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49 out of 50 U.S. states are still showing less economic activity than a year ago, based on February 2010 coincident economic indicators from the Federal Reserve of Philadelphia. The chart below is organized from top to bottom, from the most growth in economic activity to the largest declines in economic activity.

States like West Virginia (WV), Maryland (MD), Idaho (ID), and Wyoming (WY) are the worst off year over year. Their February 2010 economic activity remained 13.5%, 6.3%, 6.3%, and 6.2% lower year over year. Thus their economies, along with those of another 45 states, all the red ones, are all underwater on an annual basis.

North Dakota (ND) is the only state to currently have a higher level of economic activity year over year. Its February 2010 economic activity was 1.1% higher than February 2009, as shown by the green dot in the chart below.

Moreover, 28 out of 50 states even exhibited less economic activity in February 2010 than just three months earlier (not directly shown below). This means they have been deteriorating most recently as well.

In fact, the chart below is organized from left to right by the change in economic activity in the last three months (February 2010 vs. November 2009).

Thus West Virginia (WV), Maryland (MD), Montana (MT), and Delaware (DE), have seen their economic activity fall since November 2009 the most, given that they are the left-most dots. For example, West Virginia’s economic activity fell 3.1% vs. November 2009 (percentage not shown). In contrast, Michigan has done the best most recently, given that it is the right-most dot, rising 1.5% vs. November 2009 (percentage not shown).

Net-net what this tells us is that 49 out of 50 state economies are still underwater on a one year basis, and 28 out of 50 are even still falling vs. November.

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After focusing on technology strategy for many years as a professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s Sloan School of Management, Rebecca Henderson finally took a sabbatical. With time for leisure reading, and at the urging of her brother, a freelance environmental journalist, she decided to explore the literature on climate change.

The sobering facts and figures that she found made her want to leave academia, she told a group of HBS students, faculty, and staff at the Harvard Business School (HBS) last Thursday (April 22).

“I was interested in doing something about global warming,” said Henderson, the School’s Senator John Heinz Professor of Environmental Management.

Luckily, her “green” friends convinced her that as a business professor she was poised to make a difference in an area that really counted: corporate America. So, she shifted her academic focus and joined the faculty at Harvard Business School.

Henderson delivered her remarks as part of the annual HBS Earth Day celebration, a series of events dedicated to raising awareness of sustainability. Her current research centers on large companies that work to build new businesses or improve their efficiency using sustainable practices and technologies.

Maintaining a profitable business model and safeguarding the world aren’t mutually exclusive concepts, said Henderson.

“What we need is a clear-eyed focus on the bottom line, linked to a deep sense of moral purpose. I think that is what leadership in the age of climate change looks like.”

Henderson said she was hopeful and inspired by the many large corporations adopting stances that merge a successful business model with a moral imperative to make a difference on the environment.

The concept isn’t new. She offered the example of Johnson & Johnson, established in 1886, which incorporated the notion of helping people into its founding credo, and noted that today more CEOs are weaving a commitment to the common good into their mission statements.

Additionally, there are tremendous opportunities for innovation and profit in responding to the environmental crisis by developing wind and solar power and rethinking the world’s water, agriculture, and recycling systems, said Henderson.

Leaders who build communities dedicated to a common goal and who successfully bring the language of a common moral purpose into the daily fabric of their companies, while at the same time making sound economic decisions, are the ones who will succeed, she said.

“It’s really about understanding the uniting of the two … [and] taking this seriously as a guide to decisions and actions.”

Former F1 driver David Coulthard isn’t pleased with Michael Schumacher’s apparent criticism as he believes that Schumi should be give more time in this season to gain a firm footing.

David believes that it is not Michael’s fault and Mercedes should be blamed for not offering him the kind of car he likes to drive.

Schumi is 40 points behind his own teammate Nico Rosberg in the first four races and the revised Merc package for the Barcelona GP is being touted as his last chance to avoid being written off.

Coulthard thinks that Schumi should be given more time (at least half a season) before being assessed.

As per him, the current car Schumi is driving was originally made for Jenson Button who switched to McLaren making room for Schumi in the rebranded Brawn team.

Coulthard is hopeful that the seven time world champion will have to wait for Mercedes to develop the right kind of car.

Filed under: Car Buying, Japan, Honda, Earnings/Financials

Honda has officially joined the ranks of automakers like Kia and Ford by posting solid profits during the fourth quarter of the company’s fiscal year. The Japanese automaker managed to see profits rise by 28 percent compared to the same period last year, thanks largely to increased hybrid sales. The announcement marks the fourth-straight quarter of profits for the company after seeing a rare operating loss at the end of March, 2009.

Sales in Japan have been bolstered by sales of the incredibly popular CR-Z Hybrid. Earlier this month, Honda announced that it had received over 7,000 orders for the two-door hatchback, which accounted for over half of the models the company had set aside for sale in its home market.

Honda also attributed its quick recovery to the fact that its lineup is comprised mostly of fuel-efficient vehicles – something buyers in a global recession have been quick to appreciate. Analysts also point to a healthy dose of cost-cutting measures as bearing credit for the rebound, too. Based on the good news, the carmaker hopes to see its growth continue through the rest of 2010.

[Sources: Honda, Mainichi Daily News | Image: Justin Sullivan/Getty]

Honda in the black, fourth quarter profits up by 28% originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 28 Apr 2010 13:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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I’ve noted that the iPad will be a computer for people who are poor. I’ve predicted that Apple will turn on Facebook (their friend today, but so was Google, once). I’ve noted that MobileMe more closely resembles OS X server than it does Google Apps.

Spain was downgraded today, and now concerns over a minor Greek crisis are growing into the threat of a massive Spanish meltdown.

Spain would not be a minor blip on the world’s economic radar. Spanish banks have received a tremendous amount of financing from the European Central Bank (ECB).

From EconomicResources:

And Spanish banks also rely on interbank credit dwarfs Ireland and the rest of Europe, exposing those counterparties to banking sector risk.

From EconomicResources:

Combining this likely banking sector exposure with sovereign debt exposure, it looks likely France and Germany will face significant problems if the Spanish crisis progresses.

From EconomicResources:

See Just How Desperate Spain Is To Rollover Its Debt In Their Presentation To Foreign Investors >

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Another Android device will be hitting the market soon. This phone comes from a Chinese company named Commtiva. It will be sold through Cincinnati Bell which shares the same 3G bands as T-Mobile.

Specifications after the JUMPRadio Band & Standard
GSM/GPRS/EDGE 850 / 900 / 1800 / 1900
WCDMA/HSDPA 1700 / 2100

5MP Camera

3.5 mm jack

Connectivity
GPS GPS / AGPS
Wi-Fi 802.11 b/g
Bluetooth 2.0 + EDR 2.0 + EDR
USB USB 2.0
Power
Battery Rechargeable Li-Ion 1230mAh
Power Adapter AC input: 100-240V, 50 / 60Hz, 0.2A max.
DC output: 5V, 1A
Temperature
Operating -15ºC to 55ºC
Non-operating / Storage -20ºC to 70ºC
Charging 0ºC to 40ºC
Humidity
Operating 10% to 90% non-condensing
Non-operating / Storage 5% to 95% non-condensing

The name of this phone is the Blaze. It will ship with Android 1.6, it should be priced fairly reasonable. Also, it could make its way to T-Mobile but if it doesn’t you could easily pop in your sim card and use it like it was came from T-Mobile.

[via cellphonesignal]

Found under: Nokia, N8, Symbian, Symbian^3, Announcement, Smartphone,

Big boy on the block the Nokia N8 and yes this is the first Symbian3 handset from Nokia and everything looks to be heading into the right direction. The N8 has been graced with the task of being Nokias new flagship device for Symbian3 and while the device looks really capable I cant help but feel a little underwhelmed by the handset its missing something.Right off the back you notice how the User Interface lacks glare compared to the likes of Android and the iPhone it just loo

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At the Peterson Foundation Fiscal Summit in Washington DC today, most panelists tried to distingiush between necessary short-term deficits and harmful structural long-term deficits. “I think Americans are smart enough to think about two things at the same time,” former CBO director Alice Rivlin said. 

Two employees at the Sprint outlet at Cherry Creek Shopping Center, where that iPad customer had his pinkie ripped off by a criminal earlier this month, were fired for chasing down and holding a different shoplifter one day later.

The men say they were starting their breaks when they heard the Apple store security guard, who they described as being in his mid-to-late-fifties, shout, “Help! Somebody stop that guy!” They saw a young guy run past with something in a jacket, so they chased him through Macy’s and into a parking garage, where they tackled him.

Before long, on-duty Denver cops and representatives of mall security had joined the crowd. As for the guard who’d been giving chase, he worked for the same Apple Store hit by Smith the previous day. The suspect allegedly grabbed several pieces of Apple software retailing for just over $500.

Shoemaker and McGee filled out paperwork for the mall and the police, accepted heartfelt congratulations for their quick thinking, and then returned to the Sprint store. About fifteen minutes had elapsed; their break was over.

Last week Sprint HQ started asking questions, and shortly thereafter terminated their employment, citing a policy that “employees shouldn’t confront thieves” and classifying their actions as employee misconduct.

“Sprint employees fired for capturing shoplifter” [Westworld] (Thanks to Adam!)

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“Robber Steals Man’s iPad & Part Of His Fing

Palm’s developer portal has recently added a video library section and its off to an excellent start with a number of webOS courses and tutorials.

Developers looking for more information into getting started on developing for webOS should checkout the new Palm developer podcast series. Now on their second installment, the video podcast is hosted by Palm’s developer relations duo, Ben Galbraith and Dion Almaer. The second video (also embedded after the break) gives a entry level crash course in getting started with webOS programming.

Also in the mix is a ongoing series of recorded lectures from Stanford on developing mobile apps for webOS. The college level course is currently underway at the university and is being taught by a rotating selection of Palm staff. Palm is making the recorded classes available on its video library and youtube.

No change… rates to stay low “for extended period”… Dow soaring.

This statement is a cut+paste job from last time. There was one dissenter: Thomas Hoenig, who has been sounding a warning of late about asset bubbles.

Here’s the full announcement:

———————

Information received since the Federal Open Market Committee met in March suggests that economic activity has continued to strengthen and that the labor market is beginning to improve. Growth in household spending has picked up recently but remains constrained by high unemployment, modest income growth, lower housing wealth, and tight credit. Business spending on equipment and software has risen significantly; however, investment in nonresidential structures is declining and employers remain reluctant to add to payrolls. Housing starts have edged up but remain at a depressed level. While bank lending continues to contract, financial market conditions remain supportive of economic growth. Although the pace of economic recovery is likely to be moderate for a time, the Committee anticipates a gradual return to higher levels of resource utilization in a context of price stability.

With substantial resource slack continuing to restrain cost pressures and longer-term inflation expectations stable, inflation is likely to be subdued for some time.

The Committee will maintain the target range for the federal funds rate at 0 to 1/4 percent and continues to anticipate that economic conditions, including low rates of resource utilization, subdued inflation trends, and stable inflation expectations, are likely to warrant exceptionally low levels of the federal funds rate for an extended period. The Committee will continue to monitor the economic outlook and financial developments and will employ its policy tools as necessary to promote economic recovery and price stability.

In light of improved functioning of financial markets, the Federal Reserve has closed all but one of the special liquidity facilities that it created to support markets during the crisis. The only remaining such program, the Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility, is scheduled to close on June 30 for loans backed by new-issue commercial mortgage-backed securities; it closed on March 31 for loans backed by all other types of collateral.

Voting for the FOMC monetary policy action were: Ben S. Bernanke, Chairman; William C. Dudley, Vice Chairman; James Bullard; Elizabeth A. Duke; Donald L. Kohn; Sandra Pianalto; Eric S. Rosengren; Daniel K. Tarullo; and Kevin M. Warsh. Voting against the policy action was Thomas M. Hoenig, who believed that continuing to express the expectation of exceptionally low levels of the federal funds rate for an extended period was no longer warranted because it could lead to a build-up of future imbalances and increase risks to longer run macroeconomic and financial stability, while limiting the Committee’s flexibility to begin raising rates modestly.

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[JURIST] The US Supreme Court heard oral arguments Wednesday in Doe #1 v. Reed on whether the First Amendment allows a state to compel the release of identity information about petition signers. The case arose over an order to publish the names of those who signed a Washington state petition to overturn a state law giving same-sex partners the same rights as married partners. The US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit ruled that the names should be released, but the Supreme Court issued a temporary stay in October. Counsel for the petitioners argued that, “o person should suffer harassment for participating in our political system, and the First Amendment protects citizens from intimidation resulting from compelled disclosure of their identity and beliefs and their private associations.” Counsel for the state of Washington argued that the names can be made public. The court appeared skeptical of petitioners’ arguments, with Justice Antonin Scalia saying “emocracy requires a certain amount of civic courage.”

Quick summary – LeBron James has had an aggravating elbow injury for some time now, and because he eased up on it and carried it gingerly at the end of the game last night, it’s become a major story.

However, breathe easy Cavalier fans.  The elbow is just fine.  It told me so;

Whoever created this Twitter account did so shortly after Midnight last night, and has been growing followers hand-over-fist since then. Pure brilliance.

The US EPA just released an excellent report on climate change indicators in the US. In this first of a series of Planetsave posts summarizing the report, we look at greenhouse gases.

The US Environmental Protection Agency just released Climate Change Indicators in the U.S., a report showing “compelling evidence that the composition of the atmosphere and many fundamental measures of climate in the United States are changing.”

Although there is surely much more happening as a result of climate change than what is in this report, the range of indicators presented by the EPA here and their significance for humans and life everywhere on the planet are profound.

(more…)

The Camel Mini-Conference
May 26, 2010, 1:30-5:00pm
Khalili Theatre
School of Oriental and African Studies
University of London

As part of the preparations for the conference “Camel Cultures: Historical traditions, present threats and future prospects” there will be a half-day mini-conference at SOAS next month, on the afternoon of Wednesday 26 May. This will give a general introduction to camel cultures worldwide. It will also focus on specific areas of problems – for instance the survival of Wild Bactrians in Mongolia. And it will present a summary of the Country Situation Reports which our colleagues in camel research have kindly sent to us.

Members of the public are very welcome to attend this conference. You can reserve a place by sending an e-mail to
[email protected]

www.youtube.com/soascamelconference

JOHN HARE [Wild Camel Protection Foundation]: The Wild Bactrian Camel: A critically endangered species; STEFAN SPERL [SOAS]: Images of the Camel in Arabic Poetry

SALLY WREN [ZSL]: London Zoos Edge Project

ADEL AULAQI [SOAS]: Remembering Camels

ED EMERY [SOAS]: A Documentation of World Camel Cultures: Country situation reports

Introduced by William Gervase Clarence-Smith [SOAS]