Today’s performance notwithstanding Dennis Gartman remains optimistic about the price of stocks over time.
Shares will rise for “very long while into the future.” Thank liquidity programs from central banks like the Fed for this wild Bull market. Dow 13,000 is impossible.
But the days of so-called “market leader” stocks like Goldman Sachs and Apple may be coming to an end. Gartman notes that while Apple’s earnings the other day were enough to light the stock on fire, it did not sufficiently move the market as a whole.
Bears should realize that “fighting the tape has proven ill-advised” and if you can’t beat the market, join it.
Yesterday, I uploaded episode #10 of my improv podcast. This week my guest is Kurt Braunohler. I really enjoyed this conversation. We began by talking about how one goes about teaching Harold, but we quickly moved on to other topics like solo improv, image streaming and viewpoints. Finally we talked briefly about Caligula, an exercise that we talked about in the Susan Messing podcast.
Kurt is a teacher and performer at the People’s Improv Theater. He can be seen performing with Big Black Car and The Faculty. He is also a stand up comedian and performs at various venues around NYC. Several of his shows have appeared at the Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre. He has also appeared at the Edinburgh Festival Fringe with his comedy partner, Kristen Schaal.
Alisha John has many goals as your 2010-11 Engineering Student Faculty Board (ESFB) president. John’s overall objective is to increase recruitment and retention rates at the college. To do so, she wants to help create new events, and get more people to volunteer at each event. But John says she can’t do it alone.
“I feel that as students of the College of Engineering it is our duty to help ensure that it is as successful as possible now and in the future,” says John. “I believe that collaboration between students and student organizations helps to enrich the college experience of all those involved and leads to better results.”
John says she ran for ESFB president because she is passionate about what the board aims to accomplish. “I believe that effective lines of communication between students, student organizations, faculty and staff are essential if a university is to provide the best possible education for its students,” she says. “I want to do my part to ensure that the College of Engineering provides not only an excellent academic experience to its students, but a great life experience as well.”
The ESFB president-elect presided over her first board meeting — the last of the semester — Wednesday, April 14, one week after being elected.
John, a soon-to-be chemical engineering senior, seemed comfortable in her new position. She says she gained leadership skills as president of Tau Beta Pi, the Engineering Honor Society, this past school year. “I am able to run more effective and efficient meetings, delegate tasks and promote success within a group,” she says. “In addition, I gained new contacts through interaction with administration, faculty, staff and my fellow students. I believe that these contacts will help my term as ESFB president be a successful one.”
John isn’t new to creating programs. “One specific program I would like to continue and improve upon is the Freshman Outreach Program that I started last fall which aimed to aide incoming Freshman with their transition into the university setting,” she says.
John has been involved in many campus activities in the past year. She started the fall 2009 semester off with a bang by volunteering as a victim in the dunk tank event during the Welcome Back Picnic. John took part in an on-campus a cappella choir called SYNCS (Singing Young New-age College Students). She also points to her drive, tact and “excellent communication skills” as further qualifications.
Vanda Ametlli, former ESFB president, says a good ESFB president needs to be a “good leader,” noting that her “communication with student organizations’ leaders is a major factor in ESFB’s success this past year.” She adds that assigning tasks to other board members will allow her to accomplish more goals. But Ametlli’s “most important” piece of advice is to “assure that student needs are addressed,” she says.
John says she is grateful to be given the opportunity to give back to the College of Engineering. “I am looking forward to this coming year and hope that ESFB will continue to be successful under my lead,” she says.
By Katie Allen: ARM Holdings and Apple (NSDQ: AAPL) go way back, and on Thursday the market was taking the view their relationship could be about to become even tighter.
Shares in the Cambridge-based chip designer soared to an eight-year high as rumours continued to circulate that Apple may have ARM in its sights as an acquisition target.
But before speculators get too carried away, Arm’s chief executive Warren East reminds everyone to look at the economics…
With ARM’s market capitalisation at more than £3 billion, why fork out a fortune to own it when Apple and others can license the designs at a fraction of that?
“Exciting though it is to have the share price pushed up by these rumours, common sense tells us that our standard business model is an excellent way for technology companies to gain access to our technology. Nobody has to buy the company,” East told The Guardian.
At the root of the rumours, ARM’s microchips can be found in most of the world’s mobile phones, including Apple’s iPhone. As consumer demand for smartphones grow and as the devices get smarter, they will need more of Arm’s designs. Having said that, Apple now owns its own chip designer – PA Semi.
The talk left ARM’s shares up 8.4p, or 3.4 percent, to 258.9p, the highest since April 2002 and made them the day’s top performers on the FTSE 100.
Berlin Reed, 27,
took an unlikely path through vegetarianism and even “militant”
veganism before embracing his new profession whole hog—literally. He now styles himself The Ethical Butcher.
He gets all of his meat from small, local farms and visits every one
to meet the farmers and see first-hand how their animals are raised.
He’s converting people to the cause of sustainable meat through what
he calls The Bacon Gospel,
curing bacon with flavors like watermelon-basil and
horseradish-lemon-turmeric, as well as through the Heritage Breed
Supper Club, where people not only eat well but learn the story behind
what they’re eating. Reed is also writing a book, developing a video
series on sustainable meat, and planning a tour of cities along the
East and West coasts to share his philosophy and highlight the work of
others fighting to change the meat industry.
Watch Reed talk about his work and slaughter a pig:
Nate “nnenn” Nielson was a father, husband, artist, and teacher. He also popularized the “Vic Viper” LEGO spaceships that took the AFOL community by storm. He died in an accident early this month. A few of my favorite nnenn designs: More »
No this is not another Audi A1 concept, in fact this is a Ford. At the 2010 Beijing Motor Show, FoMoCo unveiled the new Ford Start Concept – the first concept put together by the Dearborn automaker in more than three years.
“Our ambition with the Ford Start Concept was to design a car that goes beyond the practical realities of commuting in these mega cities, to go beyond just dressing the technology. We wanted to design a car you would also love,” explained Freeman Thomas, Design Director, FoMoCo.
Ford Start Concept
Besides the crisp, smooth exterior shell constructed with lightweight composite body panels that snap-fit on an aluminum structure and the innovative interior (put together by Ford’s Irvine, California Strategic Concepts Group Studios), the model features a 3-cylinder EcoBoost. Power for the Ford Start Concept comes from a 1.0L 3-cylinder EcoBoost engine that delivers power and torque that comparable to a normally-aspirated I-4 powerplant.
We have no tech specs nor do we have any fuel-economy figures, but we’re guessing this concept hints at Ford’s future expansion of the EcoBoost engine range along with hints at subcompact cars for emerging markets (seeing as it debuted in China).
Check out the press release and high-res gallery after the jump.
Ford Start Concept:
Press Release:
The Ford Start Concept Shows the Newest EcoBoostTM Engine
The Ford Start Concept is the first concept car created by Ford in more than three years. The car made its debut April 22, 2010, at the Beijing International Auto Show, also marking the first time Ford has unveiled an all-new concept vehicle a China show. The Start Concept is more than simply a design study. It previews a fuel-efficient three-cylinder EcoBoost engine with 1.0 liter of displacement and the power of a larger I-4 engine.
The Ford Start Concept was inspired in part by a growing global trend toward mass urbanization. The world’s top 20 mega-cities are home to consumers whose needs, attitudes and expectations may have more in common with mega-city dwellers in other nations than with their own countrymen. While these consumers share the challenges of living in an urban society, they also increasingly seek out product solutions that bring the best the world has to offer.
Today, more than 50 percent of the world’s population lives in an urban area. By 2050, that number is expected to skyrocket to more than 70 percent. Already, congested highways, space for parking, concerns over fuel efficiency as well as the availability and price of fuel are driving automakers to look at vehicles and personal transportation more differently than ever before.
Living in a mega city poses unique challenges and inspires unique lifestyles and attitudes. Just as traffic congestion issues are common in these geographic areas, the answers to solve the issues of a new generation of future small cars for these urban markets may also be found in the Ford Start Concept.
Powertrain
Ford powertrain engineers previewed something very real and close to being reality under the hood of the Ford Start Concept car. It’s an all-new and compact addition to the advanced Ford EcoBoost engine family. Consistent with Ford’s long-range goals to provide more power though sophisticated turbocharging and spark-ignited, direct-injection fuel management systems, the 1.0-liter Ford EcoBoost engine delivers power and torque comparable to a normally-aspirated I-4 powerplant. It is expected to have CO2 emissions under the 100 gm/km threshold.
This engine is coupled with a six-speed manual transmission which permits gear spacing to deliver performance without sacrificing fuel economy. The transmission easily handles the higher torque levels of the 1.0-liter Ford EcoBoost engine and together with the sporty handling of the Ford Start Concept, delivers the fun-to-drive characteristics that are at the core of the Ford brand DNA.
Connectivity
Located at the top of the console is a port to connect to the MyFord Mobile concept technology, which provides a seamless driver interface conducive to safe driving practices with personal handheld devices.
Without a smart phone, car-related functions including heating, ventilation and air conditioning, engine diagnostics and passenger airbag on/off function can be easily viewed and adjusted while driving through either voice activation or toggle and scroll controls located on the console. A wide, six-inch screen provides visuals.
As an added feature, when the driver inserts a smart phone in the docking station when the vehicle is in motion, access is available via the MyFord Mobile Concept to phone contacts and navigation tools through voice activation, as are all messaging, direction and communication features.
If the smart phone device is docked and the vehicle is parked and powered off, both the vehicle functions and icons from the user’s device are available via the MyFord Mobile Concept. Icons are displayed on the large screen through Bluetooth transfer. Car functions and the speaker system also are controlled through voice activation.
MyFord Mobile Concept restricts certain functions, such as texting, while driving.
Design
“With the Ford Start Concept, we didn’t set out to design some sort of utilitarian concept to save the world, nor were we interested in following the competitive trend toward an overly noisy design language. What we did set out to do was design a personality driven car that exudes warmth, charm and aspiration…to design a car worth bonding with,” said J Mays, Group Vice President Design and Chief Creative Officer, Ford Motor Company.
Crisp highlights are incorporated into a smooth exterior shell constructed with lightweight composite body panels that snap-fit on an aluminum structure.
Ford’s trademark kinetic trapezoidal grill moves upward onto the rounded, sleek form, reducing the number of prominent openings from two to one and creating a face that’s both sporting and efficient. The entire exterior surface of the Ford Start Concept has been designed with flush-mounted aerodynamic features designed to cheat the wind – providing a minimal amount of drag while achieving maximum fuel efficiency.
The innovative hybrid aluminum, high-strength steel body construction features a lightweight aluminum safety cell that provides a rigid attachment structure for the glass and roof, as well as housing side curtain air bags. All exterior body panels are made from deformable, pre-colored recyclable composites.
Slim, laser-cut LED headlamps provide high-intensity light through trapezoid tubes. Two sets of running lamps, including a pair located in the headlamp design and a pair of lower running lamps, provide nighttime illumination.
Created by a global team of designers working at Ford’s Irvine (Calif.) Strategic Concepts Group Studios, this sporty, futuristic concept combines near-production Ford EcoBoost engine technology, slick aerodynamics and low weight in an environmentally friendly package with reduced greenhouse emissions, all wrapped in an exciting design.
Rank of Earth Day among the largest secular events in the world: 1
Barrels of crude oil spilled on the California coast in a 1969 offshore oil platform blowout that helped inspire U.S. Sen. Gaylord Nelson to organize Earth Day: at least 80,000
Estimated barrels of crude oil currently pouring out each hour from an offshore oil drilling rig that exploded earlier this week in the Gulf of Mexico: more than 300
Number of workers still missing following that blast: 11
Date on which the Obama administration announced plans to expand offshore drilling to new areas along the South’s Atlantic coast and the Gulf of Mexico: 3/31/2010
Year in which demonstrators blocked a shipment of PCB-contaminated soil to a landfill in a predominantly African-American community in North Carolina, sparking the Environmental Justice Movement: 1984
Percentage of residents living within two miles of commercial hazardous waste facilities today who are African-American: 56
Date on which environmental justice leaders called on the Environmental Protection Agency to take action to better protect low-income communities and people of color: 10/27/2009
Rank of Atlanta, Georgia among America’s most toxic cities: 1
Increase in the average annual temperature in the Southeast since 1970: 2 degrees F.
Amount by which average temperatures in the region are expected to rise by the 2080s, even if steps are taken to curb carbon emissions: 4.5 degrees F.
Amount by which average temperatures in the region are expected to rise in that period if carbon emissions are not curbed: 9 degrees F.
Rank of the South among least energy-efficient regions of the U.S.: 1
Rank of the 2008 coal ash spill from TVA’s Kingston plant in eastern Tennessee among the largest industrial waste spills in U.S. history: 1
Minimum number of states where water supplies have been contaminated by coal ash: 23
Date by which the EPA promised to release a proposed regulation for coal ash, which is currently not overseen by the federal government: 12/31/2009
Date on which EPA announced it was delaying the rule’s release amid heavy lobbying by utilities: 12/17/2009
Number of months after the first Earth Day that EPA began operations: 7
The idea that all the government spending the U.S. has used to bring the country back from recession may not prevent the economy from crumbling under the weight of its own debts lives in markets today.
There have been signs that the U.S. may differ from Japan’s balance sheet recession. The Federal Reserve’s quick response, the size of that response, and the current growth experience suggests that the U.S. may avoid the worst of Japan’s balance sheet recession.
But a lot of the data explaining Japan’s experience matches up with U.S. economic data, and when you look at those charts side-by-side, its fearfully revealing.
Japan Commercial Land Values
Source: Japan government paper, “The Asset Price Bubble and Monetary Policy“
Japan Residential Land Values
Source: Japan government paper, “The Asset Price Bubble and Monetary Policy“
Japan Land Values
Source: Japan government paper, “The Asset Price Bubble and Monetary Policy“
U.S. Land Prices
Japan Asset Prices
Source: Japan government paper, “The Asset Price Bubble and Monetary Policy“
U.S. Asset Prices
Japan Interest Rates
Source: Japan government paper, “The Asset Price Bubble and Monetary Policy“
U.S. Interest Rates
Japan Money Supply
Source: Japan government paper, “The Asset Price Bubble and Monetary Policy“
U.S. Money Supply
Japan Loans Outstanding
Source: Japan government paper, “The Asset Price Bubble and Monetary Policy“
U.S. Loans Outstanding
Source: Japan government paper, “The Asset Price Bubble and Monetary Policy“
U.S. Bank Profits
Japan Bank Profits
Source: Japan government paper, “The Asset Price Bubble and Monetary Policy“
Japanese Markets vs. The World
Source: Japan government paper, “The Asset Price Bubble and Monetary Policy“
Japan Stock Values
Source: Japan government paper, “The Asset Price Bubble and Monetary Policy“
U.S. DJIA Values
Japan GDP
Source: Japan government paper, “The Asset Price Bubble and Monetary Policy“
U.S. GDP
Look familiar. California for Tokyo, perhaps?
Source: Japan government paper, “The Asset Price Bubble and Monetary Policy“
Don’t believe us? Check out Richard Koo’s presentation saying the U.S. is the next Japan.
Blame Brazil for the underperformance in emerging market stocks so far this year, says Geoffrey Dennis, an analyst at Citigroup Capital Markets.
While global equities have climbed 4.6% so far in 2010, emerging market stocks as a whole, are up 4.3%, due primarily to poor performance in Brazil, where the country's top benchmark is down -0.2%. Indeed, Brazil is the second worst-performing emerging market in 2010.
"These trends are a reversal of 2009, when Brazil outperformed Latin America, which outperformed emerging markets, which outperformed the [world stocks]," Mr. Dennis said.
He said some common arguments thought to explain emerging market underperformance don't add up. In particular, the earnings forecasts in 2010 has been equally strong in developing and developed markets. Meanwhile, emerging countries that have raised rates in this cycle – Israel, Malaysia and India – are outperforming this year.
The fact that the U.S. dollar is barely higher in 2010 also does not explain the emerging market underperformance.
Arguments focused on Brazil, one of the three bigges emerging markets, do hold water, however. Mr. Dennis said Brazil has been hit hard by nerves ahead of October elections, the focus on the next rate cycle, which has been compounded by the mistake of not tightening in March, and the poor performance of oil and gas giant, Petrobras that has fallen 11% due to concerns of an upcoming equity issuance.
If Brazil is excluded from performance figures, Latin America is up 7.6% year-to date, emerging markets are up 5.3% and world stocks are up 4.9%.
"We remain long-term positive but continue to look for only modest gains in 2010 in Latin America (15-20%)," Mr. Dennis said.
"We would buy the ‘latest dip’ in markets and expect the underperformance of Brazil, Latin America and GEMs to ease as the year proceeds."
A rash of papers, comments and interviews have made us think this recently. It’s not as simple as ‘policymakers are waking up to peak oil’, but that all those groups — and indeed, industry — are increasingly talking about the same issues looming in fossil fuel production, even if they’re using different terminology.
Later:
We’d venture that several things have kept talk of peak oil apart from the mainstream: a disagreement over the effect of price on demand, and a perception that many interested in peak oil simply predict overly dramatic, armageddon-style trajectories that sober-minded policymakers see as overblown.
And she concludes:
The debate is beginning to converge around a few central issues: how will economies that developed on cheap, abundant oil deal cope with the transition to expensive, scarcer oil? What will it mean for the emerging economies hoping to emulate those growth patterns? And finally, how will this play out in terms of pollution and climate change?
MacKenzie’s link included above is to James Hamilton’s excellent 2005 post, “How to talk to an economist about peak oil.” Comments at Hamilton’s Econobrowser and responses at peak oil blog The Oil Drum revealed that economists and peak oilers were not communicating well in 2005. I’m not as convinced as MacKenzie seems to be that we’re doing much better in 2010.
WASHINGTON–White House executive chef Christeta Comerford keynotes an evening of culinary mastery and healthy living” at Northwestern University on Friday, hitting the Evanston campus. Obamafoodorama explains more over here; Northwestern provides details of the Comerford event, sponsored by NU’s Filipino Student Association; co-Sponsored by Multicultural Student Affairs, ECO, Food Health Initiative (FHI), One Book One Northwestern, SEED.
[JURIST] The Netherlands Utrecht District Court on Thursday acquitted members of the Arab European League (AEL) of hate speech charges resulting from the posting a cartoon on their website that insinuated that the Holocaust was fabricated. The criminal complaint against the group alleged that the cartoon violated Article 137c of the Dutch Penal Code, which punishes individuals for making discriminatory and defamatory statements against certain groups. The AEL argued that they do not actually deny the historical facts of the Holocaust, but that the cartoon was posted to call attention to what they saw as a double standard in the distribution of Danish cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed. The court held that the cartoon was offensive, but that, in light an accompanying disclaimer and subsequent statements regarding its purpose, it was nevertheless protected under Article 10 of the European Convention on Human Rights:
Although the cartoon, in the opinion of the court, is in very bad taste and very hurtful for Jews and others, the right to make this statement is ensured given its specific context and purpose. In light of the case as a whole, an infringement on that right in the form of a criminal conviction is not proportional to the objective to which it serves. Prosecutors had sought for the court to consider the fact that Jewish groups were not involved in the creation or distribution of the Danish Mohammed cartoons, but the court refused.The Danish cartoons depicting Mohammed were originally published in a Danish newspaper in 2005, leading to worldwide protests and lawsuits for those who reprinted the cartoons including suits in Yemen, France and Jordan. The Danish government did not press criminal charges against the Danish newspaper that originally printed the articles. Last month, US citizen David Headley plead not guilty to 12 counts of federal terrorism, including charges related to an alleged plot against the Danish creator and publishers of the controversial cartoons.
Nissan’s Altima, whether in sedan or coupe body style, has sold almost 3.2 million units worldwide. I guess it’s safe to say that Nissan is doing a pretty good job with their midsize four- and two-door. The pretty good job that they’re doing gets a little better with the introduction of the 2010 model. This fourth generation vehicle line receives a few tweaks here and there to make both sedan and coupe more attractive and appealing.
2010 Nissan Altima 3.5 SR Coupe
Included in the upgrades is a restyled front fascia with a new grille giving it a more modern look, and with the 2010 Altima Coupe in 3.5 SR trim, a new 5-spoke aluminum alloy wheel design set on P235/45VR18 all-season tires. Along with standard safety features like 4-wheel disc brakes and ABS with EBD, a Traction Control System (TCS) and more, Vehicle Dynamic Control (VDC) is now standard on all Altima models. There was also a name change for trim types, so the SE designation is out and the SR is in.
When it comes to the interior styling, I’m still sitting on the fence because I haven’t decided if I like it or not. I really do like its simplicity and easy-to-use 4.3-inch touchscreen display, but I’m not a huge fan of the all-black-with-minimal-accents dash and centre stack. It’s too much black for me and I’d like to see more of a contrast. But then again, the all-black does give it a sophisticated feel and appealed to a lot of my passengers. I will say that it’s not necessarily the strongest-looking interior in its class since I feel the Hyundai Genesis Coupe and Honda Accord Coupe put up a pretty good fight.
Since this Altima is a coupe, I didn’t really expect it to have the comfiest rear seat when sitting back there for a short-haul road trip. And it didn’t. A couple of my girlfriends and I headed down to Seattle for the day and unfortunately, one of them had to sit in the back. Liz, who is about 5’8”, had a hard time getting in and out of the rear since the seats are a little fussy when trying to move them back and forth. Also, she had a hard time sitting still in her seat. She felt the seats were “too reclined” and not ideal for long trips so she had to sit forward in order to be more comfortable and to hear any kind of conversation that was going on. There also wasn’t enough head or legroom. That was compounded because she sat behind Sarah who was in the front passenger’s seat, and Sarah is 5’10”. That’s not to say we didn’t have a lot of fun, because we did, it just took some shifting to and fro to keep my passengers in good spirits.
And speaking of good spirits, the Altima Coupe, when driven solo or with just one other passenger, did make a lot of people smile, including me. The main smile-making feature of this car is its 3.5-litre, DOHC, 24-valve, V6 engine which produces 270 horsepower and 258 lb-ft of torque. The engine, which in this case was linked to the optional Xtronic CVT (Continuously Variable Transmission) with manual mode ($1,300) performed flawlessly. While I haven’t been a fan of CVTs on 4-cylinder models, it’s a perfect fit with the V6. Acceleration is smooth and the engine is very responsive. I also enjoyed the low-pitched grunting noise that the exhaust created as this coupe accelerated.
The Altima was also very comfortable taking charge in the handling department. Laced with an independent front subframe-mounted strut-type and a multi-link rear suspension, this bad boy wasn’t afraid to let it all out yet keep it all together when it came to taking tight turns. Furthermore, its highway speed stability was no issue at all. It felt sturdy and confident, especially when overtaking other cars in passing lanes.
I also took a strong liking to the optional premium audio package ($3,150), a new feature for the 2010 Altima. It comes with a potent Bose AM/FM audio interface plus nine Bose speakers, the aforementioned 4.3-inch colour display, a USB port with iPod connectivity, Bluetooth, XM satellite radio, a rearview camera and more. The sound quality is fantastic and gets two thumbs up from me. And now that BC’s law prohibits the use of handheld phones while driving, Bluetooth is my new best friend. Pairing my phone with the Altima’s system was effortless, and I’m thankful for that especially since I would not consider myself an expert when it comes to tech gadgets.
Fuel economy with the 3.5L V6 isn’t actually that bad, using an estimated 10.2L/100km in the city and 7.3L/100km on the highway. Perhaps it’s my lead foot that lead to less-than-favourable fuel results in the city, because my reality was nowhere near the aforementioned estimate, but I can’t really complain because I really liked listening to the exhaust when I got on the throttle! Because of my more conservative highway driving, mind you, I achieved more-than-favourable overall results.
Lets talk numbers. The base price of the 3.5 SR Coupe is $34,698. With the optional CVT transmission, premium audio system and metallic exterior finish, the MSRP (including freight and PDI, but not taxes) comes to $39,383. For all the bells and whistles you’re getting with the fully loaded, and I mean fully loaded Altima Coupe, that’s a very competitive price tag.
Overall, I would give the 2010 Nissan Altima Coupe 3.5 SR five enthusiastic cylinders out of six. While the interior is relatively bland and doesn’t facilitate taller people into the rear seats comfortably, the Coupe’s driving dynamics really sold me. It was a blast in the corners and even more fun off the line, and I’d be more than happy to do it all again!
Rule of the Road No. 12: EVERYONE in a trucking company must follow truck safety rules
My fellow truck accident attorneys, this is the last blog in my “Rules of the Road” series. I posted this series because it is my sincere wish that by sharing these dozen rules of what I consider to be some of the most important Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations for lawyers handling truck accidents, and showing how they’re integral to handling such a case properly, we can work together with many in the industry to stop so many tragic and preventable truck fatalities and serious injury accidents.
The last rule is brief, but it is incredibly important. Under 49 CFR § 392.1, every motor carrier, its officers, agents, representatives and employees responsible for the management, maintenance, operation, or driving of commercial motor vehicles; or the hiring, supervising, training, assigning, or dispatching of drivers, shall be instructed in and comply with the rules in this part.
This means EVERYONE – not just the safety director – within the transportation company is charged with the responsibility of instructing in and complying with the federal truck rules.
This rule addresses one of my personal pet peeves. Often, I’m taking a deposition of a truck driver and uncovering one safety violation after another, and the truck driver will say, “That’s not my job; that’s safety’s job,” or “dispatches’ job.” I have presidents of large truck companies tell me, almost brag about, how they have no understanding of federal safety regulations. I have all sorts of people in maintenance who attempt to dismiss responsibility of their knowledge of the rules by saying, “It isn’t my job to follow the rules. That’s safety’s job or so-and-so’s job.”
No, it isn’t. Safety is everyone’s job. Under § 392.1, it IS his or her job, no matter if this person is the truck driver, safety director, works in maintenance, or dispatch, or is president of the company.
Under § 392.1, it IS his or her job to know and follow the safety rules that are meant to protect us all.
The Importance of Regulation Knowledge for Truck Litigation Attorneys
To conclude, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Regulations are a source of minimum safety standards that every interstate motor carrier must follow. These regulations impose standards of care that many carriers fail to meet. When preparing your truck accident lawsuit, a brief overview in these 12 regulations will give you the decisive advantage in exposing the trucking company’s failure to properly train, supervise, or entrust large commercial trucks to unfit drivers. Without knowledge of these regulations, a lawyer cannot possibly recover top value for his clients after a serious truck accident case.
My hope is that these posts can help provide a meaningful framework for lawyers conducting legal discovery in truck crash cases.
With one in every three trucks on the road in so dangerous a condition that it would be placed immediately out-of-service if inspected (Read here about Michigan’s dangerous trucking companies), I truly believe it’s the lawyers specializing in truck accident cases who are doing the most to make trucking companies, and everyone who shares the roads with tractor-trailers in America today, safer.
Unfortunately, the vast majority of personal injury attorneys don’t have a lot of experience with truck accident cases. I hope I have helped some of these new or less experienced attorneys with this series of blog posts; and I hope it is in some small way, a step toward making our roads safer for our families – and saving lives.
– Steven M. Gursten is a partner of Michigan Auto Law. He is past president of the American Association for Justice Truck Litigation Group, and has received the top reported trial verdict in Michigan for truck accidents. Last year, Steve was named a Michigan Lawyers Weekly Leader in the Law for his efforts in promoting truck safety in Michigan and throughout the country.
Michigan Auto Law exclusively handles car accident, truck accident and motorcycle accident cases throughout the entire state of Michigan. We have offices in Southfield, Sterling Heights, Ann Arbor, Grand Rapids and Detroit to better serve you. Call (800) 777-0028 for a free consultation from one of our expert attorneys.
The EU airspace shutdown provides yet another example of ignorance of the role of models in policy:
Computer Models Ruining EU?
Flawed computer models may have exaggerated the effects of an Icelandic volcano eruption that has grounded tens of thousands of flights, stranded hundreds of thousands of passengers and cost businesses hundreds of millions of euros. The computer models that guided decisions to impose a no-fly zone across most of Europe in recent days are based on incomplete science and limited data, according to European officials. As a result, they may have over-stated the risks to the public, needlessly grounding flights and damaging businesses. “It is a black box in certain areas,” Matthias Ruete, the EU’s director-general for mobility and transport, said on Monday, noting that many of the assumptions in the computer models were not backed by scientific evidence. European authorities were not sure about scientific questions, such as what concentration of ash was hazardous for jet engines, or at what rate ash fell from the sky, Mr. Ruete said. “It’s one of the elements where, as far as I know, we’re not quite clear about it,” he admitted. He also noted that early results of the 40-odd test flights conducted over the weekend by European airlines, such as KLM and Air France, suggested that the risk was less than the computer models had indicated. – Financial Times
Other venues picked up similar stories:
Also under scrutiny last night was the role played by an eight-man team at the Volcanic Ash Advisory Centre at Britain’s Meteorological Office. The European Commission said the unit started the chain of events that led to the unprecedented airspace shutdown based on a computer model rather than actual scientific data. – National Post
These reports miss a number of crucial points:
The decision to shut down the airspace was political, not scientific. Surely the Met Office team had input, but not the final word, and model results were only one input to the decision.
The distinction between computer models and “actual scientific data” is false. All measurements involve some kind of implicit model, required to interpret the result. The 40 test flights are meaningless without some statistical interpretation of sample size and so forth.
It’s not uncommon for models to demonstrate that data are wrong or misinterpreted.
The fact that every relationship or parameter in a model can’t be backed up with a particular measurement does not mean that the model is unscientific.
Numerical measurements are not the only valid source of data; there are also laws of physics, and a subject matter expert’s guess is likely to be better than a politician’s.
Calibration of the aggregate result of a model provides indirect measurement of uncertain components.
Feedback structure may render some parameters insensitive and therefore unimportant.
Good decisions sometimes lead to bad outcomes.
The reporters, and maybe also the director-general (covering his you-know-what), have neatly shifted blame, turning a problem in decision making under uncertainty into an anti-science witch hunt. What alternative to models do they suggest? Intuition? Prayer? Models are just a way of integrating knowledge in a formal, testable, shareable way. Sure, there are bad models, but unlike other bad ideas, it’s at least easy to identify their problems.
Prior to the launch of the iPad bloggers started thinking about how convenient the slate might be for sharing information. Some even believed the iPad would make such an impact on the process that it would change blogging for the better. While it’s certainly true the iPad makes interacting with the web easy, and something that can be done almost anytime, it’s still not clear how useful it can be for the actual process of blogging. The fog is clearing, however, and some bloggers are using the iPad to handle most of the blogging process. I would never want to use the iPad as my only blogging tool, but I admit I am finding it far more useful for the task than I thought it would be. With some careful thought and best practices, blogging can indeed be done on the iPad.
I would never recommend bloggers to dump whatever computer they are using for blogging — that would be silly. Where I do see advantage to using the iPad for blogging is on short trips, or during outings when a computer is normally not carried for the day. The iPad is easy to travel with, and the tool that is with the blogger is better than any tool that is not. The muse can strike at the most unexpected times, and if the iPad is at hand it’s the right tool for the job.
The first obstacle that must be crossed to do serious blogging on the iPad is the lack of blog editors in the App Store. At last check the WordPress app is the only one that has been released for the iPad. Since we use WordPress on the GigaOM Network, this works to my advantage. Those with blogs on other platforms will have to do some experimenting to determine how best to create posts on the iPad without a specific editor.
Most blog platforms have web-based editors, and it’s worth trying in the Safari browser on the iPad to see if yours will work. We have many special widgets at GigaOM that makes our WordPress online editor a very useful tool, and some of these widgets will not work in the iPad browser. If a given editor doesn’t work in the browser, then post creation becomes a two-part process — writing and posting.
Of course, writing can be done in any text editor, and there are a few for the iPad. The Pages app from Apple works fine for writing blog posts; writing blog posts can even be done in the Notes app. The trick is writing the post and then pasting the content into the final destination. I can’t address every possible situation that one might face, so I’ll concentrate on how I blog using the iPad.
The WordPress app for the iPad is pretty good, and I usually write the entire blog post in this editor. It’s important to note that there is no fancy visual editor (WYSIWYG) like in the web-based version. It’s a simple text editor that works well for text entry. It’s also a HTML editor, so those familiar with HTML can use it to make posts with sophisticated formatting. I’m too far removed from the old HTML blogging days, so I avoid it. I simply use the WordPress app for writing the text content of the blog post. The photo handling capability of this app is not very sophisticated, so I avoid using it for that purpose.
TIP: The WordPress app is great for following comments left on the blog, so don’t overlook that ability. Even if you don’t write blog posts using the app you might find it useful for working with blog comments.
Writing blog posts in the WordPress editor using the iPad’s on-screen keyboard is more efficient than I dreamed possible. I expected this keyboard to be good for knocking off a very short email, but not for writing blog posts consisting of hundreds of words. What I’ve discovered is with a little practice it’s easier to type on the screen than you might think; it’s certainly a viable method in a pinch. For much longer posts I use an external Bluetooth keyboard. It folds up and fits in my pocket, yet opens into a full-sized keyboard. I don’t absolutely need it for writing on the iPad, but I’m no glutton for punishment. I have the tool so I use it when it makes more sense.
Having written a blog post in the WordPress app, when done I publish it as a draft to the blog. This brings it into the WordPress online system for the final editing — adding links, images and implementing the special widget controls we use on the site. The next time I log into the web-based editor the post will be waiting in draft mode for this work.
It may seem that my iPad work with the blog post is over at this point; if that were true, then full blogging couldn’t be done on the iPad in my case. This is where it gets really fun — I fire up LogMeIn Ignition on the iPad, and log into either a Mac or Windows PC in my home office. I leave at least one of them running for this purpose, with the LogMeIn server running in the background.
Using this method, I am in effect working with my Mac (for example) on the iPad, using the slate display as the Mac’s monitor. More importantly, since LogMeIn is optimized for interaction via touch on the iPad, I am able to do anything I normally do on the Mac (or Windows PC) by touching the screen. I use this method to start the Firefox browser, and enter the web-based WordPress editor on the home machine.
I have the “full” browsing experience this way, and the final post editing process is just as it would be in the office, but using touch on the iPad. I add any links I need; upload, grab and edit any images for the post; and enable any of the special GigaOM widgets needed for the particular post. There is hardly any lag and it’s amazing how well this method works. It turns the iPad into a full Mac or Windows system, with no limits. This is why my method is working so well for me.
Clever readers will ask why I don’t just log into the home machine and write the post in the browser, rather than create the draft using the iPad local app. That’s a fair question and the proper answer is I could easily do that. But as well as the LogMeIn method works, when I am concentrating on the post writing process itself, I prefer the distraction-free environment of the local editor. It’s strictly personal preference, but there’s no reason doing it all through the remote connection wouldn’t work. I have done it that way, as a matter of fact, and still prefer to do it in two steps.
I must make it clear that this method works for me as I already have everything in place to make it work. I have multiple computers in the home office, so it’s no burden (financial or otherwise) to have one available for remote access. I already owned LogMeIn on the iPad ($29.99), so I didn’t have to spend the money just for blogging. This may not be the case for you, and I am not recommending you spend a lot of money to do this.
This method is working so well for me that I could easily employ it for short trips without impacting my ability to work. I don’t intend to do that, but I could if I needed to. That’s a liberating thought.
Disclosure: Automattic, maker of WordPress.com, is backed by True Ventures, a venture capital firm that is an investor in the parent company of this blog, Giga Omni Media. Om Malik, founder of Giga Omni Media, is also a venture partner at True.
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Olivier Blanchard, chief economist at the International Monetary Fund (IMF), talks with Bloomberg this morning about the prospects for an asset bubble in China. Blanchard, speaking from Washington, also discusses the impact of sovereign debt on global economic growth.
No China Bubble Concern
While Blanchard declined to comment on the situation at Greece due to ongoing discussion between the IMF, the European Union (EU) and the Greece government, he did offer some insight as to the “China bubble” suggestion made by the likes of Mr. Jim Chanos (link below).
Here is Blanchard’s response when asked if the IMF sees an asset bubble about to burst in China,
“We do not think so. For the most part, the growth in China, which has been very high, and is expected to continue, has been a healthy one.”
He indicated that there could be pockets of bubbles; however, since the Chinese government is watching closely and ready to intervene when necessary, the IMF is “not “terribly concerned about any major asset bubble in China”.
On Yuan Revaluation
Blanchard noted the strategy of China is to increase domestic demand levels and decrease savings rate, which he believes is too high. As Beijing implements this process in order to re-allocate resources to the domestic sector, the Chinese currency–yuan or renminbi– will then be allowed to appreciate. He believes this is what we are going to see in the next few years.
‘Fiscal Consolidation’ A Priority
Blanchard said fiscal consolidation must become a priority for heavily-indebted advanced economies but that is likely to further weigh on demand, and thus on economic growth. This has manifested more intensely at Greece, but eventually all countries will go through a similar process.
My Thoughts
In its newly released its World Economic Outlook today, the IMF forecasts for global growth was nudged up to 4.2% this year. China will grow the fastest –by 10% this year– and 9.9% in 2011.
However, over the past week, Beijing announced measures aimed at cracking down on property speculators amid an 11.7% rise in urban home prices last month from a year earlier, its fastest gain in five years.
China cynics such as Mr. Jim Chanos have argued that China’s lending spree during the financial crisis has pumped too much liquidity into real estate, and compares China’s economy as “Dubai times 1,000”.
Among the counter-arguments, of which I subscribe, China’s growing wealth feeds a long-term demand as the country goes through the urbanization process. Furthermore, regulators are implementing measures limiting the downside of any bubble. These views are basically supported by the IMF and Blanchard as seen in this interview.
The IMF has for years urged a rebalance where advanced countries, such as the United States, may need to weaken their currencies to boost exports, while emerging economies like China need to allow their currencies to rise, curbing exports.
There is a growing consensus among economists that such a shift will not have significant impact on the trade imbalance. That is the main reason why J.P. Morgan economists estimate that a 10% trade-weighted appreciation in the yuan would reduce China’s overall exports by only 2%.
However, in a global race to increase countries’ export advantage to help recovery, most of the attention has focused on the need for China to appreciate the yuan to help drive Chinese domestic demand.
From all indications, the most likely scenario is that Beijing will allow the yuan to gradually appreciate, albeit very modestly. The adjustment is unlikely to meet expectations as critics in the U.S. argue that the yuan is as much as 40% undervalued against the dollar. This no doubt will escalate global tensions and a possible trade war between China and the U.S.
The global economic recovery has drawn support from a swift rebound in China. It would be advisable for U.S. policy makers to weigh the long-term effect against the short-term benefit, since currency exchange rates aren’t the only factor to consider when it comes to China’s trade surplus.
In light of the coming “fiscal consolidation” among the advanced economies as warned by Blanchard, China’s growth prospect–among the best in the world–with its relatively low debt ratios, could certainly be one region with greater stability.
There will be some pockets of corrections in the medium term as Beijing tries to balance growth and inflation, while curbing potential bubbles–as expected in any growing economy. Nonetheless, these pullbacks should prove to be good entry points for long term investors.
Note: The Bloomberg Blanchard inteview is available here
It’s not that there’s a shortage of mobile projectors, but when DoCoMo (Japan’s biggest cell phone carrier) announces [JP] a model for its 55 million customers, it deserves a mention. DoCoMo specifically suggests using the F01 with Fujitsu’s uber-cool “Separate Keitai”, a cell phone that breaks into two parts (and that’s currently available on the Japanese market only).
Hide your electronic devices, the cattiest maven to ever hit the catwalk is off her meds again — and this time she’s attacking cameras. Tempermental beauty Naomi Campbell has refused to testify at the war crimes trial of former Liberian dictator Charles Taylor, saying that she would not speak about the huge, uncut “blood diamond” he allegedly gave her during a trip to South Africa in 1997 — and she nearly flipped her wig (literally) when quizzed about the controversy by ABC News.
The supermodel and the warlord were overnight guests of Nelson Mandela, along with humanitarian Mia Farrow. In her testimony, Farrow has revealed that she learned of the diamond at breakfast the next moring.
“Naomi Campbell came down . . . she said during the night some men had knocked on her door and she, half-asleep, had opened the door and it was representatives of President Charles Taylor and that they had given her a huge diamond. And we were like, ‘Oh, my gosh….”
“Prosecutors say Taylor was in South Africa . . . to buy weapons for the Sierra Leone rebels with blood diamonds and that Mia Farrow’s information about Campbell helps tie him to the purchase,” says ABC correspondent correspondent Brian Ross. Naomi vowed to keep mum on the issue at a recent Fashion Week appearance to raise money for Haiti.
“I didn’t receive a diamond and I’m not going to speak about that,” she fumed.
Naomi then abruptly ended the interview by slamming the camera to the floor.
![Click here to read R.I.P. Nate "nnenn" Nielson, LEGO Spaceship Builder Extraordinaire](http://cache-03.gawkerassets.com/assets/images/4/2010/04/160x120_lego_fighters_by_nnenn.jpg.jpg "Click here to read R.I.P. Nate "nnenn" Nielson, LEGO Spaceship Builder Extraordinaire")
(This is a guest post from 