Category: News

Filed under: Car Buying, Government/Legal, Japan

The U.S. Car Allowance Rebate System (a.k.a. ‘cash-for-clunkers’) program was a short-term boon for automakers participating in our market. Sales went up, inventory went down and nearly 700,000 vehicles that would likely have otherwise ended up on used car lots were destroyed. And since the U.S. is essentially a free market where automakers around the globe are allowed to participate, Japanese and European automakers benefited from the program as well. In fact, Japanese automakers fared even better than their U.S. competitors, as Toyota, Honda and Nissan are said to have surpassed their market share with the program. A reported 319,000 of the 677,000 vehicles sold via cash-for-clunkers were from Japanese companies. But while the U.S. C4C program took place in a free market where everybody is able to participate, critics are complaining that the new Japanese program is anything but equal opportunity.

Japan is considered by many to be the world’s most insular auto market, and its $3.7 billion government clunker program makes U.S. autos ineligible for government assistance. According to The Detroit News, the program, which the Japanese government is using to spur sales (which are down 17 percent versus 2008 levels), provides cash rebates of up to $2,830 for customers who turn in vehicles 13 years or older. Car buyers who don’t turn in a vehicle can still get over $1,100 toward the purchase of a new vehicle. An estimated 87 percent of all Japanese vehicles are eligible for the program, while zero vehicles from General Motors, Ford and Chrysler will be eligible.

The DetNews is reporting that Motown automakers have written a letter to the Deputy U.S. Trade Representative calling for action on a matter that was called “another example of Japan continuing efforts to discriminate against imported vehicles.” Carol Guthry of the U.S. Trade Representative told the newspaper that the government is working to resolve the issue, adding “our position remains that changes are necessary to give U.S. vehicles greater opportunity to qualify under Japan’s program.”

While we’re not exactly import/export experts and we don’t have any experience with foreign relations, we’re thinking it’s about time Japan treated foreign automakers in the Land of the Rising Sun with the same level of equality that its automakers receive elsewhere in the world. What do you think? Have your say in ‘Comments.’

[Source: The Detroit News | Image: Yoshikazu Tsuno/AFP/Getty]

REPORT: Detroit Three call Japan’s cash-for-clunkers program unfair originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 11 Dec 2009 10:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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As David Rosenberg pointed out this week, the inventory drawdown is definitely over. Analysts had been looking for a continued inventory contraction in October, but instead they grew.

As noted below, there is a good angle (the restocking is good for factories) and a bad angle, as it could mean an end to selling.

It may take a few months before we know how this plays out.

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By MARTIN CRUTSINGER, AP Economics Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) — Businesses unexpectedly increased their inventories in October, halting a slide of 13 consecutive declines. The small gain raised hopes that businesses will begin restocking their depleted shelves, helping support the economic recovery.

The Commerce Department says businesses increased inventories 0.2 percent in October. That was better than the 0.3 percent drop economists had expected.

Total business sales rose 1.1 percent, the fifth straight gain.

The hope is that steadily rising sales will encourage businesses to restock shelves, which will boost factory production and bolster a broad recovery.

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• Rosenberg: The Manufacturing Collapse Has Resumed
• Stocks Muted Despite Huge Retail Sales Surprise
• The Recovery Is Faltering

A couple of folk sent in this story of Ryan Sohmer, author of the popular web comic Least I Could Do, where he complains about others “stealing” his content in iPhone apps. But, this isn’t the usual case of a content creator lashing out about “stealing.” Sohmer has built up a nice model in giving away his comics for free, and we even wrote about his anger earlier this year at the Writers Guild of Canada for trying to force ISPs to pay a “tax” to writers. On the whole, his views are quite progressive on business models and free content. But what he’s upset about here is that some others are taking his comics and putting them in fee-based iPhone apps, and thus “profiting” off his content, without his permission:

As a general rule, I’m fairly lenient with individuals using our content for personal use. You want to throw up a comic on your blog, use our avatars or wallpapers, that’s fine. That’s actually what they’re there for and truth be told, we appreciate you spreading the word.

Where I draw the line, however, is an individual lifting our entire comic archives, putting them in an iPhone app, charging 99 cents for it and putting their own advertising banners on each comic. Profiting off of our hard work without so much as a link back to this site. No justifying that, that’s ripping us off, plain and simple.

The sad reality of it, is that things appear to be getting worse. Almost every day, I receive a couple of e-mails telling me about a new app or aggregator that’s featuring Least I Could Do or Looking For Group.

Alex Winston, who was the first to send this in, asked what we thought Sohmer should do in such a situation, and wondered how those who are open to sharing their works should deal with cases where others profit from those works. We’ve actually discussed something similar recently, but to more directly address the question, I tend to think that the answer is to simply supply a similar offering yourself — and make it clear which ones are the official versions. Even if you’re giving away your content for free, if people want to pay for it, why not offer them a way to do so? And, if you make it quite clear which is the official version and which is not, most people will go for the official version, because they want to support the artist.

And, if you’re still offering your works for free, and yet others are making money off of some sort of “aggregation,” well, at some point you have to admit that perhaps it’s the aggregation they’re paying for, rather than the content itself, since they could have received the content for free. I recognize that it can seem upsetting at first if it looks like someone is “making money off of my content,” but rather than worry too much about it (since it’s not going to go away), the answer is to focus on doing whatever it is you can do to make sure that people know of ways to support you directly, and then it’s up to them. If someone else is somehow offering something better, then perhaps look into ways to improve what you offer as well. But, in the end, worrying about what other people do will only get you so far. Focus on what you can do.

An alternative option is that if someone is really doing something that is better with your content, you could approach them, and ask them for a reasonable cut of the revenue, noting that in exchange, you’d promote their app to your fans, as well. That would likely increase the number of buyers, and everyone comes away happy.

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Retail sales grew at double rate expected by consensus in November, yet the market doesn’t seem all that excited.

U.S. Census Bureau: The U.S. Census Bureau announced today that advance estimates of U.S. retail and food services sales for November, adjusted for seasonal variation and holiday and trading-day differences, but not for price changes, were $352.1 billion, an increase of 1.3 percent (±0.5%) from the previous month and 1.9 percent (±0.5%) above November 2008.

AP: It was the biggest advance [+1.3%] since sales jumped 2.4 percent in August, and more than double the 0.6 percent increase economists had expected.

Maybe because it was all gasoline! Ex-gasoline, retails sales were only up 0.8% month over month, not 1.3%.

Chart via Econompic, check out the official Census Bureau release here.

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See Also:

• November To December Retail Sales Dropoff Is Worse Than In 2008
• Deutsche Bank: Bad Weather Does Not Explain The November Retail Debacle
• Final November Retail Sales Are A Huge Disappointment

We recently harvested and dried a bunch of pink pepper and have been playing with ways to savor this delicately sweet, spicy, and almost citrusy berry. Here are two bright and festive appetizer recipes that pair pink peppercorns with thyme: a warm, creamy goat cheese spread, and zesty marinated olives.

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The Oracle Sun deal is dragging on as the EU is still doubtful that the software giant will provide a good home for MySQL, an open-source database system owned by Sun which competes with some of Oracle’s offerings. The proposed acquisition, in which Oracle would buy Sun Microsystems for $7.4 billion, is under scrutiny in Europe, and Oracle defended its motives yesterday in a private meeting saying that EU regulators have been overly selective in the evidence they chose to present and some of the studies they used to back up their claims that the deal would be detrimental to competition in the market.

In spring 2009, Oracle made a bid for Sun which had seen better days at that point. The proposed deal was approved by the Department of Justice in the US, but EU regulators decided to extend their investigation until January 27, 2010, and there are growing signs that they’re not happy with the deal with most of the concerns being about MySQL. Oracle, though, has said it has no intentions of selling MySQL and is claiming it will invest in the technology after the acquisition goes through.

The company has stood by its guns, but hasn’t done much to counter the claims or defend its position. Lately, it’s been going on the offensive and is now attacking the idea that database customers are w… (read more)

In a Form 4 filed with the SEC, legendary investor Warren Buffett and his Berkshire Hathaway disclosed that they have sold more shares of Moody’s (MCO). On December 7th they sold 2,004,946 shares at a price of $25.0381 per share. The next day they sold an additional 704,346 shares at a price of $24.8074. In total, they sold 2,709292 shares and they are now left owning 35,357,393 shares. As we mentioned before, Buffett previously sold Moody’s shares in late October, and in months prior as well. (Head over to TickerSpy to see Warren Buffett’s portfolio).

So while Buffett and Berkshire have been selling shares multiple times over the past few months, keep in mind that they still own a sizable chunk of the company.

Read the whole post at Market Folly >

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See Also:

• Warren Buffett Dumps More Moody’s (BRK, MCO, BNI)
• Surprise: 33% Moody’s Rally Gives Short-Sellers Whiplash (MCO)
• Here’s The Real Reason Warren Buffett Made That Un-Buffettesque Investment In NetJets

The Ohio State University Technology Licensing & Commercialization Office is seeking applications for a Biotechnology Senior Licensing Associate. This position reports to the Outreach and Invention Cultivation Function Lead. The primary responsibilities of this role include review, assessment and recommendations for commercialization of life science technologies disclosed to the office by OUS faculty and staff; detailed invention cultivation of inventive elements in technical information and preparation for patent drafting activities; and support of internal communication strategy and plan and circuit of lab contacts and visits. Related responsibilities include competitive art searching, on inventions in assessment, delivery of training seminars, development of various reports, and relationship manager roles for colleges or departments and external partners. It is expected that the senior LA will contribute to improved processes for the function and interface with other TLC staff to improve unit delivery.

In 2008, OSU ranked 10th among all universities in research expenditures at $721M, and 2nd in industrial sponsored research. The mission of the Technology Licensing and Commercialization (TLC) office at OSU is to: foster an entrepreneurial culture at The Ohio State University; serve as a catalyst in identifying faculty and staff inventions, maximize their value, and accelerate their adoption in public use; generate a significant, sustainable revenue stream from university intellectual assets with benefits returned to inventors, OSU, and the public.

For complete position description, job requirements, and online application instructions, go to www.jobsatosu.com and search by requisition # 348251. To assure consideration you must apply by December 27, 2009. To build a diverse workforce Ohio State encourages applications from individuals with disabilities, minorities, veterans, and women. EEO/AA employer. This position requires a successful completion of a background check.

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The Ohio State University Technology Licensing & Commercialization Office is seeking applications for a Business Strategy, Marketing & Agreements Development Function Lead. This position reports to the AVP for Commercialization and shares leadership responsibility for Commercialization delivery with the AVP and three other function leads. The primary responsibilities of this role include development of commercialization strategy for available technology; external marketing of technologies; and agreement development for all aspects of commercialization (CDA, collaboration and licensing agreements). Related responsibilities include recruiting and training function staff, resource allocation, and management of results delivery for all function roles and responsibilities. It is expected that the lead will continually improve business processes for the function and interface with other function leads to improve overall unit delivery.

In 2008, OSU ranked 10th among all universities in research expenditures at $721M, and 2nd in industrial sponsored research. The mission of the Technology Licensing and Commercialization (TLC) office at OSU is to: foster an entrepreneurial culture at The Ohio State University; serve as a catalyst in identifying faculty and staff inventions, maximize their value, and accelerate their adoption in public use; generate a significant, sustainable revenue stream from university intellectual assets with benefits returned to inventors, OSU, and the public.

For complete position description, job requirements, and online application instructions, go to www.jobsatosu.com and search by requisition # 348252. To assure consideration you must apply by December 27, 2009. To build a diverse workforce Ohio State encourages applications from individuals with disabilities, minorities, veterans, and women. EEO/AA employer. This position requires successful completion of a background check.

Return to Job Listings

With the release of their Android version, Opera has offered their browser as a cross-platform UI and development platform for handsets ranging from smartphones running Symbian, Windows Mobile and Android all the way to feature phones running S40 and others.

They claim their widget-based application environment can lower development costs, speed time to market and deliver a consistent user experience to buyers, while providing a more visually attractive user interface.

The browser-based user interface has been touted before, previously by Access for example with their Netfront browser, but HTML-based UI’s have recently gained increased mind-share with the WebOS on the Palm Pre, which makes its adoption by another OEM slightly more likely.

While the main criticism would likely be that such a UI would be slow and unwieldy, it could easily be argued that at present many of us spend the majority of the time on our computers interacting mostly with web-based user interfaces for the various web applications that make up our online life these days.

Would our readers be interested in a web-based UI paradigm on their phones?  Let us know below.

Read more at Opera here.

The Department of Justice released statistics this week on the prison population in 2008, and while it’s hard to look at 2.3 million people behind bars and see good news, that’s exactly what this is. Our prison population is showing signs of slowing down — finally — and we have the recession to thank.

A few facts from the study:

• The number of people in prison and jail still stands at an all-time record, but the growth in 2008 was slower than any year since 2000.
• New admissions to prison were down in 2008 from the year before and releases were up 2 percent.
• As we close this decade, comparing the growth rates across the last twenty years in particularly striking. The average annual growth in American prisons in the 1990s was 6.5 percent. From 2000 to 2008, it averaged 1.8 percent annually, and from 2007 to 2008 it was just 0.8 percent.
• 20 states saw their prison populations decline in 2008.
• The overall population under some form of correctional supervision grew by 0.5 percent in 2008, with 7.3 million people — 1 in 45 adults — on parole, probation or behind bars.

More details are available from the Bureau of Justice Statistics.

So what does all this mean?

(more…)

When a leading manufacturer of desiccant dryers decided that they needed a transportable chilled-mirror dew-point instrument to certify the functionality of their dehumidification systems, they turned to Michell Instruments for a solution.

The result is the Optidew Transportable, which combines the drift-free performance of the chilled mirror principle with the convenience of a transportable instrument. Housed in a specially-designed case, the instrument is both fully self-contained as well as small and light. For the client, having an instrument that was easily transportable was vital because of the range of situations where their dryers are installed.

Desiccant de-humidifiers create dry air which can be used in a variety of applications such as the leisure industry for swimming pools and sports halls, various utilities such as power stations and water treatment works, desiccant cooling for air conditioning systems or within the chemical, food and pharmaceutical industries. The Optidew Transportable allows engineers to check the reliability of their installations over time, and give their customers peace of mind in their choice of dryer – whatever the application.

The Optidew dew-point hygrometer works on the proven, fundamental optical dew-point measurement principle, giving unmatched drift-free performance in the long term. It offers a wide measurement range from the equivalent of less than 0.5% up to 100% RH and measures dew points as dry as -40°Cdp at ambient temperatures. The portable version features a high definition alphanumeric display which shows the measured humidity, dew point, water activity, grams per kilogram and a number of other hygrometric units. The whole hygrometer is self-contained in a custom-built case for optimal protection and ease of use.

End of Eternity is coming to Japan on January 28th, but those who may be feeling a bit hesitant to get the game can have a little dry run. I’m talking about the demo coming later this

Filed under: Convertible, Performance, Mazda, Rumormill

Are big changes ahead for the Miata? As a blog that’s gone on record as adoring the current iteration (and all previous – Ed.) of Mazda‘s quintessential sportscar, that notion is a bit worrisome. Still, it sounds as if the company is going in the right direction. According to Inside Line, the 2011 MX-5 Miata will shrink in size a bit with an expected curb weight of just 2,200 pounds. That low weight should pay big dynamic dividends as well as boost efficiency, but the big news on that front will be an all-new engine.

Powering the next-gen Miata will reportedly be either a 1.3-liter or 1.5-liter version of the four-cylinder SKY-G engine (G as in gasoline) that Mazda showed off earlier this year at the Tokyo Motor Show. With an expected power rating near 150 horsepower, the current model’s power-to-weight ratio would remain intact (the 2009 model boasts 167 hp), and Mazda reportedly predicts the downsized mill will return in excess of 50 miles per gallon in the little sportscar. Consider our interest piqued.

[Source: Inside Line]

2011 Mazda MX-5 Miata to get SKY-G power, 50+ mpg? originally appeared on Autoblog on Fri, 11 Dec 2009 09:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Global intelligence company Stratfor has a nice explainer:

Stratfor: A number of other eurozone nations, however, are facing fiscal situations nearly as difficult as Athens’, and the European Union may decide to make an example of Greece to encourage other high-spending nations to cut their debt levels.

The roots, Stratfor explains, are from over-spending:

Greece is considered one of Europe’s most notorious overspenders. Even prior to the current crisis, it was fighting high budget deficits, primarily caused by high social spending, a symptom of the country’s ever-present social tensions.

That has caused soaring deficits:

The Greek banking sector is also in trouble:

Stratfor: Greek exposure, particularly to the Balkans, is therefore troubling for the overall economy. The fear is that, unlike the larger Italian and Austrian banks, Greek banks will not be able to refinance loans or absorb losses of affiliates abroad.

Greek banks have thus far drawn around 40 billion euros of cheap credit from the ECB, out of a total of around 665 billion euros extended to all eurozone banks. This represents between 6 and 7 percent of total ECB outstanding liquidity, much higher than the Greek share of EU economy (2.5 percent), and puts Greek banks second only to the Irish in terms of dependence on ECB emergency liquidity.

The basic economic indicators aren't good:

So what to do? Stratfor notes that balancing the budget (resulting in high unemployment); leaving the Eurozone (which would kill its ability to raise funds); and defaulting on the debt (which would "sever Greece from capital markets") are all unrealistic options.

Only bailout remains:

Stratfor: That leaves an internal European bailout. Here the obstacle is Germany. The Germans feel that they have already bailed out all of Europe — twice (once by absorbing East Germany without a cent of assistance from the rest of the Continent, a second time in absorbing so many small and weak economies into the eurozone which Germany underwrites).

If Germany is to sign off on a Greek bailout, therefore, it will only be under terms which give EU institutions an unprecedented ability to regulate Greek finances. Since Athens has already signed away monetary policy in order to accede to the eurozone, all that is left is budgetary control.

Problem is, it's not like others in Europe have lots of extra funds:

Whatever happens, a Greek collapse could set off a nasty chain reaction. As Stratfor analyst Peter Zeihan told us for a feature on 10 Looming Geopolitical Disasters, "Greece is going to be plowing the way, and where Greece goes, Italy may follow. Spain may follow shortly thereafter."

"We just don't know what's going to happen," says Zeihan.

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See Also:

• 10 Looming Geopolitical Disasters
• The Euro Breakup Will Be THE Story Of 2010, As Analyst Expects Ireland And Greece To Leave The Union
• Time Bomb For The Euro: Greek Debt Poses Threat To The Common Currency

Two recent stories regarding America and its global partners jump out to us:

• In Germany they’re freaking out because all the good manufacturing jobs are coming to America — courtesy of our super-weak dollar.
• And in China, they’re slapping tarrifs on our steel, accusing us of dumping.

That’s right.

The rest of the world now views us the way we, for decades, viewed the rest of the world. We complained about them getting our good manufacturing jobs, and dumping cheap-ass steel onto our shores, undercutting ours.

The world’s so-called reserve currency has weakened to the point that we’re regarded as a pesky third-world country, undermining developed mature economies.

Keep an eye out for this.

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• Germans Complain That All The Good Manufacturing Jobs Are Going To America
• The US-China Trade War Is Here
• Rosenberg: The Manufacturing Collapse Has Resumed