Category: News

Traders are buzzing over a fresh call from Meredith Whitney on Goldman Sachs (GS).

Though the stock is in the black, the company fell about a buck right off the news.

Specifically, she lowered her Q4 EPS estimate to $5.5 from $6.00 vs consensus of $5.41. And she lowered 2010 to $19.20 from $19.65 vs consensus of $18.25.

So interestingly, she’s still above consensus but obviously, she still has the power to move markets.

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See Also:

• Meredith Whitney Tries And Fails To Knock Down JPMorgan
• Meredith Whitney Whacks Estimates On Goldman And Morgan Stanley Sending Shares Lower
• Watch Meredith Whitney Explain How She’s Bearish But That She’s Been "Trading Bullish"

I can’t wait to get my nails over one of these absurdly small 64GB USB drives. They come in 8 to 64GB, and will continuously backup your files, no matter what you are doing. [Crunchgear]

While the industry awaits news of Google’s Nexus One, some more Apple ponderings have hit the wire — including new predictions for the long-awaited tablet.

So add this to the growing rumor pile, folks: Citing unnamed people who were “briefed by the company,” The Wall Street Journal asserts that a 10- or 11-inch Apple tablet — in possibly two different exterior finishes — may ship in March for as much as $1,000. Previous rumors pegged a 7-inch and/or a 10-inch version running around $800 or so. (And Piper Jaffrey analyst Gene Munster predicted that the tablet may cost even less, at around $600.) 

Would that $1,000 estimated price be full retail? And could there be any carrier subsidy involved? None of that is clear yet, but one thing’s certain: If the tablet is going to cost a cool grand, it’s going to keep a lot of would-be customers from jumping on the tablet bandwagon.

Another interesting part of this story references analysts who think the device will work with some sort of subscription model to a nationwide Wifi service. Huh? Is that a misprint? Are they talking about 3G? Or maybe those sources meant to say Mifi, WiMAX, or the like. Whatever it is, it’s pretty curious.

Analysts currently believe an Apple tablet will be priced at about $1,000, possibly including a subscription to a nationwide Wi-Fi wireless service. The tablet is expected to be a multimedia device that will let people watch movies and television shows, play games, surf the Internet and read electronic books and newspapers. People briefed by Apple also say that the company believes it could redefine the way consumers interact with a variety of content. Textbooks and newspapers, for example, could be presented differently through color screens, a touch interface, and the integration of live up-to-the-minute information from multiple sources. (WSJ)

Last but not least, even though the industry has circled January 26th in their calendars as the announcement date, the writer of the WSJ article (among other people) believe the event could take place the following day (January 27th) instead.

What hasn’t changed is the focus of the tablet. It’s still expected to be one slick-looking device that serves up vids, flicks, TV programs, games, websites, e-books, and digital newspapers/magazines on the go.

So if the tablet debuts at $1,000 instead of $800, would that keep you from picking it up? Sound off below.

Via: 9to5Mac, Gizmodo, The Wall Street Journal

(Thanks, @_ciro_!)

(EDITED: Added previous price rumors in there. Thanks, cambunton!)

 

T-Mobile is kicking it into high gear for 2010, as they pinged us this morning to let us know that HSPA 7.2 is live across the carrier’s 3G footprint.  Sure, everyone’s excited about the HSPA+ tests that are running in Philadelphia as we speak, but considering AT&T’s full rollout of HSPA has barely begun (ok, ok, a few cities here and there), we’ll give Magenta credit.  By the same token, T-Mobile is the fourth largest wireless carrier in the United States, and the smallest nationwide carrier.  Their 3G footprint is small, so it makes for an easier upgrade. 

What do you think?  Verizon’s fast coverage with a large 3G footprint?  AT&T’s faster 3G with a smaller footprint?  Or T-Mobile’s smoking fast 3G coverage with the smallest footprint?  Tough call.

 

 

Thanks in large part to the no-knead bread revolution, we completely ditched store-bought bread last year and started making our own on a weekly basis! One problem, though: we make a lot of sandwiches and just tend to like the loaf-shape better. Can the no-knead bread be adapted? Why, yes it can!

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Sandra Bullock’s feel-good smash continues to slash box office records.

According to Variety, The Blind Side is the first film with a female lead to surpass the $200 million mark at the box office. Cinema totals for The Blind Side’s surpassed $208.5 million last weekend.

Until the family-friendly football flick, the Julia Roberts’ drama Erin Brockovich, was the highest grossing movie in the category, making $125.6 million.

Robert D. Grant, Special Agent-in-Charge of the Chicago office of the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is asking for the public’s help in locating an individual wanted in connection with the murder of a 24-year old Chicago man in March 2008.

GREGORY HAYNES, JR., age 27, whose last known address was the 2900 block of East 79th Street, Chicago, is wanted by the FBI for Unlawful Flight to Avoid Prosecution (UFAP), which is a felony offense.

HAYNES is believed to have fled the state after being charged in Cook County Circuit Court with First Degree Murder.

The murder charge stems from HAYNES’ alleged involvement in the shooting death of Terrell Thomas, who was gunned down during a birthday party in the 7500 block of South Carpenter Street.

HAYNES is believed to have pulled a gun and shot Thomas eight times following an argument during a card game.

HAYNES is described as a black/male, 5’11” tall, 188 lbs, with black hair. Given the nature of the charges filed against him and his extensive criminal record, HAYNES should be considered Armed and Dangerous.

This case is being investigated by the Chicago FBI’s Violent Crimes Task Force (VCTF) which is comprised of FBI Special Agents, Detectives from the Chicago Police Department and Investigators from the Cook County Sheriff’s Police.

Anyone recognizing HAYNES or having any information as to his current whereabouts is asked to call the Chicago FBI at (312) 421-6700 or any law enforcement agency.

The public is reminded that a complaint is not evidence of guilt and that all defendants in a criminal case are presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Additional copies of the official wanted flyer or the criminal complaint filed in this case are available from the Chicago FBI’s press office at (312) 829-1199.

MEDIA and PUBLIC CONTACT:

Special Agent Ross Rice, 312-829-1199

Take the following analysis with a grain of salt, but it appears China will be a massive force in the gold market this year, potentially blowing past India.

Thing is whether this is bullish or bearish remains open to debate. If China pulls ahead of India due to massive domestic gold consumption growth, it’s a good thing, but if it’s all due to Indians cutting back purchases in response to high gold prices, then it’s more of a bad signal.

Commodity Online: But, the ray of hope for the bullion market is that China has fast emerged as the leader in gold buying. In fact, in 2009 China has pipped India to the post in gold purchases.

Chinese New Year gold rush has already begun, and robust demand looks likely to continue through 2010. So, in the coming years, analysts will be watching China, instead of India, to make their decisions on investments in gold.

China’s gold purchases have grown 10% from 2008’s record in volume terms, rising 26% by value to equal $13.5 billion or more.

On recent trends, that would equate to more than 2% of China’s famously massive household savings (up from 1% ten years ago) and account for almost one ounce in every eight sold worldwide.

According to GFMS, physical gold purchases by mainland Chinese households in 2009 was already running 19% ahead of India’s private demand for Q1-Q3.

Given China’s continued economic growth private gold consumption in Q4 most likely remained very robust. Whereas India’s private gold off-take during Oct-December continued to shrink in the face of record-high prices.

Read more here >

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• 11 Surprising Commodities That Kicked Gold’s Ass In 2009
• Alchemists Screwed As Lead Outperforms Gold In 2009
• The 60-Second Guide To Everything You Need To Know About Oil, Gold, Bonds, China, And Stocks In 2010

According to Tata Motors’ CEO, Ratan Tata, the company still considering selling its ultra-cheap Nano minicar in the United States within three years.

“We also recognize there is a market (for the Nano) not only in developing countries, but possibly in the developed countries,” Tata said at the New Delhi auto show. “For the United States we need a car which has a larger engine and we need additional crash test modifications and we are in the process of doing it.”

The Tata Nano is also being considered for possible sales Europe by the end of 2011.

Tata has previously said that it is also considering a hybrid version and that it may team up with Fiat to sell the minicar in Latin America.

– By: Kap Shah

Source: Reuters

Filed under: Videos, Specialty, Off-Road

We aren’t sure who built this or why – we’re not even sure what it’s called (we think it’s “Chainlink”) – but we’re quite sure it’s brilliant. Perhaps the new champion of wheel travel, the off-roading beast has around seven feet of articulation at each wheel, up and down.

Controlling all that climbing and dipping is a Rube Goldberg gear network: 5.38 gears and centrally-mounted ARB air locker, chain gears at the swingarm pivots, and chains inside the swingarms to work Hummer hubs at each wheel. But just follow the jump to watch it in action and you’ll see what we mean. It’s spectacular. Hat tip to Mike S!

[Source: YouTube]

Continue reading Video: Articulate This! Chainlink 4×4 is frighteningly awesome

Video: Articulate This! Chainlink 4×4 is frighteningly awesome originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 05 Jan 2010 12:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Fresh off the wire, Ford has released its December total domestic vehicle sales. The Detroit automaker killed it, with volume sales blowing away expectations with a 32.8% rise with 184,655 vehicles sold.

Altogether, total sales rose 23%, again beating Street expectations.

Bloomberg: Ford Motor Co., the second-largest U.S. automaker, posted a 33 percent increase in domestic sales in December as the industry showed signs of stabilizing after the worst year in almost three decades.

Deliveries including the Volvo brand increased to 184,655 from 139,067 a year earlier, the Dearborn, Michigan-based company said today in a statement. Chrysler Group LLC said sales fell 3.7 percent. Both results exceeded analysts’ estimates.

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• Ford Investing In Michigan Battery, Hybrid Production
• Ford Fast Tracks Crown Vic Replacement For 2011
• DOE Funding: Ford Gets $5.9 Billion, Nissan Gets $1.6 Billion, Tesla Gets $465 Milllion

iRiver’s Story eReader has taken its sweet time making a stateside appearance, and as of today, it’s still not here. But it’s coming! Sometime in January, to be “specific.” But will it be as comically expensive as its European counterpart?

Hopefully, no. But probably? Yes. The Story has reviewed fairly well, with testers citing attractive (if obviously derivative) industrial design, ePub support and a decent screen among its strengths, but with a sky-high price tag—the equivalent to $320—more or less pulling it out of the running, especially when cheaper reader like the Kindle and Nook come with 3G and Wi-Fi, the former being excluded on the Story, and the latter not making an appearance until “early Q2,” possibly at a premium.

In other words, iRiver: you need to make this thing cheaper, or else it will drown. Ok! [iRiver]

I get pitched continuously. Email after email.  99pct get deleted within 10 seconds. Some repeat offenders get filtered directly to spam.

The quickest way to get deleted and filtered as permanent spam is to send me an email a 2nd time and comment that you are going to show me some  ”perseverance” and continue to send me the email till I respond.  Why do people think this will work ? .  For those of you who are not smart enough to figure it out,  it is not perseverance to resend an email to someone, anyone, multiple times. Its LAZINESS . Lazy people think they are working hard when they hit the send key. That’s not work.  That’s wasting time. That’s the lesson of the day.  Sending the same email over and over again not only shows you to be lazy and annoying, but it gets you sent directly to spam.

Now for a sales letter so bad it went from humorous to disturbing.  I have marked my comments with an *

Good morning Mark,

I spoke to your very capable secretary Nancy earlier today.

*I dont have  a secretary named Nancy*

As a former active Attorney, Real Estate Broker and Advisor with Merrill Lynch,

I believe I have a unique insight into the next big moves in Stocks and Precious metals.

While I do not have a “crystal ball”, I do my homework.

*Nothing unusual so far, but then all of the sudden, the letter gets bizarre.  He starts pimping out his daughter for no reason I can figure out *

I have a daughter, Cxxxxxxxxxx, who is a senior in high school.

Two years ago after being chosen by Coca Cola to do a multi-media modeling

Campaign focused on the Olympics in China, she had her ACL ligament severed in a soccer incident. In the Junior

Miss  Pageant she won Best Actress and was in the top 10 overall.

She was a model with Elite in XXXXXXX.

You should see her photographs; Facebook:  XXXXXX,  in YYYYY City

****Im sorry, the whole daughter thing was incredibly disturbing to me*

I plan on specializing in this sector for the next 5 years.

*** IN what , pimping your daughter ?****

I have attached charts for Gold and Silver which go back to 1980.

*How did we get to gold and why ? The simplest search on my name and gold shows I am not a fan of gold. Never will be.***

Gold has made Highs in Jan 1980, 88, 96, 04, 2012?

Gold has made Lows in Jan  1985, 93, 01, 09, 2016?

Silver spent 11 years building a descending wedge from 1980 to 1991.

Silver spent 11 years building a base from 1991 to 2002.

From 2002, the next 11 years are likely to be bullish.

The long term cycle high is due in 2013.

For 9 of the last 10 years Silver has shown Seasonal strength from the end of October

to the end of May with an average gain of 21.4%.  (Financial Post, December 8, 2009)

Gold Beats All in Decade of ‘Fear and Greed’: Chart of the Day

http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=email_en&sid=aHuMwsIjMF.U

Please click on the link above.

Investors who bought gold or commodities at the beginning of the decade should

have tripled their money by the time the ball drops in New York’s Times Square

on Dec. 31.

Gold has increased more than 380 %

Silver has roughly tripled.

Stock holders have lost approximately 10% in the decade.

We are now entering the 2^nd quarter of the Bull market in Gold and Silver.

Historically when Gold makes major high, the Gold/Silver ratio approaches 40.

Gary Savage thinks the ratio could press below 40.

See: www.garyscommonsense.blogspot.com

On a percentage basis, Silver has far more upside than Gold.

Have a great New Year and a Better Decade than the last one.

Very Best Regards,

***So the guy pimps his daughter. Sends me a bunch of charts and info on Gold and Silver and then says good bye.   Dont try this at home or work ***

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Feliz 2010 para todos!!!, y que mejor forma de empezarlo que publicando mi entrada número 100( cien- one hundred-hundert-cent-cem-un centinaio di )!. Es increíble para mí y lo disfruto y comparto con todos mis lectores. Para empezar este año nuevo, les traigo una entrevista hecha a Erica Orejas, médica rehabilitadora en el hospital del Sureste ( en Arganda, Madrid, en nuestra querida madre patria, España ) la cual se encuentra publicada en la web “diario médico”; me pareció interesante como introduce por así llamarlo hobby personal en sus tratamientos a diferentes patologías demostrando una vez más que una de las grandes claves de la rehabilitación es el ingenio y creatividad del terapeuta frente al caso en concreto.

Sus resultados están en proceso de investigación pero sin duda es altamente influyente en una dimensión del ser como es lo emocional-afectivo algo vital para la constancia, dedicación y esfuerzo de nuestro paciente en su rehabilitación basándose en las fuentes de la motivación.

Erica Orejas es médica rehabilitadora en el Hospital del Sureste (en Arganda, Madrid) y profesora de baile. Investiga en los beneficios del pasodoble en el Huntington. Dice que sus pacientes están muy motivados y lo achaca a las bondades del baile; basta con ver su vitalidad y entusiasmo para comprender que ella también es la razón

-¿Cómo empezó a utilizar el baile en pacientes con Huntington?

-Muchos estudios han detectado un problema de motivación en la rehabilitación de los pacientes con Huntington. El baile, además de beneficioso, es divertido, y pensé que podía resultarles más atractivo que acudir al gimnasio para entrenarse con el plato de Böhler.

-¿Qué baile emplea?

-En la enfermedad de Huntington, baile de salón: principalmente, pasodoble y merengue. Tienen la ventaja de que se bailan en posición social (en pareja); los pacientes vienen con un familiar sano y si se desequilibran, les pueden sujetar. Además, no tienen pasos cruzados, lo que ayuda a evitar los desequilibrios.

-¿Y obtiene resultados?

-Estoy preparando un estudio sobre los beneficios del pasodoble en el Huntington, y aunque aún no tenemos los resultados, sí puedo decir que los pacientes están muy motivados. Como anécdota puedo contar que tenía un paciente que no había dicho nada en su trabajo; al mes y medio de venir a las sesiones de baile, sus compañeros le comentaron que le veían caminar mejor.

-¿Qué tipo de danza resulta más terapéutica?

–Cualquier baile puede aplicarse a una patología; sólo hay que estudiar cuál es el más adecuado. De cada baile se buscan los pasos más beneficiosos para cada enfermedad concreta. Por ejemplo, y aunque aún no lo hemos puesto en marcha, se podría emplear la danza oriental en trastornos de la alimentación, como la anorexia, porque es un tipo de baile que ayuda a mejorar la imagen corporal y además, la danza en sí misma disminuye la ansiedad y los estados depresivos; la danza oriental también puede resultar beneficiosa para la lumbalgia, en la patología del suelo pélvico y la preparación al parto.
El chotis es otro ejemplo: favorece el equilibrio. Existe un trabajo publicado con tango en la enfermedad de Parkinson; probablemente se habrá adaptado, porque el tango incluye muchos cruces de pies y eso no resulta operativo como estrategia terapéutica, pero también incluye muchos cambios de dirección, y eso sí puede favorecer a los pacientes con el bloqueo (freezing) típico del Parkinson. También se han hecho estudios con el vals en demencias y en Alzheimer.

-¿Hay alguno que descartaría?

–A priori, el único que se podría descartar sería el ballet clásico, porque se trabaja en una rotación externa muy forzada de caderas y de pies, algo que tratamos de evitar en los pacientes, y pone tensión sobre los discos vertebrales.

-Y a usted, ¿qué le hace perder el compás?

–La insuficiente atención a los pacientes neurológicos crónicos, sobre todo los neurodegenerativos. Como son pacientes que no van a mejorar, se considera que no se les va a poder dar el alta de fisioterapia, y no reciben un tratamiento crónico en gimnasio. Intentamos en el Hospital del Sureste proporcionar un soporte desde un punto de vista de la rehabilitación: tratamiento sintomático, prescripción de ortesis y prótesis, aconsejar sobre la adaptación del domicilio y cada vez que surge un nuevo problema dedicar al paciente varias sesiones para explicarle a él y a la familia cómo manejarlo.

-¿Baila fuera del trabajo?

–Soy profesora de baile. Durante la carrera y la residencia, daba clases en el Colegio de Médicos.

-¿Qué tal lo hacen sus colegas?

–Hay de todo, como en botica.

Fuente: diariomedico.com

On Nexus One day, and right before CES, Apple has posted an official press release, a press release which informs us that the iTunes App Store has surpassed 3 billion downloads. It was only 98 days ago, on September 28th, that Apple declared 2 billion downloads, and now, just over three months later, another billion apps have been consumed by iPhone users. With over 125,000 active applications available in the U.S. store, Apple seems to be proving that variety is the spice of life, and will keep users hitting the download button — over 10.2 million times per day in the last 98 days to be exact. For a relative comparison, there are around 18,000 applications available in Android’s Market and just over 4,000 applications available for RIM’s BlackBerry. Steve Jobs was quoted as saying, “the revolutionary App Store offers iPhone and iPod touch users an experience unlike anything else available on other mobile devices, and we see no signs of the competition catching up anytime soon.”

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The Viliv n5 touchscreen netbook looks a lot like the Vaio P, but let’s hope it’s not priced like one. Either way, I don’t see much of an advantage here over a traditional smartphone.

I mean, it may not be touchscreen like the 4.8-inch Viliv display, but the 8-inch screen on the Vaio P does a little more to distinguish it from a smartphone. Other Viliv features include: an Intel Atom Z520 1.3GHz processor (Windows 7 Home Premium), 32GB of SSD storage, GPS, a 1.3 megapixel webcam, Bluetooth, WiFi and a microSD memory card slot. Personally, I think their upcoming 10-inch Blade netbook tablet looks more promising, although Viliv has been disappointing in the past. [UMPC Portal via Ubergizmo]

Laptop speaker meets laptop fan, in the shape of Logitech’s Speaker Lapdesk. The N700 can support up to 16-inch models and is powered solely by USB.

The 2-inch stereo speakers are actually positioned on the outer edges of the lapdesk so you can have a non-tinny musical experience, with the fans on the top half for cooling down your laptop (and your knees). You can actually turn the fan on and off, just in case you’re working from the Antarctic one week and actually need the heat to survive.

On sale in February for $80. [Logitech via Macworld]

Don’t act so surprised: PalmCast Live happens tonight at 8pm Eastern.

Derek and Keith will be there in all their glory and Dieter will endeavor to make an appearance, though the pending excitement over CES 2010 makes that a ‘maybe.’ That doesn’t mean that there won’t be hot hot Quake and Doom action, not to mention our predictions for what Palm has in store on Thursday.

Tweet your questions with the #palmcast hashtag and you’ll be a star in the lightning round, too.

8pm Eastern tonight.

We’ll see you there

.