Category: News

Ron Paul responds to critcism that his attempts to get transparency from the Fed essentially amount to putting Congress in control of U.S. monetary policy and stripping the Fed of independence.

Joe Kernen: ‘Look at what Congress has done to American fiscal policy, now you want them to run monetary policy, that sounds insane’

Ron Paul: ‘If you want to be a strict constitutionalist, there’s a lot more defense of having Congress involved with defending the value of the currency rather than delivering this responsibility over ot the Fed’

Start at 0:45.

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See Also:

• Ron Paul Tells Jon Stewart Why We Need To "End The Fed"
• Ron Paul: The Fed Caused The Bubble–Let’s Kill It
• Ron Paul: Audit The Fed, Then Just Kill It

In his latest report, ultra-gloomy SocGen analyst Albert Edwards warns of a trade war in 2010, especially if his views of a synchronized global downturn comes to pass.

I think the next 18 months will see major ructions in the financial markets. The consequences
of a double-dip back into recession next year require some lateral thinking. If the carry trade
unwind results in a turbo-charged dollar, any collapse in the China economic bubble will be
doubly destructive to commodity prices. A surging dollar, coupled with China moving into
sustained trade deficit through 2010, could prompt the Chinese authorities to acquiesce to US
pressure for a more flexible exchange rate. But why does no-one expect a yuan devaluation?
 Investors seem to have spotted that the global economic cycle may be on the wane. The
ECRI leading indictor for US activity has now slid for five weeks in a row. Recent data such
as the slumping October US housing starts are causing very valid jitters of what will occur
as the turbo-charged fiscal stimulus now starts to abate.

— Having been in Asia for the last two weeks on business my thoughts turned to China.
President Obama’s recent visit there re-opened some uncomfortable issues about
increasing trade frictions in the context of a Chinese currency which most commentators
believe to be hugely undervalued and the US authorities believe to be “manipulated.” 

— If we do indeed see the sort of unexpected 2010 synchronised global downturn I
— envisage, geo-political tensions are likely to increase sharply. And with trade barriers
already beginning to be erected in a recovery, investors should be really concerned about
what might unfold in any renewed global recession. Aggressive competitive devaluation and
a proliferation of trade barriers would become an increasing prospect in 2010. 

 — I show below one of my favourite charts of what world trade did in the 1930’s. Politicians
reassure us that they have learnt the lessons from that period. Unfortunately, all I see are
more and more protectionist measures being implemented, belying the soothing rhetoric. 

Edwards also makes some interesting comments about China:

Our Asian Economist Glenn Maguire has been very right on China this year. I was chatting to
him on my recent visit to the region and he re-emphasised his call that China will be heading
into trade DEFICIT (!) throughout 2010. This is a mega-call and will have major
implications for the global financial markets. First and most obviously is that China will not
be accumulating FX reserves at anywhere near its recent pace. This has implications not just
for US treasuries etc., but also for the pace of Chinese growth itself, as the rise in reserves has
previously been a major stimulus to domestic monetary growth and activity (see chart below).

Don’t miss: SocGen’s complete guide to the coming meltdown >>

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• SocGen: Prepare Yourself For The Worst Case Scenario!
• SocGen Analyst: Our Governments Are Insolvent, Gold To $6,300! (GLD)
• SocGen Tells Clients: Here’s How To Bet On Total Global Collapse

One benefit of the national debate over health insurance is the spotlight on health care itself. I don’t pretend to have the answer to the political quagmires, but I have to say I’ve enjoyed the deliberation (most of it anyway). Most of all, I appreciate seeing health care issues hashed out in a wide public forum. (I’m holding out hope that it will lead to a real discussion of genuine health itself. A few public figures have tried to steer it that way to little avail so far.) While politicians and talking heads bicker and vent, I tend to take more interest in the stories of independent-minded people who’ve learned to steer the system in their favor, those who’ve fought it tooth and nail and those who’ve checked out of it altogether to go their own route. (Gee, no one fitting that description here … wink). In the last year I’ve gotten a good number of emails from folks trying to do just that – navigating the health care system and their insurance companies as they take charge of their health and buck CW in favor of what they consider more effective interventions that complement their Primal journeys. Here’s one such message…

Dear Mark,

As someone who’s suffered from chronic back pain and arthritis for years, I’m exploring alternative medicine now but finding it impossible to get my insurance company to help pay for it. I’ve taken up the Primal Blueprint lifestyle, which has made a difference in my symptoms, but I know I need to take it to the next level. Conventional treatments haven’t done much of anything for me. I’d love to hear your advice.

Alternative treatments are known in the health community as CAM (complementary and alternative medicine). CAM therapies include treatments like chiropractic care, massage, meditation, biofeedback, movement therapies, yoga, diet therapies, and non-vitamin/mineral supplements. It’s estimated that some 38% of American adults used at least one form of CAM in 2007. Obviously, we live in a free society where people can choose to undertake whatever treatment course they deem desirable. The controversy comes, warranted or unwarranted, when someone is asked to pay for the choice. The New York Times just ran a story about a woman with cancer who, told there was no solution, took the bull by the horns and pursued a course of integrative treatments that saved her life. Her next fight was then battling her insurance to cover the treatments that led to her recovery.

As the Times article notes, she isn’t alone. As CAM therapies – for chronic lifestyle conditions to immediate life-threatening diseases – become more popular in patient and physician circles, there’s more pressure for insurance companies to reconsider their stance on reimbursement. Even government officials joined the debate recently, pushing for certain CAM coverage changes in insurance regulations.

The National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine offers recommendations for those seeking financial assistance in covering their CAM expenses. When it comes to maximizing the possible coverage offered by your current health insurance plan, NCCAM suggests first examining your policy to see which treatments are covered specifically for your particular health condition and what restrictions are imposed (higher co-pay, visit limit, etc.). Find out if pre-authorization is required or if you need a referral from an in-network physician for these services. You can also talk to your present insurance company to see if they offer policy riders, (coverage add-ons) that cover CAM therapies.

If insurance doesn’t cover CAM and you’re going to pursue the treatment anyway, you can always try to fight the good fight. Cover your bases by getting a physician referral, using a state licensed CAM practitioner (preferably associated with a conventional health provider office), and asking him/her to write a letter to the insurance company describing the treatment course and its value for your condition. Make the case by then including whatever solid published research you can find showing the treatment’s demonstrated effectiveness for your condition. Also, check out the respective professional association for your particular CAM treatment. As the NCCAM notes, oftentimes these associations keep track of insurance issues related to their field: who covers or reimburses for what, etc. If you’re fighting a claim that’s already been denied, talk with the provider’s billing staff about how the treatment was coded on the claim.

If you’re using CAM treatments without any health insurance (or efforts to get your policy to cover them), consider other ways to lower your cost outlay. Flexible Savings Accounts and Health Savings Accounts allow you to use set aside funds for certain CAM treatments. Be sure to talk to a representative to get the full details on coverage and conditions.

Finally, just let me say that I realize not every alternative therapy can or should be covered. Indeed, a good many are questionable at best, and just as many are wholly bogus. Critics complain there isn’t sufficient scientific proof that CAM therapies work. Truthfully, this is an argument I understand and appreciate on a theoretical level. Even the treatments that appear most promising are frequently supported by smaller studies of less than stellar design. Nonetheless, when you know a thing or two about science, you realize that the actual practice too often differs from the theoretical principle. Plenty of Big Pharma’s solutions don’t exhibit any more effectiveness than some CAM treatments. Sure, Big Pharma has the money to set up large studies and then ghostwrite seemingly objective articles that get big press. The fact is, CAM therapies don’t have big industry dollars behind them. That doesn’t change my view of the studies themselves, but it leads me to at least suspend disbelief on some level.

Science is science, but I guess the contrarian in me is a little more sympathetic to alternative/complementary treatments that show initial promise and need to be studied more rigorously than I am to many conventional treatments that have a well-funded agenda (and massive lobbying power) behind them. I’d argue that just as many conventional treatments (particularly pharmaceutical interventions) are questionable or outright bogus as the most suspect CAM therapies. Just a couple weeks ago, research showed that a simple niacin formula was more effective than Big Pharma’s Zetia in preventing artery plaque. There’s also the issue of cost. Many drugs cost upwards of $10,000-20,000 a year. Drug companies will pay for these no questions asked. Alternative therapies that might add up to a $1000 or less in a given year for the same condition aren’t even considered. It’s a drop in the bucket for a big insurance giant but a potential budget-buster for many folks.

Let me what you think. Do you have tips, experiences in this arena? As always, thanks for the great questions, and keep ‘em coming!

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Related posts:

1. Dear Mark: Depression Diet?
2. Design Your Own Health Care?
3. Dear Mark: Brain Pills

I was briefed as an analyst by Adam Nash, LinkedIn’s Vice President, Search & Platform Products to learn about today’s announcement around opening their network as a platform.

Announcement: Access LinkedIn Data From Other Locations Using The LinkedIn Platform
Starting today, developers worldwide can integrate LinkedIn into their business applications and Web sites. They’ve announced that OAuth os now available at Developer.linkedin.com.  Like Facebook Connect, this means that any website or any web application can allow users to login from their LinkedIn account on a third party site, and even publish information back to their LinkedIn profile and network from that third party site.

What It Means To Business:

Connect the Affluent, Educated, and Active Community To Your Site
The stats are obvious, they have a network of 52mm (a sixth of the size of Facebook’s 300mm+) engaged individuals that represent decision makers and those that aspire to be upwardly mobile in their career, view the stats page to learn more. In fact, over 51% earn more than $100k+ a year, and 23% earn more than $150K+ annually. Over 77% of community members have a college degree, making this an educated bunch, yet It’s not just about quality of community, their is an apparent degree of site activity, LinkedIn’s site rivals that of Forbes, and even the WSJ.com, according to Compete.

Your Business Applications And Website Should Never Be “Alone”
If your company is in B2B or trying to reach business professionals, chances are you have an application for them to use.  Now, as you launch them, you can quickly integrate with the LinkedIn platform, this way personal data is already populated.    This also goes for your corporate website, provide your users the ability to see which one of their LinkedIn contacts has been there, and encourage them to interact with your site and trigger messages back to their LinkedIn news page –fostering word of mouth.

LinkedIn Data To Be Pervasive
CIOs must wake up and realize the value of social networks, even last week, LinkedIn announced a partnership with Microsoft Oulook, extending it’s profile information to legacy email systems.  Data will get pre-populated, meaning your contacts can be viewable within the context of your existing emails, empowering you to know more about who you’re meeting even though you’ve never met.  We should expect in the future that existing Intranet networks will connect their LDAP to the LinkedIn profile.

And yes, if you haven’t noticed yet, the speed on innovation on the social web is increasing at a rapid pace, things are happening faster than ever. To get a good sense of the evolution of LinkedIn, I’ve created this matrix which shows it’s evolution and some predictions of where things are to head.

Web Strategy Matrix: Evolution of LinkedIn

It won’t be long before you can have your first round with Platinum Games’ hot new heroine, that is if you haven’t gotten yourself the Japanese rele…

News about Wikipedia’s impending demise have come and gone, but the world’s largest encyclopedia seems to be enduring. This won’t last for long, according to a researcher from Spain who points at the dwindling number of volunteer editors as a clear sign that the site is headed to the dust bin. The study shows that, in the first three months of the year, the site has lost 49,000 editors.

This, compared with the same period last year, when only 4,900 left. Of course, Wikipedia still has about three million active contributors across all of the languages supported, so the well may not be drying out any time soon. But the study would seem to imply that this is part of a larger trend, one that, if continued, will lead to big problems for the site, which relies heavily on the volunteers to not only provide the content, but also settle disputes and maintain the quality of the articles.

A previous study, focusing on the English version of the site, released in summer has shown an equally worrying trend, the number of new articles being added to the site has leveled off for the past couple of years and is now actually beginning to decline. The same is true for the number of edits. However, that study found that the number of active editors had been constant at about 750,000 per month for the past couple of… (read more)

Filed under: Sedan, Performance, Buick, GM, First Drive, Luxury

There’s an odd bit of historical deja vu at work here. Back in the late ’60s and early ’70s, General Motors wanted to shift a few sporty-ish four-cylinder models from its Opel division into America, so they turned to their Buick dealers. This didn’t work out exactly as planned – merchandising these odd European ducks in an outlet best known for sober doctor’s cars meant that the GT, Manta and Kadett never managed to make much of a dent in North America’s automotive landscape. This time out, with the Opel Insignia-derived 2011 Buick Regal, GM knows it needs massively better results.

While attending an early drive event for the new Regal last week, we reminded vice-chairman Bob Lutz about the last time his company attempted to sell Opels in Buick showrooms. He laughed his trademark raspy laugh, and reminded us that Car and Driver so loathed the 1968 Kadett that their review featured it photographed in a junkyard. With characteristic candor, Lutz tells us, “It actually wasn’t a very good car.” Of course, Maximum Bob knows full well that GM can’t afford another lost in space Kadett. Does the Regal have what it takes to mollify these “sins of the father” and put Buick on the right track? Click through to the jump to find out.

Photos copyright (C)2009 Chris Paukert / Weblogs, Inc.

Continue reading First Drive: 2011 Buick Regal prototype looks to be a good sport

First Drive: 2011 Buick Regal prototype looks to be a good sport originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 23 Nov 2009 11:55:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Donald Duck is apparently pretty busy on the trademark law front. On the same day, I heard about two separate legal incidents involving Donald Duck, which is just the sort of coincidence that can’t be ignored. The first story, admittedly, is more bizarre than the second. It involves Mickey Mouse suing Donald Duck. Literally. It’s got to be some sort of prank, but the lawsuit has actually been filed. The complaint is rather basic, with Mickey Mouse’s lawyer Juan Abogado (“Abagado” apparently is the word for “lawyer” in Spanish.) stating simply:

COMES NOW Plaintiff, by and through undersigned counsel, and states:
1. This is an action arising under the Trademark Protection Act, 15 USC 78.
2. The Plaintiff is the owner of the trademark no. 0134148349208, (Walt Disney World
patent).
3. The Defendant is a duck.

Donald Duck, represented by his lawyer, Pluto the Dog, Esq., quickly shot back:

1. Admitted.
2. Denied.
3. Admitted.

A quick search fails to turn up the trademark in question, though, I’ll admit to not putting much effort into it.

The other case involving the same Donald Duck is a bit more bizarre. Reader Kevin Brody lets us know that the University Oregon has a stylized version of Donald Duck as its mascot, on license from Disney. Some students and fans of the University football team put together a song about how much they love the team. Great, right? Well, except that in the video they made, the Donald Duck-alike mascot makes a few appearances, and the school’s marketing director flipped out and ordered them to edit out the duck, supposedly because Disney either was, or could get, upset about the usage. As the author of the column notes, this is ridiculous. It’s just a few guys having fun and does no damage to the trademark at all. It’s unclear if Disney actually got involved here, and my guess is that this is more the university stepping up before Disney said anything to protect itself. Given Disney’s aggressive enforcement of its copyrights and trademarks in the past, perhaps this isn’t a huge surprise.

Still, with Donald Duck being summoned by court clerk “Goofy” to the Florida courtroom where Mickey is suing, you have to wonder if he’ll be able to make it back in time for the the Oregon Ducks game…

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This morning, the NAR reported an October home sales surge of 10.1%.

Breaking down the numbers, Calculated Risk (CR) points out that the non-seasonally-adjusted data was higher year over year vs. 2008 for the firth month in a row and higher than 2007 for the second consecutive month. This is clearly positive news.

Yet CR also warn that homebuyers rushing to capture homebuyer tax credits before the end of October (the previous expiration date, this has now been extended) likely boosted the data slightly.

Finally, while inventory came down nicely, this decline was itself boosted by seasonal factors and still remains remarkably high. The data was good, but not as good as it may first look.

Check out further analysis at Calculated Risk >>

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• The Most Important Housing Chart Shows Things Are Still Getting Worse
• Commercial Real Estate Slide Kills City Budgets
• Existing Home Sales Surge 10.1% In October

I was showing my Dad my cell phone over the weekend. He said, “Son, no one gives a damn about all the things your cell phone does. You didn’t invent it, you just bought it. Anybody can do that.” Life with Dad, always an adventure…

Speaking of buying things, us taxpayers bought us another bank on Friday, although Central Bank of Stillwater, MN agreed to assume all of the failed bank’s deposits and all of its assets. Commerce Bank of Southwest Florida was taken over, and for those keeping a tally, it was #124 for this year and the 12^th in Florida. They had total assets of about $80 million and total deposits of about $76.7 million, according to the FDIC. The FDIC and Central Bank will share in losses on about $61 million of Commerce Bank’s assets.

Do you have a 401(k) plan? It is the most popular retirement savings vehicle in the US, with about 65 million, or an estimated 40%, of private sector employees having one. It is named after the section of the IRS code, and came about in 1978 after Congress provided for taxpayers to receive a break on deferred income. In 1981 the IRS allowed employees to defer part of the pretax salary into their retirement plan. Most are offered at a lower cost than a traditional pension plan, and of course billions of dollars have moved from mattresses into the financial markets. But do they make investors smarter? Of course not – for better or worse, many companies encourage employees to use their 401(k) plans to invest in the company’s stock by offering discounts and other plans. Employees of companies like Enron, Countrywide, WorldCom, Lehman Brothers, Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, etc. were encouraged to, in effect, double down instead of diversifying, not only relying on the company for employment but also hoping to rely on the stock during their retirement. So as we come up on the end of the year, and employees are realizing that they can put more money into their 401(k) plans, they should be careful where it goes.

But speaking of retirement plans, Flagstar requires evidence of liquidation when a borrower’s funds to close are coming from a “401(k), IRA or other acceptable retirement account, regardless of documentation required by Total Scorecard. Loans will not be cleared-to-close until acceptable evidence of liquidation is provided.

more news about Flagstar, high FICO and low LTV, Wells Fargo, AmTrust Bank, market color, and joke of the day <<< CLICK HERE

AOL won’t spin-off from Time Warner until December 9, but the company told the SEC today it expects trading of its stock will begin as early as tomorrow.

How is that possible?

Through the magic of “when-issued” trading, where people can trade stock they don’t physically have in their hands yet.

Here’s how it’s defined on MIT.edu:

When-issued trading is forward trading of securities that takes place before the securities are issued. Such trading can take a variety of forms, such as betting (with cash settlement) or OTC trading (with physical settlement). When-issued trading commonly occurs in Treasury markets, but also in some IPO markets. When-issued markets can be seen as prediction markets that predict the pricing of securities issues.

Click through to see AOL’s new logos >

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• AOL’s First Acquisition… Associated Content?
• AOL Unveils New Brand, New Logos (TWX)
• AOL’s Huge Day Getting Smaller (TWX)

Filed under: Car Buying, Coupe, Performance, Lexus

In an interesting bid to foil exotic car speculators who drive up the prices of limited-availability models, Lexus will reportedly lease – not sell – its forthcoming LFA supercar when it hits the market in January of 2011. As Automotive News reports, Lexus will only offer two-year leases of its 552-horsepower supercar at a fixed price (which has not yet been disclosed). At the conclusion of the two year period, leaseholders will get the opportunity to purchase the vehicle outright, at which point the title would be handed over. As Lexus’ vice president of sales and dealer development Brian Smith tells it, his company wants “people out driving the car and not just parking it in a museum or selling it at an inflated price.”

As part of the gearing-up process to sell this markedly different kind of vehicle, Lexus will also reportedly train 15 LFA specialists that will be located at the company’s four regional outposts, and the Japanese automaker will also pay for dealers to receive the special tools and training that will service the vehicles.

Despite being a lease, all cars will still be individually tailored to the customer and built-to-order beginning in December of 2010.

This is certainly an interesting and potentially very clever end-around on the speculator’s market. If it works, look for other exotic car companies like Ferrari and Lamborghini to follow suit.

Photos copyright (C)2009 Damon Lavrinc / Weblogs, Inc.
[Source: Automotive News]

REPORT: Lexus to lease – not sell – all 500 LFA supercars in order to foil speculators originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 23 Nov 2009 11:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It sounds like the “perma-bear” label is starting to get to Gluskin-Sheff economist David Rosenberg.

In his daily note, he takes a big swipe at market strategist Jim Paulsen of Wells Capital Management, and a frequent guest on CNBC.

We sifted through Barron’s over the weekend and found out in ‘The Trader’
column that Jim Paulsen of Wells Capital Management is “a favorite market
strategist”.  Well, everyone is entitled to their opinion and we have debated Mr.
Paulsen in the past, and just as we may be looked upon as ‘perma-bears’, he
most certainly is a ‘perma-bull’.  We can’t lay claim to be able to pick every
peak and valley but we have been consistent with our view that we are halfway
through a secular bear market in equities, and while we were never quite
optimistic enough during the credit and asset bubble from 2003 to 2007, we
like to feel that we saved people who listened to us a lot of pain during what
economists now call the Great Recession.  

We saw it coming, and admittedly we were early on the call, but after re-read
Bob Farrell’s market rules to remember and Charles P. Kindleberger’s “Manias,
Panics and Crashes” and we’re confident that the housing and credit bubble
would collapse under its own weight of dramatic excess.  We all make calls
that in hindsight proved to be inaccurate.  But the question is where you were
on the really big calls.  The calls that really mattered — that actually saved
people their hard-fought wealth and capital.  Well, on November 22, 2007, a
month away from the steepest economic downturn since the 1930s, and as a
matter of public record, Mr. Paulsen had this to say:  

“This thing hasn’t been about people losing their jobs and their incomes.  It’s
been more about CEOs getting fired, banks writing off hedge fund losses and
a showdown between Wall Street and the Fed.”  

Mr. Paulsen wasn’t the only one to dismiss the credit bubble bursting and
what was to follow.  But just because he stayed bullish and caught this year’s
government-induced rally, pundits like him are now viewed as being a
“favourite” in one of the most influential business journals is rather incredible. 
But it does attest to the ‘what have you done for me now’ mentality that has
gripped an equity market that has stayed so short-term focused.  

A reader of our daily missives reminded us last week that as for the current
non-fundamentally based situation, we might want to reference the beginning
of Annie Hall when Woody Allen tells the joke about the family thinking about
institutionalizing their crazy uncle who believes he’s a chicken.  Here it goes:
This guy goes to a psychiatrist and says, “Doc, uh, my brother’s crazy.  He
thinks he’s chicken.”  

And, uh, the doctor says, “Well, why don’t you turn him in?” 

And the guy says, “I would, but I need eggs.” 

Join the conversation about this story »

See Also:

• Rosenberg: Class Warfare Coming Your Way
• Rosenberg: Here’s Why Unemployment Is Going To 13%
• Rosenberg: Something Big Is About To Happen

I received an email over the weekend from HyFLEET:CUTE outlining the successes of their hydrogen bus project that I would like to share with you. A couple of years ago I talked about how the HyFLEET:CUTE project was running multiple hydrogen buses in Europe, Asia and Australia.

About a week ago, I talked about how additional HyFLEET:CUTE buses were rolling out in China and Germany. But, let’s get a closer look at the successes of the 40 HyFLEET:CUTE buses that don’t even include the 20 hydrogen buses in British Columbia, Canada or a similar amount of large H2 passenger buses in the U. S. or the Ford H2ICE shuttle buses.

So far, the 40 HyFLEET:CUTE buses have carried 8.5 million passengers. This includes over 1.5 million miles traveled under normal, everyday conditions. These 40 buses have been refueled with 550,000 kilograms of hydrogen safely.

According to the email, “The impressive results presented at the conference, held in Hamburg on November 17-18 have shown that Europe is in sight of commercialization of this leading edge technology. Today’s technology allows buses to run efficiently and cleanly on hydrogen. Crucially, the project has shown that infrastructure to produce, supply and distribute hydrogen for transport can be implemented efficiently.”

While there has been much talk about hydrogen car development, hydrogen buses in this program have been quietly hauling millions of passengers over 1.5 million miles while refueling safely with over half a million kilograms (gallon equivalent) of hydrogen. And, this is just the beginning.

It wasn’t so long ago that Stanford and Santa Clara last battled it out, but it was clear Friday that a lot had certainly changed.  While the Cardinal (23-0) demolished the Broncos (14-7-2) on the road back in early October by a score of 6-2, the 2009 season’s second ‘South Bay Derby’ played out almost nothing like the first.

Stanford’s third playoff game was instead a back-and-forth nailbiter, but fortunately for the fans on The Farm, one thing remained the same: a Cardinal victory.  Punching a ticket to the NCAA quarterfinals with the win, Stanford edged out its local rivals 1-0 on a cold, wet night when a Teresa Noyola free kick was the big difference-maker.

“Yeah, I think [it was different this time],” said Stanford Head Coach Paul Ratcliffe.  Everyone knows it’s the last game of [Santa Clara’s] season if they don’t get the result, so emotions were high and it was a physical match, and it was a tight game.”

Stanford had the brighter start to the game, and had a decent chance just ten minutes in when senior forward Kelley O’Hara cut inside her defender on the right and unleashed a shot from outside the box. Curling it off her weaker left foot, however, she could only hit it directly at Bronco keeper Bianca Henninger.

Santa Clara began to get back into the game soon after, and the match began to have a feisty edge to it. After a series of fouls by both teams, SCU fullback Jenny LaPonte picked up the game’s first yellow card in the 19th minute.

The remainder of the first half saw both teams create chances, but it looked like the game would remain scoreless heading into halftime. That all changed when O’Hara was hauled down 25 yards from goal in the 39th minute. Sophomore Teresa Noyola—once again playing the role of impact sub—stepped up and curled a beautiful free kick over the wall and towards the corner of the goal. Henninger managed to get a touch on it but could only deflect it in off the crossbar, and it was 1-0 Stanford.

Interestingly, Noyola and Henninger have a history that goes back much farther than their time in Division I soccer.  Both sophomores, the pair played with and against each other on various national and club teams.

“I’ve seen her make super saves all the time, so that makes it that much better to get it,” said Noyola.  “If it had been just an inch lower, she might’ve gotten to it.  She definitely read it well, and I’ve known Bianca for a long time, played with her and against her, and to get one on her was great.  She’s a great keeper.”

The teams traded shots to begin the second half, and in the 59th minute, Stanford had a golden opportunity to double its advantage. Noyola was again the architect, getting to the endline on the left before centering for junior Christen Press. The junior got under the bouncing ball, however, and uncharacteristically sent her close range shot over the open goal.

“We wanted to get that second goal, you know, and we had a chance and Christen Press unfortunately missed a good chance that she usually puts away,” Ratcliffe said.  “So I wasn’t happy that we didn’t get that second goal.”

The Cardinal players did not let the miss get in their heads, though, and continued to push forward. In the 76th minute, freshman center back Alina Garciamendez got headed a corner kick towards goal and O’Hara redirected it with another header. Henninger was beaten, but Santa Clara’s Kiki Bosio was there to clear the ball off the line and keep the Broncos in the game.

That would be Stanford’s last shot of the game, as- like last weekend’s match against BYU- the one-goal lead led to an anxious final ten minutes.

“I wasn’t happy with how we ended the game.  We should’ve cleared the ball a lot better,” Ratcliffe reflected.

Santa Clara nearly equalized with just three minutes remaining: SCU defender Jordan Angeli appeared to mishit her shot from the top of the box, but as the ball looped back down to earth it became clear that it was heading under the crossbar. Luckily for Stanford, junior goalkeeper Kira Maker was alert to the danger and made a leaping save to keep the ball out.

The Card held on for three more minutes, and after yet another gritty tournament victory, the team was on to the quarterfinals for the second straight year.For Santa Clara, meanwhile, the loss was a difficult end to a promising season.“We put in a year’s worth of work just since the end of last season,” reflected Santa Clara Head Coach Jerry Smith.  “For us to have the regular season that we did, we got better and stronger, and to get back into the NCAA tournament and back into the Sweet Sixteen, I am so proud of this group for al the effort and commitment, and the only thing that knocked us out at the end was the undisputed number one team in the tournament.”

Stanford will continue its postseason in the Elite Eight next Friday against the Eagles of Boston College (18-3-2).

The US Air Force is now looking to purchase 2,200 PS3s – no, the troops aren’t planning to have the coolest multiplayer party on Earth, nor are they …

A few weeks ago, Claudio Borio, head of research at the Bank for International Settlements, warned in a solemn note to Group of 20 leaders that modern financial policymakers are “driving while just looking in the rear-view mirror”: western finance officials have focused so much on past risks that they fail to spot new dangers.

Worse still, as policymakers rush to implement reforms in response to one financial calamity, they are apt to create distortions that pave the way for the next disaster. Just such an unintended consequence could now be festering in the banking sector, as its balance sheets are increasingly stuffed with government bonds.

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In a recent interview, investment guru Marc Faber explained that he doesn’t think gold is ever going below $1000 per ounce.

From Faber:

Basically we had a good move in gold whereby we had fluctuated for two-years between USD 800 per ounce and USD 1000 per ounce and now we’ve broken through the USD 1000 per ounce level with quite conviction and heavy volume. I believe that whereas in the past the USD 1000 per ounce level was kind of a resistance level, now it becomes a support level. I don’t think that you’ll see gold below a USD 1000 per ounce probably ever again So I’m actually quite positive. Maybe gold at this level is a better buy than it was at USD 300 per ounce in 2001. 

Faber makes a number of other points in the interview:

• Stocks have come up very far, very fast. At this point the downside risk may outweigh any further upside potential, but the downside won’t be extreme. He says the S&P may decline from its current level to around 900 but is unlikely to break below low of 666. It may however go up to 1200 next year.
  

• Rising stock markets in the US and Europe may be a sign of economic weakness, which would extend zero interest rate policies and trigger new stimulus plans.
  

• With rising demand in China and India for oil, and falling global reserves, there’s very little downside in oil.

•   On the much talked about issue of the dollar carry trade, Faber says,he is not sure if there is a huge dollar carry trade. “I would short dollar currently, but hold gold,” Faber says.  

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• Gold Starts The Week With An Instant Blast Higher (GLD)
• If Faber Says The Dollar Is Going To Zero, Then Stocks & Commodities Will Go To Infinity
• How Marc Faber And John Paulson Are Playing The Inflation Trade