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Business Insider         Geither May Leave Treasury Once Debt Ceiling Debate Is Over June 30, 2011 at 3:46 PM   According to Bloomberg, Tim Geithner is considering leaving the Treasury once the debt ceiling debate is over. We'll have more in a moment. He'd be at least the second to leave during turbulent times. Austan Goolsbee left last month. Please follow Clusterstock on Twitter and Facebook. Join the conversation about this story » See Also: Tim Geithner: A Lot Of People Have The Dangerous Illusion That Defaulting On Our Debt Would Balance The Budget GOSSIP: Today's Wall Street Buzz in 60 Seconds Bankers Say Supporting Obama Is "Bad For Business" And Embarrassing         Eye on Washington: Oil and Food Price Manipulation June 30, 2011 at 3:44 PM   Nothing stirs politicians into action more than a loss in public confidence…especially with an election coming.  Currently, food and fuel inflation is contributing to disenchantment. The fact that policies the politicians themselves have brought about are responsible for the inflation is lost on them. In response to sinking poll numbers they go into scramble mode, looking for political quick fix buttons they can press.  The problem is that quick fixes often work in the short run, but create problems in the long run; in this case, more inflation. It's a shame, but the system operates by applying political quick fixes that serve self-interest but not the greater good.  In the 1970s, U.S. and European governments engaged in multiple sales of government-held gold.  They sold a great deal of gold between $200 and $300 dollars an ounce. Between 1999 and 2002 Gordon Brown, then the U.K. finance minister, liquidated about 60 percent of the British gold reserves for about $275 per ounce. How smart do these sales look now?  And how smart will current manipulations look later? Washington is now selling national strategic stockpiles of oil at $90 per barrel to bring down the price of gasoline. We expect oil to rise eventually to $150 per barrel as a result of the continuing battle over control of the massive reserves present in Middle East oil-producing countries. Outside Hands Stirring the Middle East Cauldron For many nations, whether they want to maintain their standard of living (the developed world) or feed their growth (China, India, among others), the Middle East reserves represent an irreplaceable source of sustenance.  Thus, it is no wonder why we see growing evidence of significant foreign machinations and manipulation of local political groups as a backdrop to political unrest and upheaval in the Middle East. What's to come of this?  For one thing, we expect expanded military action in Libya, namely the U.S. and Europe committing ground troops.  The purpose is to restore the flow of that North African country's light, sweet, easy-to-refine crude oil and bring the price of oil down before the 2012 election. Our guess is that they will try to get Libyan dictator Qaddafi out by the end of this year and have the oil flowing again by September 2012 so that gasoline prices will be lower by election day in November. Our wise friend Larry Jeddeloh of The Institutional Strategist foresees a war between Iran and Saudi Arabia for control of Saudi Arabia's oil fields and with major countries backing one or the other parties. The west and NATO will surely support the Saudis while Russia will back the Iranians. It is too early to be sure where China will stand. The Guild Basic Needs IndexTM —Why it exists In a recent newsletter we introduced the Guild Basic Needs Index TM as an important touchstone for Americans who wish to keep track of how the prices of goods they require for daily life are changing. As we stated, the power of the index is its simplicity and focus. Moreover, it is tamper-proof. That makes it unique and reliable compared to the often-cited U.S. Consumer Price Index, which, like other indices of consumer and wholesale prices, can be seasonally adjusted or altered by the inclusion or exclusion of index elements.  Such tampering is typical of governments, not just in the U.S., and it is inspired by strong incentives to understate cost-of-living increases.  Those incentives include the following: *  To lull the masses and avoid criticism from constituents. *  To keep pension and public assistance payments down. In many countries payments to retirees and to those on public assistance are calibrated to inflation.  Payments rise with inflation. In order to keep government spending down, many countries manipulate the statistical basis of price indices to understate inflation. In many fields, conflict of interest requires disclosure. Not here, it seems.  Governments are masters in the art of spinning reality and masking conflict of interest. Along these very lines, a recent Dow Jones article revealed that Congress is discussing changes to the CPI index that would understate inflation and save money by minimizing payout increases to those with income pegged to the CPI. Check out the link to the article for yourself and decide whether this is manipulative and reeks of conflict of interest.   http://www.nasdaq.com/aspx/stock-market-news-story.aspx?storyid=201106211841dowjonesdjonline000414&title=change-to-inflation-measurement-on-table-as-part-of-budget-talksaides Our belief is that for individuals with a strong desire to maintain the buying power of their assets, reliable index like the Guild Basic Needs Index TM offers great value. Let the politicians do their customary manipulations.  Our readers will have the correct information; the Guild Basic Needs TM index shows a strong inflationary trend exists today in the basic needs of food, clothing, shelter, and energy.  The Rising Value of Chinese Exports We have been saying for some time that the developing world (which has been a source of lower prices for manufactured goods) is now exporting higher-priced products abroad and contributing to inflation. A recent Wall Street article and video discusses just that: how higher wages and higher commodity costs are resulting in the end of low cost goods from China. Here's the link: http://blogs.wsj.com/chinarealtime/2011/06/21/asia-today-the-end-of-low-cost-chinese-goods/ Our Recommendations We are making some changes to our recommendations.  We recommend that investors can repurchase Malaysian equities as their market looks poised to move higher after its recent pause.  U.S. equities also look like they are set for a rally that could last four to six weeks, so we recommend them for a trade.  We also remain committed to our bullish recommendations on Japan and India.    Gold and Oil continue to act stunningly well in the face of higher margin requirements on commodities and other governmental attempts to get them to fall in price.  Investors should continue to be long gold, oil, and corn in the commodity arena.  We are taking profits in our Australian dollars as the Reserve Bank of Australia may be done raising interest rates for the time being.  However, we still recommend currencies with strong economic fundamentals like the Singapore dollar, Canadian dollar, Swiss franc, Brazilian Real, and the Chinese Yuan.  All of these are much better options than holding a lot of U.S. dollars, Euros, or yen. Please see our recommendation table below, and stay tuned to our upcoming letters for new recommendations.     Date  Date Appreciation/Depreciation Investment Recommended Closed in U.S. Dollars Commodity Market Recommendation       Corn 4/20/2011 Open -6.0% Gold 6/25/2002 Open 365.1% Oil 2/11/2009 Open 164.5% Corn 12/31/2008 3/3/2011 81.0% Soybeans 12/31/2008 3/3/2011 44.1% Wheat 12/31/2008  3/3/2011  35.0%  Currency Recommendation       Short        Japanese Yen 4/6/2011 Open -5.7% Long        Brazilian Real 9/13/2010 Open 9.2% Long        Canadian Dollar 9/13/2010 Open 6.0% Long        Chinese Yuan 9/13/2010 Open 4.4% Long        Singapore Dollar 9/13/2010 Open 8.4% Long        Swiss Franc 9/13/2010 Open 20.8% Long        Australian Dollar 9/13/2010 6/29/2011 14.1% Long        Thai Baht 9/13/2010 6/22/2011 6.5% Short        Japanese Yen 9/14/2010 10/20/2010 -3.3% Equity Market Recommendation       Malaysia (NEW) 6/29/2011 Open   U.S. (NEW) 6/29/2011 Open   India 4/6/2011 Open -6.2% Japan 2/15/2011 Open -8.8% Australia 2/15/2011 6/22/2011 -0.9% Canada 3/24/2011 6/22/2011 -7.1% Colombia 9/13/2010 6/22/2011 2.6% Malaysia 4/6/2011 6/22/2011 0.8% Canada 12/16/2010 3/11/2011 7.9% U.S. 9/9/2010 3/11/2011 18.1% South Korea 1/6/2011 3/3/2011 -2.9% Colombia 9/13/2010 2/2/2011 3.9% China 9/13/2010 1/27/2011 5.0% India 9/13/2010 1/6/2011 7.9% Chile 9/13/2010 12/16/2010 8.9% Indonesia 9/13/2010 12/16/2010 9.5% Malaysia 9/13/2010 12/16/2010 1.3% Peru 9/13/2010 12/16/2010 32.2% Singapore 9/13/2010 12/16/2010 4.8% Thailand 9/13/2010 12/16/2010 11.9%         Bond Market Recommendation               30 YR Long Term       U.S. Treasury Bond   8/27/2010 10/20/2010 0.0% Read more posts on Guild Investment Management » Please follow Money Game on Twitter and Facebook. Join the conversation about this story »         Seven Ways to Rock Your Current Job June 30, 2011 at 3:42 PM   I generally find that people are way to focused on finding the next job than they are at being awesome in the role they currently have.  A lot of times I think that's because there's way more advice out there about how to climb than there is about to succeed--and we confuse the two.  We spend our whole careers moving up so fast, that we're unable to hone any specific skills.  Here are a few ways I've found the successful people I need stay focused on the present, and become awesome at what they're currently doing--so much so that it sets them up for whatever they want to do next. Get a mentor.  Having a mentor is like having a board member for the company that is you.  They don't tell you what to do, but a good one will help you set goals and stick to them by keeping you accountable, and help you put important decisions in the kind of context you'll have trouble doing because you're so deep into your own life. Figure out why you succeed and why you fail.  Success attribution is one of the hardest things to do, but one of the most important.  We need to learn from our mistakes as well as our successes to figure out patterns of results.  When am I at my best and where do I consistantly screw up?  Identifying those situations are the first step to figuring out what makes those things happen. Write about it.  A lot of people don't want to blog because they're too focused on the audience--they're not sure if they have anything worth saying or they're worried about oversharing.  For me, after over seven years of blogging, it's most important function has been keeping me writing regularly about what I do and the ecosystem I live in--and, in particular, thinking about it.  Kind of like when we all started carrying around cameras, small ones in our pockets or on our phones, and a part of our brain suddenly turned on that paid attention to things worth taking a picture of, having a platform to publish your writing makes you a trend watcher.  Suddenly, you start collecting seemingly otherwise random facts and elements in a way you never did before and piecing them together.  When you pattern match, you can think quicker and more strategically versus when you need to process every single new piece of information from scratch, and writing helps build stories and structure into an otherwise chaotic world. Be a leader among peers, helping others succeed.  Great leaders create more leaders.  The most you'll ever get done is when you don't have to do everything yourself--and that often times means training others and delegating.  That's really hard for people to do, especially when they feel like they could do everything themselves.  If you're going to be top of the class, you need to be the kind of person who brings the whole class up--because the best people lead the best teams and you need to do your part to make the team around you great. Continuous improvement. If you're not hounding yourself everyday trying to figure out how you can be better than you were yesterday, you're not doing your job.  Each day, people get new skills, learn something, find better ways to do things, and if you're not evolving, you'll quickly find that you're not able to do your job as well as others.  This is where innovation comes from--the quest not to leave unsolved problems unsolved and the insistance that things could be done better.  Feeling like there's a way to be better and trying to figure that out should stick like a splinter in the back of your mind all the time. Find ways to be innovative.  I don't care how boring your current job is--there have to be problems that need solving that no one else is willing to take on.  Is your current company operating as well as it could be?  How can you spend your nights/weekends/downtime trying to diagnose opportunities to do things better--things that no one told you to do but that you took the initiative on.  Go around to folks and try and figure out what their biggest problems are--some internal customer development and well thought out process improvements can go a long way.  Recognize greatness and how high you should set the bar.  This is a big one for me.  I think that, too often, people and companies build reputations for excellence that aren't necessarily well deserved.  On the flip side, there are lots of under the radar companies that excel in areas that you'd never hear about.  Find out who the really great people and teams are in your field.  Who is the best marketing organization in NYC?  It's not the company you hear most about--its the company that knows exactly who its target audience is and efficiently and effectively goes after them, converting them profitably.  Dig deep enough and you'll find that company and who is responsible for architecting that plan.  That's where you should set the bar--to be as good or better than the best people doing your job.  Who are they and what do they do to be great?  If you're just doing what your boss tells you to do, without looking outside your own company to figure out who is setting the bar high, you're never going to rock it. Read more posts on This Is Going To Be Big » Please follow War Room on Twitter and Facebook. Join the conversation about this story »         Hong Kong: Monetary Statistics For May 2011 June 30, 2011 at 3:41 PM   Hong Kong Monetary Authority published the monetary statistics for May 2011 earlier today. Hong Kong dollar M1 money supply increased by 4.2% in May compared to the previous month, the second month of increase.  On an year-on-year basis, M1 money supply in May 2011 was 12.5% higher than May 2010.  Note that we had the European debt crisis emerged for the first time last year summer, so we saw some noticeable drop last year around this time, which would most certainly make the year-on-year figure today looks larger.  In terms of M1, the money supply as of the end of May was 9.4% lower than the peak in October 2010. In terms of M2 money supply, it fell slightly by 0.14% (not seasonally adjusted), or 11.5% higher than the same month last year.  Of course, we also did see a lower M2 last year summer around the time when the European debt crisis emerged last year, so the year-on-year figure may look pretty today. Source: Hong Kong Monetary Authority In terms of deposits, Hong Kong dollar deposits contracted by 0.4% while foreign-currency deposits rose by 1.7%.  In particular, Chinese Yuan (or Renminbi) deposits rose by 7.5%.  Total loans for use in Hong Kong grew by 2.6% m-o-m, and 3.9% m-o-m for use outside Hong Kong.  Hong Kong dollar loans increased by 2.2% m-o-m, while foreign currencies loans increased by 4.0% m-o-m. On the whole, the monetary condition remains stable so far.  Although not much tighter from the peak, it is probably not getting any looser either.  Without major crisis, I expect money growth to continue to moderate to close to no growth.  With uncertainties rising, we should probably be aware of sudden changes in capital flow, which will undermine the monetary system as well as the economy as a whole. This article originally appeared here: Hong Kong: Monetary Statistics For May 2011 Also sprach Analyst - World & China Economy, Global Finance, Real Estate Related Posts Hong Kong: Monetary Statistics For April 2011 Hong Kong: Monetary Statistics For February 2011 Hong Kong: Monetary Statistics For January 2011 Hong Kong: Monetary Statistics For March 2011 China: Monetary Statistics For April 2011 Read more posts on Also Sprach Analyst » Please follow Money Game on Twitter and Facebook. Join the conversation about this story »         Roger Ailes' Secret Nixon-Era Blueprint For Fox News Revealed June 30, 2011 at 3:41 PM   Republican media strategist Roger Ailes launched Fox News Channel in 1996, ostensibly as a "fair and balanced" counterpoint to what he regarded as the liberal establishment media. But according to a remarkable document buried deep within the Richard Nixon Presidential Library, the intellectual forerunner for Fox News was a nakedly partisan 1970 plot by Ailes and other Nixon aides to circumvent the "prejudices of network news" and deliver "pro-administration" stories to heartland television viewers. The memo—called, simply enough,"A Plan For Putting the GOP on TV News"— is included in a 318-page cache of documents detailing Ailes' work for both the Nixon and George H.W. Bush administrations that we obtained from the Nixon and Bush presidential libraries. Through his firms REA Productions and Ailes Communications, Inc., Ailes served as paid consultant to both presidents in the 1970s and 1990s, offering detailed and shrewd advice ranging from what ties to wear to how to keep the pressure up on Saddam Hussein in the run-up to the first Gulf War. The documents—drawn mostly from the papers of Nixon chief of staff and felon H.R. Haldeman and Bush chief of staff John Sununu—reveal Ailes to be a tireless television producer and joyful propagandist. He was a forceful advocate for the power of television to shape the political narrative, and he reveled in the minutiae constructing political spectacles—stage-managing, for instance, the lighting of the White House Christmas tree with painstaking care. He frequently floated ideas for creating staged events and strategies for manipulating the mainstream media into favorable coverage, and used his contacts at the networks to sniff out the emergence of threatening narratives and offer advice on how to snuff them out—warning Bush, for example, to lay off the golf as war in the Middle East approached because journalists were starting to talk. There are also occasional references to dirty political tricks, as well as some positions that seem at odds with the Tea Party politics of present-day Fox News: Ailes supported government regulation of political campaign ads on television, including strict limits on spending. He also advised Nixon to address high school students, a move that caused his network to shriek about "indoctrination" when Obama did it more than 30 years later. All 318 pages are available here. First, some highlights: The Idea Behind Fox News Channel Originated in the Nixon White House "A Plan for Putting the GOP on TV News" (read it here) is an unsigned, undated memo calling for a partisan, pro-GOP news operation to be potentially paid for and run out of the White House. Aimed at sidelining the "censorship" of the liberal mainstream media and delivering prepackaged pro-Nixon news to local television stations, it reads today like a detailed precis for a Fox News prototype. From context provided by other memos, it's apparent that the plan was hatched during the summer of 1970. And though it's not clear who wrote it, the copy provided by the Nixon Library literally has Ailes' handwriting all over it—it appears he was routed the memo by Haldeman and wrote back his enthusiastic endorsement, refinements, and a request to run the project in the margins. The 15-page plan begins with an acknowledgment that television had emerged as the most powerful news source in large part because "people are lazy" and want their thinking done for them: Today television news is watched more often than people read newspapers, than people listen to the radio, than people read or gather any other form of communication. The reason: People are lazy. With television you just sit—watch—listen. The thinking is done for you. With that in mind, the anonymous GOP official urged the creation of a network "to provide pro-Administration, videotape, hard news actualities to the major cities of the United States." Aware that the national television networks were the enemy, the writer proposed going around them by sending packaged, edited news stories and interviews with politicians directly to local television stations. This is a plan that places news of importance to localities (Senators and representatives are newsmakers of importance to their localities) on local television news programs while it is still news. It avoids the censorship, the priorities, and the prejudices of network news selectors and disseminators. This was before satellite, so the idea was that this GOP news outlet would record an interview with a Republican lawmaker in the morning, rush the tape to National Airport via truck, where it is edited into a package en route, and flown to the lawmaker's district in time to make the local news. Local stations, the writer surmised, would be happy to take the free programming. The plan is spectacularly detailed—it was no idle pipe dream. The writer estimated that it would cost $310,000 to launch and slightly less than that to run each year, sketched out a 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. schedule with shooting times, editing times, flight times, and arrival times, and estimated that the editing truck—"Ford, GMC, or IHS chassis; V8 engine; 5 speed transmission; air conditioning; Weight: 22,000GVW"—could be "build from chassis in 60 days." In other words, they were serious.   According to Ailes' copious margin notes, he thought it was an "excellent idea" that didn't go far enough and might encounter some "flap about news management." Basically a very good idea. It should be expanded to include other members of the administration such as cabinet involved in activity with regional or local interest. Also could involve GOP governors when in DC. Who would purchase equipment and run operation—White House? RNC? Congressional caucus? Will get some flap about news management. And Ailes thought he'd be just the guy to run such a project, telling Haldeman he wanted in: Bob—if you decide to go ahead we would as a production company like to bid on packaging the entire project. I know what has to be done and we could test the feasibility for 90 days without making a commitment beyond that point. A November 1970 memo recounting a meeting between Ailes, Haldeman, and two of Haldeman's aides shows that Ailes got the gig, and that Haldeman had proposed a name: With regard to the news programming effort as proposed last summer, Ailes feels this is a good idea and that we should be going ahead with it. Haldeman suggested the name 'Capitol News Service' and Ailes will probably be doing more work in this area. The idea as initially envisioned doesn't appear to have gotten off the ground. But Ailes obviously did do "more work in this area," first with something called Television News Incorporated (TVN), a right-wing news service Ailes worked on in the early 1970s after he got fired by the White House. According to Rolling Stone, TVN was financed by conservative beermonger Joseph Coors, and its mandate sounds exactly like a privately funded version of Capitol News Service: "[TVN] was designed to inject a far-right slant into local news broadcasts by providing news clips that stations could use without credit—and at a fraction of the true costs of production." Ailes was "the godfather behind the scenes" of TVN, Rolling Stone reported, and it was where he first encountered the motto that would make his career: "Fair and balanced." Though it died in 1975, TVN was obviously an early trial run for the powerhouse Fox News would become. The ideas were the same—to route Republican-friendly stories around the gatekeepers at the network news divisions. In Nixon's day, the only way to do that was to pump stories directly to local stations. By 1996, cable television offered a much more powerful alternative. And the whole project began—on the taxpayer's dime—in the White House under the direction of a Watergate felon. One can only imagine how Fox News would report a similar scheme hatched in the Obama White House. Dirty Tricks Some of the documents hint obliquely at Ailes' involvement in Nixonian black ops, though none of the ones that ballooned into Watergate. In a 1970 memo to Haldeman (read it here), he wrote "to guard our flank I would like to see us get one of our people inside the Wallace organization immediately," adding that he would "discuss this in more detail in person." The "Wallace organization" was almost certainly a reference to former Alabama Gov. George Wallace, whose 1968 third-party campaign for president as a secessionist won five southern states and almost cost Nixon the election. At the time Ailes was writing, Wallace was preparing a 1972 run; Ailes apparently sought to infiltrate the campaign in order to gather intelligence or perhaps to sabotage it if it became necessary. Wallace ran for the Democratic nomination, but an attempted assassination in May 1972 left him paralyzed and thwarted any later independent run. Another apparent dirty trick that never got off the ground involves a 1970 television production Ailes was working on as a response to an anti-war CBS News special. The idea appears to have been to interview pro-war Democrats—including Sens. John Stennis and John McClellan—ostensibly for a news show of some kind (it's not clear from the memo what format the final product would take). But the program was in fact being directed by Ailes and financed by the Tell it to Hanoi Committee, a pro-war Nixon front group. A June 1970 memo (read it here) from someone apparently hired by Ailes to put the show together explained that he was pulling the plug because "the fact that this presentation is White House directed, unbeknownst to the Democrats on the show, presents the possibility of a leak that could severely embarrass the White House and damage significantly its already precarious relationship with the Congress. Should two powerful factors like Stennis and McClellan discover they are dupes for the administration the scandal could damage the White House for a long time to come." Regulating Campaigns Given the enthusiasm in right-wing circles—including on Fox News—for the Supreme Court's Citizens United decision, which dealt an enormous blow to the federal government's prerogative to regulate the role of money in political campaigns, Ailes used to hold some rather contrary views on political campaigns. In a June 1971 speech called "CANDIDATE + MONEY + MEDIA = VOTES" (read it here), Ailes argued forcefully for the role of television in political campaigns while lamenting the rise of the canned political ad: I am in favor of limiting the number of commercials shown shown on TV during a campaign, and in fact would favor a clause requiring no less than 35% of broadcast monies available to a candidate be spent on buying program time instead of commercial time. That's a radically intrusive proposal, and I'm not aware of anyone serious on either side of the political spectrum who advocates it today. Ailes even goes so far as to endorse the British model of banning political ads except during the three weeks preceding an election: Three weeks is much too short for this country but, on the other hand, the fatiguing situation we have now with seven semi-announced candidates a year and a half away from the election running around the country Monday morning quarterbacking is also going too far. In my opinion, if the news media would quit trying to create false excitement by covering all potential presidential candidates in terms of a popularity poll, which is meaningless at this stage, they would be taking a giant step forward in journalistic responsibility. We're about a year-and-a-half away from the 2012 presidential election right now. We've got a bunch of "semi-announced" candidates in the running. I wonder if Fox News is trying to generate any excitement around them by covering them in terms of a popularity poll? Lighting the Christmas Tree Ailes' December 1970 memo (read it here) outlining Nixon's role in lighting the White House Christmas tree is a masterwork in political pageantry. Rather than simply throwing a switch, Ailes recommendedthat "at the end, instead of bringing a child up to the president to light the tree, he walk down to the children seated in front, pick up a small boy, stand him on his chair and ask him to light the tree" because "this simple gesture will do much to humanize him with all the parents." Ailes' memo scripts the entire event—Nixon is to pick the boy in the "sixth seat of the front row on the right side" and "the president should face camera (2) and keep his arm around the boy"—and recommends that applause be banned since most of the audience will be wearing mittens or gloves and it will therefore "sound like a herd of elephants." Hilariously, the memo includes this bit of megalomaniacal wisdom from Nixon press secretary Ron Zeigler: Ziegler indicated to me that it is important the president ask the child to help him light the tree and both throw the switch together. Otherwise, the press will play up the boy's name as lighting the Christmas tree. Don't let the six-year-old steal the spotlight! Eliminating Poverty and Pollution by 1980 In a 1969 memo (read it here), Ailes argued that the major issue facing the American people was "quality of life," and urged Nixon to devote the rest of his administration to easing it. His solution? Declare the end of poverty and pollution: He should make a major address on this and state publicly that poverty, air and water pollution will be eliminated in America totally by 1980. This is similar to Kennedy's challenge for the moon. It isn't met in this administration but when it's reached he gets the credit. When poverty is finally defeated decades or centuries from now, Americans will no doubt look back on the Nixon White House with pride and admiration. Ailes can be forgiven for inaccurately predicting the end of pollution—his job was just to come up with useful things for Nixon to say. What's less forgivable is his galactically wrong assessment of Nixon's prospects in his 1972 re-election effort. For someone whose job it was to understand public sentiment, Ailes' advice was exactly wrong: "Unless a single major event captures the headlines close to that election we will not see a landslide of any kind.... It will probably be a very close contest." In 1972, Nixon won 60% of the popular vote and carried every state save Massachusetts and Washington, D.C. Nixon's Address to High School Students When Barack Obama announced early in his administration that he would conduct a live nationwide address to high school and students, Fox News hyperventilated and described it as an attempt to "indoctrinate children to support him politically." When Richard Nixon decided to address high school and college students in 1970, as this memo to Haldeman from deputy assistant to the president Dwight L. Chapin makes clear (read it here), Roger Ailes produced the event: Roger Ailes is developing a plan which he is going to phone in to me tomorrow morning.... Ailes likes the idea of having the president originate live from one of the schools and then shift to the other schools to answer questions. "I will look into the president's ties." Among Ailes' chief duties, according to this 1970 memo he wrote to Haldeman (read it here), was selecting Nixon's ties: I will view the videotape of the HEW Veto to see if there were any shimmers from the design on the tie. My preliminary investigation, however, shows that there were none and whoever reported it may have a set that is not scanning properly. I will look into the president's ties and select those that can definitely be used. Firing Roger Ailes stopped his consulting for the White House some time in 1971—he was essentially fired by Nixon after he was quoted disparaging the president in Joe McGinniss' The Selling of the President 1968. But he was a feared figure, known back then for the cut-throat brand of corporate politics that has served him so well at News Corp. While he was being eased out and replaced with two new Hollywood men, Bill Carruthers and Mark Goode, Chapin warned Haldeman in a memo (read it here) that Ailes could go rogue if he wasn't handled properly: I have a gut feeling we are bordering on disaster if we do not get Roger Ailes in and squared away soon. If we can handle Roger in a proper way and quickly, I think we can avoid any bad feelings. If Roger finds out that Carruthers and Mark Goode are coming on his own, he just may launch a small offensive which I doubt that we need very much at this time. An undated memo (read it here) laying out talking points for Haldeman in a meeting with Ailes shows the White House trying to let him down gently: We have not been able to build the relationship between you and the president which we had hoped to see. It is no one's fault. We face this sort of thing everyday. There are different directions that we can go which I think you can explore and which will continue to reap you rewards. The president wants to try a new direction and feels we should not only have a new approach, but new people. The consolation prizes offered by Haldeman included a consulting gig with the Republican National Committee; a talk show featuring Martha Mitchell, the wife of Attorney General John Mitchell; or the "development of a TV series with a pro-administration plot." A Megatonnage Dose of Media Hammering Most of the records in the George H.W. Bush Presidential Library detailing Ailes' work for the first Bush administration have not been released yet. But the documents that the library did provide in response to our request show Ailes helping Bush navigate a perilous political environment that should be familiar to Obama: A lingering recession, a crisis in the Middle East, and a persistent sense fed by a hostile news outlets that the president is out of touch. So in August of 1990, days after Saddam Hussein's Iraq invaded Kuwait, Ailes wrote a memo (read it here) to Bush's chief of staff John Sununu warning that the press was preparing to paint Bush as disengaged and shrewdly laying out a plan to combat the perception: I have had at least half a dozen calls very recently from the press trying to lead me into discussions like, 'fiddling while Rome burns,' 'golfing while Americans are being taken hostage,' etc. The only reason this is of concern to me is that I notice the networks beginning to show more and more footage of the president in the golf cart. It is very clear that they have a point of view which does not represent a fair picture of how the president is handling the crisis... It is my judgment that the American people simply don't believe this about George Bush, and therefore there will not be a major repercussion. On the other hand, I know first hand what a megatonnage dose of media hammering the same message can do.... Do a little more fishing and less golfing. Ailes, of course, knows from using golf to paint a president as remote and out of touch. Here are some recent Fox News headlines: "Obama Finds Time for NCAA Bracket, Golf Amid Global Turmoil," "Obama Chooses Golf Over Funeral," and "Barack Obama Plays Golf More Times than George W. Bush." In a November 1990 memo to Sununu (read it here), Ailes lays out Bush's wardrobe in detail—"it is my judgment that he should not wear helmets or hats"—and recommends using military resources to concoct a fake briefing between Bush and his commanders in order to "heighten the drama for the news media." For ceremonial functions, the president should dress in suit and tie and be the president of the United States. In the field he should where khaki slacks, open shirts, long sleeves with the sleeves rolled up. It is my judgment that he should not wear helmets or hats. A fatigue jacket would be fine in the field with soldiers on Thanksgiving Day. [snip] I am sure he will schedule a briefing session with a commander in the field. If the session is scheduled for one hour, and lasted for five hours, it will heighten the drama for the news media and intensify the pressure on Hussein. All in all, the documents show Ailes to be an engaged, brilliant, and often catty adviser with an obsessive, almost evangelical focus on the power of television to manipulate people for political purposes. It's almost as though, frustrated by the failure of candidates and presidents to hew closely enough to his political instructions, Ailes founded a network to demonstrate their practical application—see, this is how you use golf to undermine a president. And they show a sustained effort across two White House administrations to undermine and control the press—an effort that, were it revealed to be taking place inside the Obama White House, would send Ailes and his televised outrage machine into epic fits of apoplexy. Ailes did not respond to a request for comment. This post originally appeared at Gawker. Please follow The Wire on Twitter and Facebook. Join the conversation about this story » Media Files roger-ailes-secret-nixon-era-blueprint-for-fox-news-revealed.jpg (JPEG Image)         Why Pornography Might Be Driving Men Crazy June 30, 2011 at 3:40 PM   NEW YORK – It is hard to ignore how many highly visible men in recent years (indeed, months) have behaved in sexually self-destructive ways. Some powerful men have long been sexually voracious; unlike today, though, they were far more discreet and generally used much better judgment in order to cover their tracks. Of course, the heightened technological ability nowadays to expose private behavior is part of the reason for this change. But that is precisely the point: so many of the men caught up in sex-tinged scandals of late have exposed themselves – sometimes literally – through their own willing embrace of text messages, Twitter, and other indiscreet media. Continue reading at Project Syndicate > Please follow Business Insider on Twitter and Facebook. Join the conversation about this story » See Also: A Change To America's Power Grid Could Make Your Electric Clock Run Up To 20 Minutes Fast         Introducing Creed: The 250-Year-Old Luxury Fragrance You've Never Heard Of June 30, 2011 at 3:38 PM   A bottle of the iconic Chanel No. 5 fragrance costs $98. A bottle of Creed? $300. Positioned as an ultra-luxury brand, Creed's philosophy is to be as exclusive as possible. Don't advertise, make the product hard to find, and price it obscenely high, and people will crave it. And they do -- there's already a waiting list for Creed's new Royal-Oud fragrance which won't be released until next month, according to AdWeek. The brand has been popular amongst the rich and famous for centuries; in 1781 England's King George III commissioned its Royal English Leather scent, which is still in production. Other well-known Creed wearers include Michelle Obama, Audrey Hepburn, George Clooney and Saudi Arabia's King Faisal. Read the full story about Creed at AdWeek > Please follow War Room on Twitter and Facebook. Join the conversation about this story » See Also: 13 Insanely Cool Resumes That Landed Interviews At Google And Other Top Jobs Brilliant Or Annoying? These Ads Are Designed To Make You Dizzy STUDY: Consumers Are More Likely To Buy Products Marketed With (Some) Negative Information         The Definitive 10 Best Glenn Beck Moments Ever On FOX News June 30, 2011 at 3:36 PM   Today is Glenn Beck's last day on FOX News. In the last 29 months Beck has managed, through timing and talent and theatrics and platform, to tap into the zeitgeist like no other person on the media landscape.  He is, for lack of a better description, the Oprah Winfrey of the Obama era. A whole bunch of people are rejoicing in his departure for various, familiar reasons: he's divisive, he's a hate-monger, he's spent the last 29 months speaking in "ugly" and "reckless" terms, he's become boring. The people who aren't rejoicing his departure have likely already signed up for the new GBTV.  Here's what cable TV will be like when Glenn Beck leaves: a great deal less interesting.  Whether the level of ridiculous cable TV rhetoric will diminish now that he isn't around to act as its (sharper) Overton Window -- how many websites and TV shows have anchored their coverage on his? -- is unclear (signs point to no).  In the meantime, here are 10 of his most Beckian moments...as chosen by me.   Glenn Beck is not a frog killer This is the first post that every single person mentioned to me when I asked them what their favorite Glenn Beck moment was.  In 2009 Beck, in an attempt to demonstrate something about the economy, boiled a frog.  It was a fake frog, but it looked very real.  The next day he clarified. The epic Eric Massa Interview Remember this?  My lord what an amazing train wreck. In 2010 Beck conducted a live and utterly mesmerizing (in the car crash sort of way)  interview with embattled congressman Eric Massa because Beck thought Massa was getting a raw deal.  Forty-five minutes in -- Bull crap!  Bull crap, sir!! -- Beck cut off the interview and, turning to the camera, apologized to America for wasting their time. David Bruckner faints live on air. Poor David Bruckner. During a chalkboard segment on Beck -- before he became daily viewing for the entire media world -- he fainted. "Think of the ratings!" Beck later joked when Bruckner apologized. See the rest of the story at Business Insider Please follow The Wire on Twitter and Facebook. See Also: You'll Never Guess What Network Got Better Ratings Than FOX News Last Month MSNBC Did Better Without Keith Olbermann...Until He Came Back On TV CHRIS MATTHEWS: Why Won't Sarah Palin Put In The Work To Be President?         Amazon Drops 10,000 California Affiliates Amid Sales Tax Requirement June 30, 2011 at 3:33 PM   Online retailer Amazon is leaving thousands of California-based online retailers in the lurch after the state passed a law requiring Amazon to collect sales taxes on sales made by its in-state affiliate networks Amazon yesterday severed ties with its (roughly) 10,000 affiliates in the state, saying: "We oppose this bill because it is unconstitutional and counterproductive. It is supported by big-box retailers, most of which are based outside California, that seek to harm the affiliate advertising programs of their competitors," The Amazon statement was first reported by Reuters. The tax change, part of the new budget signed into law by Gov. Jerry Brown yesterday, is expected to raise $317 million in revenue a year, and is coupled with a one percent reduction to the state sales tax. Amazon has already stopped working with affiliates in Illinois and Connecticut, and has threatened to do the same in Texas, because of similar legislation. Please follow Politics on Twitter and Facebook. Join the conversation about this story » See Also: California Reaches Budget Deal Including New Taxes And Fees Moody's Lowers Connecticut Bond Rating Outlook Amid Budget Uncertainty Minnesota Is Going To Shut Down, And Everything Else You Need To Know About State Budgets Media Files amazon.jpg (JPEG Image)         Former OpenTable CEO Jeff Jordan has joined VC firm Andreessen-Horowitz as its fifth general partner. The hire was r... June 30, 2011 at 3:21 PM   Former OpenTable CEO Jeff Jordan has joined VC firm Andreessen-Horowitz as its fifth general partner. The hire was rumored when Jordan stepped down from OpenTable last month. Please follow SAI on Twitter and Facebook. Join the conversation about this story »         IN PICTURES: The Life Of A Wealthy Russian Eight-Year-Old June 30, 2011 at 3:19 PM   German photographer Anna Skladmann spent time in Russia photographing beautiful images of the children of the Russian elite. All of the photos Skladmann took were compiled into Little Adults, written by Bill Kouwenhoven, which comes out in July. The children's parents are successfull restaurateurs, businessmen, actors, and members of the Russian itelligentsia. Lisa sitting at her dining room table, Moscow 2010 Nikita and Alina at the Italian Embassy, Moscow 2009 Vova in his grandfather's theater, Moscow 2010 See the rest of the story at Business Insider Please follow The Life on Twitter and Facebook. See Also: YACHT OF THE DAY: Buy This Party Boat With A Glass-Bottom Jacuzzi And Rotating Bed For $50 Million The World's Best Skylines HOUSE OF THE DAY: Buy This Lavish Fifth Avenue Townhouse For $49 Million         Goodbye, NBA June 30, 2011 at 3:18 PM   CBS Sports is reporting that the NBA owners have informed the players union that they will be locked out when the CBA expires tonight at midnight. The two sides negotiated for three hours today, but are nowhere near a deal on a new agreement. The last lockout wiped out have the 1998-99 season and it was years before the league fully recovered. This one – following one of the most highly-watched season in league history – could last even longer. And do even more damage. EARLIER: The Tax-Loophole That Saves Sports Teams MILLIONS (And Will Cause The NBA Lockout) Please follow Sports Page on Twitter and Facebook. Join the conversation about this story » See Also: An NBA Collective Bargaining Agreement Isn't Happening Before Tonight's Deadline The Tax-Loophole That Saves Sports Teams MILLIONS (And Will Cause The NBA Lockout) Yankees Continue Their Winning Ways         Deutsche Bank Hikes Its ISM Forecast, As Everyone Jumps On The "Doom To Gloom" Bandwagon June 30, 2011 at 3:15 PM   Deutsche Bank economist Joe LaVorgna is something of a notorious bull. That aside, in his daily note he jumps on this idea that the "soft patch" is already firming again. The Chicago purchasing managers’ index (PMI) was much better than expected, rising to 61.1 in June from 56.6 previously. Given its geographical proximity to the motor vehicle industry and its later monthly release date relative to the earlier month PMI releases—in particular the NY (-7.8) and Philadelphia (-7.7) Fed surveys, which were both sharply negative in June—the recovery in the Chicago PMI strongly suggests that manufacturing activity got a noticeable boost from improving auto sector conditions in the back half of the month. We expect this improvement to continue through the second half of the year, consistent with what are noticeable gains in motor vehicle production schedules. This should add at least one full percentage point to real GDP growth if not more in both Q3 and Q4 2011. In light of the Chicago news, we are raising our ISM forecast significantly from where we were previously. As we wrote in the US Daily Economic Notes earlier this week, the Chicago PMI has nearly twice the weight in a regression-based estimate of the ISM relative to the combined weight of the NY and Philadelphia Fed surveys. Our new ISM forecast is 53.0 versus a pre-Chicago forecast of 49.5. Remember that based on what we had seen in the NY and Philadelphia Fed surveys, we had assumed Chicago would come in at 53.0. More importantly, regardless of this morning’s ISM results, recent economic data from Japan point to a sharp increase in the ISM next month. Please follow Money Game on Twitter and Facebook. Join the conversation about this story » See Also: Dallas Disaster: Texas Regional Index Plunges To -17.5 The 3 Big Things To Watch In The Week Ahead Goldman's Jim O'Neill On The Little-Known Japanese Company That's A Bellwether For The Entire World Media Files wagon.jpg (JPEG Image)         This Is The iPhone 4's Biggest Threat Yet June 30, 2011 at 3:14 PM   There's still no release date. There's still no pricing announcement. There isn't even a finalized official name. But the Samsung Galaxy S II is all but ready for its U.S. launch, and I have an international unit to test out now. It has only been a day, but the phone reminds me a lot of the Samsung Infuse 4G I reviewed last month. The Galaxy S II's screen is slightly smaller than the Infuse's, but it still has the same incredible light, thin feel. The real excitement is on the inside. The Galaxy S II runs the latest version of Android 2.3 Gingerbread, and sports a zippy 1.2 GHz dual-core processor. I'll have my full review up next week, but enjoy some tasty unboxing photos of the Galaxy S II right now. The Galaxy S II runs Android version 2.3.3. Not a huge fan of the TouchWiz skin though The Super AMOLED Display is super-bright Instead of 4 buttons at the bottom, there's an iPhone-like home button... See the rest of the story at Business Insider Please follow SAI: Tools on Twitter and Facebook. See Also: It's Ugly, But The First Facebook Phone Is Gonna Pack A Punch The 15 Most Expensive iPad Apps Samsung's 4G Galaxy Tab 10.1 Is Available For Preorder on Verizon Right Now         Small Business Borrowing Just Surged 26 Percent June 30, 2011 at 3:11 PM   Small businesses took out loans in numbers unseen since July 2008, according to Reuters. They got the data from the Thompson Reuters PayNet Small Business Lending Index which tracks the volume of loans made to America's small businesses. In May, the number went up 26% from May 2010, according to Reuters: "If small businesses are taking these kind of chances, taking risks, making long term investments, they are seeing some long-term opportunities on the horizon," PayNet founder Bill Phelan said in an interview. "That's got to be a big positive sign for the economy." That's because small businesses account for 80% of hiring in this country, and this index usually acts as a 2 to 3 month leading indicator of what will happen to the economy at large. Read the full report at Reuters > Please follow Money Game on Twitter and Facebook. Join the conversation about this story » See Also: French Banks Agree To Rollover Their Greek Debt Italian Banks Smashed As People Fear Another Friday Hit Job Standard Chartered Has Cut Back Its Lending To European Banks Over Greece Fears Media Files new-york-pizza.jpg (JPEG Image)         Stephen Colbert Says His 'Super PAC' Is No Joke June 30, 2011 at 3:09 PM   The Federal Election Commission gets it—Stephen Colbert is punking them. But the FEC treated the Comedy Central host's request for an advisory opinion like anyone else, and on Thursday granted him the ability to form a "super PAC." Their ruling allows his parent company Viacom to pay for most of their "coverage" of Colbert Super PAC's activities under a press exemption without having to disclose such expenditures as in-kind donations. Colbert, alongside his lawyer Trevor Potter, appeared at the FEC's public hearing at their headquarters in downtown Washington. After asking Colbert a series of questions about the planned activities of 'Colbert Super PAC'—such as whether the ads the group creates would run on other channels—the commission voted 5-1 on an advisory opinion to give him the go-ahead. Campaign finance reform groups opposed Colbert's motion because they said it would allow other media companies and politicians who have their own programs to promote their political action committees under the guise of a media exemption. After the meeting wrapped, Colbert addressed a throng of supporters and reporters just outside the FEC building. "Sixty days ago today, on this very spot, a young man petitioned the FEC for permission to form a 'super PAC' to raise unlimited monies, and use those monies to determine the winners of the 2012 elections," Colbert said. "Can anyone tell me who that young man was? It was me." "Now some people have cynically asked, is this some kind of joke? Well I for one don't think that participating in a democracy is a joke," Colbert told the crowd. "I don't think that wanting to know what the rules are is a joke." "But I do have one federal election law joke if you'd like to hear it," Colbert said. "Knock knock?" Colbert said. "Who's there?" asked the crowd. "Unlimited union and corporate campaign contributions," Colbert said. "Unlimited union and corporate campaign contributions who?" the crowd replied, not quite in unison. "That's the thing, I don't think I should have to tell you," Colbert replied. Colbert said he didn't know what he'd be doing with his unrestricted "super PAC" money, but said people should give him cash so they could find out. "I don't know about you, but I do not accept limits on my free speech," Colbert said. "I don't know about you, but I do not accept the status quo. But I do accept Visa, Mastercard, and American Express. $50 or less please, because then I don't have to keep a record of who gave it to me." After his speech, Colbert accepted credit card donations to his "super PAC" using an iPad application. He also took questions from the crowd as FBI employees watched from the windows of their building across the street. Colbert—who joked on his show that the first priority of his "super PAC" would be getting raises for the FEC—said that the commissioners should get "full body scrubs." He said that Karl Rove and Sarah Palin should send them "bouquets of flowers" if they stay at Fox News. The FEC staff -- not accustomed to their typically low-profile meetings becoming media spectacles -- had to hustle to deal with the crowd that wanted to get into the hearing. "It was a little better attended than some of our meetings, we're happy to have so many people interested in what the agency is doing," FEC Chairwoman Cynthia Bauerly told TPM after the meeting. "I don't think that the result in the Colbert issue was all that surprising, it seems to me its a fairly straightforward application of our traditional press exception standards," Bauerly said. "Obviously providing independent political committee expenditures doesn't fall in the press function as we know it, so that's where the line was drawn for the advisory opinion." "Obviously Mr. Colbert's show has provided a lot of coverage for the agency and has brought a lot of attention to these issues that I think are important issues, so I appreciate that there are more people talking about campaign finance issues as a result of his show than might otherwise be," Bauerly said. So has Colbert shined a positive or negative light on the FEC? "I guess we'll see!" Bauerly said. "He obviously has a show where he likes to poke fun at certain elements from his perspective. Whether he finds the agency to be a part of that, a part of his humor, I guess we will see. But he didn't approach this from a comedic standpoint, he approached it as a legitimate legal question for the commission to answer, and that's how the agency handled it." "What he chooses to do from here going forward is up to him," Bauerly said. Note: This article has been updated from its original posting Please follow The Wire on Twitter and Facebook. Join the conversation about this story »         Meet Our New General Partner, Jeff Jordan June 30, 2011 at 3:03 PM   This is a guest post by Marc Andreessen, co-founder and General Partner of Andreessen Horowitz. Today I’m delighted to announce that legendary Internet industry CEO and executive Jeff Jordan has joined Andreessen Horowitz as our fifth General Partner. I say “legendary” for two reasons. First, Jeff has run three of the iconic businesses of the Internet revolution.  Most recently, Jeff has been CEO and remains an active executive chairman of OpenTable, which has transformed the restaurant industry—with 20 thousand restaurants and 200 million diners served.  Before that, Jeff ran PayPal, the definitive online payments company of the Internet era, resulting in a business with 133 million user accounts and $38 billion of payment volume when he left.  And before that, Jeff ran eBay North America for five years, where he helped build eBay into the Internet’s leading e-commerce company and led eBay’s successful and transformative acquisitions of PayPal and Half.com. Second, as if that weren’t enough to become legendary, Jeff has established a pristine reputation as one of the most influential and capable advisors and board members in the Internet industry.  Practically every great consumer Internet entrepreneur we’ve met over the last decade has said one of three things: Jeff’s on our board, or Jeff’s our advisor, or we wish Jeff were our advisor!  Jeff’s board and advisory roles read like a who’s who of the consumer Internet industry, which speaks volumes about both his judgment and his ability to help entrepreneurs build great and transformative businesses. I am also delighted to announce that Jeff is already making his first investment and going on his first board as a General Partner of Andreessen Horowitz.  The company, LikeALittle, is founded by my fellow Wisconsin escapee Evan Reas, and Jeff and I both expect great things from Evan and his stellar team in the years to come.  (However, rumors that Jeff and his family are moving into LAL‘s hacker house should be double-checked with Jeff before being taken as definitive.) Please join me in welcoming Jeff to our team! Read more posts on Ben's Blog » Please follow SAI on Twitter and Facebook. Join the conversation about this story »         Corporate Jet Expert Tells Us The Truth About Getting Rid Of That Tax Break June 30, 2011 at 3:00 PM   The tax break on corporate jets that President Obama mentioned six times in his speech on reducing the deficit (and raising the debt ceiling) yesterday amounts to very little for the amount of attention he gave it. You'd think it'd save the country billions. In reality, a Democratic aide estimates that all it saves is about $3 billion over 10 years, and the corporate aviation tax expert we spoke to says he doubts it would even save the country that much. We asked Kent Jackson of Jackson & Wade, a jet law firm, to tell us what the tax break is all about. "It's just about extending the depreciation schedule -- the time period over which corporations can write off the purchase of a corporate jet -- from 5 years to 7 years." "If you buy an expensive item for your company, a large piece of equipment like a copy machine or a building, for example, the IRS has a depreciation schedule so that you can write it off as a business expense, but not all at the same time." For buildings, he says, the timeline to write off the expense is around 19 years. For planes, it's currently 5 years. If Obama gets rid of the tax break, it would extend that to 7 years. Not a big change! Especially because corporations don't usually own that many jets -- a huge fleet would be 3, says Jackson -- and they cost around $60 million at the high end, which is very little to company's bottom lines. On top of this, if the company charters its plane out while it's not in use, they company already has to write the expense off over 7 years instead of 5. Many companies do this, says Jackson, for the obvious cost benefits. In other words, it looks like President Obama might have exaggerated the how much good this tax break for hedge fund managers, millionaires, and billionaires will do to reduce the deficit. In speech on deficit, Obama immediately singles out hedge fund managers > Please follow Clusterstock on Twitter and Facebook. Join the conversation about this story » See Also: Check Out Hedge Fund Manager David Einhorn Making It To #18 In The World Series Of Poker In 2006 New Details About What Happened At That Beverly Hills Hedge Fund Manager's Celebrity Poker Games This Is What Obama Said To Wall Street Donors At The $35,800 Per Head Dinner In New York         Why Greek Austerity Does Not Equal Solvency June 30, 2011 at 3:00 PM   My daughter is not Greek…but she sometimes acts like it. This observation is not meant to disparage my daughter…or the Greeks. It is simply an observation. My daughter, Gaby, often makes promises, just before asking me for money. Yesterday evening, after she dirtied up a frying pan and a few kitchen utensils to make some pasta, I asked her to clean up the mess. "Oh yeah, I'll do that in a sec," Gaby replied. "Can I have some money to go to dinner with my friends later?" "Ah…I guess," I stammered. "But make sure you do your dishes before you go." "Oh yeah, I will," she smiled. "Okay, here's $20," I said. "I'll see you a little later. I'm going out for a bit." You all know what happened next… Shortly after I left, Gaby skipped out the door with $20. The dirty dishes sat in the sink until I came home later…and cleaned them myself. Jean-Claude Trichet, President of the European Union, are you listening? Bad habits die hard. Gaby is too accustomed to making empty promises; her father is too inclined to believing them…and even to indulging them. Christine Lagarde, Managing Director of the IMF, are you listening? Yesterday, stock markets around the world rallied as the Greek parliament voted to accept the austerity measures that are a prerequisite for receiving additional bailouts from the European Union and IMF. You see how easy that is? Make a promise; get some money. Making promises is easy. Keeping them is the hard part. Within minutes of passing the austerity plan, riots broke out in Athens. "In a haze of tear gas," the Associated Press reported, "protesters hurled anything they could find at riot police and tried to blockade the Parliament building… In Athens, the mood was dark." Nevertheless, the same AP news story related, "Investors cheered the bill – which aims to cut spending and raise taxes… The bill – along with another that must be passed Thursday on implementing the austerity package – will release the next Euro 12 billion (USD 17 billion) installment of a Euro 110 billion (USD 157 billion) international bailout from the European Union and the International Monetary Fund." We predict the Greeks (and Gaby) will continue making promises for as long as the promises yield handouts. But we also predict that the Greeks will stop making promises…and start breaking them as soon as the last check clears…if not sooner. Promising austerity is not austerity, and even if it were, austerity is not solvency. The austerity plan the Greeks approved yesterday hopes to raise about $110 billion over five years. This sum would not even repay the $157 billion bailout the EU and IMF have provided already, let alone balance a budget. For further perspective, $110 billion over five years would equal $22 billion per year (assuming my third grade math teacher was correct). That figure would not have come close to plugging Greece's $34 billion shortfall last year or its $52 billion shortfall in 2009. And Greece's near-term economic future is not looking any rosier than its recent past. At the end of all this promising and indulging, we predict the Greeks will get the better end of the deal. They will trade feeble promises for hard dollars…until the hard dollars run out. Already, each euro-zone household underwrites about 535 euros ($773) of Greek debt, according to Open Europe, a London-based research group. Already, almost none of these households wish to contribute a single euro to the "profligate Greeks," much less 535 euros. Presumably, these households will resist fresh capital calls from the EU. In other words, the money will run out and the Greeks will default. Eric Fry for The Daily Reckoning Why Greek Austerity Does Not Equal Solvency originally appeared in the Daily Reckoning. The Daily Reckoning provides 400,000+ readers economic news, market analysis, and contrarian investment ideas. The Daily Reckoning features articles by Addison Wiggin author of Empire of Debt and Bill Bonner author of Financial Reckoning Day and The Idea of America. Read more posts on The Daily Reckoning » Please follow Money Game on Twitter and Facebook. Join the conversation about this story »         What All Great Company Names Have In Common June 30, 2011 at 2:56 PM   While a clever and appropriate name can impress your fan base, choosing an unoriginal, dull name communicates a lack of enthusiasm towards your new business venture. Click here to see what makes a great company name > However, it's never too late to change a company's name; some of the best businesses have changed their names when a better idea came around. (Xerox used to be called The Halloid Company; Nissan was Datsun; and LG shortened its name from Lucky and GoldStar Co.) A great name can hit in an instant or be a result of careful tweaking over time. While there is no magic formula to creating a good company name, here are five common motifs found across all great company names. Click here to see what makes a great company name > This post originally appeared at Inc. Read more: The Best Industries to Start and Grow a Business in 2011 Jason Fried: Why I Run a Flat Company Does it stick? Good company names have a certain "stickiness" to them. During the brainstorming process, allow plenty of time—at least a week—between the brainstorm and the decision to really mull over the options. Even when you find good names, it's important to continue brainstorming. The best names are remembered without needing to refer to the list. You might be surprised by which names are most easily conjured from your memory bank. If it sticks in yours, it will probably stick in your customers' minds, too. Short is sweet What do Nike, Apple, Facebook, Twitter, Dreamworks, Pixar, and eBay have in common? Yes, they're all very successful companies, but they're also only two syllables. Studies show that brevity lends itself to memorability, so companies are wise to choose short and punchy names that won't be easily forgotten by consumers. While some may claim name puns or phrase names can be fun, often times, it's a disadvantage. Company names like "It's A Mad, Mad, Mad Computer World," are not only difficult to remember correctly, but they're also names that customers don't want to repeat to their friends. They're functional Consider the specific function or service that you'd like your company to perform. In 1998, Marc Andreessen, the co-founder of Netscape—née Mosaic—was working on a new free and open source software project. According to Daniel Ehrenhaft's book Marc Andreessen: Web Warrior, Andreessen was happy with Mosaic, but the program still wasn't fast or secure enough for his liking. So Andreessen decided to rewrite the program and create a Godzilla that would completely obliterate his old Internet suite. In 2002, Andreessen unleashed his Mosaic Godzilla—Mozilla—unto the world, and the Internet was never the same again. Firefox, Mozilla's flagship web browser, is currently ranked by some as the most widely used browser in the world. See the rest of the story at Business Insider Please follow War Room on Twitter and Facebook. See Also: Advice From His Grandmother Put This Man On The Fast Track To A Top Position At Yahoo It Took Three Rounds Of Layoffs For This CEO To Learn He Wasn't A God Why Gold's Gym Sent Out 10,000 Postcards To Save Its Business         Nielsen: Most Americans Choose Smartphones; Apple Grows Fastest June 30, 2011 at 2:52 PM   When it comes to following industry trends, smartphone sales figures have a special resonance for consumers, because the best smartphone platform is whichever one everyone else prefers. For the first time, according to Nielsen, the majority of American phone-buyers (55 percent) reported buying a smartphone, up from 34 percent last year. The majority of U.S. phones are still the ironically-titled "feature" phones, which offer far fewer features, but the fact that we've reached this tipping point is good news for anyone who already has a smartphone. It will lead to more choice in apps -- and better apps -- as developers sell to a bigger market. Android still comprises the majority of new smartphone buyers, which would be a good sign for Google, except that its growth is flattening as Apple's increases. And that is happening even though Apple hasn't introduced a new model since the iPhone 4, which debuted a year and a day ago. As the chart shows, Apple's wedge of the chart continues to grow, as Android's remains flat, even though Android's 27-percent share beats Apple's 17 percent by a decent margin. But despite Android's lead in that area, the app developers we watch still consistently develop for iPhone first, then Android. Why? For whatever reason, Android users don't like to buy apps as much as iPhone users do, which makes iOS more attractive to developers, despite its smaller overall market share. Judging from the latest data, iOS adoption is growing faster because that's where the apps are. Please follow SAI on Twitter and Facebook. Join the conversation about this story »         MORE BAD NEWS: Software Can Copy Your Keys From A Photograph Taken 200 Feet Away June 30, 2011 at 2:52 PM   A new piece of software cleverly titled Sneakey makes it possible to copy keys using nothing more than a photograph, even if that photograph was taken from far away, according to Peter Murray at Singularity Hub. In one demonstration, the software helped create working keys using a picture taken with a cell phone camera and a picture taken with a telephoto lens over 200 feet away. This might have you thinking twice about taking your keys out in public. Who's to blame for this? A group of scientists at UC San Diego. The technology behind it is relatively simple -- they just applied a straightforward principle that ended up having far-reaching implications. First they photograph a blank key of the same brand. The software that compares the differences between the blank key and the target key, and that's enough to create a functioning copy. Essential gear for the next spy movie. Let's hope it's being used by the good guys. Please follow SAI: Tools on Twitter and Facebook. Join the conversation about this story » See Also: The Strongest Computer Virus In History Has Arrived The Best Kinect Hacks We've Ever Seen MAIL HACK: Watch The Amazing Journey This Disposable Camera Took To Hawaii Media Files keys.jpg (JPEG Image)         Of Course HP Will Make Windows 8 Tablets (HPQ, MSFT) June 30, 2011 at 2:52 PM   Hewlett-Packard launches the TouchPad this week, but expect the company to build Windows 8 tablets once it ships next year. Fast Company asked HP's PC boss Phil McKinney if they'd ship a Windows 8 tablet. He said he couldn't say much, but that HP is working very closely with Microsoft on Windows 8. Then he flashed a big grin. Developer relations head Richard Kerris was vaguer, but admitted Windows 8 tablets are a possibility if customers demand it. The thing is, HP has long been Microsoft's favorite go-to hardware partner. The first Media Center PC was from HP. The first Windows Home Server was from HP. The company stuck with Windows XP Tablets long after it was clear they weren't taking off, and even made a Media Center Extender -- a device that connected to a PC and streamed info from a Media Center PC over the air. (That function was later built into the Xbox 360, making the Extenders unnecessary.) HP is definitely going to ship Windows 8 PCs -- it's still the biggest PC maker in the world. The most interesting feature in Windows 8 is going to be the new tablet interface. So HP would be crazy to take a stance against Windows 8 tablets just to protect the TouchPad. So why did HP buy Palm last year? Probably in part to light a fire under Microsoft to come up with a Windows-based response to the iPad, which had just been announced by Apple a couple months before. And probably in part as a hedge, so HP wouldn't have to rely on Google's Android if it wanted to get a tablet out fast while Microsoft took its sweet time. Both McKinney and Kerris went out of their way to slam Android in their Fast Company interview. Please follow SAI on Twitter and Facebook. Join the conversation about this story » See Also: CHART OF THE DAY: The iPad Is Still The Only Tablet That Matters Google Plus Looks Like Everything Else THE GOOGLE INVESTOR: Google's Mobile Ad Sales To Reach $14 Billion By 2015         A Twice-Homeless CEO Is Now Worth $4 Billion June 30, 2011 at 2:51 PM   John Paul DeJoria had a tough childhood, working his first job at age 9, bouncing into a foster home and then getting caught up in a Los Angeles street gang. He was even voted "Least Likely To Succeed" in high school. So it was devastating to be homeless at age 22. "Rent was overdue," he tells Entrepreneur. "And you know, a couple weeks later I was out there hustling, getting a job, picking up Coke bottles along the way, cashing them in, two cents for a little one, five cents for big one. And we ended up on the street for a few days there." After working gigs as a janitor and insurance salesman, DeJoria finally found his way working an entry-level job at Redken, a hair product company. It inspired him to co-launch John Paul Mitchell Systems in 1980. Which is when he found himself homeless again. "I wasn't getting along with my wife at the time," he tells the magazine. "So I had left and given her all the money. We had a backer for Paul Mitchell Systems putting in a half-million dollars. That money was supposed to arrive that day. Never got a penny. So I just slept in my car. And I slept in my car for the first two weeks when I started the company." Today, John Paul Mitchell brings in around $900 million. Another company he co-founded, Patron Spirits Company, ranks among the top tequila sellers in the world. Don't Miss: 10 super-successful CEOs' first jobs >       Please follow War Room on Twitter and Facebook. Join the conversation about this story » See Also: INSTANT MBA: Don't Be Afraid To Make Contrarian Decisions The 15 Best Commercials Of The Year From Around The World 13 Insanely Cool Resumes That Landed Interviews At Google And Other Top Jobs         A Twice-Homeless CEO Is Now Worth $4 Billion June 30, 2011 at 2:51 PM   John Paul Dejoria had a tough childhood, working his first job at age 9, bouncing into a foster home and then getting caught up in a Los Angeles street gang. He was even voted "Least Likely To Succeed" in high school. So it was devastating to be homeless at age 22. "Rent was overdue," he tells Entrepreneur. "And you know, a couple weeks later I was out there hustling, getting a job, picking up Coke bottles along the way, cashing them in, two cents for a little one, five cents for big one. And we ended up on the street for a few days there." After working gigs as a janitor and insurance salesman, Dejouria finally found his way working an entry-level job at Redken, a hair product company. It inspired him to co-launch John Paul Mitchell Systems in 1980. Which is when he found himself homeless again. "I wasn't getting along with my wife at the time," he tells the magazine. "So I had left and given her all the money. We had a backer for Paul Mitchell Systems putting in a half-million dollars. That money was supposed to arrive that day. Never got a penny. So I just slept in my car. And I slept in my car for the first two weeks when I started the company." Today, John Paul Mitchell brings in around $900 million. Another company he founded, Patron Spirits Company, ranks among the top tequila sellers in the world. Don't Miss: 10 super-successful CEOs' first jobs >       Please follow War Room on Twitter and Facebook. Join the conversation about this story » See Also: INSTANT MBA: Don't Be Afraid To Make Contrarian Decisions The 15 Best Commercials Of The Year From Around The World 13 Insanely Cool Resumes That Landed Interviews At Google And Other Top Jobs         Hands On With The TouchPad: HP's New iPad-Killer [PHOTOS] (HPQ) June 30, 2011 at 2:50 PM   HP's first tablet running Palm's WebOS software is launching tomorrow, hoping to give Apple's iPad a run for its money. It's the same price as the iPad ($499.99 for the 16GB version, and $599.99 for the 32GB version), but for now, TouchPads only have Wi-Fi built in. We got our hands on the TouchPad for the first time today, and we've taken some huge pictures of it, many of which include an iPad as a point of comparison. Click here to check out some huge pictures of the brand new HP TouchPad > Keep your eyes peeled for our full review next week, but here are some initial impressions thus far: When we turned on the device, it took us about 10 minutes to get it to connect to our Wi-Fi network. Once we did, it took another 5 minutes for our WebOS registration to go through. The screen looks great, but the TouchPad isn't ultra responsive. Even with only a couple apps open, there was noticeable lag. WebOS 3.0 is wonderful. Messaging, notifications, and Synergy (bringing in Google and Facebook integration) are all a huge breath of fresh air. The TouchPad hardware feels a year old. It's the same size as the original iPad, and it doesn't feel as fast as the original iPad. Typing is tough because auto-correct is poor, double tapping the space bar to insert a period doesn't work, and apostrophes aren't added to words like "don't." YouTube (Flash content) videos play inline as if you were watching them on your computer We really want to like the TouchPad, but it's less than impressive thus far. Check out the full review next week. Say hello to the HP TouchPad hitting store shelves tomorrow. It runs WebOS 3.0, the newest version of Palm's mobile operating system software. The TouchPad looks like an oversized iPhone 3GS. See the rest of the story at Business Insider Please follow SAI: Tools on Twitter and Facebook. See Also: MOSSBERG: HP TouchPad "No Match" For The iPad The 15 Most Expensive iPad Apps SWEET DEAL! HP Will Knock $50 Off The TouchPad If You Already Have A Pre Or Pixi         Chinese Home Buyers Are Throwing A Life Raft To The US Housing Market June 30, 2011 at 2:47 PM   From New York to Honolulu, Chinese homebuyers are swooping in to help salvage the U.S. housing market. Indeed, California, Florida, New York, and even Hawaii have seen a marked up-tick in home sales to Chinese buyers who are exporting their country's real estate boom to the United States, according to Bloomberg News. Increased regulation at home and education and investment opportunities are chief among the reasons real estate in the United States - as well as the United Kingdom, Australia, and Canada - has piqued Chinese interest. According to a survey by the National Association of Realtors, Chinese buyers accounted for 9% of foreign home purchases in the 12 months ended in March of both 2010 and 2011. That's up from 5% in 2009. "The purchase restrictions in China drove them overseas, while they look for investments to counter the inflation," Mo Tianquan, founder and chairman of Beijing-based SouFun Holdings Ltd. - a company that runs China's biggest real estate Website and organizes buying excursions abroad - told Bloomberg. "Some of them will buy homes considering better education opportunities for their kids, while others look for immigration options." Take Cupertino, Calif., for example. Sales of existing single-family homes in Cupertino rose 21% in the first quarter from a year earlier, largely due to an influx of Chinese shoppers who are making huge cash purchases. "We're seeing a huge number of all-cash transactions, and most of those are from mainland China," Nina Yamaguchi, managing broker at Coldwell Banker's residential office in Cupertino, told Bloomberg. "The thing that draws the Asians here is the schools are so highly touted. Cupertino is certainly not beautiful. It doesn't have wonderful architecture." This post originally appeared on Money Morning. Please follow Money Game on Twitter and Facebook. Join the conversation about this story » See Also: Why Some Housing Prices Are Still Falling And Subprime Loans Are Still Sliding China Is Beating Out The US And Russia For Central Asian Energy Riches Land Of The Predictable: Pimco CEO Warns US Debt Default Might Have "Catastrophic" Effect Media Files chinese-home-buyers-are-throwing-a-life-raft-to-the-us-housing-market.jpg (JPEG Image)         MEDIA MELTDOWNS: The Top 7 Media Scandals June 30, 2011 at 2:47 PM   Here we go again. On Thursday, Mark Halperin called President Obama a "dick" live on "Morning Joe." And MSNBC has suspended him. Yet another scandal where the people delivering the headlines become the news themselves. Inspired, we decided to take a look back at some of the biggest media scandals to hit headlines. From Rush Limbaugh to Rick Sanchez, these are the names who went from behind the desk to in the headlines. Rush Limbaugh gets caught for prescription drug addiction in drug bust. In October 2003, the National Enquirer - with the help of his former maid Wilma Cline - uncovered Rush Limbaugh's prescription drug addiction and the resulting investigation. "I really don't know the full scope of what I'm dealing with," Limbaugh told his radio listeners. Limbaugh later turned himself in to authorities after a warrant was filed, charging him with "fraud to conceal information to obtain prescriptions." A deal was eventually reached with prosecutors and the charge was dropped. Pat O'Brien's infamous drunk dial heard around the world. When former The Insider co-host Pat O'Brien issued a statement regarding his entry into rehab for alcoholism in March 2005, sexually graphic voicemail messages began circulating, complete with implications of drug use. Despite the flurry of attention and controversy the messages attracted, it wasn't until September 2008 that O'Brien was fired for an email insulting host Lara Spencer that upset the show's bosses. Steve Phillips' affair publicly turns 'Fatal Attraction.' ESPN analyst Steve Phillips engaged in a brief affair with a 22-year-old production assistant Brooke Hundley that ultimately cost him his job (and, not to mention, his marriage). According to a statement to police, Phillips said, "I have extreme concerns about the health and safety of my kids and myself..." and that Hundley was "obsessive and delusional" after the affair was over. Following a suspension, Phillips was eventually fired by ESPN. See the rest of the story at Business Insider Please follow The Wire on Twitter and Facebook. See Also: Key Witness In Casey Anthony Murder Trial Testifies ABC News Paid Him $15,000 For Photo How Glenn Beck Became The Most Powerful (And Notorious) Man On Television News Corp iPad Apps Dominate Apple's Rankings Media Files media-meltdowns-the-top-7-media-scandals.jpg (JPEG Image)         Oil Daily Outlook 30 June June 30, 2011 at 2:44 PM   Oil prices rose again yesterday, but they are currently traded with moderate changes. Today the US unemployment claims report will be published along with the monetary development of European Union.   Here's a short analysis and outlook of the oil market for today, June 30th:  Oil prices – June 2011  On Wednesday, June 29th oil price (WTI) rose again by 2.02% to $92.89/b; during June WTI fell nearly 7.72% of its value.    Brent also inclined by 3.41% to $112.40/b; during June Brent declined by 4.08%. US Petroleum stocks According to the recent US Energy Information Administration weekly report on U.S. petroleum market, the U.S. oil stocks fell very moderately declined last week by 323 thousand barrels, or by 0.02%. For the week ending on June 24th oil stocks reached 1,791.6 million barrels. The report also showed a decrease in oil production, imports and an increase in refinery input (See here the recent petroleum report). US pending home sales  Yesterday, the US home sales report showed an increase in the pending home sales during May 2011; this news is usually considered to have a positive effect on oil prices: according to a research done by Roache et. al (2008): a working paper published by IMF that examines the effects of such news on oil prices; the rise in the home sales index might have affected the major commodities prices including oil prices as they have inclined yesterday and they are currently traded up.  Oil price outlook:  Following yesterday's vote in the Greek parliament, the excitement in the financial market has slowed down and the major commodities are demonstrating moderate changes; as we are entering the long weekend its likely the news cycle will slow down and so will the changes in oil prices. For further reading: Oil prices Monthly outlook –June 2011 Please follow Money Game on Twitter and Facebook. Join the conversation about this story »         WWE Money in the Bank 2011 Matches & Participants June 30, 2011 at 2:44 PM   The WWE Money in the Bank 2011 card is coming together and on paper, it looks like a real winner. Two Money in the Bank matches and two WWE world championship matches headline the summer replacement to the WWE Bash series. The remainder of this blog will contain spoilers for the next couple of WWE RAW and Friday Night SmackDown shows. If you wish to avoid spoilers, stop reading now. You have been warned! If you haven't read the RAW or SmackDown spoilers, you would think that the WWE is a few weeks away from a show with no matches set. However, the next few weeks of tapings will bring the card together and when it is all said and done, this has the potential to be a damn great show. John Cena vs. CM Punk will headline the RAW brand with a match for the WWE championship. Unless you have cut yourself off from the wrestling world over the last few days, you know that this isn't your typical WWE title match. Punk is leaving the WWE and his contract expires the day after this show. Continue reading at Camel Clutch Blog → Please follow Sports Page on Twitter and Facebook. Join the conversation about this story »         Obama Rejects Invitation To Meet With Senate Republicans On Debt Ceiling June 30, 2011 at 2:42 PM   Update 2: White House Spokesman Jay Carney said Thursday afternoon that President Barack Obama rejected an invitation from Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell to meet about cutting the deficit. “What the senator invited the president to do was to hear Senate Republicans restate their maximalist position. We know what that position is,” Carney said. Update: Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell is inviting President Barack Obama to the Capitol to hear first-hand why his proposed tax increases will not pass, The Associated Press is reporting. According to a schedule released by the White House, Obama is set to have lunch with Vice President Joe Biden today, before flying to Philadelphia to speak at a DNC fundraiser this afternoon. Original: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) announced Thursday morning that the Senate will remain in session next week, canceling a planned vacation to work on a deal to lower the deficit and raise the debt ceiling. The decision comes one day after President Barack Obama publicly chastised Congress for taking too many vacations instead of negotiating an agreement to raise the $14.3 trillion debt limit before the government defaults on August 2. "They're in one week, they're out one week," Obama said during a nationally televised press conference yesterday. "And then they're saying, Obama has got to step in. You need to be here.  ’ve been here. I’ve been doing Afghanistan and bin Laden and the Greek crisis. You stay here. Let’s get it done." Republican Speaker of the House John Boehner had a different response for the President, saying he had been absent from negotiations to reach a deficit reduction agreement to go along with the debt ceiling hike. "His administration has been burying our kids and grandkids in new debt and offered no plan to rein in spending," Boehner said yesterday. "The President has been AWOL from that debate." Democrats and Republicans are preparing for a contentious fight over tax increases next month — Obama insists any deal to raise the debt ceiling must include the elimination of tax breaks and subsidies, while Republicans says they will not agree to any revenue increases. Please follow Politics on Twitter and Facebook. Join the conversation about this story » See Also: Senate Bends To Obama And Cancels July 4th Vacation Politics In 60 Seconds: What You Need To Know Right Now Debt Ceiling Deal Emerges From Obama Press Conference         Italy's cabinet has approved a 47 billion euros ($66.55 billion) austerity plan, Reuters reports. The plan must now ... June 30, 2011 at 2:40 PM   Italy's cabinet has approved a 47 billion euros ($66.55 billion) austerity plan, Reuters reports. The plan must now pass parliament within 60 days. Please follow Money Game on Twitter and Facebook. Join the conversation about this story »         Phillies' Cole Hamels Leaves Game Against Boston After Being Struck With A Line Drive June 30, 2011 at 2:39 PM   PHILADELPHIA (AP) — Philadelphia Phillies left-hander Cole Hamels was forced out of his start against the Boston Red Sox after he was struck by a line drive on his glove hand. Adrian Gonzalez hit a liner at Hamels in the fourth inning of Thursday's game. The ball appeared to hit Hamels in the palm of his hand. His mitt fell off, but Hamels recovered to throw out Gonzalez at first. He grimaced as he looked at the sky and shook his hand several times. He threw a few warmup pitches and stayed in the game. The Phillies said Hamels will have X-rays. Reliever David Herndon got loose in the bottom half of the inning and came in to start the fifth of a scoreless game. Hamels entered with a 9-4 record and a 3.66 ERA. Please follow Sports Page on Twitter and Facebook. Join the conversation about this story » See Also: John Lackey Knocks In The Only Run The Red Sox Score Against The Phillies Ian Kinsler Drives Texas Past The Astros Mets Hitters Continue To Eviscerate The Detroit Tigers Pitchers         Ballmer Spills Rough Year-End Numbers For Microsoft (MSFT) June 30, 2011 at 2:33 PM   Microsoft stopped giving forward guidance a couple years ago when the company hit a rough patch, but yesterday at a Rotary event in Seattle, CEO Steve Ballmer spilled some rough figures about the company's 2011 fiscal year, which ends today. As reported by GeekWire's John Cook, who was at the event, Ballmer said: There’s a reason why we’ll do almost $70 billion in revenue this year, and we will make over $20, whatever, $26, $27 billion in profits. That $70 billion would be a 12% increase from last year's revenue of $62.5 billion, and would mean a quarterly revenue figure of $17.4 billion, which is up about 9% from last year's Q4. The profit figure refers to operating income. If it comes in at $27 billion, that would be a 12% increase from last year and mean a quarterly operating profit of $6.0 billion, which is about flat from last year. All of these are rough numbers of course -- not official guidance -- but the fact that Ballmer was talking about them at all on the last day of the fiscal year shows that the company is expecting any catastrophic news in Q4. This was the same event where Ballmer answered a question about stepping down as CEO by hollering "YOU TELL ME IF I LACK ENERGY OR CONVICTION." Please follow SAI on Twitter and Facebook. Join the conversation about this story » See Also: THE MICROSOFT INVESTOR: Raking In The Patent Royalties On Android, Which Is Making More Money Than Windows Phone Ballmer Hits Back At Critics: YOU TELL ME IF I LACK ENERGY OR CONVICTION! SAICAST: Can Microsoft Finally Disrupt Google Docs? Media Files steve-ballmer-microsoft.jpg (JPEG Image)         Chael Sonnen Is Now A Free Man June 30, 2011 at 2:31 PM   The next chapter in the Chael Sonnen began yesterday. Sonnen’s suspension is over and in his own words on Twitter, "I can finally get back to the most important thing in my life. Defending my Middleweight Championship." The Chael Sonnen saga is probably up to chapter 12 at this point. Between his positive PED test, his suspension, his legal proceedings, his re-suspension, his decision reversal, etc, etc it just never seemed to end. Sonnen's CSAC suspension is now officially over. The new chapter will see whether Sonnen can get licensed to fight in the United States and whether the UFC forces him to reapply in California. Sonnen can get licensed in other states without having to go back to California and face the music. Josh Barnett is a prime example of this. Texas is a state with a very loose commission that would almost definitely issue Chael a license. Of course he could always fight on one of the UFC international events as well without having to go through California. Continue reading at Camel Clutch Blog → Please follow Sports Page on Twitter and Facebook. Join the conversation about this story »         Samsung Wants to Ban Apple Products in U.S. June 30, 2011 at 2:31 PM   Samsung is seeking to ban Apple products in the U.S., as the patent litigation war between the companies escalates. The South Korean company today said it filed a report with the International Trade Commission, or ITC, asking Apple stop selling iPhone and iPad devices, among others, in the U.S., adding to the growing list of international lawsuits against Apple in California, South Korea, Japan, Germany, Italy and the U.K. Samsung's claim is the latest escalation in the growing legal war between the two tech giants, and its latest move may force Apple's hand into settling the original case. Earlier, Apple sought a preliminary injunction as part of its original suit against Samsung, which could limit the South Korea company's smartphone and tablet sales in the U.S. Samsung, already suffering from declining profits, in contrast to Apple's booming business, must act boldly. However, the claim may further deteriorate what had been a mutually beneficial relationship. Much of Samsung's profits come from supplying Apple with components for its iPhones and iPads. Last year, Apple forked over $7.8 billion for LCDs, processors and flash memory, making up 4 percent of Samsung's $140 billion revenue. Apple, for its part, has been happy with Samsung's products and earlier said it wants to remain friends, despite the ongoing courtroom drama. But the symbiotic relationship may deteriorate if the lawsuits continue to escalate. In fact, recent rumors speculate that Apple may ditch Samsung as its supplier and instead turn to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company, or TSMC, for its mobile device component needs. If true, Apple's next-generation devices may run on A6 chips made by TSMC and lack the AMOLED screens Samsung has provided for iPads thus far. Other than a different screen, though, it's unlikely consumers would notice much of a change if Apple drops Samsung, since most of its iPad and iPhone contributions are under the hood. If the lawsuits continue, Apple's rumored switch to TSMC may soon become reality. Even though a California judge last week urged the two companies to come to an agreement outside of court, neither appears willing to rescind its patent claims. Each company has struck blow-for-blow in various worldwide courts since Apple first filed a patent infringement lawsuit against Samsung in April. Apple initially accused Samsung of "slavishly" copying its iPhone and iPad designs. Samsung then filed a countersuit, accusing Apple of illegally copying several wireless technology patents. After that, a court granted Apple's request to examine several new Samsung devices for possible copyright infringement. Samsung asked to see the new iPhone 5 and iPad 3, however, a judge turned down this request. Samsung's ITC request is the latest and most aggressive move in the "tit-for-tat" ongoing courtroom drama. Whatever the ultimate outcome of the lawsuits -- and whomever comes out on top -- both companies have made clear they are in a fight to the finish. This post originally appeared at Mobiledia. Please follow SAI on Twitter and Facebook. Join the conversation about this story »         The FTC Is Investigating Twitter June 30, 2011 at 2:30 PM   The Federal Trade Commission is actively investigating Twitter and the way it deals with the companies building applications and services for its platform, we've learned. In Spring 2010, Twitter started making noises that it planned to provide users "official" versions of services that, until then, had typically been provided by third-parties – ads, photo-sharing, URL shortening and mobile apps. Over the following year, Twitter followed-up on its promise. It acquired third-party Twitter clients such as Tweetie and TweetDeck, blessing them as "official" Twitter apps. Twitter also redesigned Twitter.com so that third-party video and photo-hosting sites no longer linked to off-Twitter sites, but kept users on Twitter. Twitter also banned third-party ad services. Meanwhile, serial enterprenuer Bill Gross – best known for inventing search advertising – launched a company called TweetUp. The initial plan was some kind of Twitter ad network. Later, Gross started buying Twitter apps. Eventually, his company got funding from Accel with the idea that the money would be used to buy TweetDeck. It sort of looked like Gross might be planning to launch a Twitter competitor – or at least string his Twitter clients into their own monetized network. But then Twitter got aggressive with Gross – first by shuting down several of its apps for a week or so, and then by stepping in and acquiring TweetDeck for itself. We reached out to the FTC and Twitter and haven't heard back. A representative from Gross's company tells us: "We have been contacted by the FTC and are in the process of responding to their requests." Another app-maker says: "Our lawyer has advised us not to talk about this particular topic." Today, we learned that Twitter will soon create a site to "offer up as much information as possible to developers and partners." Surely, the news is related. Related: Holy Cow Did Twitter's Top Investor Drop A Bombshell On Twitter App-Makers Today How Tech Legend Bill Gross Blew The TweetDeck Deal Here's Who Ended Up Getting Screwed By Twitter   Please follow SAI on Twitter and Facebook. Join the conversation about this story » See Also: The Billion-Dollar Startup That Almost Never Was HOLY MOLEY: This iPhone App Scans Skin For Melanoma This Is How Facebook Was Supposed To Get Integrated Into Your iPhone         Here's The First Photo Of Prince William And Kate Middleton On North American Soil June 30, 2011 at 2:29 PM   Good news, everyone -- the Duke and Duchess of York are safe and sound on the ground in Ottawa. BBC just tweeted the first picture of them on North American ground. We know you're frustrated that it's blurry -- so are we, because we want to get a better look at that bold-print dress Middleton is wearing. Please follow The Wire on Twitter and Facebook. Join the conversation about this story » See Also: Pippa Middleton Is At Wimbledon Right Now Letterman Invites Michele Bachmann On His Show: 'If You're Not Coming To See Us, Historically You're A Loser' Meet The Team Behind The Film Poised To Clean Up At The Oscars -- In 2013 Media Files heres-the-first-photo-of-prince-william-and-kate-middleton-on-north-american-soil.jpg (JPEG Image)         Judge Denies Boeing Motion For Dismissal In Labor Lawsuit June 30, 2011 at 2:28 PM   A federal judge has refused to dismiss the National Labor Relations Board lawsuit against Boeing in response to the opening of the aerospace giant's new production line in South Carolina. Administrative Law Judge Clifford Anderson allowed the board to present its case against Boeing at a trial, The Associated Press is reporting.  The NLRB alleges Boeing opened the plant in retaliation against its union workers in Washington State for a crippling 2008 strike, a charge the company denies. The lawsuit is becoming an issue in the 2012 election as GOP hopefuls have criticized the suit as anti-business. President Barack Obama withheld from criticizing the NLRB in a press conference yesterday when pressed by reporters, but said businesses should be free to move from state to state, as long as they follow the law. "What defies common sense would be a notion that we would be shutting down a plant or laying off workers because labor and management can't come to a sensible agreement." Please follow Politics on Twitter and Facebook. Join the conversation about this story » See Also: Obama Withholds From Criticizing NLRB In Boeing Case, But Says Company Should Be Free To Move Politics In 60 Seconds: What You Need To Know Right Now Democratic Lawmakers May Proclaim Debt Ceiling Unconstitutional As A Last Ditch Effort To Avert Default         Judge Denies Boeing Motion For Dismissal In Labor Lawsuit June 30, 2011 at 2:28 PM   A federal judge has refused to dismiss the lawsuit National Labor Relations Board lawsuit against Boeing in response to the opening of the aerospace giant's new production line in South Carolina. Administrative Law Judge Clifford Anderson allowed the board to present its case against Boeing at a trial, The Associated Press is reporting.  The NLRB alleges Boeing opened the plant in retaliation against its union workers in Washington State for a crippling 2008 strike, a charge the company denies. The lawsuit is becoming an issue in the 2012 election as GOP hopefuls have criticized the suit as anti-business. President Barack Obama withheld from criticizing the NLRB in a press conference yesterday when pressed by reporters, but said businesses should be free to move from state to state, as long as they follow the law. "What defies common sense would be a notion that we would be shutting down a plant or laying off workers because labor and management can't come to a sensible agreement." Please follow Politics on Twitter and Facebook. Join the conversation about this story » See Also: Obama Withholds From Criticizing NLRB In Boeing Case, But Says Company Should Be Free To Move Politics In 60 Seconds: What You Need To Know Right Now Democratic Lawmakers May Proclaim Debt Ceiling Unconstitutional As A Last Ditch Effort To Avert Default         One Year Later, The People Responsible For LeBron's "Decision" STILL Think It Was A Good Idea June 30, 2011 at 2:22 PM   Four people who helped organize LeBron James' ill-fated special "The Decision" have spoken out about the days and hours leading up the the show. The big takeaway? With the luxury of hindsight, these people still believe in the arrogant, slanted logic that made the show such a public relations disaster in the first place. Here are some of the most interesting quotes and revelations from their interviews with Sports Illustrated's Zach Lowe: Mark Dowley was the special's principle organizer and a former partner at the William Morris Endeavor agency. He says the original idea was hatched by broadcaster Jim Gray, WME CEO Ari Manuel, and LeBron's manager Maverick Carter during the NBA Finals. LeBron stayed with Dowley at his house in Connecticut in the hours before and after the show. Dowley hired a police officer and a security guard for protection, and Kanye West came and stayed until LeBron flew to Miami later that night. Dowley on the backlash to the show, "A good deed never goes unpunish, you know? ... I do know morally and from a socially conscience standpoint, they know they did something good." More Dowley, "I'm fond of experimenting, and I'm proud of doing something different." Dowley on what he thought when we first heard about the idea for the show, "I like the whole notion of the emancipation of talent." The event was held in Greenwich, CT for a few reasons. They didn't want it have it in Cleveland for LeBron's safety. They didn't want to ruin the surprise by going directly to a contending city. And as Dowley says (apparently with a straight face), "It always struck me that here we are in [Greenwich], one of the most affluent communities in the world, and we have a terrible gym at the Boys & Girls Club. I thought we could help them out." The location of the show was originally supposed to remain a secret until the end of the broadcast. But once Dowley informed the Greenwich police about the event, it leaked to Newsday. The broadcast made between $3.5 million and $4 million in ad revenue. The money was split evenly between Boys & Girls Clubs in every contending city, plus Greenwich. Connecticut state legislator Scott Frantz, who helped connect Dowley to the Greenwich Boys & Girls Club, said about the show, "The only thing that was a letdown for me, as a Knicks fan, was the actual decision. We all sat there in shock that he wasn’t coming to New York." You think the 10 minute wait at the beginning of "The Decision" was bad? LeBron was originally supposed to wait until the very end of the show to announce his new team. Dowley and the rest of the James camp continue to portray "The Decision" as an act of charity. But this argument represents a complete misunderstanding of the nature and function of the show. The show was a colossal failure. It was narcissism masquerading as charity. It was an ill-conceived, insensitive stunt that used the Boys & Girls Club as an object of emotional exploitation and a shield against criticism. This SI piece shoes how unaware and disconnected from reality Dowley and Co. still are. And that itself explains "The Decision" better than they ever could. Read the whole story here. Please follow Sports Page on Twitter and Facebook. Join the conversation about this story » See Also: You May Hate Him, But LeBron Still Sold 500,000 Pairs Of Shoes This Year Dwight Howard Stopped Planking For Long Enough To Make Fun Of LeBron James' Hairline Can You Believe They're Letting Violent Criminals Play Tennis At San Quentin Prison? Media Files lebron-james-jim-gray.jpg (JPEG Image)         The Tax-Loophole That Saves Sports Teams MILLIONS (And Will Cause The NBA Lockout) June 30, 2011 at 2:19 PM   Deadspin has once again got its hands on the financial statements of a NBA team, and as usual they're a complicated swamp of accounting tricks. But there is one thing to be learned, courtesy of a sports economist who spoke to Deadspin's Tommy Craggs about the papers and revealed an interesting tax law that most sports fans probably don't know anything about. It called "roster depreciation allowance," and what it does is basically allow an owner to treat players the way a carpenter treats his tools. (Or in Craggs' metaphor, the way the farmer treats his cattle.) It allows teams to deduct "loss on players' contract" as a deprecation expense on their taxes. Which would be fine, except they can also deduct player salaries as a payroll expense at the same time. In other words, they get to claim players salaries as expense twice when they file taxes. That's how the Nets claimed a $27 million operations loss, when they actually made about $6 million in operating profit. It's perfectly legal and every sports team does it. They'd be foolish not to. That isn't the only reason the financials of a sports team are so difficult to dissect. They're often part of larger organizations, with multiple owners and subsidiaries, that may or may not own real estate or refinance debt or defer obligations, and that can do any of the thousands of things the large corporations can (legally) do to maximize their efficiency and profits. The reality is that when 20 of the 30 current NBA teams say they're losing money and the players demand to see the evidence of it, it takes a lot more than a good accountant to know who is lying and who isn't. Read the full story at Deadspin → Check where that Nets money is going now → Please follow Sports Page on Twitter and Facebook. Join the conversation about this story » See Also: LeBron James And Dwyane Wade Ditched Chris Bosh's Crazy Bachelor Party Yankees Continue Their Winning Ways John Lackey Knocks In The Only Run The Red Sox Score Against The Phillies         Is The Chinese Bubble Finally Ready To Burst? June 30, 2011 at 2:12 PM   The discussion of whether or not the Chinese economy is a bubble destined to collapse, or if the recent rash of media over empty cities and spiraling food costs are merely sensationalistic hype masking an unstoppable growth story, has become a favorite Wall Street parlor game over the past year. May trade data from China released earlier this month registered stronger growth in imports than consensus forecasts, suggesting that demand in the Middle Kingdom is remaining resilient despite the steady rounds of tightening that the People’s Bank of China policy makers began in the fourth quarter of last year. With interest rate and reserve ratio increases still failing to tame rising prices completely, some economists anticipate that currency appreciation against the dollar peg is remains a possibility. Simply put, the longer view of the situation facing Beijing is still very much a matter of debate. One strong voice in this debate is Vikram Mansharamani, a Managing Director at Boston-based SDK Capital and a lecturer at Yale where he teaches a seminar on economic boom and bust cycles that served as the basis for his book 'BOOMBUSTOLOGY: Spotting Financial Bubbles Before They Burst' that was published earlier this year.   Mansharamani, who holds a PhD and two master’s degrees from MIT, helps oversee a long/short global equity portfolio. "I skin the cat thematically – what I look for structural long term trends on which I can bank for longs, and on the short side I look for things that fit my framework of bubbly conditions." Read the interview with Mansharamani at Institutional Investor > One example Mansharamani gives as a potential developing bubble is base metals. "The steel industry in China boomed from 5 percent of global steel production in the late 70s to almost 50 percent today; on the back of that surge was a voracious appetite for iron ore" he says. "Anticipating that Chinese growth will continue and extrapolating on past trends, the iron ore industry is now planning expansions equating to over 100 percent capacity growth in the next ten years. Well, hold on a moment: if China continues to grow at past rates, China becomes more than 90 percent of the entire global steel market – which is unlikely, and so it seems likely that the iron ore capacity may be rising just as slowing capital investments in China cools demand." A native of western New Jersey, Mansharamani had an unlikely path to high finance. The son of an auto service technician and a dietician, he won a scholarship funded by Jack Bogle to attend Blair Academy, a private, co-ed boarding school in north-western New Jersey. Starting at the age of sixteen, Mansharamani began an unusual (for high school students) series of summers interning on the institutional equity sales and trading desk at Bear Stearns, where he reported to Mitch Jennings, a Blair alumnus, and Ricky Greenfield. After high school (and three summers at Bear), he entered Yale where he spent his summers very differently – working at the American Enterprise institute where he assisted the legendary Sinologist and diplomat James Lilley. The experience at AEI led to fieldwork in Asia (including a summer at the US Embassy in Beijing) that ultimately sealed his fate as a China focused investor. Mansharamani recently spoke to InstitionalInvestor.com contributing editor Andrew Barber about the factors he considers when evaluating boom and bust cycles and how these stack up for China. Read the interview at Institutional Investor > Please follow Money Game on Twitter and Facebook. Join the conversation about this story » See Also: China Is Beating Out The US And Russia For Central Asian Energy Riches Yuan Schizophrenia In The WSJ Wen Jiabao: No We Can't Media Files china-bubble.jpg (JPEG Image)         10 Lavish Ways Tech Millionaires And Billionaires Spent Their Massive Hordes Of Cash June 30, 2011 at 2:10 PM   More and more entrepreneurs are spending their money selflessly. Some, like Mark Zuckerberg and Bill Gates, have pledged their fortunes to charities. Others, like Mint's Aaron Patzer, pay for their siblings' college tuition. Still, it's fun to make an occasional splurge, especially when you have millions of dollars to spend. We found how some of tech's wealthiest founders and executives have spent their fortunes. One threw a $25,000 30th birthday bash. Another bought a $73 million yacht. Mint's Aaron Patzer dropped $25,000 on a week-long 30th birthday bash in the Virgin Islands Who he is: Founder of Mint.com, which sold to Intuit in 2009 for $170 million. How he's spent some of his fortune: Aaron Patzer isn't very frivolous.  The LA Times portrays the now-Intuit executive as a selfless, non-material guy who has a "television so old it can't stream Apple TV." Patzer is even paying for his younger brother's college degree. But sometimes it's nice to spend money on yourself. On his 30th birthday, Patzer reportedly spent $25,000 to party with friends for a week on a catamaran yacht in the British Virgin Islands. Sean Parker has spent $13,000 on one meal and has a $20 million townhouse in New York City. Who he is: Cofounder of Napster and was Facebook's first president. His estimated net worth is $920 million. How he's spent some of the fortune: Parker has a fetish for Tom Ford suits and likes to travel in private jets.  He's also been known to splurge on $13,000 dinners, fancy cars, and real estate.   "He keeps a $100,000 Tesla electric sports car in Los Angeles and an Audi S5 in San Francisco," writes The LA Times. "He also has a pad in San Francisco and a $20-million, six-floor New York townhouse called the Bacchus House after the Roman god of wine." Jeff Bezos is making a $42 million clock Who he is: Founder of Amazon, estimated net worth of $18.1 billion How he's spent some of the fortune: Bezos is undertaking a $42 million project to build a 10,000 year clock in a Texas cave.  The clock is essentially a time capsule. “Over the lifetime of this clock, the United States won’t exist,” Bezos tells Wired. “Whole civilizations will rise and fall. New systems of government will be invented. You can’t imagine the world — no one can — that we’re trying to get this clock to pass through.” See the rest of the story at Business Insider Please follow SAI on Twitter and Facebook. See Also: 10 Super Cool Jobs You Can Get At Apple Right Now Inside Billion Dollar Vente Privée's Secret, Amazing HQ (PHOTO TOUR) NERD HEAVEN: Tales From Computer Camp Media Files mark-cuban.png (PNG Image)         Mark Zuckerberg: Facebook Is Going To "Launch Something Awesome" Next Week June 30, 2011 at 2:05 PM   Google+? That's so this week. Get ready for something "awesome" from the only social network that matters. Mark Zuckerberg told reporters Facebook is "launch something awesome" next week. He didn't reveal much else, but if we had to guess it would be an iPad app. However, Zuckerberg said whatever it is that is being revealed was made in its new Seattle office. We'll be on hand, and we'll get his thoughts on Google+. Please follow SAI on Twitter and Facebook. Join the conversation about this story » See Also: Wow, Google+ Looks EXACTLY Like Facebook Here's One Reason Facebook Should Be Nervous About Google+ SAICAST: The Lame Lawsuits Against Google Disco And GroupMe Media Files zuckerberg.jpg (JPEG Image)         Balance Transfer Credit Cards: A Balancing Act June 30, 2011 at 2:03 PM   With the multiple credit cards most consumers have these days; it is pretty easy to run up substantial credit card debt without realizing it. This is when those offers of 0% interest on balance transfers can make sense to explore. More and more credit card companies are using incentives to attract consumer business and recent offers are quite appealing. Some issuers are luring new customers with offers to transfer balances from credit cards charging high interest rates to a card offering low interest rates, some as low as 0%. Doing some research will help consumers find the 0 APR balance transfer  credit cards and save money over the long term.   Consumers Should do Their Homework The first thing that a consumer needs to focus on is the goal for conducting the balance transfer, which is to save the most money possible. Consumers should review the terms and conditions of each balance transfer offer they receive. First, if it is a 0% offer, consumers should find out how long the 0% interest period lasts and what the interest rate or APR will be once the promotion ends. Consumers should also be aware of how much money the balance transfer offer allows. For example, if the consumer has a $10,000 balance on a high APR card, but the balance transfer offer is limited to $2,000, then it may not be the right offer to pursue. Check all the terms and conditions and even keep a notebook of the different credit card offers to compare the terms. Steps to Transferring Consumers should start by gathering up all of their credit card statements. This allows them to get a big picture view of how much credit card debt they truly have. Make a list of each card’s balance and note the interest rate being charged. Consumers can then use a credit card balance transfer calculator to plug in the credit card balances and interest rates in order to estimate how much money they can save from the credit card balance transfer. Apply for a Balance Transfer Credit Card Once the consumer has identified the credit card that offers the best balance transfer deal, including annual fees, 0% interest rate periods and more, it is time to apply for the balance transfer. It comes down to applying for the credit card offering the 0% on balance transfers. Once the consumer is approved, the credit card issuer offers balance transfer checks or an online option to transfer the outstanding balance from other credit cards. Please follow SAI on Twitter and Facebook. Join the conversation about this story »         On Quora, Larry Summers Answers 3 Question About The Economy June 30, 2011 at 2:02 PM   Larry Summers has an account on Quora, the online question and answer site founded by Facebook employees, and he's answered a few questions about the economy. His key points: -- The U.S. needs to replicate the decision to cut payroll taxes next year, and stimulate demand -- Japan erred on the side of keeping banks healthy and that's an important lesson for the U.S. -- Recovery from the real estate bubble will take a long time to wear off Today he answered the question: In his recent Financial Times column, Larry Summers compares the U.S. economy today to the Japanese economy in the 1990s. [He said that that the U.S. government needs to maintain domestic demand through further spending.] Twenty years ago, what steps should Japanese policymakers have considered that would have helped avert the "Lost Decade" economic outcome? Since the most important risk to America's economic future is the "Japan in the 90s" lost decade scenario its natural to ask what mistakes they made and how they relate to current American debates. Salient aspects include: 1. Japan had a much bigger bubble. Stock and real estate are down 80  percent from past peaks 20 years later. In this respect the US is fortunate. 2. Japan was intermittent in stimulating demand and declared victory at false dawns rather than maintaining stimulus until rapid growth was locked in. This is a danger for us. The decision to cut payroll taxes last fall was important and will need to be replicated this year. 3. Japan was slow in facing up to financial problems. The US was by global standards very rapid. This is good. On the other hand there are issues of keeping banks healthy vs raising the flow of credit where Japan erred on the former side. This may be a useful lesson for USA. Last week on June 24th, he took this one: Why does the U.S. economy take increasingly longer time to recover from recessions? I doubt it's a trend towards longer recoveries. Instead, it's the fact that recessions used to be caused by excess inflation and the Fed clamping down with high rates. This is easily reversed. On the other hand, bubble excesses take a very long time to work off. And here's another one about the economy he answered on June 13th. (Sidenote: this question is relevant to Summers because he was the President of Harvard, for one, but also because the movie Inside Job criticized schools like Harvard of changing how economics is taught for the worse. The movie pointed to Summers as though he initiated this change at Harvard because he was consulting with hedge funds and other finance firms.) How has introductory economics changed as it's been taught in American universities over the past few decades? Introductory economics has not changed enormously over the years. In part this is because much of introductory economics is established knowledge that does not evolve very much. For example, supply and demand, marginal analysis, and the quantity of money have not changed much. As with basic physics or calculus, introductory courses do not bring students up to the frontier of economics and so do not change that much.This is reinforced by inertia among teachers of intro economics, and the tendency of popular textbooks not to change too much. And most economists believe in the basic micro/macro divide pioneered by Samuelson. Main changes that have taken place track changes in economic thinking and in the economy. At least until recently courses have become less and less Keynesian with topics like the multiplier getting less attention than they would have a generation ago. More emphasis on economic growth and less on cyclical fluctuations. There has also been more recognition, though not a lot, at the introductory level of the importance of information asymmetries. Other changes reflect a changing economy. Much more international stuff. More about China. Less about planned economies. More about finance and how it interacts with the economy. More about the long run costs of budget deficits. Style has changed relatively little as best I can judge. Obviously some use of computers as devices for testing, exemplifying and illustrating. But in general universities have been surprisingly undynamic. The large podium small chair method continues to be main method of pedagogy. And in case you were wondering what Larry Summers is doing on Quora, when he was asked why he has an account on the site, he said, "Desire to be part of thoughtful conversation and experimentation with technology. Also friendly with some early users." Please follow Clusterstock on Twitter and Facebook. Join the conversation about this story » See Also: DSK: The Maid's Half Brother Tells French Tabloid That She's "Over" And That Her Honor Is Tainted Tim Geithner: A Lot Of People Have The Dangerous Illusion That Defaulting On Our Debt Would Balance The Budget GOSSIP: Today's Wall Street Buzz in 60 Seconds         U.S. Launches Drone Strikes In Sixth Muslim Country June 30, 2011 at 1:59 PM   U.S. drones last week targeted and wounded two leaders of al-Shabab, a Somalian Islamist group affiliated with al-Qaeda, the Washington Post reports. That makes Somalia the sixth predominantly Muslim country in which the U.S. has used drones. Al-Shabab has been fighting the Somalian government since 2006. The U.S. accuses it of working with al-Qaeda to plan attacks outside Somalian territory. It is blamed for an attack in Uganda last summer that killed 76 people, including one American. The Obama administration has sharply increased the use of military drones in Afghanistan and Pakistan. The U.S. is also using them against Qaeda-affiliated militants in Yemen and the Qaddafi regime in Libya. Although the American military has executed previous special forces operations in Somalia in the last few years, this is reportedly the first time drones have been used in that country. Please follow Politics on Twitter and Facebook. Join the conversation about this story » See Also: Obama Unveils New Plan For Taking Down Al Qaeda Al Qaeda Militants Poised To Take Over Key Port City In Yemen UK Says Iran Is Testing Missiles With Nuclear Capabilities Media Files predator-drone.jpg (JPEG Image)         The Greek Debt Crisis Is At A Tipping Point June 30, 2011 at 1:58 PM   The Greek sovereign debt crisis has entered a critical phase. The four protagonists--the Greek government, its creditors, the International Monetary Fund, and the leaders of the eurozone--all feel they have been pushed as far as they can go; further concessions may be beyond them. Even though the Greek government narrowly averted disaster by surviving a no-confidence vote last night, the country's prospects look grim. If it tips from managed austerity to chaotic default, the shock will convulse the eurozone. Consider first the position of the Greek government. It is being asked to free up money for debt repayment by inflicting austerity on its people. Having already slashed pension promises and presided over an increase in unemployment since 2009 from 9 percent to almost 16 percent, it is now supposed to cut the public sector payroll by a fifth and privatize state industries at the unlikely rate of nearly one per week. And even if it does these things, Greece will still be staggering under impossible quantities of debt. Not surprisingly, citizens have taken to the streets and the government's grip on power is slipping. Next, consider Greece's creditors. They are not programmed to forgive debt in the name of eurozone stability; they have a duty to their shareholders to claw back their money. So when Europe's leaders say that banks should "voluntarily" roll over Greek debts rather than demanding repayment, they are invoking a fairy godmother that does not exist. If Greece can't repay its debts, and if creditors won't forgive them without being forced to do so, the final option is a bailout. This will have to be more generous than the package Greece received last year, since clearly that has failed--Greece's ability to borrow in the markets at reasonable rates has actually diminished. But the bailout providers are showing some fatigue. This week the IMF balked at providing fresh money to Greece in the absence of a plausible plan for Greek recovery. That leaves the fourth protagonist, the eurozone's leaders. They are going to have to dig deep into their pockets to come up with the scale of bailout that Greece needs, and it is not at all clear that voters will tolerate this. Germans don't see why they should transfer tax money to Greeks who retire earlier than they do, and who notoriously don't pay their own taxes. The Dutch and Finns are equally restive. And well they might be, since even a very large bailout might not be the last one. Greece runs a large current-account deficit. So long as this deficit persists, the country must borrow from foreigners to finance it--racking up new debt in the process. But to stop running a current-account deficit, Greece must become more competitive. Since exchange-rate adjustment is impossible for a country with the euro, the depreciation has to come in the form of falling wages and prices. That is not only politically implausible. It would also boost the real value of Greece's debt and compound the core problem. There are no easy ways out. For more than a year, Europe's leaders have pretended otherwise, kicking the can down the road with stopgap measures. But voters in both Greece and the core countries are running out of patience. The euro, intended to unify Europe, is driving it apart. A crunch may be approaching. This post originally appeared at Council on Foreign Relations. Please follow Europe on Twitter and Facebook. Join the conversation about this story » See Also: Why Europe Can't Afford A Greek Haircut French Banks Are Scrambling To Prevent Another Global Collapse EU To Greece: Don't Jump         Sports Journalist Graham Bensinger Talks Tyson, OJ And The Baseball Great Who Saved His Yahoo! Sports Show June 30, 2011 at 1:57 PM   You may have heard the boy-wonder story of sports journalist Graham Bensinger: Launched his own radio show at 16. Weaseled his way into OJ Simpson's circle of approved journalists shortly thereafter. Sparked Terrell Owens' suspension from the Philadelphia Eagles. Bensinger looked to be on an upward-trajectory tear -- but when the economy crashed, everything came to a screeching halt. He lost his deal with NBC Sports, which aired Bensinger's old-school athlete sitdowns online and on selected TV properties. But Bensinger, now 24, wasn't ready to stop -- so he decided to create, host and distribute a similar Internet-TV hybrid program himself. "On the distribution and advertising side, I had no experience," Bensinger told The Wire by phone. "I was searching for people's contact info and cold-calling them. It was mind-numbing. I was putting in nineteen hour days and I was still behind." After a year and a half of pitching advertisers, Internet platforms and television networks, Bensinger finally had a roster of backers -- including Yahoo! Sports and Fox. He was ready to launch -- all he needed was a sports great who would take a chance on him and his new-media format. Thank God for Pete Rose. A last-minute backout left Bensinger, who does 100 hours of research on each of his subjects, scrambling for a first guest. "We had two weeks to go, all the distribution and advertisers lined up -- and no guest," he said. "I had to just man up and find somebody." Finally, he convinced Pete Rose to be his inaugural interview. How'd he get him? "It's all about making sure people have confidence in you to tell their story," he said. On surprising Manny Pacquaio at home: "We flew halfway around the world to meet him in the Philippines, and we had four and a half days to be on the ground. We met him seven hours outside of Manila, and [it turned out] he didn't know we were coming. We had talked to his people, but somehow he just didn't know, and we had to convince him to talk to us." On his 2005 interview with Terrell Owens, which prompted Owens' suspension from the Philadelphia Eagles: "Prior to our interview, someone told me that T.O. was friends with [ESPN analyst] Michael Irvin, and that he often used Irvin to get his feelings out to the press. At the time, Irvin was saying that if Brett Favre was the Eagles quarterback instead of Donovan McNabb, they'd be undefeated -- so I asked Terrell if he agreed with that, and he said he did. That interview was the only time I've ever been sitting in an interview and was shocked that a person was saying what they were saying. He was too honest. And you know, we also talked about his grandmother having Alzheimer's, [but you didn't hear about that]. The viewer wasn't able to get the context of the comments. That's why I really wanted a platform like the one I have now, where I can look at athletic figure in the eye and tell them their story is going to be portrayed fairly. Occasionally I'll see Terrell at events, and he'll smile at me. In his book, he said he doesn't hold me responsible. But I think we had a better relationship prior to doing that interview. Now, it's strained." See the rest of the story at Business Insider Please follow The Wire on Twitter and Facebook. See Also: Pissed-Off Ashton Kutcher Tells The Village Voice To Shut Up And Stop 'Selling Girls' News Corp iPad Apps Dominate Apple's Rankings AP To Open News Bureau In North Korea             This email was sent to venturescitechcapital@gmail.com. Delivered by Feed My Inbox PO Box 682532 Franklin, TN 37068 Account Login Unsubscribe Here