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Oil prices have been tearing higher lately, and are now around $85.50 per barrel after bulls took advantage of a surprise drop in U.S. oil inventories.

Oil is well above the $70 – 80 range OPEC has targeted, but OPEC doesn’t yet want to raise output.

RigZone:

Since early March, oil prices have closed above $80 a barrel for all but a handful of days, leading analysts to question whether OPEC is now getting comfier with a higher oil-price plateau preference. That view has been furthered following some OPEC minister comments in recent days that the group may stand pat even if crude moves north of $90 a barrel.

Since last year, most OPEC ministers have had an informal preference for prices to trade between $70 and $80 a barrel, a level seen as helpful to promoting energy investment but without hitting consumer pockets too hard. So far this month though, prices, although off an 18-month peak hit last week, have closed between $84 and $86 a barrel.

But OPEC says it isn’t convinced those prices will persist for a variety of reasons, including excess quantities of unused crude globally. It also isn’t as optimistic about demand as others.

Read more here >

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By Delphine Strauss in Istanbul, FT, Published: April 14 2010

Turkey can afford to keep tax rates unchanged “for the foreseeable future” while other European governments struggle to repair the damage done by the financial crisis, Ali Babacan, economy minister, said on Wednesday.

His comments reflect Turkey’s pride in weathering last year’s turmoil without bailing out any banks or seeking help from the International Monetary Fund. In contrast with much of the European Union it aspires to join, Turkey won recent upgrades to ratings of its sovereign debt after setting medium term fiscal targets it is likely to beat in 2010.

“We see no reason to raise corporate tax for years to come. We don’t need to raise VAT . . . We don’t have the problems some countries [have] on debt and deficits,” Mr Babacan said. He was critical of the EU’s failure to enforce fiscal rules, saying rescue plans for Greece were “extinguishing the fire” and “not a strategic solution”.

Stable tax rates may not be enough to draw foreign companies to Turkey, as Mr Babacan hopes. Christian Keller, economist at Barclays Capital, said labour taxes, which foreign employers often pay more punctiliously than locals, remained high. Tim Ash, at the Royal Bank of Scotland, said Turkey needed to broaden the tax base and improve collection.

But analysts agree Turkey’s public debt, around 45 per cent of GDP at the end of 2009, compares well with that of Greece, its historical rival, and with European averages. The treasury has had little trouble rolling over debt and lengthening its maturity. “Eurozone membership doesn’t mean much any more . . . people look much more at countries’ individual fiscal strength,” Mr Keller said.

Tax revenues will receive a further boost if economic growth outstrips the official 2010 forecast of 3.5 per cent, as most expect it will. But some fear any gains will be offset by a spending spree before elections in 2011.

“We have to be more careful on the expenditure side,” Mr Babacan said, but he added the main reason Turkey had rejected IMF funding was that it wanted greater freedom to spend or save any extra revenues.

Separately, Turkey’s central bank on Wednesday sought to calm investors’ worries over rising inflationary pressures, by outlining an “exit strategy” under which it will gradually reduce its role in supporting liquidity in money markets. However, it gave no time scale for technical measures such as raising requirements for foreign exchange reserves to pre-crisis levels.

The announcement followed Tuesday’s decision to hold interest rates at a historic low, with policymakers saying they were unlikely to change “for some time”. Tevfik Aksoy, Morgan Stanley economist, said on Wednesday’s measures were a “first step” to remove excess liquidity, signal higher rates ahead and show an intention to act “as and when necessary”.

On any given day in Manhattan, you will find people walking.  Walking for blocks, walking for miles, uptown, across town, twenty-two blocks to meet for lunch and three miles round-trip to catch the latest Tim Burton film.

Wearing button-down shirts, cashmere sweaters, suits, skirts, and chic coats — what are they walking in? Regular footwear, often without socks. Not sneakers, not walking shoes. Not a good idea?

As it turns out, we may not doing ourselves any favors by wearing athletic footwear, and a growing body of research suggests that going barefoot may actually be better. For most of history, humans have run in either lightweight shoes or bare feet.

According to Daniel Lieberman, a professor of human evolutionary biology at Harvard University, “People have been running barefoot for millions of years, and it has only been since 1972 that people have been wearing shoes with thick, synthetic heels.”

Research published in Nature, the international weekly journal of science, compared the impact generated by runners with running shoes versus barefoot. Daniel Lieberman and colleagues studied the biomechanics of shod versus barefoot runners and found that the way barefoot runners typically land is more comfortable and may help avoid repetitive impact stress injuries.¹

Many studies suggest that modern running shoes may in fact increase the risk of injury and that runners wearing cheap running shoes have fewer injuries than those with more expensive trainers.

According to a study published in the British Journal of Sports Medicine, athletic footwear has been associated with frequent injury thought to result from repetitive impact. The researchers found that the more expensive athletic shoes claim cushioning impact, yet account for 123% greater injury frequency than the cheapest ones.²

As more research suggests that naked feet are preferable to high-tech trainers, minimalist footwear like Nike Free and FiveFingers is gaining popularity. Nike Free footwear is designed to strengthen the muscles in the foot by providing less constriction. Vibram, a leading manufacturer of high-performance rubber soles, has developed a line of ‘barefoot performance footwear’ known simply as FiveFingers®.

Vibram Five Fingers® looks more like a ‘foot glove’ than a running shoe and represents a radical departure from the look and function of traditional shoes.

So the next time you get a moment to take an invigorating walk or jog, don’t reach for those running shoes. If you decide to take off those shoes and go “au natural” or try out the new biomechanical wonders, break into the shoe gradually to prevent muscle cramps or other discomforts.

A brisk walk or light jog outdoors can be one of the best forms of exercise. It is health-supporting, cost-effective, and energy-saving because the sidewalk is your treadmill.

Sherry Brooks is a healthy, happy, and trim “frugalista” living the lean and green life near Malibu in sunny southern California.

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1. Lieberman, Daniel E., Venkadesan, Madhusudhan, Werbel, William A., Daoud, Adam I., D’Andrea, Susan, Davis, Irene S., Ojiambo Mang’Eni, Robert, Pitsiladis, Yannis. Foot strike patterns and collision forces in habitually barefoot versus shod runners Nature 463, 531-535; 2010
2. S Robbins, E Waked. Hazard of deceptive advertising of athletic footwear.
   Br J Sports Med 1997;31:299-303

Verder has designed a complete new series of Verderair diaphragm pumps, based upon the existing reliable trustful Verderair VA concept.

The new pump offers a 30% higher air efficiency than the competition. Designed with additional features that optimize performance, the Verderair 25 includes a stall-free modular air valve for low pulsation and a smooth changeover. In the standard execution, the diaphragms of the new Verderair are overmolded. Also the diaphragms last 5 times longer and have a 20% flow increase thanks to the new design.

Many material options can be combined. Therefore the Verderair VA25 diaphragm pump can be used for many applications; drum fluid transfer, unloading fluids, chemical evacuation, ceramic glaze supply, dewatering and sump evacuation and repackaging of fluids from original container to smaller receptacles.

Scientists at JRC’s Institute for Reference Materials and Measurements (IRMM) have performed extremely low-level measurements of radioactivity in old steel samples from Hiroshima. These latest measurements provide robust support to Hiroshima dosimetry calculations, which are crucial for our knowledge about the effects of radiation on the human body.

The measurements were successful in resolving a pending discrepancy between computer models and previous measurements (which were almost a factor of 100 too high). The new results support the computer models, and thus provide greater confidence in the existing dosimetry system for radiation protection.

Late last year we brought you news that the City of Austin, Texas, had launched a rather radical car2go pilot program. Well, after the successful trial, this May the city will go public with the car-sharing system. The pilot began with a joint partnership between the City of Austin and Daimler where 200 smart fortwo vehicles were made available 24/7 within the city to a select group of city employees and their relatives. Now, the number of cars has been increased and all Austin residents and students can apply to utilize them…
Continue Reading UPDATE: car2go car sharing program goes public in Austin, Texas

Tags: Daimler,
Environment,
Parking

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Luke Timmerman wrote:

One of Seattle’s oldest biotech companies was rejected by U.S. drug regulators in the past week, while another is on pins and needles awaiting what most analysts expect will be an imminent FDA approval.

—How much will people pay for a new prostate cancer drug that will help men live a median of four months longer than a placebo? That’s one of the big questions at Seattle-based Dendreon (NASDAQ: DNDN) as it enters the final days before the FDA says whether the drug, sipuleucel-T (Provenge), is ready for the market or not. I polled seven analysts on their price projections, and dug into some of the factors that Dendreon has to consider when it sets the price.

—The FDA rejected Seattle-based Cell Therapeutics‘ application to sell a new drug for non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, pixantrone. This was the obvious outcome, since the FDA’s cancer boss, Richard Pazdur, gave the company a public dressing down at an advisory committee hearing last month, and the panel of cancer experts voted 9-0 against it. Cell Therapeutics (NASDAQ: CTIC) hoped to get out of this jam by holding a shareholder meeting where it would win authorization to sell millions of more shares, but it postponed that meeting, probably because it was unable to get a quorum of shareholders—a problem that has dogged the company in the past. A subsequent conference call about the company’s future plans struck me as so absurd I chose to Tweet about it in real-time, but not spend more time writing. If you really want to follow this in more depth, read a blistering opinion piece from TheStreet.com’s Adam Feuerstein.

—We had some encouraging news from Eastern Washington this week. Waltham, MA-based PerkinElmer said it agreed to acquire Spokane, WA-based Signature Genomic Laboratories for $90 million in cash, to strengthen its genetic testing and molecular diagnostics business.

—The University of Washington has confirmed what a top commercialization official predicted a year ago—that the university has been awarded $300 million in federal stimulus money. I gathered that fact from a Technology Alliance talk by one of UW’s leading genome scientists, Debbie Nickerson. But she talked in more depth about her “new Corvette”—a $25 million gene-sequencing center that her team hopes will prove it was worth Uncle Sam’s investment.

—I promised myself that I’d avoid cheesy puns like “fledgling” when describing the latest angel investment network in the Northwest, but it can now be said that it is starting to take flight (that’s a little better isn’t it?). This was a story about Wings, the new angel network for medical device investors, which got started at its inaugural meeting yesterday, in which it reviewed business plans of three startups.

—Dendreon had one other nugget of news this week. It hired Varun Nanda as the senior vice president in charge of commercialization of sipuleucel-T (Provenge). Nanda has a ton of experience with cancer drugs, having previously worked at the Genentech unit of Roche. He better be a quick study, because Dendreon is awaiting word from the FDA by May 1 on whether it has the green light to start selling the product.

—Fate Therapeutics, the San Diego-based company that counts University of Washington stem cell researcher Randall Moon as a scientific co-founder, is expanding its mini-empire into Canada with the acquisition of Verio Therapeutics.

—Liberty Dialysis, a Mercer Island, WA-based company that operates more than 100 dialysis clinics around the U.S., received an undisclosed amount of financing from a group of investors that includes Ignition Partners.

—As the dust settles on healthcare reform, Stewart Lyman helped show readers one of the overlooked elements of the new law that will provide a windfall of tax benefits for biotech companies.

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Aren’t those pretty? I saw them @wfmscottsdale. The designer in me loved the look of this basically vertical Caprese salad. I’ve never seen the salad done like this before. I wanted to reach in and take a bite.

El Honda CR-Z no dispone de una gama de motores sino que el único disponible es el motor 1.5 i-VTEC con sistema IMA de gasolina que se ayuda de un motor eléctrico de 10 kW (14 CV), que ofrece en su conjunto sensaciones parecidas al motor de 1,8 litros llegando a alcanzar los 124 CV cuando ambos actúan en paralelo. En un medio plazo no tienen idea de ampliarla.

La gama de colores sin embargo, es algo más amplia, con hasta 8 diferentes, habiendo escogido el turquesa como de lanzamiento (tuvimos suerte de coger una de las 2 unidades que había para prueba). Las versiones como hemos hablado en la primera parte son 3 con diferentes niveles de equipamiento. Adicionalmente para Europa, existen 4 paquetes especiales de accesorios decorativos para conseguir un coche aun más exclusivo. Acompañadme para sentir todas las sensaciones a bordo del habitáculo.

Sensaciones al volante

Nada más montarme en el habitáculo un cosquilleo de buenas sensaciones me recorría todo el cuerpo. Tenía buena pinta el coche que tenía ante mis manos, aunque en el arranque haya que realizar una secuencia poco habitual: primero girar la llave para hacer contacto y segundo apretar un botón de engine start. Era diferente, pero el coche también lo era.

No me gustan nada los coches con el cuadro de instrumentos en el centro (véase Civic) por lo que por ahora no tenía pegas. Una gran esfera en el centro llamaba mi atención; no era la velocidad, sino el cuentarrevoluciones. En el interior, de forma digital, aparecía la velocidad. Me recordaba a aquel peculiar Abarth 500 que tanto añoro. Aspecto moderno y futurista, la marca nipona parece que lo ha conseguido.

El tacto del embrague varía según el modo de conducción que esté activo. Costaba hacerse al pedal. Así con el modo Econ y Normal se vuelve más blando pero en Sport saca a relucir todo su carácter. El cuadro de instrumentos se vuelve verde para los dos primeros y rojo constante (luego lo explicaré) para el último. El coche es manso con los primeros y muy bravo para el deportivo.

El cambio manual de 6 velocidades es el primero que se monta en un híbrido, de cualquier marca, a nivel mundial; otro aspecto de innovación. Particularmente lo veo bien para economizar consumos y emisiones, aunque hace 2-3 años era impensable que con esta cilindrada y potencia alguien pudiera sacar este cambio. La palanca es agradable al tacto, aunque las marchas a veces entran un poco forzadas, no va muy fino. Pudiera ser falta de rodaje, aunque la unidad ya mostraba más de 2.000 kilómetros.

Los 3 modos de conducción permiten cambiar el comportamiento en ciertos aspectos del coche: dirección, respuesta del motor, asistencia IMA y la climatización. Sobra decir que en el modo más económico todo funciona para reducir consumos al máximo, dejando de lado la diversión, mientras que en el modo sport ocurre todo lo contrario. Un mismo coche, tres comportamientos muy diferentes. ¿Quién lo diría hace unos años?

La esfera central aparece en color roja para el modo deportivo, mientras que en verde para los otros dos, donde además, se puede apreciar un cambio de color de verde a azul cuando no se ha subido de marcha a los 4 segundos de haberlo indicado en el cuadro. Como decía, en modo deportivo no cambia; entiende que se quieren apurar las marchas. El tacto del acelerador cambia radicalmente, es lo que más se nota junto con la respuesta del motor. He de decir que ha sido el modo que más he utilizado y realmente me ha sorprendido para bien, la agresividad es excelente. Ciudad económico, carretera deportivo.

Un coche deportivo lleva intrínseco un sonido a motor. El Honda CR-Z lo tiene, un sonido característico que cambia la cara a más de uno cuando lo oye. Está realmente conseguido y a la altura de un motor de mayor cilindrada y potencia. El punto negativo es la ausencia de escape trasero, volverá a dejar la cara inicial al no encontrarlo por ningún sitio.

El motor sube de vueltas realmente rápido, aunque se ahoga también bastante rápido. No es un coche para correr, aunque anda lo suyo, es una mezcla híbrida entre deportividad (que no velocidad) y ecología con una relación de simbiosis muy conseguida. Alcanza los 200 km/h de punta y acelera hasta los 100 desde parado en 9,9 segundos con un par máximo combinado de 174 Nm entre las 1.000 y 1.500 rpm. Cumple la normativa EURO5 y emite 117 g/km por lo que no paga impuesto de matriculación.

La seguridad es la misma que pueden llevar otros coches de su segmento. 6 airbags, ESP, ABS con asistencia a la frenada, distribución electrónica de frenado e incluso Hill Holder. Este último no he podido probarlo, dado que Holanda es un país completamente plano donde no había una sola cuesta aunque también bastantes coches y el motor eléctrico hizo perfectamente su función. Es el primer vehículo de la marca en incorporar luces diurnas tipo LED, muy similares a Audi.

De consumos no podemos hablar objetivamente, dado que apenas recorrimos 70 kilómetros con el coche, aunque en modo mixto aproximado conseguimos hacer una cifra de 6,4 litros. En ningún momento pudimos bajar de 5,4 litros en mediciones parciales, exactamente 1 litro por encima de la medida oficial. Aunque no dudo que sea posible, es realmente difícil conseguir bajar de 5 litros.

Aunque hará su aparición en España en el Salón del Automóvil de Madrid el próximo 20 de mayo, su comercialización está prevista para el 6 de junio, previendo vender 1.200 unidades en España y 20.000 en el continente Europeo. Los precios los encuentro ligeramente elevados y por supuesto para personas con un poder adquisitivo medio-alto:

• Sport: 21.900 euros
• GT: 23.400 euros
• GT plus: 25.200 euros

No lo podemos comparar con el Insight, dado que el segmento es completamente diferente y tanto el equipamiento como el coche en sí está por encima de aquel, aunque la practicidad es mayor en el primero por su habitabilidad interior fundamentalmente. Aun así, se puede acoger al plan 2000E y a una ayuda de 1.000 euros por la compra de un coche ecológico, a descontar de los precios oficiales, lo que harían más atractiva su compra.

Honda CR-Z, presentación en Amsterdam

The Twitter Developer Conference, which was held yesterday at San Francisco, saw 800 attendees. This was Twitters first developer conference and was held at the Palace of Fine Arts Theater. Evan Williams, the Twitter CEO was one of the key speakers at the conference.

He and other speakers repeatedly told developers that Twitter will not change its existing relation with developers. Williams assured that,

That’s the world I want you to pour your creative minds into. That’s the world were creating together. It’s not just about us, but it’s about you, if you chose to participate in that.

Twitter has released usage stats for the first time since its inception in March 2006. It says, the Twitter network is growing by 300,000 per day and has 105,779,710 registered members with 100,000 registered applications to its credit. There are around 600 million search queries and 55 million messages posted each day. To cope up with this, Twitter has increased its size from 25 to 175 employees over an year.

Additionally, there were reports of Twitter releasing its own official apps for most mobile platforms. This included the iPhone, BlackBerry, Android and others. Twitter has already acquired Tweetie for the iPhone and has declared an official app for BlackBerry. Next, the development of an Android app is already underway.

New feature announcements for Twitter included a “Places” feature in geo-location. So the next time you want tweets from an event, simply look for a tweet from that “Place”. Moreover, streams of user data will now be available publicly in real time. Another rumor was of Twitter launching its own URL shortener.

At the end of the conference, developers aired their concerns with some questions. Twitter responded by highlighting its belief in a collective effort. It said,

Twitter is the way it is because of our ecosystem. There’s no way we could be successful without you being successful.

(Via: Sfgate)

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