http://atlanta.bizjournals.com/atlanta/stories/2009/08/24/story1.html?b=1251086400%5E1970491
Just one of many ethanol plants that have been built that make no economic sense – “because the government said we had to”.
Archive for the ‘Politics’ Category
Bankruptcy Watch – First United Ethanol
Friday, August 21st, 2009Encouraging Bank Failure
Wednesday, August 19th, 2009By now, you probably have noticed the pattern – every Friday, the FDIC shuts down a handful of banks, usually allowing another larger healthier bank to take over the accounts and branches of the failed bank, and the bigger bank gets to pick and choose which of the assets of the failed bank they would like to buy, and the FDIC throws in enough cash to make the deal work. If the FDIC just shut down the bank, and mailed everyone a check for their bank balance, that is more disruptive to the customers and ends up costing the FDIC more money.
According to John Batchelor’s sources, there are at least 700 “zombie banks” that need to be shut down right away, and the longer they linger in insolvency, the more the eventual damage will be. The FDIC has limited staff to supervise these transactions, especially if the FDIC is picking up toxic assets for eventual sale. At 3-5 banks per week, the FDIC will never catch up with problem
Why aren’t the healthy banks buying up their smaller failing competitors to gain customers and market share? The answer is obvious – the FDIC is providing an incentive if the bigger bank waits until the FDIC approaches them and wants to make a deal. If the “good” bank pursued a failing bank on its own, not only won’t it get FDIC money, it will potentially face lawsuits and anti-trust from the U.S. Justice Department. When the proposed sale is made known to the public, depositors in the failing bank with create a “run” on the bank, stripping it of the deposits the bigger bank wants to buy.
“Subsidize failure, you get more of it”.
WiMax vs LTE: the contest has begun
Tuesday, August 18th, 2009Even if you don’t know what means, it is going to change the rest of your life, whether you want it to or not.
WiMax and LTE are two competing technologies being rolled out into the real world to provide inexpensive “High Speed Internet Anywhere” service. This is similar to the VHS vs Betamax showdown, which VHS ultimately won, even though many people believe that Betamax was the better technology.
Sprint/Clearwire turned on WiMax this week (August 2009) in Atlanta, Las Vegas and Portland, Oregon. Sprint has about a six month lead on LTE, with several months of experience already in Baltimore. Sprint’s main partner is Comcast, which can help them with building out the transmitter network in a city and backhaul capability.
Most of the other forces are lined up behind LTE – AT&T and Verizon being the big players… but they are only now starting their pilot programs.
Once WiMax and/or LTE are widely deployed, cell phones will begin to use its IP based phone capabilities. The one area where WiMax has spent a lot of their effort is to ensure that a WiMax device in a car traveling at 60 MPH will work seamlessly as it hands off between cell towers. Time will tell if that gives it the edge over LTE.
But no matter which technology “wins”, the Internet being “everywhere” very inexpensively will change the use of computers and computer like devices just as much as cell phones have changed the telephone business.
Seizing the moment
Monday, August 17th, 2009Over the past few days, Tom Taylor has been reporting recurring rumors that Bonneville Broadcasting (which is owned by the Mormon Church) may be in discussions to acquire the former ABC radio stations from Citadel. Citadel has been in financial limbo for about 6 months now, having failed to keep its obligations on its credit lines. Their stock was delisted and is close to worthless.
For those of us over 50, the list of radio stations that were part of ABC radio is a who’s who of major market AM radio:
- WABC/WPLJ-FM – New York
- KABC/KLOS-FM – Los Angeles
- WLS AM/FM – Chicago
- KGO / KSFO – San Francisco
- WBAP / Baltimore
- WMAL / Washington DC
- WJR / Detroit
Curiously, not a single former ABC Radio O&O station carries the show of Glenn Beck. I have to believe there is a reason for that.
Despite the pressing urgency to organize effective opposition to the looting of the country’s treasury, the Republican Party is showing no signs of competency and some leaders appear to just want to be sure they get their share of the loot.
The “family oriented” Conservative message of the Mormon Church probably has never had a more receptive audience among the American public than right now. Owning these stations would give them a very big platform on which to influence public opinion.
Lithium Ion Battery Duty Cycles
Friday, August 14th, 2009Barack Obama, the Science President, is staking the future of America, and especially that of our government car company GM, on the Volt electric car, which uses lithium ion batteries, that can be recharged by a small electric motor if the battery gets low.
A commenter on a news story pointed out that the lithium battery pack will have a life of only 1,000 duty cycles before it must be replaced, which the person believes will cost about $15,000. If you use your Volt to go to work and back every day and nothing else (2 cycles/day x 5 days/week X 50 weeks), at the end of 2 years, your batteries will be useless. They will start to lose range long before they die completely, which means the 40 mpg gasoline engine kicks in, defeating the entire purpose of the electric car.
But 1000 is probably way too optimistic.
http://batteryuniversity.com/parttwo-34.htm
But lets say that is accurate. Instead of your 40 mile commute costing $1 in electricity, the cost of using up the batteries adds another $15.00, or in the ballpark of comparison to gasoline an additional $10 per gallon.
GM claims to have “magic” proprietary computer software that will allow the batteries to last 10 years:
http://gm-volt.com/2009/01/23/gm-qa-with-bob-kruse-on-the-chevy-volts-batteries/
(How did they determine that in less than 10 years?)
President Obama makes a big deal that he’s the “Smart” president. Answer that one, smart guy.
If you get past that issue, Lithium ion batteries are dependent on lithium that is only commercially viable in one mine in the world, lose their ability to deliver current if they get too hot, and are a significant fire and explosion hazard. There is also currently no technology to recycle lithium ion batteries.
Hurry up and Stop
Friday, August 14th, 2009Joey Reynolds and his guests were talking about the state of the economy, and while they didn’t necessarily come up with any brilliant solutions, they did do a pretty good job of framing the problem.
President Obama and Tim Geithner are pursuing that the only way to avoid disaster is to take the debt making machinery and push the pedal to floor. If we just give away enough free stuff, the economy will turn around, real estate and the stock market will bounce back and the increase in economic activity will ultimately take care of the debt.
But the American people (and Joey’s guests) are slamming on the brakes. We view debt as the problem, not the solution. All of the rapid change and uncertainty is paralyzing decision making and forcing lots of money into short term investments to tread water – not just individuals but businesses and developers. But the problem is that if people become frugal and cut spending to the bone, reduce personal debt and save money, the economy slows, unemployment goes up, and the government deficit explodes. The country is addicted to debt and overconsumption. Stopping that cycle suddenly could be catastrophic.
Until and unless people think the future is predictable, many people will stay in full defensive made, protecting their future survival. President Obama needs to slam the brakes on the change machine if there is any chance for the economy to begin to adjust and heal. The best thing he could do is take a long vacation and stop holding daily media events and give up the “we must do something fast or else” rhetoric.
Ben Stein “fired” by NY Times
Tuesday, August 11th, 2009I’m certain this is one of the signs of the End Times.
The NY Times and Alex Jones are on the same side of an issue. The Times has been really ramping up criticism of Henry Paulson and his connections with Goldman Sachs and the tentacles they have inside the U.S. Treasury, and how they are systematically using those connections to plunder the government coffers.
Oh sorry, my mistake. The NY Times just hired Goldman Sachs to find a buyer for the Boston Globe Newspaper as the company thrashes around in its final death throes. Maybe I was thinking of the Wall Street Journal.
The Lefty bloggers are somewhat divided on the Goldman issue – they hate banks, they hate profit – but they also know Tim Geithner holds the purse to Barack Obama’s spending binge.
According to this story,
http://www.prisonplanet.com/ny-times-reporter-i-was-fired-for-criticizing-obama-goldman-sachs.html
Ben Stein was kicked off the NY Times over his criticism of President Obama, which they deny. Ben Stein’s editors had previously spiked a column of his asking what the legal authority was for President Obama and his foot soldiers to fire Rick Wagoner from GM, which at the time was not government controlled.
Ben Stein is now drawing parallels between the Obama administration and Nazi Germany, including one on Glenn Beck’s show. He also is loudly connecting the dots of Eugenics and the Holocaust. Sounds pretty “fishy” to me.
I wonder if Ben Stein has the time or interest to do a syndicated radio show….
Bankruptcy Watch – American Axle
Wednesday, August 5th, 2009As was speculated a few weeks ago, American Axle is close to falling into the bankruptcy Abyss, unless someone rushes in with a basket full of money. I guess when people buy Toyotas using the Cash for Clunkers money, that doesn’t sell an American Axle.
3/4ths of American Axle’s business is with GM (the bad GM or the good GM?)
Testing Obama
Tuesday, August 4th, 2009New York Times is reporting that Russia has had two attack submarines hovering off the East Coast of the United States.
An attack submarine is used primarily to attack other vessels – other submarines or surface ships – it isn’t the type used to launch nuclear weapons.
One of the two has now headed toward Cuba.
Unidentified sources “leaked” this to the NY Times.
What was the purpose of the leak, and who is testing whom?
Timmy throws a tantrum
Tuesday, August 4th, 2009CBS Report
Several reports yesterday that Timmy Geithner is headed for a rubber room. He doesn’t understand why the people charged with enforcing securities law and financial regulation can’t just make up the law as they go along the way he does.
I met Mary Shapiro while working at NASDAQ. I don’t think you’ll find a more level-headed honest competent person who understands the Securities business. Many of the things Geithner has already done would land a lesser man in jail for market manipulation and insider trading – not to mention being a tax cheat. He’s getting on very thin ice.
The world is finally waking up to the Goldman Sachs connections to the events of the past year (and the past century) and Mr Geithner is making himself the point man for the coming showdown.