Category: News

Off-The-Cliff, But Catching On
George Will, Houston Chronicle

Assessing Obama, One Year Later
Dan Balz, Washington Post
A month before he was inaugurated, Barack Obama pinpointed one of the biggest challenges he would face as president. Could he restore confidence in government, even as he was proposing the biggest federal intervention in the domestic economy in a generation?At the time, Obama said he did not think his victory marked an abrupt end to the skepticism ushered in by President Ronald Reagan toward top-down government and social engineering by Washington.”What we don't know yet is whether my administration and this next generation of leadership is going to be able to hew to a new, more…

Mr. Schwarzenegger Goes to Washington

Independents Key in Massachusetts Election
Brian Mooney, Boston Globe
Independent voters in Massachusetts are an unpredictable breed and downright ornery when times are bad. On Tuesday, they will determine who will be the state’s next US senator in a race too close to call, capturing the nation’s attention because the fate of a national health care overhaul hangs in the balance.Termed unenrolled voters because they are not affiliated with a party, independents constitute a majority of the registered voters in the state. Republicans, outnumbered by Democrats by more than 3 to 1, need to capture a huge majority of independents and a slice of…

Charging stations that will have your electric vehicle up and running in 30 minutes or less will soon be around in the future. Developed and designed by Coulomb Technologies and Aker Wade Power Technologies, these charging stations will be similar to gas pump type charging stations. Known as the Level 3 charging stations, the charging stations will be powered by dedicated 480-volt, 125-amp circuits and will be available for purchase mid year for $40,000 with an additional $20,000 for installation. However, companies like Ford are skeptical about the use of rapid charging stations since it can have an adverse effect on safety, durability, battery life and reliability. A 240 volt source to charge an electric car takes about four to eight hours, but is more reliable than these rapid chargers.

However, according to Bret Aker, CEO of Aker Wade Power Technologies, developments in lithium ion technology will enable cars to be charged in fifteen minute, rendering gasoline useless.

[Hybridcars]

In observance of Martin Luther King Jr. Day, the Health Blog will not be published today.(Photo: Associated Press)

Nicole Kidman and her country singing hubby, Keith Urban, surprised stars at the G’Day USA Ball by appearing on stage and serenading honoree Simon Baker (The Mentalist) with a song based on the words of the Men at Work classic, “Down Under.”

There’s always a sense of effortlessness that goes into every Jil Sander collection. The story stays the same for Fall/Winter 2010 with pieces that are carefree and relaxed. Geometry plays a role into the range, helping give detail to the suits and outerwear. What’s also excellent about the pieces is that a lot of suit designs are very appropriate workwear attire. Overall, the collection has a grasp of the “now” and hardly deviates from the Jil Sander brand’s signature styling.

Continue to read for more images and to view a full video of the runway show.

Source/Images: GQ
Video: Eric Ben

Plans were unveiled last for an ethanol pipeline that covers a stretch of 1800 miles running from the mid-west to the east coast of the United States of America. Designed and planned by Poet Ethanol Products and Magellan Midstream Partners, this pipeline measuring 20 inches in diameter, will help supply a whopping 3.6 billion gallons annually. The pipeline will help the spread in use of bio fuel. This pipeline will also run along petroleum pipes in some areas and will need to make its way through other areas. The construction of this ethanol pipeline will help provide around 80,000 jobs according to Poet and Magellan and 1,100 people will be needed in order to operate it. The estimated time for the pipelines opening is around four years ahead in the future.

Ethanol fuel has been successfully transported using pipelines before and this process has been tried and tested. Costing a sum of $4 billion dollars, this project depends on getting a U.S. Department of Energy loan guarantee.

[Autobloggreen]

All Things Digital is not planning on publishing today on Martin Luther King’s birthdate holiday.

Until we return tomorrow, please listen to the famous “I Have a Dream” speech that King delivered at the Lincoln Memorial, which is in its entirety below.

As you will see, it is as resonant today as it was spoken on August 28, 1963.

While there are more famous lines, here’s BoomTown’s favorite:

“We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of Now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism.”

I also included Stevie Wonder’s ebullient song in tribute to King’s birthday, which is simply wonderful.

Here are the videos:

Buy This Item: [Click here to buy this item]

Read Original Article

How The Record 2.8 Million Foreclosures In 2009 Could Have Been A Lot Worse – Joe Weisenthal – The forelosure specialists at RealtyTrac are out with their end-of-year tally for 2009.  Their conclusion: It was an ugly year that would have been a lot worse without massive government intervention. … we saw four straight monthly decreases driven primarily by short-term factors: trial loan modifications, state legislation extending the foreclosure process and an overwhelming volume of inventory clogging the foreclosure pipeline. … – Money Game at Business Insider

————

Fed must let mortgage market stand on own, Plosser says – By Rex Nutting – Higher interest rates are needed before unemployment rate drops  – The Federal Reserve must cede control of the mortgage market back to the private sector or risk delaying the return of normal markets, a policy maker of the central bank said Tuesday. – MarketWatch

————

More on Option ARMs – by CalculatedRisk – … On negative equity, this graph from Amherst shows the CLTV for various mortgage products. Note that subprime and Alt-A had a somewhat higher percent of borrowers with negative equity than prime – but Option ARMs (red) borrowers are mostly in negative equity! … – Calculated Risk Blog
————

has exerpts: Annaly Capital Releases RMBS/CMBS Research – By: AFP Staff

————

Jumbo RMBS Defaults Triple: California, Florida, And New York Lead the Way – Joe Weisenthal – Money Game at Business Insider

————

In One Short Month, MBA Now Sees 2010 Morgtage Originations Plummeting By Even More – Submitted by Tyler Durden – …  While in December, the Mortgage Brokers Association anticipated an already staggering 24% drop in mortgage originations, a mere month later they now see the drop to be 40%. And all this occurring with Q.E.’s MBS purchases set to expire in less than 3 months.  … – Zero Hedge
————

Senator Corners Geithner On GSEs – Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner has been asked by a member of the Senate Banking Committee to explain the Christmas Eve decision to uncap federal support for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. In a letter to Geithner Monday, Sen. Bob Corker, R-Tenn., expressed concern about the “lack of understanding and transparency around this arrangement” and asked Geithner to respond to a series of questions about the action. … – MortgageOrb

————

Freddie Mac plans multifamily bonds every other month – Freddie Mac said on Wednesday it plans to sell about $1.1 billion of multifamily mortgage-backed securities known as “K Certificates” later this month. – Reuters

————

Delinquencies of US Prime Jumbo Mortgages Triple in Latest Year to Exceed 9% – More U.S. prime jumbo borrowers are falling and staying behind on their monthly mortgage payments, according to Fitch Ratings.  Overall, prime RMBS 60+ days delinquencies rose to 9.2% for December 2009, up almost three times compared to the same period last year (3.2% in December 2008). The 2006/2007 vintages combined rose to 12.7% from 4.3%. – Research Recap

————

HousingWire section:

More than 13% of Mortgages Delinquent or Foreclosed in November: LPS – by JON PRIOR – HousingWire

GSEs Could Lose $448bn on MBS Guarantees, Says Amherst – by DIANA GOLOBAY – Losses on the combined credit-guarantee books of government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae could reach 9.6% – or $448bn – … The projections are the first round of analysis Amherst has conducted that include the LoanPerformance Prime Servicing Database compiled by First American CoreLogic – the property and ownership information provider subsidiary of The First American Corp. … – HousingWire

BofA Permanent HAMP Modifications Jump from 98 to 3,200 in December – by JON PRIOR – HousingWire

————

Judge Voids Reverse Mortgage, Says Counseling Fails to Prove Competency – Reva Minkoff  – Reverse Moertgage Daily

————

A message from the FHA Commissioner – Dave Stevens January Letter – good Q&A – HUD.gov

Fisker Automotive announced Friday that it has secured an additional $115.3 million in private equity funding to produce plug-in hybrid vehicles. Fisker said that the funding was necessary for it to access a $528.7 million U.S. Department of Energy loan that will help it speed production of the Fisker Karma sedan, the automaker’s first plug-in hybrid.

“Raising $115 million in these times speaks volumes about the value of our business model and the vast potential of plug-in hybrids,” said Henrik Fisker, CEO.

The investors include A123 Systems, Ace Investments and Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. Earlier this week, Fisker signed an agreement with A123 Systems for the lithium-ion batteries that will power the Karma.

Besides the $87,900 Karma sedan, Fisker also plans on producing a lower-cost plug-in hybrid technology for a second, family-oriented car code named Project NINA. Project NINA is expected to be built in Wilmington, Delaware at a former General Motors assembly plant starting in 2012.

– By: Stephen Calogera

Shall we bake with whole grain rice this month? Whole-grain rice is usually brown – but, unknown to many, can also be black, purple, red or any of a variety of exotic hues. So for this event you can bake with any whole grain rice which is easily available.

Why brown rice is considered to be nutritionally superior to white rice when both have similar amounts of calories, carbohydrates and proteins? Like any other whole grain, brown rice (or any other whole grain rice) has the bran and germ intact. The outermost layer of the rice (husk) is only removed in brown rice whereas the husk, bran and germ are all removed leaving the starchy endosperm alone in white rice. In this refining process several vitamins and minerals are lost too, thereby making brown rice the best. To know more about the benefits and nutritional value of brown rice check here.

Whole grain forms of brown rice (or any rice) includes long or short grain rice, brown rice flour, cream of brown rice and even brown rice puff cereal. Make sure that the package reads whole grain or 100% whole grain. Recently I discovered brown rice farina also known as cream of brown rice. Bob’s Red Mill has a huge collection of whole grain stuff. So be sure to check for this brown rice farina too in the organic aisle of grocery stores or health food stores. Brown rice flour is also available from the same company. I have used both brown rice flour and cream of brown rice in Indian cooking instead of its white counterpart and the dishes turned out very good. Can’t wait to use it while baking.

• Recipes using Cream of Brown Rice
• Recipes using Brown Rice Flour
• Recipes using Long Grain Brown Rice
• Recipes using Short Grain Brown Rice

1 Bake anything egg less using one or more of the whole grain forms of rice (whole grain rice, whole grain rice flour, cream of whole grain rice, whole grain rice puff cereal etc).

2 Post it in your blog between Jan 18th 2010 and Feb 17th 2010. The dish can be anything sweet, salty or spicy. The recipes must be either vegetarian and eggless or vegan. If the recipe is from books/blogs/websites, please link back /mention the original source.

3 Multiple entries are more than welcome. Recipes posted prior to the announcement of this event are also welcome provided it qualifies the above criteria and is linked back to this event. Reposting is not necessary. As always there is prize for this event too and old entries will also be considered.

4 Email me your name, blog URL, name of the recipe, recipe URL, photo in 150w x 120h size to wholegrains(at)egglesscooking.com with Rice as the subject.

5 Non-bloggers you can submit your entries in Eggless Cooking Forums under Share Egg Free Recipes. You have to register first and it’s free! Send me an email after updating there and I’ll include it in the round up.

A brief report on the often ill-informed Digitimes quotes the Chinese Commercial Times paper as suggesting Apple may be readying a 22-inch touchscreen iMac.

This has largely come about thanks to rumors originating from Quanta and Sinket Photronic, the latter of which will be supposedly supplying Apple with the touchscreen displays. If this rumor bears any fruit, it’s bad news to anyone who splashed out on a Troll Touch touchscreen iMac. [Digitimes]

Yet another hybrid sports car rolls out on the race track, this time its Toyota’s baby. The new GRMN MR2 Sports Hybrid is a concept vehicle by Toyota that was unveiled at the Toyota Auto Salon. Toyota’s racing and tuning partner, Gazoo had a hand in this car. The car is a two seat all wheel drive sports machine based on the MR2 roadster. It packs a 3.3-liter V6 petrol engine that powers the back wheels. Toyota’s THSII hybrid system combined with an electric motor makes the cars front wheels spin. This enables the car to fire out a whopping 400 horsepower.

The roadster weighs just around 1300kg and is capable of zipping up to speeds that make you stick on to your seat. The technology used for this car may be only a concept for now, but in the near future may be the base on which more similar cars are built. So will the MR2 Sports Hybrid be an inspiration for future cars that are greener and environment friendly? We keep our fingers crossed!

[Carscoop]

On sale from next month in Japan and the rest of the globe at a later date, Panasonic’s G2 plasmas offer several choices—42, 46 and 50-inches, and black, silver or a dashing brown color options.

The series has the new Black Panel technology for 20 per cent greater image quality (in comparison to the G1), and with a supposed contrast ratio of 5,000,000 : 1. The 42-inch set will be 220,000 Yen ($2,424) when it goes on sale next month.

Along with the G2s, Panasonic’s also let rip with the S2 series, which comes in 42 and 46-inch sizes. There’s nothing much special about these panels that have a 2,000,000: 1 contrast ratio, apart from a 10 per cent less energy consumption. The 42-inch set will cost 190,000 Yen ($2,093). [Akihabara News]

ArabianBusiness.comTwo aviation consortia launch biofuel trialsEnergy Efficiency News… Advanced Biofuel Platform (QABP) will develop a detailed engineering and implementation plan for economically viable and sustainable biofuel production, …Backers…

Lauren Conrad loves Jersey Shore.

According to OK! Magazine, the former reality star — who departed The Hills last year after five seasons — has become a regular viewer of The Hills newest competitor.

LC has all but abandoned the show that made her a star in favor of The Shore — a controversial beach-themed smash, which features a group of Italian-American twentysomethings spending the summer in the Garden State resort community of Seaside Heights.

“I haven’t seen [The Hills] since I left,” Lauren told OK! last week. “But I watch Jersey Shore so I am still supporting MTV,” she added. “Last night was the highlight, it was a double episode. There was two! There’s this one part where Ronnie hits a guy and they don’t really get the hit… Ronnie knocks him out.”

Her favorite Jersey Shore star is JWoWW. “She can throw a punch!” Lauren laughed.

The Hills’ Kristin Cavallari, who replaced Lauren when she departed the show, also recently admitted that she is a Jersey Shore fan.

Toyota Motor Corp. will double its production of hybrid vehicles to 1 million units by 2011.

Currently, Toyota is the leader in low-emission vehicles with more than 10 hybrid models in its lineup. The car maker produced 500,000 hybrid units in 2009; 8-percent of its overall production. It’s planning for 800,000 hybrids this year alone and 1.1 million come 2012.

Read more of this story »