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El fracaso de la compra de Opel por parte del fabricante de componentes austriaco-canadiense Magna International con la ayuda del banco ruso Sberbank sigue dando coletazos. Una vez que General Motors se quedó con la marca alemana, entre otras cosas porque afirmó encontrarse en mejores condiciones económicas, la entidad financiera Sberbank amenaza con demandar al grupo estadounidense si no le indemniza por el proceso interrumpido.

El anuncio lo dio el consejero delegado del banco, German Gref, durante una entrevista con la cadena de televisión rusa Vesti. Las declaraciones de Gref fueron: “Hemos contraído grandes gastos. Se han hecho una estimación de ellos y hemos entregado una petición para una compensación voluntaria por parte del grupo automovilístico. Si los requisitos no se alcanzan, presionaremos a través de medios jurídicos para conseguir la indemnización”.

El consejero delegado de Sberbank se quejó también de que después de haber invertido más de nueve meses en la elaboración de las 9.000 páginas que tenía el documento de la compra de Opel, General Motors se echó atrás dos días antes de la fecha límite sin dar “explicaciones esenciales”, según ha publicado la agencia informativa rusa Novosti.

Además, el grupo automovilístico norteamericano podría tener problemas si la demanda judicial tiene lugar en Rusia, dado que Sberbank está estrechamente relacionado con el Gobierno de ese país y podría encontrar un jurado que esté a su favor. Si a esto se suman los 3.300 millones de euros que reclamaba General Motors para la reestructuración de la marca, puede que la situación no sea tan boyante como decía el grupo al quedarse con Opel.

Vía | The Truth About Cars

‘Gordon Brown and Dragul Netanyahoo are
talking about the next big terror thing. They have to be don’t
they? They’re involved in setting it up. Obama (rhymes with
Osama) would be talking about it with them but Obama isn’t really
involved in the planning because he’s lucky if he can tie his
shoes. No… Obama’s people do his talking for him, which
means that either Rahm (definitely not Emmanuel) or Hilarious Clinton
are probably in the room with Dragul and Gordon; could be Nazgul
Negroponte and it could be Dick Cheney, cause he may still be running
the White House under the aegis of his Israeli handler .’

Read more…

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Every year, most people make a whole list of New Year’s resolutions. Then, they stick to them for about a week. A lot of the time, they break resolutions because they are impossible to keep without concentrating all of their time and energy on that single resolution. So, let’s make ours realistic. Here are five New Year’s resolutions to make that aren’t too hard, but will help you have a more organized and enjoyable year:

1. Throw away or donate at least one thing every week. I always resolve to sort out entire rooms from top to bottom and never seem to make it through all of them. One thing as I walk through a room each week is completely doable. Of course, if you have a big family with a lot of stuff, you might want to make it a daily resolution instead of a weekly one!
2. Label everything. I have most of my bins organized, but there’s always one I forgot to label. Having to open it up just so you can recall what is in it is a waste of time and energy.
3. Use baskets and bins to corral clutter. When you have kids that are packrats, it can be hard to have enough bins and baskets so make sure to use this resolution in conjunction with number one! I use hair stuff baskets, mail baskets, to scrapbook baskets, school paper baskets, tiny toy baskets, etc.
4. Clean one thing you don’t normally clean each week. A window, a ceiling fan, an air vent. By the end of the year, you’ll have cleaned 52 things at least once.
5. Enlist help. If you don’t already have one, set up a chore system for your family members and have them help out. One person shouldn’t be still scrubbing toilets at 10 pm while everyone else is wrapping up their Die Hard movie marathon and only stirred from the sofa to get more snacks about three hours ago! Resolving to give your chores frees up some of your time and helps them learn life skills they’ll be happy to have when they are grownups living on their own.

What housekeeping New Year’s resolutions will you be making this year?

Photo: SXC

Post from: Blisstree

Five Housekeeping New Years Resolutions to Make

Leading the Jets by five points with 5:36 remaining in the third quarter on Sunday, Indianapolis chose to remove Peyton Manning(notes) from the game, along with various other starters. The decision clearly put the Colts’ unblemished record at risk.

Four minutes later, backup quarterback Curtis Painter(notes) fumbled away the perfect season.

Painter dropped back to pass on first down from the 20-yard line and was pressured by New York linebacker Calvin Pace(notes). He lost the football as soon as Pace invaded his personal space. Video here. Indianapolis tight end Tom Santi(notes) (Dallas Clark’s(notes) replacement) had an opportunity to recover, but the ball slipped through his fingers. Jets defensive end Marques Douglas(notes) eventually collected the fumble in the end zone, giving New York a lead they would never relinquish.

Manning seemed disgusted on the sideline, but he stuck to the approved script following the loss:

“It was the plan, the organizational philosophy that we were going with,” Manning said, “and, as players, we support that.”

Colts fans do not necessarily support the plan. They put on a booing clinic after the Painter fumble, expressing obvious displeasure with an organizational philosophy that eschews perfection.

It’s easy to understand why a team would prioritize end-of-season health above all else, especially when they’ve already clinched every possible playoff advantage. But the Colts don’t rest Manning in the fourth quarter of mid-season games they lead by multiple scores, like this one and this one. It seems awfully strange for them to bench him with a slim lead late in the year, facing a top-tier defense.

There was very little chance that Painter, making his first regular season NFL appearance, could possibly guide Indianapolis to a win against New York. And, of course, he didn’t. And as players, his teammates support that.

As fantasy owners, we knew the risks that were attached to Colts in Week 16. If you were forced to roll with Manning, Clark or Reggie Wayne(notes), please register your complaint in comments. All of these messages will be printed and sent to Bill Polian, so please thank him for your second place finish and wish him the best of luck against the Chargers.  

Fourth Quarter

• There’s a decent chance that I’ll lose by the slimmest of margins in at least one league because Alex Smith elected not to get his uniform dirty on this Vernon Davis TD. If he dives for the pylon, he’s in. Smith looked a lot like a fantasy owner who needed the score from Vernon.

• The Eagles beat the Broncos by three points in a game that really shouldn’t have been so close. That’s not the first time Philly has turned a solid halftime lead into a near-collapse. Donovan McNabb(notes) has thrown 16 first half TD passes this year, but just six after the intermission.

• We should probably apologize to Denver quarterback Kyle Orton(notes) for making fun of his one-receiver tendencies (see below). He threw three touchdown passes against Philadelphia and none of them were caught by Brandon Marshall(notes). Jabar Gaffney(notes) had two, and Knowshon Moreno(notes) saved his fantasy day with a third quarter score. 

• For an unnervingly long time, it seemed that Beanie Wells(notes) wasn’t going to cross the goal line against the Rams. But the rookie handled most of the fourth quarter work in Arizona’s three-touchdown win, gaining 57 total yards in the final 15 minutes and breaking the plane with just 2:44 remaining.

• Iowa legend Shonn Greene(notes) delivered an impressive line against the Colts, carrying 16 times for 95 yards. The Jets went with a 19-to-44 pass/run ratio on Sunday, so there were plenty of carries available to satisfy everyone. Thomas Jones(notes) rushed for 105 yards and a TD.

• You have to appreciate referee Mike Carey’s honesty, if not his speed. This was one of my favorite official explanations of the year: "There is no delay of game [penalty]. We were a little slow getting the ball spotted."

Posted at 9:20 pm ET

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Third Quarter

• Oh, sorry. Almost forgot to update. I was distracted by the Brent Celek(notes)/Tom Selleck discussion that Phil Simms and Jim Nantz were having. (Mr. Baseball is the name of the film, Phil).

Donovan McNabb is off to a great start for the Eagles, completing 15 of 19 passes for 242 yards and two TDs. Celek and DeSean Jackson(notes) have the touchdowns; credit Renaldo Hill(notes) with an assist on the Celek score. Brian Westbrook(notes) has looked quick and decisive in his first action since Week 10. He had seven touches for 28 yards in the first half.

• Larry Fitzgerald(notes) probably isn’t at full strength following the knee tweaking in Week 14, but he’s nonetheless found the end zone in each of the past two games. Fitz was completely abandoned on his 10-yard second quarter score against St. Louis. Highlight here. Can’t wait to see how the DBs are graded in Monday’s Rams Report Card, our favorite weekly feature in the Post-Dispatch.

• Indianapolis continues to roll with Peyton Manning well into the third quarter against the Jets. Donald Brown(notes) and Joseph Addai(notes) have handled most of the scoring, however. Brown is getting his first action since November; he could be a strong play in Week 17 against Buffalo, the NFL’s worst run defense. But that is not to be considered an endorsement of 17-week fantasy schedules.

• Early in Sunday’s matchup with Philadelphia, Brandon Stokley(notes) was ejected for making contact with an official during an animated complaint about a non-call. His dismissal left the Broncos with only three wideouts. It’s probably not an issue, though, since Denver typically only uses one receiver.

Still, Odd ejection. Stokley has always seemed like one of the NFL’s smartest players. You’ll recall that he was the guy who ran parallel to the goal line in Week 1, taking seconds off the clock in the win against Cincinnati. He also once talked Brandon Marshall out of an excessive celebration penalty.

• As a general rule, we do not approve of receivers who make exaggerated first down signals when their teams are trailing by multiple scores. But we’re willing to make exceptions in cases like this, when the reception is of the highest quality. Davone Bess(notes) can play a little.  

• For the first time in three weeks, the Cardinals are splitting the carries evenly between Tim Hightower(notes) and Beanie Wells, at least through three quarters. Hightower has the short-yardage score, per his usual.

• We’d like to officially acknowledge Jerome Harrison’s(notes) final line: 39 carries, 148 yards, TD. He lost a fumble in the red zone, you can’t reasonably complain about a small deduction if you just got an 18.8-point fantasy day from a Browns running back. 

Posted at 6:15 pm ET 

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Second Quarter

• Jacksonville’s defense entered the week dead-last in the NFL in sacks and 27th overall against the pass, so it wasn’t difficult to anticipate a big week from Tom Brady(notes). Still, take a moment to appreciate Brady’s near-flawless performance: 23-for-26, 267 yards, four TDs.

New England’s receivers divided the work in the usual manner, with Wes Welker(notes) collecting all the receptions and yards (13 for 138) and Randy Moss(notes) handling all the scoring (three TDs). The Pats clinched a division title with the 35-7 win. Predictably, Laurence Maroney(notes) didn’t record another touch after his first quarter turnover on the goal line. Sammy Morris(notes) rushed for 95 yards and a score in relief; Fred Taylor(notes) returned from an 11-week absence, carrying 11 times for 35 yards.

• Whatever else they’re doing lately, the Saints certainly aren’t peaking. They held a 14-point lead at halftime over Tampa Bay, yet they found themselves in overtime after allowing a late 77-yard punt return TD to Michael Spurlock. (Shannon Sharpe beat me to the Super Size Me joke. Tip of the cap, sir). New Orleans had a chance to win at the end of regulation, but Garrett Hartley(notes) – my kicker in five leagues – missed a 37-yard field goal. Josh Freeman(notes) was characteristically sloppy (two INTs), but the Saints couldn’t stop Carnell Williams(notes). Caddy finished with 129 yards and one TD on 24 carries. Incredibly, the Vikings still have a shot at home field advantage in the NFC.

One injury note from the Saints-Bucs tilt: Pierre Thomas(notes) was off to an outstanding start (six carries, 60 yards, TD), but he checked out with a rib injury and didn’t return.

• If you’re a Jonathan Stewart(notes) owner, let’s hope you didn’t sweat the matchup against the Giants. Carolina annihilated New York, 41-9, and Stewart delivered an obscene line: 28 carries, 206 yards, TD. That’s 315 rushing yards in two games against brand-name defenses (MIN, NYG). 

The Panthers’ Steve Smith had one of the day’s more impressive touchdowns, taking a huge shot from safety Michael Johnson on a 27-yard reception, but continuing into the end zone. Highlight here. That might be the final play of Smith’s season, however, as he reportedly broke his left arm on the hit.  

• Facing the league’s top run defense, Ray Rice(notes) delivered a Bensonian line: 30 carries, 141 yards. Rice was a relatively tough sit/start call this week, given the matchup against Pittsburgh, but he delivered.

His team, however, did not. The Ravens lost to the Steelers, 23-20. When they assign blame, they’ll need to look to the lengthy, mistake-filled drive that ended the third quarter. Willis McGahee(notes) had a long touchdown run negated by a Kelley Washington(notes) holding penalty, and he would have likely scored without the illegal assistance. Two plays later, Derrick Mason(notes) dropped a TD pass when the ball hit him in the face. The six-minute drive eventually ended in a punt.  

• Ricky Williams(notes) suffered a third quarter shoulder injury against Houston and wasn’t a factor thereafter in the Dolphins’ loss. Lex Hilliard(notes) scored a pair of touchdowns in Ricky’s absence, finishing with a team-high nine receptions for 74 yards. If you’re a Williams owner, please know that I’m right there with you, devastated.

• Tyler Grisham(notes), you might not see the field again after that fourth quarter drop. 

• The Chiefs finally held an opponent to fewer than 200 rushing yards, but Cedric Benson(notes) still managed to pick up 133 on 29 carries. Larry Johnson(notes) was barely a rumor in his revenge game against KC, carrying just four times for 11 yards. The Bengals made everything look hard in their 17-10 win, but they managed to secure a division crown. Congrats, Cincinnati. 

• If you started Brandon Jackson(notes) today for some reason, congratulations. That was the clutch fantasy play of the year. Please gloat in comments. Running backs accounted for every touchdown scored by the Packers in their 48-10 mauling of the Seahawks. Jackson had three TDs, Ryan Grant(notes) had two, Ahman Green(notes) had one, Dorsey Levens(notes) had two, Edgar Bennett had one, Eddie Lee Ivery had two…

Posted at 4:50 pm ET

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Important: Steven Jackson (back) is reportedly INACTIVE. Get him benched, now.

Posted at 2:50 pm ET

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First Quarter

• For the second time in three weeks, Houston has simply destroyed an opponent in the first half. Matt Schaub(notes) has already passed for 247 yards and two touchdowns against Miami, and the Texans lead 27-3. Schaub’s first TD was a 10-yarder to Andre Johnson(notes) on fourth-and-1, setting the tone. After two quarters, Johnson has four receptions for 57 yards and one score. This is not setting up well for those of us who need a respectable fantasy line from Ricky Williams. 

Arian Foster(notes), you’re a week late. Thanks for nothin’.  

• As expected, New Orleans jumped out to an early double-digit lead at home against Tampa Bay. The Saints need a win or tie to clinch home field advantage throughout the NFC playoffs. Pierre Thomas ran for a touchdown in the first quarter – his first rushing score since Week 9 – and Robert Meachem(notes) caught a 30-yard TD on New Orleans’ second possession. The throw from Drew Brees(notes) was a dart. In fact, it looked a lot like these. (If you click just one link in this post, that’s the one).

• It didn’t take long for Charlie Frye(notes) to announce his presence with…well, with no authority whatsoever. Frye’s first pass attempt was intercepted by linebacker David Bowens(notes), and the throw never had a chance. Horrid decision. Two plays later, Jerome Harrison found himself in the end zone for the fourth time in two weeks.

It’s worth noting that Darren McFadden(notes), not Michael Bush(notes), took the opening carries for the Raiders. He was also the intended target on Frye’s pick.

• Buffalo’s defense has been very good against the pass all year, but 5-foot-9 Reggie Corner(notes) is gonna need some help against Roddy White(notes), or things like this will happen. 

• New England’s opening drive ended (as others have this year) with a Laurence Maroney goal line fumble. Sammy Morris took over on the next series; he has 83 rushing yards and one TD at halftime. For Maroney, that was the fourth lost fumble this season. The Patriots are rolling against Jacksonville, leading 28-0, but Maroney might not visit the stat buffet again.

• It’s no great surprise to see that Jonathan Stewart is off to a strong start, but his 29-yard second quarter TD was a bit too easy. The Giants defense offered little resistance as Stewart went untouched up the middle.

• OK, Brandon Jackson, you’re dismissed. The former second-rounder has poached an annoying number of touches. Jackson caught the first touchdown pass from Aaron Rodgers(notes) on Sunday, a textbook screen that went for 13 yards. There will be more TDs for Green Bay. Remain patient. 

• Baltimore tight end Todd Heap(notes) made an excellent adjustment to the ball on his 30-yard score in the second quarter, but he was clearly down before breaking the plane. Pittsburgh didn’t challenge, presumably because the Ravens would’ve had a first-and-goal inside the 1-yard line. Tough break for anyone who started Willis McGahee, or for anyone facing either Heap or Joe Flacco(notes). 

Posted at 2:45 pm ET

—

Pregame

Championship Week, gamers. Let’s focus. Set your lineups responsibly; fight for every imaginary inch. Here’s some inspiration. Woof.

Links for those who need ’em: Week 16 Ranks, Friday injury/practice notes, NFL Skinny, Flames/Lames, Fantasy Football Live. Please check back with Sunday Scene throughout the day for updates on players who are involved in my matchups.

Now c’mon, let’s go get a ring.

—

Photos via US Presswire (Saints fan, Celek) and AP Images (Manning, Schaub, Brady)

click here for part 1

This action has unleashed a torrent of comment.  I am sure there is more to follow. – BC

has 5 reasons – Here’s The Secret Reason We Eliminated The Bailout Caps On Fannie And Freddie – Joe Weisenthal – … Credit analyst Edwart Pinto shares his theories. – Clusterstock @ The Business Insider

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Geithner’s Christmas Eve Surprise – By Tom Lindmark – The Business Insider has a good, short-list of possible implications. (see above) but I did find the first item of interest: Revisions to … (HAMP).  Any changes will likely increase near term bailout costs to Fannie and Freddie if HAMP’s current reliance on interest reduction is replaced in part by principal reduction. … in an attempt to limit the damage the economy does to their majority in the 2010 elections, the administration is likely to go all in on mortgage modifications that require principal reduction.  … – But Then What

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Fannie and Freddie’s Huge Christmas Bonus – Posted by Larry Doyle – … Why would the Obama administration pass this blank check under the cover of darkness on December 24th? In hopes that America had just settled down for its long winter’s nap and would miss this act of pillage and plunder. … Let’s take note. Let’s ponder this development. What exactly does a blank check and unlimited access to bailout funds truly mean?  I envision the following: … – has several points – Sense on Cents
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Geithner Gives Housing Industry A Huge Christmas Present: Unlimited Fannie And Freddie Bailouts – – Henry Blodget – The Treasury snuck in another big bailout on Christmas Eve: It removed the cap on the amount of money it will provide to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac to cover their ongoing mortgage losses.  There is now no limit on how much we taxpayers will shovel down these black holes. – Clusterstock @ Business Insider

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Obama to Keep Control of Fannie/Freddie – Gabriel Malor  – I’m certain the Obama Administration fully intended for this be lost in the holiday shuffle: … The struggling quasi-private mortgage and loan companies have no incentive to clean up their acts so long as they’ve got the taxpayer’s ATM card.  … – Ace of Spade s HQ

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Treasury Announces “Unlimited” Bailouts for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac – Written by Brandon Kiser – … The current cap sits at $400 billion and approval from Congress for further funds is now unnecessary.  The “unlimited funds” also apparently cover bonuses for the their top executives.  … – 72Wire.com

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Merry Christmas? – Craig Pirrong – That noise you heard emanating from your chimney on Christmas Eve wasn’t Santa Claus’s sack full of gifts: it was an unlimited contingent liability, gifted to you, the taxpayer, hitting your hearth when you were sitting down to a holiday feast.  Because a $400 billion limit just wasn’t enough. … It is incredibly ironic that with all of the vitriol directed at Citi, BofA, Goldman, etc. (much of it deserved), the (Barney) Frankenstein’s Monsters (sorry, couldn’t resist), the GSEs, get a blank check and their executives a big payday.  This gives new meaning to the term “piggybank.” … – Streetwise Professor

While Toyota works on getting its FT-86 rear-wheel-drive coupe on the road and as Nissan plans a rival, another Japanese automaker is going to throw its two cents into the segment as well. Sources close to Mazda say that RX-7 should see a revival sometime in early 2011 and will mark the end of the slow-selling and expensive RX-8.

The next-generation Mazda RX-7 will use the company’s new Renesis 16X rotary engine, which made its debut in the Taiki concept. While the 16X is capable of producing 350-hp and 215 lb-ft of torque, Mazda will keep output around the 200-250 range in order to stick the price-tag close to $25,000.

That will allow Mazda to have a more fuel-efficient, yet sporty coupe to compete with Japan’s upcoming onslaught of rear-wheel-drive sports cars.

– By: Kap Shah

Source: Straightline

A revolutionary new operation which could effectively cure high blood pressure has been developed by scientists, offering hope to hundreds of thousands of sufferers.

In what is being hailed as the most exciting development in the field for 50 years, doctors can treat the condition with a simple procedure in under an hour.

It could allow some sufferers to come off medication completely and offer hope for those for whom existing treatments have no effect.

The technique, which is relatively straightforward and cheap for the NHS, could reduce the risk of a major heart attack or stroke in such patients by half.

The Daily Telegraph can disclose that the new procedure, which involves placing tiny burns on a nerve responsible for high blood pressure in some people, has been carried out in Britain for the first time.

It is part of an international clinical trial which could lead to the new treatment being offered on the NHS.

An estimated 15 million people in Britain suffer from high blood pressure, also known as hypertension – around half of them undiagnosed. Read more…

Predictions for 2010: The Best is Yet to Come – Christopher Whalen – … The first issue we see in 2010 is “completing the transition into a new reality … The bulk of Option-ARM reset dates are in the still to come in 2010 and 2011 bucket. The reality is that these loans were never meant to survive the reset. … The second issue related to the first point will be the peak of loss experience for some US banks as the credit cycle plays out during 2010. … The third trend we see emerging in 2010 is the unwinding of the welfare state. … has other thoughts – The Institutional Risk Analyst

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A Preview Of 2010 In Mortgage Banking – BY DAVID LYKKEN – topics covered include: Warehouse woes, Capital requirements, Regulations galore, Technology issues, Sales and marketing – MortgageOrb 

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these are wild has list – Doug Kass’ 2010 Predictions: Goldman Goes Private, Buffett Steps Down and Tiger’s Back – By Randall Forsyth – Seabreeze Partners’ Doug Kass today is expanding on his outlook articulated in a recent Barron’s interview (”Skeptical Growth Will Take Root,” Dec. 14), notably about rising populist fervor in the land. One outcome he sees is Goldman Sachs‘ (GS) deciding it no longer wants to be a public punching bag and will revert to private status. – Barron’s   
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In 2010, Year of the Regulator – By DENNIS K. BERMAN – Get Ready for More Rules on Finance—If Anyone Survives the D.C. Battle  – … “This is the rerun of the 1930s, when most of the important regulatory agencies were organized in the United States,” said Timothy Ryan, chief executive of the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association, a Wall Street trade group. … – WSJ Deals

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you need to read this – Why Interest Rates Will Rise in 2010 – … The yield spread between 30-year treasuries and the 3-month t-bill has gotten to around 4.50%. This is much larger than normal. The spread was even bigger this June and in 1992. In the last two recessions in the early 1990s and 2000s, yield spreads didn’t peak until about 18-months after the recession was over. They already got to those previous peak levels this June, during the recent recession. This indicates that the peak in the current cycle is going to be higher than it was previously.  … – The Helicopter Economics Investing Guide
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New Economic Forecast for 2010 and 2011 – Bill Conerly – With the GDP revision today I touched up my economic forecast for 2010 and 2011.  Not much has changed, but it’s worth emphasizing the uncertainty that inventories play in the outlook. – lots of charts – Businomics Blog
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Dave’s Top 10 Reasons to Expect the Yield Curve to Flatten – By David Goldman – Inner Working Blog at Asia Times

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2010: The Year to Focus on Sovereign Debt – David Kotok –  Abstract: Sovereign debt is likely to be the big headline issue for 2010.  This commentary will look at some debt-related issues of Greece and California in their two respective currency zones and then discuss our view of sovereign debt markets for 2010, particularly with respect to the US dollar and euro currency zones. Some strategy guidance for portfolio management of debt will wrap things up. – Cumberland Advisors

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Bankers fear sovereign risk in 2010 – By Gillian Tett – … Until quite recently, this was not something that banks worried much about in the western world, since it was widely assumed that the credit standing of European countries and the US was ultra secure. … – FT.com
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Bank of America Merrill Lynch Offers 2010 Predictions – By Dan Seymour, Bond Buyer – … 1.  BofA Merrill’s economists see the global economy surprising investors next year with robust growth. While the International Monetary Fund has forecast global expansion of 3.1%, BofA Merrill foresees growth closer to 4.4%. 
2.  BofA Merrill does not see the expansion in output sparking inflation, and expects the Federal Reserve to keep its target for short-term interest rates close to zero throughout 2010.
3.  However, the global expansion will force up long-term rates on bonds as a cheerier outlook for the economy increases demanded returns, BofA Merrill said.
Bank Investment Consultant

Filed under: Hirings/Firings/Layoffs, GM

Chris Liddell, the Microsoft CFO who’ll be leaving to to take the same position at GM next month, might not stop there. Observers have suggested that Liddell wants the chance to run his own company, and say they can’t imagine a star at Microsoft would take a post at an “eroded pillar of an old economy” without the chance to move up to CEO.

The idea of (another) finance guy in the top spot at GM could give auto enthusiasts pause. Liddell does have experience as a chief executive, however, having held the position at two New Zealand firms: Carter Holt Harvey, and CS First Boston NZ. Still, the bulk of his experience is in finance, and his Microsoft tenure is regarded mostly for helping the company save cash and overseeing job cuts.

Those are two skills GM clearly needs right now, and we hope Liddell will do well in the CFO position. But if he’s being groomed for the top position, we wonder how his skills will translate to developing vehicles. True, Ford’s Alan Mulally was an outsider who hadn’t ever developed a car, either, but he did have decades of experience in development, having assisted or overseen the progress of at least seven different Boeing planes.

No need to get ahead of ourselves, though — Liddell has plenty of work to complete as CFO first, his $750,000-plus pay package won’t deliver until 2012, and only then if he delivers. GM is still searching for a CEO to take the reins back from Ed Whitacre. That will give the 51-year-old Liddell time to study and learn the craft of running an auto company… and figure out how to bring back the Pontiac G8 GXP. Seriously, we don’t care which brand does it…

[Source: CNBC]

Is GM’s new CFO Liddell on track to become CEO? originally appeared on Autoblog on Sun, 27 Dec 2009 09:34:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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BEIJING — China’s utilities will be required to buy all the power produced by wind farms and other renewable sources under a new law meant to promote the industry and reduce heavy reliance on coal. Legislators approved the measure Saturday as an …

If you’re on Twitter, that means you registered an account with a password that isn’t terribly easy to guess. As you may know, Twitter prevents people from doing just that by indicating that certain passwords such as ‘password’ (cough cough) and ‘123456′ are too obvious to be picked.

It just so happens that Twitter has hard-coded all banned passwords on the sign-up page. All you need to do to retrieve the full list of unwelcome passwords is take a look at the source code of that page.

Do a simple search for ‘twttr.BANNED_PASSWORDS’ and voilà, there they are, all 370 of them.

This isn’t a security issue, of course, and in fact it’s helpful to distribute the list so you can check if your favorite password that you use for other services might not be as fail-proof as you’d like to think. For the full list, simply download this TXT file, but here are a couple:

– password
– testing
– naked
– stupid
– twitter
– 123456
– secret
– please
– beavis
– butthead
– internet
– hooters

What would be interesting to know is if Twitter got this list from somewhere else, or if they actually analyze which passwords were most commonly chosen by its tens of millions of users in the past, rendering them ‘too obvious’. If the latter, that means this list is probably representative of most Web services.

(Thanks to Dario Manoukian for the tip; a quick search turns up a post on The Wundercounter featuring the list too)

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Just because it’s the day after Christmas doesn’t mean the app drops have to stop. It was Boxing Day, after all. So Palm gifted us with several new apps, ranging from games to wallpaper packs to various utilities and references. All-in-all, not a bad app drop, and we’re so close to one thousand apps we can taste it. And it tastes like… well, we’re not sure what that taste is, but it is interesting – and getting stronger. While we ponder what taste this is, you can jump after the break and check out the list of new apps for yourself.

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At the 2010 Detroit Auto Show next month, Toyota will unveil a new dedicated hybrid concept (no name confirmed yet). According to sources familiar with the project, Toyota plans on expanding its hybrid lineup with a new subcompact hybrid-only model, which will be based on the concept seen in Detroit.

The model, which will be smaller and more affordable than the Prius, is scheduled to go into production in Japan in late 2011 and will hit U.S. shores in early 2012. The subcompact hybrid is also expected to get better fuel-economy than the Toyota Prius.

Insiders say that Toyota is counting on the new subcompact hybrid to be a big seller and plans to produce 150,000 units annually.

By the end of 2010, Toyota will increase its hybrid vehicle output as it expands its battery venture with Japan’s Panasonic Corp to produce more than 1 million nickel-metal hydride batteries. The collaboration will also see an increase in the production of lithium-ion batteries for a plug-in Prius hybrid going on sale in late 2012.

As Detroit News points out, adding another high-profile hybrid to its lineup would not only boost sales for Toyota, but also increase profitability of the Japanese automaker’s hybrid car business by reducing the per-vehicle cost of components.

Toyota Dedicated Hybrid Concept Teaser (2010 Detroit Auto Show):

– By: Kap Shah

Source: Detroit News

Five years ago today — on December 27, 2004 — the Earth was attacked by a cosmic blast.

The scale of this onslaught is nearly impossible to exaggerate. The flood of gamma and X-rays that washed over the Earth was detected by several satellites designed to observe the high-energy skies. RHESSI, which observes the Sun, saw this blast. INTEGRAL, used to look for gamma rays from monster black holes, saw this blast. The newly-launched Swift satellite, built to detect gamma-ray bursts from across the Universe, not only saw this blast, but its detectors were completely saturated by the assault of energy… even though Swift wasn’t pointed anywhere near the direction of the burst! In other words, this flood of photons saturated Swift even though they had to pass through the walls of the satellite itself first!

It gets worse. This enormous wave of fierce energy was so powerful it actually partially ionized the Earth’s upper atmosphere, and it made the Earth’s magnetic field ring like a bell. Several satellites were actually blinded by the event.

So what was this thing? What could do this kind of damage?

Astronomers discovered quickly just what this was, though when they figured it out they could scarcely believe it. On that day, half a decade ago, the wrath of the magnetar SGR 1806-20 was visited upon the Earth.

Magnetars are neutron stars, the incredibly dense remnants of a supernovae explosions. They can have masses up to twice that of the Sun, but are so compact they may be less than 20 kilometers (12 miles) across. A single cubic centimeter of neutron star material would have a mass of 10¹⁴ grams: 100 million tons. That’s very roughly the combined mass of every single car on the United States, squeezed down into the size of a sugar cube. The surface gravity of a neutron star is therefore unimaginably strong, tens or even hundreds of billion times that of the Earth.

What makes a neutron star a magnetar is its magnetic field: it may be a quadrillion (10¹⁵) times stronger than that of the Earth! That makes the magnetic field of a magnetar as big a player as the gravity. In a magnetar, the magnetic field and the crust of the star are coupled together so strongly that a change in one affects the other drastically. What happened that fateful day on SGR 1806-20 was most likely a star quake, a crack in the crust. This shook the magnetic field of the star violently, and caused an eruption of energy.

The sheer amount energy generated is difficult to comprehend. Although the crust probably shifted by only a centimeter, the incredible density and gravity made that a violent event well beyond anything we mere humans have experienced. The quake itself would have registered as 32 on the Richter scale — mind you, the largest earthquake ever recorded was about 9 on that scale, and it’s a logarithmic scale. The blast of energy surged away from the magnetar, out into the galaxy. In just 200 milliseconds — a fifth of a second — the eruption gave off as much energy as the Sun does in a quarter of a million years.

A fireball of matter erupted out of the star at nearly a third the speed of light, and the energy from the explosion moved — of course — at the speed of light itself. This hellish wave of energy expanded, eventually sweeping over the Earth and causing all the events described above.

Oh, and did I mention this magnetar is 50,000 light years away? No? That’s 500 quadrillion kilometers (300 quadrillion miles) away, about halfway across the freaking Milky Way galaxy itself!

And yet, even at that mind-crushing distance, it fried satellites and physically affected the Earth. It was so bright some satellites actually saw it reflected off the surface of the Moon! I’ll note that a supernova, the explosion of an entire star, has a hard time producing any physical effect on the Earth if it’s farther away than, say, 100 light years. Even a gamma-ray burst — an event so horrific it makes the hair on the back of my neck stand up just thinking about it — can only do any damage if it’s closer than 8000 light years or so. GRBs may not even be possible in our galaxy (they were common when the Universe was young, but not so much any more), which means that, for my money, magnetars may be the most dangerous beasties in the galaxy (though still unlikely to really put the hurt on us; see below).

Here’s what Swift detected at the moment of the burst:

As Swift scientist David Palmer describes:

This is the light curve that [Swift’s Burst Alert Telescope] saw, showing how many gamma rays it counted in each sixteenth of a second during six minutes of observation. I didn’t draw the main spike because it was 10,000 times as bright as the tail emission, and you would need a monitor a thousand feet tall to look at it.

The blast was so strong Swift saturated, counting 2.5 million photons per second slamming into it, well off the top of that graph (and the actual blast was far brighter yet, as other satellites were able to determine).

See the pulsations in the plot? After the initial burst, which lasted only a fraction of a second, pulses of energy were seen from the magnetar for minutes afterward. The pulses occurred every 7.56 seconds, and that’s understood to be the rotation period of the neutron star. The crack in the crust got infernally hot, and we saw a pulse of light from it every time it spun into view. This same pulsing was seen by other satellites as well.

The damage from the explosion was actually rather minimal here on Earth. But that’s because SGR 1806-20 is 50,000 light years away. Had it been one-tenth that distance, the effects would have been 100 times stronger. We’d have lost satellites at least, and it would have caused billions of dollars in damage in NASA hardware alone. Of the dozen or so known magnetars, none is that close (though a couple are about 7000 light years away). Magnetars aren’t easy to hide, but it’s possible there are some within 5000 light years. It’s unlikely, though, and I’m not personally all that concerned.

I do have one thing to add: when this event occurred, I got an email from someone convinced that the magnetar was responsible for the earthquake in Indonesia that created the devastating tsunami that killed more than 250,000 people. However, there is one small problem with that idea. Well, two problems, really, the first being there’s no physical way it could have triggered an earthquake! But a worse problem is that the earthquake occurred on December 26th at 00:58 UT, and the burst from the magnetar was at December 27 at 21:30:26 UT, about 1.5 days later. Oops.

But why let facts get in the way of a good pseudoscientific theory?

The tantrum from SGR 1806-20 is one of the best studied events of its kind, and is certainly the most powerful ever detected in the modern era. Astronomers will be studying the magnetar, and others like it, very carefully to see what can be learned from them. If you want to read more, then I suggest the NASA page about the event, as well as the Sky and Telescope magazine page on it, too.

And if another blast like that one comes from SGR 1806, or any other magnetar, don’t worry: I’ll report it right here. Unless it fries my computer. Or just my brain, reading about it.

Image credits: NASA

Smoke belching from a coal powered power plant on the outskirts of Linfen, in China’s Shanxi province. China’s national assembly has signalled the country’s commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions by adopting a law supporting its renewable …

We’ve run TechStars in Boulder for three years.  So far each year at least one of the teams ends up with a runaway success on a bootstrapped business.  In year one it was J-Squared with their Facebook (and now MySpace) apps.  The bootstrapper of year two is Occipital with their awesome RedLaser iPhone app.

RedLaser has been at the top of the iPhone App Store paids apps listing for over three months.  Rather than review the app here, I’ll just point you to a recent TechCrunch article about it reaching over 750k downloads and a recent WSJ article about Price Checking: Finding Deals With a Phone.  Or just download RedLaser – it’s only $1.99 and you’ll love it.

When Jeff Powers and Vikas Reddy, the founders of Occipital, were accepted to TechStars, we chose them not because of their great idea (I thought the original idea was stupid), but because of their incredible technical talent.  As David Cohen and I went through their application and saw the demos they had done, our immediate reaction was “these guys are great – they’ll do something amazing if they land on a good idea.”  So – we accepted them into TechStars.

On day one we told them we hated their idea and encouraged them to think hard about other things before going deep on building something.  They resisted for a few days, but listened as they heard this from a number of other mentors.  They quickly discarded their original idea and started working on something else that leveraged their skills.  During the program, they built some cool demos and started making progress on their new big idea.  They reinforced their position as “super smart software engineers” but as the summer ended they struggled to get investors excited.

Shortly after the summer ended, they found themselves with a very ambitious technical project, some demo code, and no funding.  I worried about them a little because I knew how much talent they had.  True to character, they regrouped and started hacking on the iPhone.  They also – in their words – developed a “huge chip on their shoulder” since they hadn’t been able to raise money.  They decided “we don’t need no stinking investors” and went after bootstrapping the business.

The first product they shipped was an iPhone app called ClearCam.  It was popular and sold enough copies that all of a sudden Occipital had some cash coming in.  A few months later they released their next iPhone app – RedLaser – and had a monster hit on their hands.

Obviously, I’m super proud of Occipital.  And I’m carefully watching the TechStars 2009 class – both in Boulder and Boston – for who is going to be the bootstrapper of year three. 

If you are interested, applications for the TechStars Boston 2010 program (which runs in the spring of 2010) are currently open until January 11th, 2010 at 11:59:59 PM Eastern Time.  There is plenty of room for bootstrappers, as well as folks that want to raise angel or VC financing, in the program.

FDA Approves A High Dose Seasonal Influenza Vaccine Specifically Intended for People Ages 65 and Older

Accelerated approval process used in vaccine approval

Press Release

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Fluzone High-Dose, an inactivated influenza virus vaccine for people ages 65 years and older to prevent disease caused by influenza virus subtypes A and B.

People in this age group are at highest risk for seasonal influenza complications, which may result in hospitalization and death. Annual vaccination remains the best protection from influenza, particularly for people 65 and older.

Fluzone High-Dose was approved via the accelerated approval pathway. FDA’s accelerated approval pathway helps safe and effective medical products for serious or life-threatening diseases become available sooner. In clinical studies, Fluzone High-Dose demonstrated an enhanced immune response compared with Fluzone in individuals 65 and older.

As part of the accelerated approval process, the manufacturer is required to conduct further studies to verify that the Fluzone High-Dose will decrease seasonal influenza disease after vaccination.

“As people grow older, their immune systems typically become weaker,” said Karen Midthun, M.D., acting director of the FDA’s Center for Biologics Evaluation and Research. “This is the first influenza vaccine that uses a higher dose to induce a stronger immune response that is intended to better protect the elderly against seasonal influenza.”

Fluzone High-Dose, manufactured by Sanofi Pasteur Inc., is formulated so that each 0.5 mL dose contains a total of 180 micrograms (mcg) of influenza virus hemagglutinin (HA) which is made up of 60 mcg of each of the three influenza virus strains.

Other currently licensed seasonal influenza vaccines for adults are formulated to contain a total of 45 mcg of influenza virus hemagglutinin (15 mcg HA from each of the three influenza strains per dose). Sanofi Pasteur, also manufactures Fluzone, a seasonal vaccine for the United States approved for use in individuals ages 6 months and older.

As expected, because of the higher HA content, non-serious adverse events were more frequent after vaccination with Fluzone High-Dose compared with Fluzone. Common adverse events experienced during clinical studies included pain, redness and swelling at the injection site and headache, muscle aches, fever and malaise. The rate of serious adverse events was comparable between Fluzone High-Dose and Fluzone.

People with hypersensitivity to egg proteins or life-threatening reactions after previous administration of any influenza vaccine should not be vaccinated with Fluzone High-Dose.

Fluzone High-Dose is administered as a single injection in the upper arm and is available in single dose pre-filled syringes without preservative.

For more information

FDA Web Page on Vaccines, Blood & Biologics
http://www.fda.gov/BiologicsBloodVaccines/default.htm.

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Image: Newscom.com

Post from: Blisstree

High-Dose Flu Vaccine Approved for Seniors

Awakening on Boxing Day stricken by an alcohol induced mental fog no less stubborn than the moral one that afflicted the world leaders at COP15 I tried to make sense of what had happened. Confusion reigned at the conference which, after two weeks of filibuster produced little more than a Google doc, a Nation State Christmas list of what leader’s felt like cutting by whenever they felt like it. Through the subsequent blizzard of finger pointing, each country blaming the next one for the turd on the table, one thing remains abundantly clear; our leaders failed us. Strangely the overwhelming sensation I feel now is not fear or anger, but relief. Copenhagen certainly didn’t provide a solution, but it might well have provided a clean slate from which we can start really dealing with the problem of climate change. Our leaders produced nothing to hide behind; it is now our turn to act.

The day after the conference it is easy to picture the various countries waking up with an enormous COP-over and only embarrassing memories to remind them of their efforts. The US’s present was given to us all with ceremonial calls to action, but when unwrapped it became clear that there was nothing inside the box. The EU’s gift was of a reasonable size but it was wrapped with so many strings attached that no one could open it fully. China promised wondrous treasures of great beauty, but kept them under wraps refusing to show a sole. And, of course there was Canada, the grumpy, drunk uncle who busied himself moaning in the corner, occasionally kicking the dog.

What came out of all this was an ‘accord’ that is about as useful as a cracker toy. Looking back at this in the cold light of post-Christmas festivities I find myself strangely glad, for what took place in Copenhagen cannot be dressed up as anything other than an unmitigated failure. Putting a ribbon around a Google doc and calling it an ‘accord’? I hope they’ve kept the receipt.

What the accord provides us all with is honesty. Countries have filled out a document that details what they intend to do and it won’t take Saint Nick to tell us who is naughty and who’s nice. The problems of climate change are as real as your Christmas paunch and Copenhagen has provided us with a perfect New Year resolution. The ‘accord’ is a mandate to for people all around the world to act. The bloated, inefficiencies of the UN process were laid bare in Denmark and no nation will be able to use such a thin agreement as a veil for inaction. It is time for us all to get honest on climate change, own up to those extra pounds we’ve piled on and take action.

In failing so spectacularly our leaders have, whether they like it or not, given us the mandate we need to hold them to account. They can no longer say that they’ve got it under control; we know they haven’t. We must stand and take action on an issue that will define our generation and with a general election on the horizon we find the boot to be firmly on our foot. Take good aim.

" … inhabitants on the small Danish island of Samso have … become one of the first industrialised places in the world to qualify as being totally energy self-sufficient … Denmark … can now boast a region that can be used by the rest of the planet as the blueprint for future green energy production … started in 1997 when Samso won a competition … to become Denmark’s "Renewable Energy Island" by presenting a 10-year plan to convert its energy consumption from oil and gas to clean technology … 21 wind turbines have been built on Samso …"

" … houses in Samso’s 22 villages are heated by power plants that rely on furnaces fired by wood chips and straw and farms of man-sized solar panels inhabit the fields … project also creates new jobs as … island’s plumbers and carpenters have now all become experts in energy-saving home conversion and insulation techniques, and even get the opportunity to carry out installations in mainland Europe and the US …"

For more on this project check out this video …

Via: Power and Energy News LINK