offers the best opportunity for mass reduction.

The mass of the baseline glazing was retained for both the 2017 and 2020 models; this was a conservative approach. It is possible that coated polycarbonate materials may become mainstream in the 2017 – 2020 timeframe for fixed applications.

Electrical/Lighting
The estimated mass savings for using thinwall cladding and copper clad aluminium wiring, as used on the 2017 model was 36% versus the baseline model. The lighting technologies section reviewed included diodes, xenon and halogen. The study also reviewed a variety of wireless technologies under development for non-transportation applications that could be used in this time period pending successful development for mobile applications.

– By: Omar Rana

Inspired by the breath of Zeus himself, we’ve made a widget. It’s for telling you which one of your profile pictures makes you look your best. You upload a few photos to the thing, and, voilà, you get a detailed report about your pictures: who liked them, which one got the most votes, and so […]

Hold on folks. This is getting really ugly.

Hurry up bell, ring!

Oh, and the euro is just totally vomiting.

From FinViz:

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MICRO FARMING HOW-TO: Those involved in small-scale dairy farming may have known all along that cows in natural conditions without the stress of fearing the humans who regularly handle them produce better milk yields. The Ig Nobel prizes are awards given to legitimate scientific research that can’t help but make one laugh at first, but then make one really think after the laugh is over.

(See our small scale dairy profile where the successful dairy farm owners name all of their cows.)

Such an award was given to scientists at Newcastle University in a study that involved 516 dairy farmers in the UK which found that cows with owners who named them yielded more pints of milk. Some dairy farmers who were part of the study were noted as agreeing with the findings, with comments such as that when cows are treated as individuals, their milk production increases. It can’t help make one laugh, but the owners of family cows and small scale dairy farming of long ago must have been following some smart instincts when they went out to milk Petunia, Daisy, Bossy, Maribelle, Buttercup, and Ruby. Small dairy farming has many advantages over mega dairy factories, but here’s yet another one. — www.MicroEcoFarming.com

(This is a guest post from the author’s blog.)

With the Obama administration and most of mainstream media singing the praises of a recovery that is really nothing more than governments around the globe throwing unsustainable amounts of “stimulus” money at various problems, I am wondering when the global imbalances finally start to matter.

Was today the day?

Here are some charts to consider.

Gold Up, Silver and Nonprecious Metals Down

Energy Sector Down

Financials Up

US Dollar, Yen Rally

European Equities Hammered

Asian Equities Down, China Leads the Way

US Equities Down

Analysis

Today’s action is certainly a flight to safety phenomenon with gold, US treasuries, and the US dollar all rallying strongly with nearly everything else selling off.

Silver is primarily an industrial metal, while gold is best viewed as money or a currency. Moreover the entire energy complex took a hit.

Another One Day Wonder?

Inquiring minds are no doubt asking if this is another one day wonder, buy the dip decline, or the start of something far more serious.

I do not know nor does anyone else. What I do know is risk is high, risk-reward is skewed to the downside, and if this recovery was real it would show in housing, jobs, and termination of global stimulus plans.

Instead housing is in the dumps, the official unemployment rate is near 10%, and in spite of massive property bubbles in China, the China Business Newspaper says Another $586 billion “Stimulus” Coming to China.

Meanwhile, Ken Fisher is a huge fan of emerging markets and tells the bears to “Get In Before It’s Too Late“.

Get in before it’s too late?!

Flashback: December 13, 2005: It’s Too Late

I think it’s too late.
In fact I know it’s too late.
How do I know?
The following Email I received tonight should explain it nicely.
When you see stuff like this, not only is it too late, it’s way too late.

Did Ken Fisher just ring the bell?
Time will tell.

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10 months. That’s how long its been since Adobe first demonstrated Flash on Android — and that’s pretty much a lifetime in the mobile world. And yet, official Flash support for Android is still nowhere to be seen*. Do these people not understand that I have virtual fish to feed and e-crops to tend?

While we still don’t have an exact date, we do know which version of Android it’ll be coming in: the next one.

In an interview with the New York Times, Chief Android Architect Andy Rubin made it official: Android 2.2, otherwise known as the “Froyo” build (with the latest device-ready build being 2.1, otherwise known as “Eclair”), will have Flash support built in. This goes hand-in-hand with Adobe’s previous indications that Flash for Android would be available sometime in the second half of this year.

Alas, it’s still not clear which already existing devices will be upgradable to 2.2, nor whether or not all upgradable devices will play friendly with Flash.

*HTC has snuck Flash support into a few of their Sense-enabled devices — but it’s not exactly.. optimal. With video playback rates at around 2-3 frames per second and an overall feel of chunky crashiness, I certainly hope the official Google/Adobe implementation is quite a bit better.

Today is an important day. From CBC,

“The House of Commons has a right to order the government to produce uncensored documents related to the treatment of Afghan detainees, Speaker Peter Milliken has ruled.”

More info from this Liveblog from CBC.

Filed under: Canada, Democracy, politics

By Norman Levine

Equity markets in North America (and many other parts of the developed world) continued their march upward during the first quarter. Around the world, though, results were very much mixed. Emerging Asian markets such as China, Taiwan, Korea, and Singapore were negative. Main European markets were positive, some substantially. However, their gains were overshadowed by those European markets whose government finances are highly questionable.

Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece, and Spain all have runaway budget deficits and massive amounts of debts. Of the group, only Ireland’s stock market was able to show positive returns for the quarter. Greece and Spain declined substantially. They are all members of the European Union.

Unfortunately, the European Union works better in principal than in reality. It is more of a currency union than an economic union as, while it operates under a common currency, each country is responsible for their own economies as long as they operate under Union guidelines. The great advantage of the Union is that there are no tariffs on goods or services between members. This was a great inducement for countries to join. The great disadvantage is the lack of wiggle room for a country in economic trouble.

It doesn’t matter whether you are economically strong like Germany and France or weak like Greece and Spain. Your currency is the euro. In pre-Euro Europe, if a country got overextended it simply devalued its currency. This had the effect of helping the country inflate and export its way out of trouble. With the advent of the Euro, however, all countries use the same currency regardless of its economic strength. This is a huge problem for the economically weak.

Greece had no business joining the European Union. It has a long history of fiscal promiscuity. According to economists Carmen Reinhart and Kenneth Rogoff, Greece has spent 92 of the past 184 years in default on its sovereign debt. When it joined the Union, its debt was 12 times as much as it disclosed in its statements and its citizens and companies have a very poor history when it comes to paying taxes.

The recent recession has caused all of Greece’s warts to be put on full display and now it is crying out for help from its fellow Eurozone partners. Unfortunately, as Dennis Gartman is quick to point out, Germany, the strongest country in the Union, is loathe to help as its citizens have just emerged from the painful and very expensive experience of merging East and West Germany together. They were family. Greece is not.

Germans pay their taxes, work harder, get fewer vacations and retire later than the Greeks. They are in no mood to help their slothful neighbours. Besides, if Greece is rescued by the Union, then Portugal, Ireland, Spain, and possibly Italy will demand equal treatment. Even the United Kingdom could be in line for help.

Things are likely to get uglier in Europe before getting better. We are not in a position to guess as to how things will work out or how long it will take. However, we are being constantly vigilant as to how events will affect us as Canadian investors.

Currency changes are one thing that are working favourably for Canadian investors. People still ask our opinion about the weak US dollar but we have to ask, “Weak against whom?” Despite its many problems, the US dollar is showing great strength against European currencies (be it the Euro, Pound, Kroner or Franc) as well as the Japanese Yen. Its turnaround has gone largely unnoticed in Canada as our dollar has been even stronger, being a beneficiary of the problems in Europe and the US as well as being viewed by the world as a commodity currency. This led to the Canadian dollar being the second strongest major currency in the world during the past quarter, behind only the Mexican Peso (who knew?!).

While headline writers fret about the many perceived negatives of a strong Canadian dollar, we look upon a strong currency as a gift. Not only does it help mute inflation, keep interest rates lower, and make imports and foreign travel cheaper, it also forces our manufacturers to become more productive. Most important to us, though, is it makes foreign investment very attractive. Currencies move up and down constantly and the best time to invest outside your home country is when your currency is strong as you are able to buy more assets for the same amount of money.

We have no idea how high the Canadian dollar will rise or for how long it will remain strong. We do know though that it will not stay strong forever.  We are a commodity currency. Live by the sword and die by the sword. Commodities do not just go up. Commodity prices peaked in January and yet our dollar continues to strengthen. Either commodities resume their upward trend (much more difficult now with a strengthening US dollar) or our dollar becomes vulnerable.

A Greek tragedy is unfolding. For a Canadian investor, it is causing European assets to go on sale. The financial crisis in the United States has caused their assets to go on sale relative to ours. Japan’s coming demographic catastrophe will have the same effect on its assets. Companies are not countries. Strong companies (especially international ones) can reside in weak countries. We have always been big believers in international investing. We will be emphasizing it even more in coming months.

Norman Levine is managing director of Portfolio Management Corp.

Photo: US Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner (L) meets with Greek Finance Minister Giorgos Papakonstantinou on April 24, 2010 at the International Monetary Fund in Washington, DC. (TIM SLOAN/AFP/Getty Images)

Some vaccine news I missed in the past few days…

1) A pertussis outbreak in California has already killed two infants. This event resonates with what happened in Australia a year ago; vaccination rates are low, and the victims are too young to be vaccinated themselves. With herd immunities compromised, the littlest and most defenseless reap the effects. This is not necessarily caused by the antivaxxers, but it’s worth noting.

2) There is apparently a small outbreak of polio in Tajikistan. Vaccinations are critical, but so is sanitation.

3) PBS airs a documentary called “The Vaccine Wars” tonight. It’s about what you think it’s about. Check your local listings.

4) H1N1 is still out there, and still hurting and killing kids.

5) A bunch of kids got pretty sick after vaccinations in Australia. It’s unclear what happened, and officials are investigating it.

6) The good news? At least for Finland, it’s good: 97% of kids there are vaccinated. For everything. Amazing.

Tip o’ the needle to Antti Säämänen, Doug Troy, William Mount, and Greg Stitz.