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  • Túnel Trasandino – Andes Centrales

    El enorme túnel trasandino, encaminado a ser uno de los quince túneles ferroviarios más largos del mundo, y el más largo de América, va aclarando su panorama y mejorando sus perspectivas.

    En efecto, aparentemente no será necesario esperar demasiado tiempo para que se concrete, pues el Ministerio de Transportes y Comunicaciones (MTC) acaba de anunciar que en los próximos meses pasaría el proyecto a manos de Proinversión, para que se encargue de sacarlo a concesión.

    San Gotardo (57 kms) será el más largo del mundo. El nuestro (23 kms), el más largo de América.

    Como se sabe, esta magnífica obra, de 23.2 kilómetros de largo, permitirá hacer mucho más directo el recorrido del ferrocarril central, al dejar de lado las actuales y tortuosas curvas y zigzags, así como el ascenso a la zona de Ticlio, situada a 4,800 metros sobre el nivel del mar (msnm), pues su boca de entrada estará a sólo 3,560 msnm y la de salida a 4,033.
    Así, se podrá llegar a Huancayo en sólo cuatro horas (actualmente se llega en trece), a La Oroya en dos, y a Cerro de Pasco en tres y media. La pobre pero muy bella Huancavelica también se verá beneficiada, pues la ruta de su legendario Tren Macho también ya es de trocha standard, por lo que ha quedado conectada a la red.

    Pero no sólo se trata de un recorte del tiempo de viaje. Ello implicará, además, que el viaje se volverá atractivo y rentable, tanto para los pasajeros como para la empresa ferroviaria, que podrá establecer un servicio regular, confiando en la competitividad de su servicio frente al transporte en automóvil o en buses.
    Obviamente, el servicio de carga también resultará enormemente beneficiado por esta mayor rapidez y el recorrido a menor altitud. Los proyectos de extensión de la línea férrea hasta Pucallpa, y eventualmente hasta Brasil, podrían verse reimpulsados gracias al túnel.

    Actualmente, el MTC está evaluando la forma en que se financiaría la inversión, estimada en más de US$ 100 millones. Las opciones son un financiamiento totalmente privado o uno en el que intervendría el Estado. Son detalles que se deberá definir en los siguientes meses. Pero lo fundamental es que el proyecto, uno de los más importantes que tiene el país, ya está siendo considerado muy seriamente y entrando a la etapa de las definiciones.

  • Condominium BH | Belo Horizonte (MG)

    CONDOMINIUM BH


    Duas torres com 30 andares de apartamento (4 por andar) + 4 andares de garagem e uma ampla área de lazer.

  • The Garrett, Watts Report (January 9th, 2010)

     

    garrett-watts1

    To Our Clients, Colleagues and Friends,

    • Here are some companies and their market caps.  We tried to pick only those which didn’t exist, say, 25-30 years ago to show how the American economy is constantly coming up with new and better ideas, creating wealth, growth and jobs.

    $281 billion

    Microsoft

    $198 billion

    Google

    $188 billion

    Apple

    $139 billion

    Cisco

    $125 billion

    Oracle

    These five alone have a combined market cap of $931 billion! And don’t forget Amazon ($60 billion), Dell ($28 billion) and even Salesforce.com ($9.3 billion).  How can you possibly despair for the future when you look at how good we are at re-inventing the world?

    • Are movie theaters a dying business?  Maybe, but last year, moviegoers paid $9.8 billion on movie tickets, more than the $8.1 billion spent on video rentals.  If the moviegoers spent $9.8 billion on tickets, we calculate that they spent another $247 billion on popcorn and soft drinks.  Can you believe paying $7 for a small bag of popcorn?  Or $6 for a Snickers bar big enough to feed a family of four?
    • How did your stocks do last year?  Here is how some stock markets did around the globe:

    117%    China

    78%    Taiwan

    115%    Argentina

    65%    Norway

    87%    Indonesia

    64%    Singapore

    82%    Brazil   

    63%    Thailand

    81%    India

    63%    Philippines

    Venezuela came in with a gain of 57%, but strongman Hugo Chavez is busy destroying free markets there, and they may not even have a stock market in 4-5 years.  Given all the turmoil in Pakistan , it was a surprise to see that their stock market was up 60%.

    • Remember all those people who panicked last year and sold their stocks?  Since March, the S&P 500 is up 65%.
    • The Wall Street Journal just reported on a University of California study involving more than 250,000 participants which discovered ”impressive benefits of being happy.” Are we missing something here, or was there ever any doubt about this?
    • Craig Cole reminded us that Union Bank traces it roots to 1864 and is considered the first commercial bank incorporated in the West. Union Bank started as Bank of California, and you can check out their website (unionbank.com) which has a bunch of their history.  Like Wells Fargo, Union Bank has a very cool museum, and only half a block from the Wells museum in downtown San Francisco .
    • And for all the banks that have been around forever, how about American Banker?  This daily newspaper (which we’re addicted to) was founded in 1836! Wasn’t Martin Van Buren President then, or maybe Andrew Jackson?  
    • Speaking of dead people, this past Friday would have been Elvis Presley’s 75th birthday. Had he been alive, he’d probably have eaten the whole birthday cake himself.  If you forget about Fat Elvis, he was an interesting amalgam of musical styles.  He was influenced deeply by blues, country and gospel, and his crazy gyrations on stage were pure Cab Calloway and Jackie Wilson.  Watch some old Jackie Wilson videos and you’ll see where Mick Jagger and Elvis learned all their moves.
      j1
    • Ever wonder what the FDIC does with all those loans they take back when they seize banks and sell off their deposits?  The FDIC just sold a portfolio of $1.0 billion of distressed commercial real estate loans, 70% of which were delinquent. A REIT named Colony Capital paid $90 million for a 40% ownership, and the FDIC provided financing for the rest.  Essentially, the REIT and the FDIC formed a joint venture on the deal.
    • Did you know that there are more Israeli companies listed on the NASDAQ exchange than all companies from the European continent combined?  Israel probably has more entrepreneurs relative to its population than Silicon Valley .
    • In 2009, there were only 31 banks that increased their dividends, two of which increased it twice during the year!  But there were 203 banks which cut their dividends and 55 which eliminated them all together. If you like dividends but don’t want to own common stocks, there are some great yields in bank preferreds.
    • With HUD moving toward a minimum $2.5 million net worth to do FHA loans, it’s believed that this will disqualify 70% of all current lenders. HUD estimates that about 40% of all currently approved lenders have less than $1.0 million net worth, and that’s a long ways from $2.5 million.
    • We get confused ourselves occasionally as to which regulators supervise which types of banks.  The attachment is our little cheat sheet.
    • We saw a list of the colleges whose football teams ranked #1 since 1936, and you had all the obvious ones.  Alabama and Notre Dame had won eight national championships, followed by Oklahoma and USC (7), Miami , Nebraska , and Ohio State (5) Minnesota and Texas (4) and so on. The only interesting ones were Brigham Young (1984), Syracuse (1959) and Maryland in 1953.  We wandered around the University of Maryland campus last year and thought it was spectacular.
    • Let’s say you have a very nice community bank with $200 million of assets, but you’re losing $75,000 a month. If you can increase your net interest margin by, say, 50 bps, that will give you an additional $1.0 million of annual income, or $83,000 a month, and you’ll be in the black. So here’s the big question: Do you achieve this by (a) trying to get an extra 50 bps in yield on your loans or by (b) lowering your cost of deposits by 50 bps?  A matter of indifference?  No way, Jose.  If you go for higher yielding loans, you are going after riskier loans.  In our mind, trying to reduce deposit costs always beats chasing yield in your loan book. Look no further than those banks that failed due to higher yielding subprime or Alt-A loans.
      Higher yielding loans almost always imply higher risk. And while lowering your deposit costs can be hard work, it’s always worth it.
    • Here are some of the nominations you sent in for so-called novelty songs. In many cases, there was no known title, so we just got an opening line.  A number of you submitted Louie, Louie, but we’d put that in a different category of party songs. Besides, no one really knows what the lyrics are.

    She did the mash, she did the monster mash  (Dancing with Dracula)

    It was a one eyed, one horned, flying purple people eater  (We have no idea)

    Ahab the Arab  (We don’t remember this one at all)

    Harry the Hairy Ape (Is this the same as Alley Oop Oop?)

    She wore an itsy bitsy teeny weenie yellow polka dot bikini (What can we say?)

    Teen Angel  (Teen gets killed on railroad tracks, sad funeral follows)

    Running Bear (Indian boy and girl hook up, then drown.)

    The last one is interesting, and while it’s ostensibly about inter-tribal dating, it’s actually a warning against going swimming within two hours of eating.  Running Bear had been noshing on acorn nuts, and his girlfriend from an enemy tribe was gorging herself on knishes, and when they swim out to meet in the middle of the “raging waters”, just like that, they both drown.  The two Indians had completely ignored their parents’ warning that you’d drown if you went swimming after lunch unless you waited two hours.That’s about it.  Keep your costs down and your credit quality up.  And stay warm.   See you next week sometime.Garrett, Watts & Co. Who Regulates Which Types of Banks   <<< Today’s bonus “Helping lenders increase revenues, control costs, and better manage risk.”Joe Garrett   (510-469-8633)Corky Watts   (408-395-5504)
    Mike McAuley    (281-250-2536)

  • NSFW: Hands On with the SaSi Tounge Simulator Vibrator

    The newest trend in sex technology are sex toys that simulate the real thing, and the SaSi Vibrator is no exception. This vibrator simulates oral sex with a nubby ball that rolls in different shapes, directions, simulating a real tounge or fingertip. The best part? You can easily change the pattern and even “dislike” a certain movement, that the SaSi will be less likely to repeat in the future, kind of like a well trained hubby. ..


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  • NEW – Project Victor

    Dit project wordt nu concreet met een zeer groot gabariet gezien de nogal kleine bouwoppervlakte. Het laatste verslag van Atenor gedateerd 17 november 2009 laat er geen twijfel over dat dit architecturaal "iets" wordt.:)

    "2. Largemixedurbanprojects
    In ATENOR’s view, increasing population density is an appropriate response to the fundamental problems that modern cities face. It offers the possibility of greater mixed use, broader recourse to public transport and better use of public spaces.
    Recent changes:
    BRUSSELS: – …
    – VICTOR: Based on the partnership concluded with the neighbouring owners, an ambitious project has been prepared by an internationally renowned architect, which will soon be the subject of an application for a permit."

  • App review roundup: VoiceBand, Soulver, Doc²

    Filed under: ,

    • VoiceBand: Personal music artistry gone wild

      I don’t usually gush during App reviews. I think today I will change things up a bit. Because If you like playing with sound and music, and you like GarageBand, empty out your change purse, check…

    Also of interest:

    TUAWApp review roundup: VoiceBand, Soulver, Doc² originally appeared on The Unofficial Apple Weblog (TUAW) on Sat, 09 Jan 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

    Read | Permalink | Email this | Comments

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  • Weekly Wrapup: Google Nexus One, CES Coverage, Online Finance, And More…

    In this edition of the Weekly Wrapup – our newsletter summarizing the top stories of the week – we report on a new "superphone" launched by Google, take a look at how the Web is transforming personal finance, give you 5 reasons why RSS Readers still rock, get a first look at the new startup of ex-Facebook CTO Adam D’Angelo, analyze the trends that emerged from this year’s Consumer Electronics Show (CES), and more. And as usual we check in on our two main channels: ReadWriteEnterprise (devoted to ‘enterprise 2.0′ trends and products) and ReadWriteStart (our daily resource for entrepreneurs).

    Also read on for details of the newly released printed edition of our current premium report, about the Real-Time Web.

    Sponsor

    Now Available: Printed Edition of The Real-Time Web Report

    At the request of the librarian community and people that just like paper, we have made The Real-Time Web and its Future report available in print.

    For those of you that prefer it digitally, you can still download it.

    Don’t forget about our Community Management Report. It too is coming in print soon, so watch out for it!

    Web Trends

    How The Web is Transforming Personal Finance

    money_wallet_logosized_jan09.jpgNot too long ago, personal finance tools like Quicken and Microsoft Money used to be bound to the desktop. Today, free online tools like Mint, moneyStrands and Wesabe make it easy to track financial information. So you can now get a better overview of your personal finances than ever before.

    Editor’s note: This story is part of ReadWriteWeb’s Personal Finance series, a weekly, three-month-long look at how the Internet has transformed personal finance. If you are interested in sponsoring this Content Series on Personal Finance, please contact our COO Sean Ammirati.

    5 Reasons Why RSS Readers Still Rock

    Recently we wrote about the decline of RSS Readers as a way for people to keep up with news. We noted that while many people still use RSS Readers, usage has decreased due to the emergence of real-time and social flows of information via Twitter, Facebook and other such services. The post sparked a fascinating discussion, with over 160 comments. What we learned from that discussion is that while the RSS Reader market is indeed in decline, there are still a number of compelling use cases for RSS Readers.

    Welcome to the Age of Robot Reporters

    nozzllogo150.jpegRecently, three emergency vehicles responded to a report of an unconscious person at the world headquarters of Nike Inc. in Portland, Oregon. How did we know? An automated form-pumping robot from startup company Nozzl Media told us. Nozzl Media unveiled this week a demonstration of its first product, a widget intended for newspaper websites seeking to display real-time local information derived from Twitter messages, blog posts and automatically extracted public records.

    Web Apps Meet Consumer Electronics at CES

    The 2010 edition of the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) saw a big trend emerge: web applications being ported to consumer electronics, from the technology inside cars to Web-enabled TVs. Earlier this week we noted that online music service Pandora will be made available in cars, courtesy of a new Pioneer device that will begin selling in March. Other evidence of this trend can be found in Ford’s announcement of a new in-car system and Samsung’s latest Internet-connected TV.

    SEE MORE WEB TRENDS COVERAGE IN OUR TRENDS CATEGORY

    ReadWriteEnterprise

    ReadWriteEnterpriseOur channel ReadWriteEnterprise, devoted to ‘enterprise 2.0′ and using social software inside organizations.

    The Pros and Cons of the Google Nexus One As An Enterprise Phone

    The Nexus One is another smart phone that we will inevitably see inside the walls of the enterprise. Smart phones seem to have a way of being used for all kinds of work activities. So, what are the pros and cons of using the Nexus One in the enterprise?

    ReadWriteStart

    ReadWriteStartOur channel ReadWriteStart, sponsored by Microsoft BizSpark, is dedicated to profiling startups and entrepreneurs.

    5 Web Apps To Keep Your Startup Organized

    number5_flickrsimax_jan10.jpgIn a world where emails, phone calls, texts, and Tweets constantly bombard us, it is getting harder and harder to manage the firehose of data and information being thrust our way. For young companies to succeed this environment, it is imparitive they become organized and efficient lest they fall behind and quickly become overwhelmed.

    Never Mind the Valley: Here’s Los Angeles

    losangeles_lead_jan10.jpgBest known for its movie stars, sun and surf, Los Angeles probably isn’t the first place you’d think to breed technology. But when you consider the influence of investors like Jason Calacanis and Mark Suster, in addition to the fact that companies like Demand Media and Docstoc call Southern California home, it’s not surprising that the community is emerging as one of the country’s hottest startup hubs.

    SEE MORE STARTUPS COVERAGE IN OUR READWRITESTART CHANNEL

    Web Products

    Live Blog: Google’s Android Press Gathering

    weather_nexus.pngGoogle held a press event this week to showcase the new Nexus One, which it described as "Where Web Meets Phone.” Google calls this a new category of phones – the “super phones.” The Nexus One apparently “pushes the limits of what is possible on a mobile phone today.” Google will sell the phone in its own web store. Check out our live blog coverage for more details.

    Droid’s December Boom: Metrics Show Device Use Doubled in One Month

    The Android platform has grown exponentially since mid-2009, but December’s stats show a particular factor that might help catapult the platform to greater heights of user adoption. In figures just released from mobile advertising company AdMob, the Droid singlehandedly boosted calls to their network by nearly 300 million requests.

    Facebook’s 1st CTO Launches His Next Company

    quoralogo150thx.pngAdam D’Angelo was a programming genius who knew Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg in high school, became the young company’s first CTO and has just begun to unveil his new startup company, Quora. Built by D’Angelo and a team of crack young engineers, Quora is a real-time enabled Q&A site. The company calls itself “A continually improving collection of questions and answers.”

    Skype: Coming to a Couch Near You

    skype_logo_aug08.pngStarting this spring, you won’t need to gather the whole family around a 15-inch laptop screen to talk with cousin Joe on the other side of the country. As a matter of fact, you won’t even need to get up off the sofa after the evening news, because Skype is coming to the big screen – the big TV screen, that is. Skype announced this week that they have been working with LG and Panasonic to embed Skype in Internet-connected widescreen HDTVs.

    SEE MORE WEB PRODUCTS COVERAGE IN OUR PRODUCTS CATEGORY

    That’s a wrap for another week! Enjoy your weekend everyone.

    Discuss


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  • Germany: Action guide and your legal rights

    from antifa germany, 7 January 2010: “Yearly german and european nazis march through the city of Dresden, Germany. This will show you how you could avoid danger and will inform you about the legal rights in Germany…” more

  • Primeras imágenes del SMS 620 Camaro

    SMS_620_Camaro

    Steve Saleen conocido en Estados Unidos por sus retoques a algunos Mustang, nos acerca ahora con su nueva compañía de preparación de coches, SMS Supercars, las primeras imágenes del SMS 620 Camaro sirviéndole como base el Chevrolet Camaro SS.

    Partiendo de un V8 de 6.2 litros SMS Supercars consigue sobreealimentarlo hasta obtener una potencia total de 575 CV, sin enmbargo añadiendo otras modificaciones es capaz de aumentarlo hasta los 715 CV en el SMS 620X Camaro, el más potente de todos.

    SMS_620_Camaro1

    Junto a este aumento de potencia el SMS 620X Camaro añade una serie de mejoras como un nuevo sistema de suspensión además de un diferencial mecánico Torvec Isotorque Differential. Equipará también unas llantas de 21″ que dejan entrever unos frenos de 16” y 8 pistones y unos traseros 14” y 6 pistones. En cuanto a su interior destaca los materiales de gran calidad y tapizados en Alcantara y piel. Por último se espera que tenga un paso de 0 a 100 Km/h por debajo de los 4,3 segundos mientras que para el X se sitúa en los 4 segundos.

    Vía autoblog



  • Square Steals Key Android Developer From Google

    Square, the startup which may change the way consumers handle transactions, has just hired Bob Lee away from Google.  Lee, a key developer for the Android platform, is now headed to over to Square to change the world.  Square’s Buzz Anderson confirmed that Lee is now working full-time for Square and will be heading up Square’s Android App development team.

    Currently, Square only works on the IPhone and the IPod Touch so it will be interesting to see how Lee develops for Android.  Presently, Square requires the use of an external hardware component which plugs into the headphone jack.  Hopefully, there will be a solution for Android soon and if there is, Lee will certainly have something to do with it. Good luck Bob!


  • Monster Cable CD Will Make Your Optical Drive 58% More Efficient [Image Cache]

    Most press kits are given out on USB flash drives at events like this, which is both convenient and pretty cool, since you get a free flash drive! But Monster Cable instead opts for the cheap printed CD-R. Classy. [Giz@CES]







  • LG launches GT540 Swift Android Smartphone

    Found under: android, lg, gt40, swift, smartphone, bebo, facebook, twitter,

    Good news for Android fans as LG has recently launched its second Android handset known as GT540 Swift at the CES in Las Vegas. It is a stylish touch screen Smartphone that will come pre-installed with a dedicated SNS Manager which will enable users to easily manage and use popular social networking services like Facebook Twitter Bebo. It will be launched globally in April this year and expected to be available at an affordable price.Here are the detailsOS Android 2.0 with Vani

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  • tequila reposado pistol

    love the shape of this bottle!
    real shots of tequila! to celebrate the 55th anniversary and honor the villanueva-barragan family. hijos de villa tequila represents the mexican family in the revolutionary era. $28.99 for 200ml, assembled in mexico.

  • Nima Sand Museum

    Japan, Asia | Astounding Timepieces

    Passing along Route 9 through the Japanese beach town Nima, six large glass and steel pyramids rise out of the hillside, beautifully reflecting the sky in every panel.

    These glass pyramids are home to the Nima Sand Museum. The Museum was publicly opened on March 3, 1991 by the local mayor in order to feature the strange property of the Kotogahama sand on the nearby Kotogahama beach, which he thought to be an ideal tourist attraction. It is said to ‘sing’ when walked upon, but it vocalizes more of a squeaking noise than any melodious notes. The museum features a collection of artwork utilizing the acoustic sands. (Singing sands are found in only a few dozen locations around the world. One other such location are the dunes of Badain Jaran Desert.)

    The largest of the six pyramids also holds another curious item, the world’s largest hourglass. This massive functioning sand timer, takes exactly one year for the sands in the upper globe to empty into the lower. Every December 31st the hourglass is carefully flipped over at midnight to help celebrate and mark the New Year.

    The pyramid containing the hourglass is 21 meters high, resting on a base whose four sides are 17 meters long each. The hourglass itself is 5 meters in height with a 1 meter diameter, filled with one ton of the singing sand (sifted to ensure each grain is roughly 0.13 millimeters) to flow continuously through a nozzle measuring 0.85 millimeters in diameter.

    The architect for the Museum was Nima-born Shin Takamatsu, and is said to have designed the tallest pyramid to be visible from his mother’s grave site. The interior of the pyramids is are as interesting as their contents, with sleek steel beams crisscrossing madly and the hourglass contained within a large circular contraption.

  • Hair Loss in Male

    Male pattern baldness is the most common type of hair loss. The primary cause of hair loss is genetics. That’s inherited or androgenic hair loss and makes up the majority. It is caused by increased sensitivity to male sex hormones in certain parts of the scalp, and is passed on from generation to generation. Some men have areas on the scalp that are very sensitive to the male sex hormones that circulate in men’s blood. The hormones make the hair follicles – from which hair grows – shrink. In men who develop male pattern baldness the hair loss may begin any time after puberty when blood levels of androgens rise. The first change is usually recession in the temporal areas, which is seen in 96 percent of mature Caucasian males, including those men not destined to progress to further hair loss.

    Male pattern baldness is an inherited condition and the gene can be inherited from either the mother or father’s side. Thyroid disease can cause hair loss, but thyroid tests on people who have ordinary hair loss are usually normal. In male-pattern baldness, hair loss typically results in a receding hair line and baldness on the top of the head. Finally, hair loss may occur as part of an underlying disease, such as lupus or diabetes. Some medicines can cause hair loss. This type of hair loss improves when you stop taking the medicine. Medicines that can cause hair loss include blood thinners, medicines used for gout, medicines used in chemotherapy to treat cancer, vitamin A, birth control pills and antidepressants. Hair loss remedies have advanced dramatically over the past ten years.

    Causes of Male hair loss:

    Male pattern hair loss is caused by sensitivity to male sex hormones. In general, most hair loss is not associated with systemic or internal disease, nor is poor diet a frequent factor. Thyroid disease can cause hair loss, but thyroid tests on people who have ordinary hair loss are usually normal. Although many medications list “hair loss” among their potential side effects, drugs are also not overall common causes of thinning or lost hair. Some men have areas on the scalp that are very sensitive to the male sex hormones that circulate in men’s blood. The hormones make the hair follicles – from which hair grows – shrink. Stress can cause hair loss is some people. Male pattern baldness is passed on from generation to generation.

    Symptoms of Male hair loss:

    1. Most people notice hair loss when looking at themselves in a mirror.

    2. You may also find many hairs on your pillow in the morning or in your hairbrush or comb.

    3. A decrease in the size of her ponytail.

    Treatment of Male hair loss:

    Hair loss due to infection may require oral antibiotics or antifungals. Alopecia areata can be treated with injections of steroids such as triamcinolone into the area. For all of the causes, early treatment works the best. One medicine, minoxidil, is available without a prescription. It is applied to the scalp. Both men and women can use it. Another medicine, finasteride is available with a prescription. If adequate treatment is not available for your type of hair loss, you may consider trying different hairstyles or wigs, hairpieces, hair weaves or artificial hair replacement.

    Juliet Cohen writes health articles for health care clinic. She also writes articles for women health.

    Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)

  • Past and Future: Randall Forsyth, Billionaires, Newsletter Writers, George Soros, Tech Future, Thomas Hoenig, PIMCO on Japan

    bill-coppedge-dec09-1 original content selection by MortgageNewsClips.com

     

    barrons

    Seemed Like a Good Idea Then – By RANDALL W. FORSYTH – Architects of the biggest blunders of the past decade continue to deny basic errors.  – talks about AOL, Greenspan, Bernanke, Low intereswt ratesw, and housing … – Barron’s

    Top Market Timers Give Their 2010 Outlooks – By MARK HULBERT –  Five investment-newsletter soothsayers with solid track records discuss how they are allocating assets in the new year. ( all 5 are bullish – BC) – Barron’s

    ————

    forbes_home_logo

    Billionaire Predictions 2010 – Keren Blankfeld –  The world’s wealthiest share their thoughts and concerns for the economic year ahead. – Forbes

    How Tech Will Change Our Future – Quentin Hardy – Say goodbye to nations, sovereignty and privacy. – With that in mind, I humbly file a few predictions for the first column of 2020, which looks back on what changes were wrought over the 10 years beginning in 2010. It won’t be 100% accurate, but it’s food for thought. To the extent it has contradictions, it is true to the times we inhabit. Besides, in a Twitter-driven news world, isn’t it better to be first than to be accurate? – Forbes

    ————

    mmegi_001

    Our double-dip future – George Soros – … We have just passed through the worst financial crisis since World War II.  –  In fact, the magnitude of the problem today is even greater than during the Great Depression. In 1929, total credit outstanding in the United States was 160 percent of GDP, and it rose to 250 percent by 1932. In 2008, we started at 365 percent – and this calculation leaves out the pervasive use of derivatives, which was absent in the 1930’s.  Despite this, artificial life-support has worked. … Unfortunately, the recovery is liable to run out of steam, and may even be followed by a second economic downturn, though I am not sure whether it will occur in 2010 or 2011 …Mmegi Online

    ————

    bloomberg

    Hoenig Says Fed Should Eventually Lift Main Rate to 3.5%-4.5% – By Steve Matthews – Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City President Thomas Hoenig said the central bank should move “sooner rather than later” to reduce stimulus, with a goal of eventually boosting the benchmark interest rate to “probably between 3.5 and 4.5 percent.” – Bloomberg
    ————

    pimco

    wow has 3 part plan – PIMCO’s January 2010 Global Central Bank Focus, “Where Exit Should Be an Oxymoron: The Bank of Japan” by Paul McCulley and Tomoya Masanao – … Thus, we were pleasantly surprised in December that the Bank of Japan publically acknowledged that it would “not tolerate a year-on-year rate of change in the CPI equal to or below 0 percent.” The BoJ’s path to anti-deflation redemption must start somewhere, and simply stating that its comfort zone for inflation does not include zero is a start. The fact of the matter is that the BoJ is trapped in a deflationary lacuna of its own making and can escape if it is willing to do the opposite of what central banks in other developed countries will eventually do in the matter of exit strategies. Simply put, the Bank of Japan needs to credibly commit to not exiting reflationary policies, even as other central banks proceed along that course. … 

  • Santa Anita Race Track San Pasqual Handicap Horse Racing Betting Pick Saturday 1-9-10

    With our free horse racing selection on Saturday we are picking from The San Pasqual Handicap to be run today on the Santa Anita main synthetic track. The San Pasqual is scheduled for race 8 today with a post time of 7:07PM Eastern Time and you can catch it on TVG. With our free horse racing pick we are taking #7 Furthest Land to win.

    Furthest Land will have the services of Garret Gomez in the saddle and is trained by Michael Maker. This five year old mare is coming off a nice victory at the Breeders Cup Dirt Mile back on November 7th at Santa Anita and posting a 105 Beyer. Prior to that it was a Grade 2 win at the Kentucky Cup Classic and posting another triple digit Beyer. Furthest Land likes the synthetics, as he has three wins in three tries over the surface. The San Pasqual is a Grade 2 event going 1 1/16th of a mile. The gelding is a perfect two for two at this distance.

    Play #7 Furthest Land to win Race 8 at Santa Anita 8-5 on the Morning Line

    Post Time at 7:07PM Eastern Time televised by TVG

    Courtesy of Tonys Picks

  • Miapolis

    Don’t know whether to laugh or cry…does this have a chance? :cheers:

    Quote:

    New plans floated for proposed 160-story building in Miami

    A developer is still trying to build a 3,200-foot building in Miami. But is it more than just a dream?

    BY ELAINE WALKER

    [email protected]

    Miapolis has a catchy name and a flashy new website, but there are more questions than answers about a developer’s dream of building the world’s tallest building — a complex that would soar 160 stories on Miami’s Watson Island.

    Plans call for a 3,200-foot-tall building that would eclipse the Burj Khalifa in Dubai as the world’s tallest. Miapolis would include an amusement park, a trade center, an observatory, a shopping mall, restaurants, condominiums, office space, a hotel and a marina.

    While the name of the project and the location are new, the concept is one that Guillermo Socarras has been working on for nearly a decade. The last time Socarras floated this idea just after Sept. 11, 2001, he claimed to control a potential site on Miami’s Biscayne Boulevard and have Tyco International as a key supporter. But those plans never materialized.

    Whether the newest Miapolis plan is any closer to reality is hard to tell. Socarras declined to discuss the project this week. He said he wants to
    complete discussions with the Federal Aviation Administration first.

    Concerns over the proposed building height is just one of many obstacles that stand in the way for Socarras, whose previous developments have been mid-size condos and office buildings.

    Socarras needs the FAA to approve the project’s height and hopefully create a no-fly zone over South Beach and the Port of Miami.
    Next, he has to actually secure the land for Miapolis. He wants to build the iconic tower on the site of what is now Jungle Island, a tourist attraction featuring birds and other animals.

    99-YEAR LEASE

    According to the Miapolis website, Socarras is proposing to pay off Jungle Island’s $39 million loan and debts. Then he would hope to negotiate a new 99-year master land lease on the 28-acre parcel with the city at a rate of $4 million a year.

    Ronnie Krongold, co-owner of Jungle Island, said he has met with Socarras two or three times over the past four or five years. But they haven’t talked in a “long time.”

    Krongold has no sense that the project is any closer to reality and isn’t planning to move anytime soon. “We have over $60 million invested into Jungle Island,” Krongold said. “I don’t think we’re just going to walk away.”

    City officials also say there’s nothing in the works.

    “As far as I know, it’s ridiculous,” said Miami Commissioner Marc Sarnoff, who represents the district that includes Watson Island.

    HIGH COST

    Then there’s the question of financing to build Miapolis, an ambitious project that would cost billions. At a time when banks are reticent to lend money on any type of new development, industry experts agree it would be a tough sell.

    “It’s a dream,” said Michael Cannon, local market analyst and executive director of Integra Realty Resources in Miami. “Who would finance this? Who would invest in this? . . . It doesn’t meet the test of highest and best use.”

    The Miapolis website is soliciting investors interested in making a “low five- figure investment with a preferred return and an equity participation.”
    The website lists a number of major companies that appear to be affiliated with the venture, but some of those listed say they haven’t done any work for Socarras recently. Others like Thornton Tomasetti, a structural engineering firm that has worked on the project for years, remain actively involved.

    “It’s a city within a city,” said Dennis Poon, managing principal of Thornton Tomasetti. “When this thing is launched, it will change all of Miami.”

    Socarras is trying to attract investors with a new set of detailed conceptual drawings for Miapolis, created by architecture firm Kobi Karp. Director Christian Berthin said the Miami firm was engaged in early 2009 and completed the concept package late last summer.

    “We feel like we brought the design to the next level,” Berthin said. “All signs point to it moving forward. It’s a patience exercise at this point.”


    http://www.miamiherald.com/134/story/1416553.html
    http://www.miapoliscity.com/index.html

  • Report: Peugeot, Citroën get new design chiefs

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    Left to right: Gilles Vidal, Jean-Pierre Ploué and Thierry Metroz

    Hope for France: Left to right, Gilles Vidal, Jean-Pierre Ploué and Thierry Metroz

    There was a time when “France” and “design” were nearly synonymous, at least in the automotive sphere. Delahaye, Voisin, Bugatti, Talbot-Lago (including the high-water mark Figoni et Falaschi “Tear Drop” cars), etc. Prewar, no one had anything on the French. Even Peugeot and Citroën were in on the action; the former producing the elegant 402 and the latter building the glorious Traction Avant.

    However, after the Great Depression and post-WW2 auto shakeout, the scenery changed. Sure, Citroën still had a few design masterpieces left in the tank – the 2CV, the DS and SM. Peugeot made some excellent cars (205, 404) but they certainly weren’t lookers. Then a few years back, Peugeot bought Citroën. Since that time, Peugeots have become wildly bizarre-looking, while Citroën has produced exactly one beauty, the C6. Point being, France’s automotive designs are a far cry from their prewar glory days.

    PSA Peugeot Citroën wants to change that trajectory. Under PSA design leadership of Jean-Pierre Ploué, Gilles Vidal has taken over design of Peugeot and Thierry Metroz is now in charge of how Citroëns look. Metroz might have an easy time of it, as Ploué has to some degree set Citroën on a halfway righteous path. Again, we’re big fans of the big C6 and in truth, the C3 and DS3 are pretty much OK-looking as well. Monsieur Gilles, however, has his work cut out for him. Have you looked at a 3008 or an 807 lately? Not so hot.

    [Source: CAR]

    Report: Peugeot, Citroën get new design chiefs originally appeared on Autoblog on Sat, 09 Jan 2010 11:37:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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  • EC Roundup: Your legal questions answered –- and more startup therapy

    Here’s the latest from VentureBeat’s Entrepreneur Corner:entrepreneur-corner

    Ask the attorney: Founder vesting — Attorney Scott Walker kicks off this regular Entrepreneur Corner series, answering the burning legal questions of startup owners. This week: Should you split company stock equally among founding partners? And what sort of vesting options should you enable?

    Beware the hockey stick in your budget — Your 2010 budget is probably set, but have you made some critical assumptions of error? Brad Feld, an early stage investor and co-founder of Foundry Group, looks at the four most common types of budget models and the problems with each.

    Outsourcing entrepreneurs: How the EU lets startups slip through its fingers — While America is flush with accelerator programs, there’s a paucity of them in Europe. The Difference Engine CEO Jon Bradford argues that this means the best and brightest start-up owners overseas are flocking to the U.S., which could leave the continent in a bind in the years to come.

    The startup chronicles: It pays to be bull-headed — Determination can be one of the most important characteristics for entrepreneurs, says author and startup founder Bruce Judson. When people tell you something is impossible, but it’s critical to your company, a little stubbornness is often the only way to succeed.

    Startup therapy: More questions to force you to face reality — Angel investor Jason Cohen offers up four more questions to ask yourself in order to figure out what you need to do today to increase your startup’s growth and profits.


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