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Today showed a HUGE reversal from yesterday’s miserable action, not just in US stocks, but in every key market around the world. US equities have now erased their losses for the week. Crazy.

But first, the scoreboard:

• Dow: +286 (+2.8%)
• NASDAQ: +82 (3.7%!)
• S&P 500: +35 (3.3%)

And now for some key stories of the day:

• Things really seemed to hinge on the noise out of China that it had no intention to diversify away from eurozone bond holdings — contradicting a report from FT yesterday. We argued that the FT story never made any sense, so we’re inclined to believe China’s statements. If anything, it’s in the interest of Chinese leaders to prop up the euro, and save its own manufacturers’ already razor-thin margins.

• Ironically, the only economic news today was bad: GDP came in weaker than expected, and initial weekly jobless claims also confirmed the stalling out trned.

• It took more than a month, but Barack Obama finally gave a press conference on the Deepwater Horizon oil catastrophe. It did not go particularly well, as he was, in essence, forced to side with BP’s handling of the crisis — an awkward position, to say the least.

• Also on the BP front, the company spiked on news that the oil leak has stopped, BUT this is not the end of the story at all. Next stage is the cement pouring, and we have no guarantee yet it will work. But, at least we’re making some progress. Also, based on some estimates, the total leak now stands at 666,666.666 barrels, a very ominous number indeed.

• In addition to the surge in equities, just about every other “risk on” measure was positive, including a surge in the Aussie dollar, a surge in industrial commodities, and a slight slip in gold (though not huge).

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A Minnesota baby born earlier this week owes his safe entry into our world to a Chevy Cobalt. Eight pound newborn Joseph Phillips was born literally behind the wheel as his mother gave birth in the driver’s seat.

“We knew the Cobalt was designed to deliver its occupants safely, but never did we expect a delivery quite like this,” said Margaret Brooks, Chevrolet product marketing director, Small Cars and Crossovers. “From everyone at Chevrolet, we’d like to congratulate Amanda and Joseph on the newest addition to their family. Unfortunately, there is no section in the Cobalt driver’s manual on ‘How to Change a Diaper,’ but we’re sure they’ll do just fine.”

To celebrate the birth, GM will provide the family with; a year’s supply of diapers, two child safety seats, a stroller, and a number of other supplies such as bottles, formula, etc.

Pretty miraculous.

– By: Stephen Calogera

Filed under: SUV, Crossover, Audi, First Drive, Luxury

If there’s to be a singular automotive theme guiding us into this second decade of the 21st century, it’s downsizing. If not in dimensions, then in displacement. Automakers, forced to adhere to higher government-mandated fuel economy standards and lower CO2 emissions, are beginning to collectively reduce engine size while attempting to maintain the thrust consumers demand.

The newest posterchild for this movement comes in an unlikely wrapper: the 2011 Audi Q7. Packing the same supercharged 3.0-liter V6 found in the S4 sports sedan, Audi bids adieu (or is that Auf Wiedersehen?) to the 3.6-liter V6 and 4.2-liter V8 for the 2011 model year and brings with it the 2011 A8’s eight-speed automatic transmission. We tackled the congested highways and byways in and around Ingolstadt to see if the revised Q7 has the goods to placate both bureaucrats and buyers, while taking a deeper look into Audi’s new powertrain strategy. Click through to the jump to see if we can make sense of it all.

Photos by Damon Lavrinc / Copyright (C)2010 Weblogs, Inc.

Continue reading First Drive: 2011 Audi Q7 downsizes with an upside

First Drive: 2011 Audi Q7 downsizes with an upside originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 27 May 2010 14:58:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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As November midterm electrons get closer, Congress grows bolder in its effort to crack down on Wall Street. That could be part of the reason why the Senate’s bill is, in some places, more aggressive than the House’s legislation — it was completed five months later. Democrats assume that aggressive financial reform is very important to Americans, and Republicans worry that they’re right. Yet, a poll by Rasmussen casts doubt on this theory.

According to the pollster, more oppose additional financial regulation than those who favor it. In fact, 46% “oppose government regulation of the U.S. financial system.” Meanwhile, just 37% favor more regulation. The other 17% are undecided.

Sure, 46% isn’t a majority, but you should add the big portion of undecided to this tally if you want to see the number of voters who don’t much care about or are even against additional financial regulation. After all, if you’re undecided about something, chances are you’re not passionate about the cause. That leaves a measly 37% of voters who might be pleased enough with Washington’s effort to vote for an incumbent who voted for it.

Democrats are hoping that financial reform can save them some seats. They’ll have to rely on it, along with health care reform, as their body of accomplishments. Health care reform’s popularity wasn’t sweeping, and if Rasmussen’s poll is right, then cracking down on banks might not have as broad a populist appeal as Congress thinks.

Come November, unemployment will still likely be hovering around 10%, so the economy will likely be at the front of voters’ minds. But Rasmussen’s poll also indicates that an incredible 72% of Americans are not confident in Congress to address current economic problems. That doesn’t bode well for incumbents in the majority party.

(Nav Image Credit: cliff1066/flickr)

Rasmussen – United States – Health care – Wall Street – Republican Party

50 Cent is really going to surprise everyone with his new look! The rapper and actor, is really serious with his role and trying to bring in perfection to his roles. He has lost nearly 55 pounds of weight for the looks of his forthcoming movie ‘Things Fall Apart’ by Mario Van Peebles. Interestingly the movie has been written by 50 Cent and he would be playing a college football player battling cancer.

How he achieved that feat?
For that off course he had to do a lot of hard work and sacrifice his favorite dishes. He remained completely on liquid diet and had workouts for three hours at stretch on treadmill. This toil helped him achieve the goal of 160 pounds from 214 pounds.

It is not unusually for such actors to lose weight or gain for the roles they wish to fit the character, but the real lean and thin looks of 50 Cent surprised everybody. Prior to Curtis James Jackeson III (50 Cent’s original name), Matt Damon did it for Courage Under Fire, Christian Bale got himself frailed for The Machinist, Will Smith shrunk himself for Seven Pounds and to name a few. What is surprising is that there is not a single word for the movie yet, but 50 Cent has prepared for himself for the role.

Perhaps this role will give 50 Cent a recognition as ‘serious actor’ and he may be noticed by big panels like Academy Awards, Golden Globe and others. His previous films, Get Rich or Die Tryin’ (2005) and Righteous Kill (2008) alongside Al Pacino and Robert De Niro could not gather much acclaim for him. But the present role and his try to fit the character may soon make him one of the most sought after actors in the Tinsel Town.

Related posts:

1. 50 Cent Massive Weight Loss Pictures
2. 50 Cent Liquid Diet Weight Loss, Curtis Jackson 50 Cent Prepairing for Things Fall Apart Movie
3. “I am Legend” a Real Legend to the Film Viewers

Con la llegada del verano lo mejor que podemos hacer sin lugar a dudas es irnos a la playa o a algún lugar de veraneo con buen clima y conducir nuestro flamante Nissan 370Z Roadster, un descapotable precioso que tiene un halo de elegancia y lujo que no puede con él.

A partir de ahora podremos acercarnos a los concesionarios a pedir este vehículo a un precio que parte desde los 52.000 €, es decir, más de 4.000 € más que la variante con techo fijo. La única pena desde mi perspectiva es el techo de lona que, pese a ser manejado eléctricamente, resta valor a este modelo.

Por muy ajustada y perfecta que se intente poner la lona siempre deja pasar más ruido e incomodidades que un buen techo duro. Quizá es más clásico y chick un techo de lona, pero para un precio de 52.000 € necesitamos algo más. En el apartado mecánico dispondremos de un motor 3.7 i V6 de 328 caballos de potencia y un cambio manual de 6 velocidades.

Podremos si queremos, por 2.400 € más, un cambio automático de siete marchas. El equipamiento de serie viene cargadito (menos mal, por 52.000 €) incluyendo extras como el ordenador de viaje, faros de xenón, equipo especial de audio, tapizado en piel y llantas de aleación, además de algunos más básicos como sistema de navegación o climatizador.

Vía | Autoblog.es

We recently wrote about the disturbing case of William Melchert-Dinkel, a guy who would troll various online suicide forums, claiming to be a nurse, who would then encourage people to go through with their suicide plans, sometimes making suicide pacts with them. As we pointed out at the time, there’s really no way to defend what this guy did. He’s clearly a sick individual. But, we were concerned about him being charged with “assisted suicide” in Minnesota, where the law seems especially broad, and questionable on First Amendment grounds, because it outlawed just “advising” people on suicide.

In the latest on that case, Melchert-Dinkel has been ordered to stay off the internet completely while the case is ongoing. Like the lawsuit itself, an order like this, seems to raise a lot of questions. I could understand ordering him to stay away from any discussions about suicide, but a blanket internet ban, again, seems like it goes too far. Does it include a VoIP phone? With so much on the internet these days, can you really effectively bar someone from using the internet? We’ve seen courts that have regularly overturned such bans, claiming that they’re unreasonably excessive.

While there’s no way to defend what this guy did, so far this whole case seems to go in dangerous directions, both from the standpoint of free speech questions, as well as overly aggressive internet bans, due to one particular activity done on the internet.

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Kenneth Starr, an American lawyer is notable for his tenure as an Independent Counsel while Bill Clinton was United States President.

Recently, Starr, 65 of Manhattan was charged with running $30 Million Ponzi Scheme for wire fraud. He is also charged for investment fraud and money laundering. Starr was awaiting an initial appearance in federal court in Manhattan.

Starr is a financial adviser to celebrities including Sylvester Stallone and Wesley Snipes. His arrest on Thursday stated that some of the money committed from fraud on his clients were used to purchase a lavish Manhattan apartment.

Also arrested was Andrew Stein, former New York City Council President, who was charged with making false statements a federal officer and making false statements in a filing with the IRS, or Internal Revenue Service.

Lawyers for Starr and Stein didn’t respond to telephone messages seeking comment immediately.

Related posts:

1. Lawrence Taylor: Charged With Rape
2. Investigation in Time Square: Search warrants executed
3. Faisal Shahzad: NY Bomb Suspect, Still Being Interviewed By the Investigators

You can take the girl out of the hood, but you can’t take the hood out of the girl.

Outspoken Sri Lankan rap star M.I.A. is so livid over a slightly-disparaging New York Times Magazine article about her whiny political views (which includes the assertion that Facebook is owned by CIA operatives), she unleashed the reporter’s phone number across the Twitterverse in retaliation.

“917.834.3158 CALL ME IF YOU WANNA TALK TO ME ABOUT THE N Y T TRUTH ISSUE, ill b taking calls all day bitches ;)….” M.I.A. wrote in an early AM Tweet to fans.

Lots of people thought dialing the number with the NYC area code might actually lead them to a breathless phone call with M.I.A. herself. This is what they heard instead:

“You have reached the mailbox of Lynn Hirschberg. This mailbox is currently full.”

Lynn Hirschberg just happens to be the journalist who penned the NYT’s somewhat-unflattering profile on the “Paper Planes” emcee, published Wednesday.

Well, you have to admire the girl’s moxie!

“It’s a fairly unethical thing to do, but I don’t think it’s surprising,” said Hirschberg, who has been fielding calls from M.I.A. stans all day. “She’s a provocateur, and provocateurs want to be provocative…[it’s] infuriating and not surprising.”

Lynn — who still has a full mailbox — says she plans on keeping her phone number.

Indonesia, because it’s an archipelago, might not look like it has a lot of land area. But it’s home to the third largest forest area of any country, and has half the tropical peatlands in the entire world. These forested lands are home to many endangered species, and also store greenhouse gases. Now, thanks to international cooperation (and a big check), more of that area will be saved—for now.

This week, Indonesia pledged to stop giving permits for the destruction of virgin forests:

“We will conduct a moratorium for two years where we stop the conversion of peat land and of forest,” President Yudhoyono said at a joint news conference with Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg. The pledge comes ahead of Thursday’s climate and forest conference in Oslo, which is expected to be attended by officials from some 50 countries [BBC News].

Environmentalists are cheering the reprieve, noting that vast swaths of forest have already been cleared in Indonesia to provide wood for timber and paper industries, and to provide space for palm oil plantations.

While the Copenhagen conference on climate back in December was a failure in creating greenhouse gas emissions limits, it did succeed in putting a larger focus on slowing deforestation. Under a program called REDD Plus (Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation), wealthier nations have agreed to provide funding to slow deforestation in tree-rich nations like Indonesia, hoping to save carbon dioxide-absorbing forests that way.

The United States, Australia, France, Japan, Britain and Norway had specifically agreed on $3.5 billion from 2010-12 to save forests, a pool of money which has now grown to $4 billion, according to Norway which chaired the climate conference [Reuters].

Once REDD Plus gets going, the organization says it will keep a close watch to make sure agreements aren’t broken. (In December, we reported that Google volunteered to help out with satellite imaging.) But more so than espionage, the money talks.

“Forests are worth more dead than alive. Today we commit to change that equation,” said Norwegian Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg [AP].

Related Content:
80beats: Is Google the Guardian Angel of Rainforests?
80beats: Truce Between Green Groups And Timber Companies Could Save Canadian Forests
80beats: Saving the Rainforest Could Make Economic Sense
80beats: Drought + Warmer Temperatures = a “Double Whammy” of Tree Deaths

Image: Wikimedia Commons

Usually, after a company settles serious charges with federal prosecutors and regulators, investors can relax a little, and assume the matter is behind them. That may not be the case with one contractor we looked at more closely in a FootnotedPro report that went out to subscribers this afternoon. The company’s filings suggest an independent monitor hired to keep an eye on the company for the Justice Department has found new reason for concern.

FootnotedPro, our subscription-only service, provides actionable investment ideas and deeper insight into public company filings, highlighting unusual opportunities and potential problems well in advance of the market. For more information, or to inquire about a trial subscription, email us at [email protected]

If you consider where Android was when it started versus how far it’s advanced in 18 months with Android 2.2, you might get brain freeze. More »










Android – Google – Handhelds – Video Games – Games

Materials: Ikea Shoe Rack (Lustifik)

Description: First and foremost I have to qualify/justify why I made these speaker stands (before the audiophiles out there cry blasphemy and take me for a fool not understanding the need for a $300 USD stand with zero resonance and spikes/cones for legs)

1) I needed to space out the speakers on my system to create a larger soundstage.

2) To me speaker stands are glorified stools

3) I don’t have a proper workshop. (Over here in Singapore we live in tiny 3 room sardine cans which we spend our whole life’s paying for). And as such anything I would do to modify/hack had to be simple.

4) Did I mention I think speaker stands are just glorified stools?…I ain’t gonna pay $300 USD for stools!

So, one Friday afternoon I spent my time walking around my friendly Ikea store..I had been inspired by other cool ikeahacks (ie. Sexy legs stands, lamp/stands..) and wanted to do one myself…

Lo and behold! $6 USD shoe racks!..And at the optimum floor to sitting ear height of 60cm!

The mod work is rather simple.

1) Open and assemble said racks (you don’t really need to follow the provided 1 page manual)

2) Cut a wooden board to fit the top where the speaker is going to sit on

3) Spray paint the whole thing midnight black ($1 USD can of spray paint)

And voila!…Speaker stands!…with a greatly expanded soundstage to boot and only for what…$13USD!!!!!

I’m sold!…

~ Lucas

WASHINGTON–President Obama on Thursday said “nothing improper” took place in conversations between people in his administration and Rep. Joe Sestak (D-Pa.) the Democratic Pennsylvania Senate nominee. Sestak said that an Obama White House official offered him a high level job in exchange for not challenging Sen. Arlen Specter (D-Pa.) in a Democratic primary. Sestak did and he won.

Obama was asked about this during his Thursday press conference.

Q. Can you tell the American public, sir, what your White House did or did not offer Congressman Sestak to not enter the Democratic senatorial primary? And how will you meet your levels of expressed transparency and ethics to convey that answer to satisfy what appear to be bipartisan calls for greater disclosure about that matter? Thank you.

PRESIDENT OBAMA: The — there will be an official response shortly on the Sestak issue —

Q From you?

PRESIDENT OBAMA: — which I hope will answer your questions.

Q From you, sir?

PRESIDENT OBAMA: You will get it from my administration, so — and it will — it will be coming out — when I say shortly, I mean shortly. I don’t mean weeks or months. With respect to the first —

Q Can you assure the public it was ethical and legal, sir?

PRESIDENT OBAMA: I can assure the public that nothing improper took place. But as I said, there will be a response shortly on that issue.

Is Apple (or some other tech company) about to repeat Apple’s great mistake? This is a question that keeps coming up. See Henry Blodget in January, for example. Just yesterday the idea had another outing in Apple’s Second Date with History in the WSJ.

Apple
almost went out of business 14 years ago, and many would have blamed
what seemed one of the seminal business blunders in history.

Bill
Gates was chatting with students at Stanford at the time and recalled
letters he’d written to Steve Jobs begging him to allow cloning of
Apple hardware. Had Mr. Jobs complied, Apple’s operating system might
have become the de facto universal standard, the one everybody wrote
software for–a role that fell to Windows instead… If you think
missing out on the riches that Microsoft created for its shareholders
was an error, Mr. Jobs erred.

Did he, though? In the spirit of Zhou Enlai, it might be too early to say. The WSJ published its piece yesterday, just as Apple’s market value surpassed Microsoft’s.

Microsoft
is a hugely powerful and profitable company in the tech world. Its
Windows software runs 9 out of every 10 computers, while more than 500
million people use its Office software to perform their daily tasks,
like writing letters or sending e-mail messages. These two franchises
account for the bulk of Microsoft’s annual revenue.

But Apple has the momentum. “Steve saw way early on, and way before
Microsoft, that hardware and software needed to be married into
something that did not require effort from the user,” said Scott G.
McNealy, the co-founder and longtime chief executive of Sun
Microsystems.

Apple looks expensive at its current price, and Microsoft cheap…but still.

A
couple of months ago I speculated that Apple had got the iPad wrong and
said it wasn’t for me. It arrived about a week ago and I’ll share my
impressions shortly. 

Apple – Microsoft – Steve Jobs – Bill Gates – IPad

Our inboxes and search results are filled with great-sounding travel deals, $35 airline tickets, $399 three-day all-inclusives and the like, but have you ever actually tried to snag one? Oftentimes it seems a low “landing prices” shoots up after all the fees are added, or if you try to get a date other than a very narrow set, or you want to do something crazy like return home afterwards. NYT took a look and found that while that’s true, there are a few things you can do to improve your chances of getting a price close to the advertised one.

1. Act fast – The older a deal gets the more likely it’s expired or run out
2. Check date restrictions – Sometimes hidden in the fine print, it can be hard to know which days qualify for the deals. Check all the disclosures.
3. KIS, keep it simple – specific deals directly from the provider at single locations delivered closer to advertised price than packages of services, like airfare + four hotel nights + car rental, sold through agencies.

Online Deals: Scams or Steals? [NYT]

Oh man, oh man, oh man! You can download Fring for Android right now and make two-way video calls—ones demonstrated in all the promises of the future— RIGHT NOW. For Android. More »










Android – Handhelds – Video – Business – Google

The X51A Waverider, a U.S. Air Force experimental “scramjet” aircraft, achieved a top speed of nearly five times the speed of sound in its record-breaking first test flight Thursday.The X51A Waverider which can be compared as the size of a cruise missile.Boeing X-51A was dropped from the mothership and the booster quickly accelerated the Waverider to Mach 4.5. The X-51A ignited and the scramjet powered the aircraft for about 200 seconds as it reached a 70,000-foot altitude and an approximate speed of Mach 5.
The Boeing X-51A made aviation history with the longest-ever scramjet-powered hypersonic flight. Air Force officials said the X-51A scramjet propulsion record can be compared to the leap from propellers to jet engines after World War II. Aviation engineers say scramjet propulsion will eventually replace current technologies. The reporst states that the waverider actually surfs on the sonic shockwaves. Compared to a nomal jet engine which force air into its combustion. The X-51A with a scramjet engine short for (Supersonic Combustion Ramjet) has a powerful combustion chamber.

Related posts:

1. X-51A Waverider missile: Mach 6-Speed of Sound Scramjet!
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According to sources, it is Rosie Huntington-Whitely who will be the next star in the new Transformers movie.

Rosie Huntington-Whitely is currently one of the hottest model but apparently she is about to show us what she got when it comes to acting. She is the Face of Monson lingerie and also an Victoria’s Secret Angel but right now she has just signed for Michael Bay, the director of Transformers who will make another cool movie that will blow once again everyones mind. But this time you won’t see Megan Fox anymore, its Whitely’s turn to shine.

Anyways its her first time to act but that won’t be a problem having Jason Statham around, her acting boyfriend that will surely give her some tips. Definetely she is not the first hottie to make the shift to hollywood. There were also Agyness Deyn who was seen on the short film Elle Macherson, Lily Cole recently appeared on The Imaginarium of Dr Parnassus, Naomi Campbell and Cindy Crawford made it all into Hollywood.

Related posts:

1. Megan Fox will not be in Transformers 3
2. Megan Fox, Out in Transformers 3
3. Megan Fox: Gorgeous Then and Now

Vienna topped the list of best city in world according to the Mercer’s 2010 Quality of Living Survey while Baghdad has been rated the worst city to live right now with violence prevailing in all quarters there. While popular US cities failed even to crack among the top 25 cities in this survey. This survey is made to rank the world’s most livable cities and this year the world’s top three cities are from Central Europe, Vienna making the top ranking twice in a row. The survey is carried by London based Mercer, an international consulting company which ranked Zurich and Geneva second and third respectively.

Among the cities of the US, Honolulu made the highest ranking at No.31 followed by San Francisco at No.32. Among the Asian cities, Singapore has been slated the top position at 28 with Tokyo at No.40. Surprisingly, Dubai which has been ranked 75 (which most people consider quite livable city because of its infrastructure) has been rated as the best city in the Middle East. And the best of Africa is the Port Louis in Mauritius, which ranks at No.82.

Baghdad has been ranked 221 and remains at the bottom of the list, even behind the low string and risk zone cities of Africa. However the rating is not free from criticism. Joel Kotkin in Forbes Magazine writes that the effort by the Economist Intelligence Unit falls short to capture elements that actually make a city great. He points out that Mercer considers Cultural diversity, economic growth and social dynamism as parameters to rank the cities but no homogeneity, safety and sanitation!

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