Category: News

As everyone knows there has been a massive government effort to support house prices. Some of this has been aimed at limiting supply (modification programs, various foreclosure moratoria), and some has been aimed at increasing demand (tax credit, lower mortgage rates, loose lending standards).

Here is a quote from Secretary Geithner from a recent Newsweek interview by Daniel Gross:

“We were very careful from the beginning … to say that we are going to focus the bulk of the financial force on bringing interest rates and mortgage rates down to cushion the fall in housing prices and help stabilize home values, which will feed into people’s basic sense of financial stability.”

To help keep this straight, here is a list of the status of a number of programs:

Read the full article at Calculated Risk –>

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See Also:

• The 15 Shadiest Mortgage Lenders Being Backed By The Government
• American Foreclosures Set To Break The 4 Million Mark
• The House Kills Mortgage Cram-Down Amendment

Think Chinese stock and property markets are a bubble? You haven’t seen nothing yet according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch.

Wait until real interest rates go negative due to rising inflation butting against ultra-stimulative interest rates.

Business Week: “Next year could be the year we see a full-blown asset bubble,” David Cui, the China strategist at Bank of America Corp.’s Merrill Lynch unit, said today in a phone interview from Sydney. “We’re likely to see massive savings migration as we head into real negative interest-rate territory,” where people “save less, spend more and invest more,” he said.

…

Interest on bank savings accounts may fall below the rate of inflation next year. Consumer prices climbed 0.6 percent in November from a year earlier, snapping a nine-month run of deflation, and prices may rise 3 percent in the first quarter, driving more savings into equities, the China Securities Journal said in a front-page editorial today. The 12-month savings deposit rate is 2.25 percent, central bank data showed.

Read more here.

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See Also:

• How China Might Buy More Gold Than America Owns
• Bank Of China Official: The World Is Running Out Of Money To Buy US Debt
• China’s Dumping Of The Dollar Has Begun

Raymond James strategist Jeff Saut is doing the wise thing and taking another week fo relax with family — we advise it — but in a brief note he warns of the breakdown in bonds.

—-

Indeed, we have been unabashedly bullish on most asset classes since March 2, 2009, although we have turned cautious a few times over the past eight months.  To be sure, said asset classes were at least three standard deviations undervalued back in March.  Since then, most have normalized to median valuation levels.  Accordingly, as we enter the New Year, we are once again turning cautious because the Treasury bond market is breaking down (read: higher interest rates) and the U.S. dollar is rallying.  After being dollar-
negative since 4Q01, we turned neutral to constructive on the “buck” in 4Q07 and recommended shutting down all negative U.S. dollar positions.  More recently, we suggested the “greenback” might be in for a pretty decent rally.  If so, the ubiquitous “dollar carry trade” is in jeopardy of unwinding with downside consequences for most asset classes.  Therefore, we think it prudent to “bank” some trading profits and hedge some investment positions as we approach the New Year.
 
That said, we still believe the nascent economic recovery will gain traction in 2010, and that earnings comparisons will look good in 1H10.  The question then becomes just how much of that has already been discounted by the 68% rally off of the March lows?  Also worth consideration is if this is a rally in an ongoing trading range stock market, or the beginning of a new secular bull market.  Currently, we don’t have a clue, but are happy that we have enjoyed the eight-month rise.  We think the trick from here, at least in
the short/intermediate-term, is to protect the profits that have been made.

 

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See Also:

• Morgan Stanley: Interest Rates Set To Soar 40% As Bond Vigilantes Make Geithner And Obama Pay For Their Mess
• Jeff Saut: Prepare For ECB And BoJ Rate Hikes, Sovereign Blowups, A CRE Crisis, And Accelerated Asian Urbanization
• Jeff Saut: The Bad Economic News Is Already Turning Good Again

The fight against illegal file sharing is being taken to new height of ridiculousness in the UK where law-abiding citizens will have to, once again, pay up to bail out the music and movie industry for their own failures. The proposed Digital Economy Bill, which would force ISPs to kick-off alleged illegal file sharers, could end up costing broadband subscribers up to £500 million (about $800 million) per year and this is coming from the UK government itself.

The new law which is still under review would force ISPs to police their customers and cut off or slow down the connection of anyone the anti-piracy groups claim is infringing. The rights holders claim that these measures are necessary to stave off the ‘plague’ of piracy, which is wreaking havoc with the content industry’s revenues. This despite the fact that both the music and the film industries are seeing growth in 2009.

When the legal proposal was first made public, the ISPs, expectedly, were very critical of the measures and estimated that the costs to implement them would outweigh the actual benefits. A figure of £365 million (slightly more than $580 million) was put forward by the Internet providers. It turns out that even this number may have been conservative as a new government report estimates that the costs may be clos… (read more)

HTC is undoubtedly the king of Android with more handsets than any other OEM. Its Verizon Droid Eris is essentially an updated Hero that has been adapated to the Verizon network. In this video I give a walk around the phone, showing how small and thin it is, along with a look at the HTC Sense interface for Android.

Specs for the Droid Eris:

Processor	Qualcomm® MSM7600™, 528MHz
Internal Memory	512MB ROM / 288MB RAM (8 GB Memory card included)
Display	3.2-inch 320 x 480 HVGA Resolution Capacitive Touch Screen
Technology	CDMA: Dual-band 800/1900MHz, CDMA2000 1xRTT/1xEVDO rev. A
Email	Support for Office Outlook Mobile and Microsoft Exchange with Direct Push
Dimensions	4.45” (L) x 2.19” (W) x .51” (T)
Weight	4.23 ounces
Battery	1300 mAh Li-on Talk time: 214 min Standby: 373 hrs

Filed under: Technology, Ferrari

If Scuderia Ferrari drivers Alonso and Massa don’t do well in qualifying next year, it won’t be because they didn’t have the best tools with which to practice. Ferrari has built a driving simulator that could well be the Ferrari of driving simulators. It took two years to build, is 18-feet high, takes up two stories and received assistance from Moog, a control systems maker primarly known for its work wit the U.S. military’s F-35 Joint Strike Fighter.

The sim rests a base that, by itself, weighs two hundred tons, and on top of that are a platform and actuators that support the aluminum and composite driving structure. The driver watches his progress on five displays good for more than 180 degrees of viewing, and hears his progress through a 3,500-watt Dolby 7.1 Surround Sound system. It has ten microprocessors and 60GB of RAM, and produces 5GB of data per day.

Oh, and it puts out 130 kW of power. Some perspective: the average American home is said to use 25 kW of power a day. Ferrari will hope it helps power at least one of its drivers to the crown.

[Source: Ferrari]

Ferrari develops most advanced driving simulator to date originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 28 Dec 2009 09:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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GER is  back from its holiday break (at least until new year’s eve).  So, until then expect your usual flow of renewable energy news and commentaries…

SunEdison has signed a 20-year power purchase agreement (PPA) with New Mexico’s Southwestern Public Service Company, an Xcel Energy subsidiary, for the solar power output of five photovoltaic power plants that will total 50 megawatts in generation capacity.

The power facilities, each generating 10 megawatts of electricity,  will use a ground-mount system and are to be located in Lea and Eddy counties in southeastern New Mexico. The projects are expected to go live by the end of 2011.

SunEdison will build, finance, and operate the five facilities and sell their entire output to Southwestern Public Service Company as part of the 20-year PPA. The two companies did not disclose the terms of the agreement.

New Mexico’s renewable energy portfolio standard requires that state utilities generate 15 percent of their power from renewables by 2015 and 20 percent by 2020.

There are a number of good books about baking artisinal breads out there, but Baking Artisan Pastries and Breads is one that is focused on pastries – breakfast pastries, to be specific – and not the same peasant breads and baguettes that you’ll find in other artisan baking books. It’s great to have a book that is more specialized and doesn’t devote only a couple of pages to things like croissants and danishes.

The cookbook is divided up into two primary sections – Basics and Baking – and each further divided into several chapters on Ingredients; Equipment Techniques; Quick Breads, Muffins and Scones; Enriched Dough; Laminated Dough; and Fillings, Glazes, Toppings and Spreads. The Basics section is very comprehensive and describes in-detail just about everything you might want to know to be able to make the recipes in the book. It’s a great place for beginners to start, but it’s a good reference in general. There are plenty of photos that illustrated all the steps described. The Baking section of the book is where you’ll find the recipes. They, too, are heavily illustrated. The recipes are given with metric, weight and volume measurements and are written out carefully, adding tips where necessary to ensure that you’re proceeding the right way as you bake. The recipes are detailed and easy to follow along with.

The book also includes a DVD where many of the techniques described in the book are performed. This resource makes the book incredibly easy to use – not to mention very unique – because it is as close as you could come to taking an actual cooking class on this subject. The demos primarily cover the topics mentioned in the Basics section of the cookbook, but also include detailed information on how to make full recipes. You’ll find a tutorial for croissants, for instance, on the DVD. It will be a huge help to anyone who is a visual learner, whether you’re experienced or still a beginner.

Filed under: Odds and ends, Macbook Pro, MacBook

If you’re feeling like your MacBook or MacBook Pro is cool, but could be cooler, maybe it’s time for a trip to Etsy to check out the selection of custom vinyl decals. For as little as US$10, you can make your MacBook a one-of-a-kind at the coffeehouse, and maybe even pick up a date for New Year’s Eve (although the latter depends greatly on your personal abilities to do so).

There’s a pretty wide selection of decals at Etsy, but one artist in particular has caught my fancy. Ivy Boersma, a.k.a. IvyBee, has some designs destined to be classics. I’m especially fond of the William Tell and Newton images, but it’s obviously subjective. There’s enough variety that you can find something that really fits you, and carry it as a classy and subtle expression of your personality.

Ivy also offers custom designs upon request, so if you don’t see what you want in her online shop, contact her through Etsy (just sign up for a free account) and let her know what you’re looking for.

TUAWPimp your MacBook (Pro) with custom vinyl decals originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Mon, 28 Dec 2009 09:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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(Editor’s note: Steve Fredrick and Don Rainey are general partners at Grotech Ventures. They submitted this story to VentureBeat.)

As we mentioned in a recent column, 2009 wasn’t as bad as advertised for the venture capital industry. The first half of the year was rocky; however, growth stormed back in the latter half of 2009. The 2010 IPO and M&A markets are shaping up to be the strongest in years and early- and mid-stage venture capital firms with cash have good reason to be optimistic.

Normal consolidation occurred in our industry this year. A number of prominent firms went quiet or declined to raise new funds. As the capital markets thaw a bit more in the coming months, we expect the strongest of these firms to reemerge, though probably in scaled-down fashions. Others will manage their current investments to fruition and new funds and models will be born.

2010 should be the ultimate buyers’ market for investors with cash to spend because entrepreneurs who tightened their belts last year cannot do so indefinitely. In early 2010, many will begin looking for funding to grow and continue operations. We expect these companies to come out lean, mean and with ramping revenue.

The improving exit markets will increase confidence and appetite for risk, which is a necessary ingredient for startup prosperity. Also, the recession has encouraged a substantial amount of innovation from otherwise unemployed entrepreneurs. VCs with good reputations and cash on hand will have plenty of prime cuts to choose from in 2010.

The best time to buy is when confidence in the economy is growing, but prices are still low. The trick is hitting that timing on the nose. The few big names will continue recent acquisition sprees, but we also expect mid-sized companies to look to M&A as a strong option for growth in 2010. The pace of private-to-private mergers amongst venture-backed companies will also increase.

A leading indicator of activity in the venture-backed ecosystem is job creation. There are more than 10,000 job openings at venture-backed companies listed on StartUpHire.com (disclosure: Steve is an advisor to StartUpHire). So, while companies have tightened their belts, they continue to hire at a meaningful level and nothing shouts confidence in the future like rapid team building.

In terms of hot 2010 sectors, we expect social media to move from promising to prime time. This category, especially sites like Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn, has already gained a strong foothold in the global consciousness. But despite this progress, there are still many questions about how to monetize the conversational and real-time nature of social media.

We expect social media to move towards profitability in 2010. One of the biggest measures of success will be enabling people and companies to work more collaboratively and more efficiently.

We also expect to see more money flow to the cloud in 2010. Cloud computing (and other operations) provides startups with an operational trifecta: cost savings, infrastructure savings and productivity enhancement. To date, many companies have been reluctant to move into this space because of security concerns, but these fears are rapidly easing as security offerings mature to address this risk.

One formerly hot area that we expect to fizzle in 2010 is the prosumer technology space. Users expect mobile devices to be great at specific tasks, rather than serving every need in a marginal fashion.

The quintessential example is the iPhone. While it achieved phenomenal market acceptance in 2009, professional use is stymied by a lack of reliable nationwide coverage and the challenge of email integration at many enterprises. Competitors are taking note and the re-separation of consumer and professional devices is coming. This will have a trickle-down effect on the plethora of startup companies developing for the iPhone and competitive platforms.

The freemium model is also worth watching. While it works in some sectors, overall, the gap between free and paying customers is widening. This is happening because buyers can be very fickle. As their attention spans shorten, their brand loyalty diminishes as well.

In the mobile space, for instance, a game or app that’s hot today can easily be forgotten tomorrow. Users have little or no incentive to upgrade, so they just move on to the next trendy, free offering. Providers must innovate at an incredibly rapid pace in order to keep pace with market demand. But they can’t be careless – offerings must be thoroughly tested before they go public, since most people won’t give something a second chance if they’re unhappy the first time. And these providers must have a clear and compelling upgrade path to entice a larger percentage of paying customers.

While 2009 was a bumpy ride, we are eagerly anticipating the opportunities that await in 2010. We expect to see many significant deals early in the New Year across many different sectors, and we are heartened by the brave souls who are moving towards IPOs.

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There might be a new version of the Lamborghini Gallardo LP560-4 coming at next year’s Geneva Auto Show, named the Gallardo LP570-4 SV, if we are to believe the Teamspeed Forums brand enthusiasts.

The car is said to be some sort of Superlegerra SV incarnation of the current already high performance LP 560-4 version of the Gallardo. That means that the car would have to be considerably lighter (the Superlegerra version of the normal Gallardo managed to lose 100 kg, so a similar fig… (read more)

Arrests are public information, but exactly how public should they be? Twitter is testing the limits.

Every arrest in Denton, Texas, is chronicled on an unofficial twitter feed, built by an art student seeking to explore the possibilities opened by social platforms like twitter to share public information.

The mugshot  at left shows a woman arrested yesterday for assault causing bodily injury. She hasn’t been tried or convicted. Should her photo be on twitter (or on change.org)?

(more…)

After an attempted explosive attack on a U.S.-bound flight Friday, air travel security tightened and rules were changed. No official procedures were announced, but here’s what fliers and news agencies are reporting as the standards for the time being.

Photo by Joshua Davis.

The first thing anyone flying needs to know is that there are no hard and fast rules put into place at this time, and what you read or hear about at one airport may not be the case at another. The Transportation Security Administration wrote in a press release that “These measures are designed to be unpredictable, so passengers should not expect to see the same thing everywhere.”

Most sources are reporting that the most stringent measures are implemented on flights entering the U.S. from foreign lands, including Canada. Air Canada posted on its web site that, during the last hour of a flight, travelers headed to the U.S. will have to remain seated, will not have access to their carry-on baggage, and cannot have anything on their laps.

American Airlines posted on its own site that anyone flying into the U.S. should allow three hours for the entire boarding process. Passengers and carry-on items would be screened both at security checkpoints and at airline gates, according to the airline.

What about domestic flights? As stated, the only predictable element is unpredictability. Gizmodo has posted audio recorded from a Jet Blue pre-flight announcement, indicating that the airline’s notable seat-by-seat in-flight entertainment system would be shut down for a recent flight, along with in-flight Wi-Fi, presumably. In that post, and others, gadget-savvy readers and Twitter users have reported a range of restrictions and rules.

Some flights have banned electronic usage during the first and final 30 minutes of a flight, not including takeoff and landing periods, and others have restricted usage for up to an hour before ascent and descent. Some fliers have experienced pat-down searches and more thorough bag checks, and most flights seem to require passengers to stay seated during the final portion of a flight, regardless of bathroom needs. The Times reports (at the link below) that while blankets and pillows were being banned from passengers’ laps just before landing, that rule seems to have been softened and left up to each airline.

Update: Gizmodo has posted the full text of a leaked TSA security directive, courtesy of the Boarding Area blog, that makes firm the ban on in-flight Wi-Fi, entertainment systems, and access to any and all carry-on luggage or devices one hour before landing.

Have you flown since Friday’s in-flight incident? What was your experience, and how much more time did your flight experience take? Help fill in the blanks for everybody in the comments.

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A new Chinese law requires power grid operators to buy all the electricity produced by renewable energy generators, in a move that will increase the proportion of energy that comes from renewable sources in coal-dependent China. The amendment to the …

EU Green Protectionism = Economic MadnessBenzingaThe European Union runs an extensive policy for subsidies to biofuel production. Border protection increases the level of subsidy by giving a market support …Biofuels in high demandFarming UKUnion Cabi…

It has been brought to my attention that I am mentioned, once, in the “ClimateGate” email stash. If you go here and search for my name, you find this, an email from Tom Wigley of NCAR, who I have interviewed for various stories:

From: Tom Wigley <[email protected]>
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [Fwd: [Fwd: FW: Press Release from The Science & Environmental Policy Project]]
Date: Mon, 10 Dec 2007 17:17:14 -0700
Cc: carl mears <[email protected]>, Frank Wentz <[email protected]>, Tom Wigley <[email protected]>, Steven Sherwood <[email protected]>, John Lanzante <[email protected]>, “‘Dian J. Seidel’” <[email protected]>, Melissa Free <[email protected]>, Karl Taylor <[email protected]>, Steve Klein <[email protected]>, Leopold Haimberger <[email protected]>, “Thorne, Peter” <[email protected]>, “‘Philip D. Jones’” <[email protected]>

Dear all,

I think the scientific fraud committed by Douglass needs to
be exposed. His co-authors may be innocent bystanders, but
I doubt it.

In normal circumstances, what Douglass has done would cause
him to lose his job — a parallel is the South Korean cloning
fraud case.

I have suggested that someone like Chris Mooney should be
told about this.

Tom.

In searching my emails, I was never told about this, and certainly never wrote anything about the situation, which I am not familiar with. As a journalist, though, I certainly do want to receive tips of things to write about, and I frequently do from a wide variety of folks. With only the most rare of exceptions, I never get around to writing anything; but in this case, I wasn’t even tipped.

Still, I can see why scientists concerned about global warming, and accepting of the scientific consensus, would want me to cover the topic, including its political side. By 2007 I already had a track record for exposing the misinformation campaign to mislead the public about climate change, something I continue to do today. And given that there is such a misinformation campaign–with “ClimateGate” being the latest and perhaps the most severe example–we need scientists and journalists alike striving to set the record straight.

I guess that that’s my way of saying that, as with virtually all of the “ClimateGate” emails that I have seen, the single one mentioning my name is not very surprising–especially as it regards me, who never even heard of this until now.

by Jon Isham

If you’re like me, your inbox has recently been inundated with cheery, post-Copenhagen greetings from green groups of all kinds.  Bless their hearts, they’ve all suddenly developed an interest in wishing me well.

And let me confess: I love ‘em all.  Classics like NRDC and WRI, innovators like Clean Air-Cool Planet and 1Sky, hybrids like the Alliance for Climate Protection.  With all sincerity, I can’t say enough about the hard work and vision that most green groups have brought to our fight against global warming during the last few years.  With the most well-funded oppenents in lobbying history (in case you need convincing, check out the Climate Cover Up), green groups and their allies have more than held their own this year: a climate bill has passed the house, and two bipartisan bills (Kerry-Graham-Lieberman and Cantwell-Collins) are now in play in the Senate.  And that’s not all: in state after state, coal is on the ropes, in large part thanks to the legal brilliance of the Sierra Club and the hustling determination of I Love Mountains.  Grim as we all may feel about the recent roller coaster ride that took us from Hopenhagen to Nopenhagen, the emails that we’ve all just received tell an accurate tale: there’s lots to celebrate as we reflect on 2009.

But that was then; 2010 is now.  As I recently wrote, all of us need to gear up and build a plan for a grand four-month fight, a big push to get to an Earth Day 2010 signing ceremony in the White House.  Here’s the Rose Garden tableau that will be caught by the mainstream media if we get this right: Cherry Blossoms, Democratic and Republican leaders, and 350 kids from all all 50 states, the District of Columbia and the U.S. territories, all smiling as a reinvigorated Obama signs, let’s say, a bipartisan ‘Kids-vs-Global Warming’ bill. 

We will need all hands on deck to get there, in all corners of the USA (and among supporters around the world.)  In addition to offering our time and ideas (memo to self: gather friends in coffee shop next week; make plans to call our senators and representatives every day for next 116 days), I propose that each of us offer $100 to one green group.  That’s the least we can do to make sure that allies who get the whole inside-the-Beltway-thing can pave the way for Plan 10x.

Here’s the fun part: which one? 

Related Links:

How environmentally friendly is Washington’s congressional delegation?

Breathtaking last minute philanthropy ideas

Top green stories of the ‘00s

Filed under: Sedan, Mercedes-Benz, Celebrities, Specialty

Needless to say, life is good for Jay Leno. Not only has the former late night talk show host moved on to greener pastures, Mercedes-Benz has provided him with a 6.2-liter V8 (M156) — not, as previously reported, the SLS AMG‘s M159 engine — to cram into his vintage 300SEL 6.3.

As opposed to the SLS’ M159, with its dry-sump lubrication system, bespoke internals and magnesium intake manifold, the M156 uses a traditional wet-sump setup — the same engine fitted to the S63, SL63 and E63 AMG. Regardless, it’s only down 45 horsepower from its gullwinged sibling, putting out 518 hp rather than the SLS’ 563 hp. Not that it will make much difference when it’s powering Leno’s modernized lead sled.

UPDATE: Mercedes-Benz presents Leno with engine for his restomod originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 28 Dec 2009 09:28:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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