Forex Trading

Contradictory emotions in the Bin Laden

noreply@blogger.com (Trading Forex News) — Wed, 04 May 2011 06:00:03 PDT

President and U.S. officials stress when monitoring changes raids. Then screen celebrating the many people of this country after Bin Laden killed, contrary to mourn the scene of some Muslims.

Close-up face Barack Obama and Clinton have witnessed the Live TV from Pakistan at the White House situation room. Photo: AP.

Barack Obama and U.S. officials smiling in the cabinet meeting, after Osama bin Laden had been killed, ending more than 10 years rooting for the American forces. Photo: EPA.

A celebration of American women believe Bin Laden was gunned down on Pennsylvania Avenue outside the White House, immediately after the information the president announced. Photo: EPA.

The Pakistan Muslim Bin Laden cried during the ceremony to pray for bin Laden in the city of Karachi, with the participation of hundreds of people. Photo: AP.

Americans unfurled a higher plaque inscription Obama 1, Osama 0 after Al-Qaeda boss is destroyed. Photo: EPA.

A bouquet of flowers in memory of the victims' relatives in the 11 / 9 at a former WTC twin towers in New York, with the words "Love you, miss you, Sita! At the end we killed him" . Photo: AFP.

Soldiers supported Osama bin Laden and chanting supporters holding pictures new boss Al-Qaeda was killed in the city of Quetta, Pakistan. Photo: AP.

American youth celebrate Bin Laden is dead outside the White House. Photo: AP.

Pakistan opposition crowd of the campaign to destroy Osama bin Laden in the city of Karachi.Photo: AP.

Indians reading the news of killing Osama bin Laden. Photo: AFP.

source: vnexprees.net

Google's Panda update could bring down paywalls

noreply@blogger.com (Trading Forex News) — Wed, 04 May 2011 08:37:58 PDT

Google has installed updates to its page rank algorithm that should highlight quality web content over search engine optimised (SEO) garble and promote quality journalism without paywalls.

Google's Panda update was rolled out on the firm's English language search engine on 11 April, with the firm claiming that it will produce search results that favour high quality websites, not ones that rely heavily on SEO. Now results from web analytics firm Searchmetrics show that some of the UK's most popular websites have suffered significant declines in Google visibility.

Visibility on a search engine is a metric used to gauge how close to the top a particular website appears when particular keywords are entered. Searchmetrics CEO Horst Joepen told The INQUIRER that websites that have low search engine visibility appear farther down in search rankings and are seen by fewer web users, adding that it would be "very bad" for website traffic.

Joepen said that Searchmetric's tests showed that some price comparison websites fared particularly badly in its visibility tests with Google's Panda algorithm. His firm reported visibility drops of up to 98 per cent, with Joepen saying that the declines were so great that the firm had to manually double check the validity of its algorithm.

When Google announced its Panda update the search giant claimed that less weight would be placed on websites that implement SEO, or in simple terms, binge on keywords. Google now says that quality, not quantity of keywords, is what it looks for, a claim that is backed up by Searchmetric's tests.

Searchmetric has found that the time users spend on a particular website now plays a significant role in where it is ranked. Jeopen said that "the pressure on the [publishing] industry is to avoid SEO keywords" but added that Google might need to re-evaulate its algorithm as it has caused "collateral damage" to some websites.

Jeopen also said that Google's changes could mean a return to quality content being ranked near the top of Google's results. More than that, Jeopen's comments suggest that paywalls might not be the way to fund high quality journalism, despite what Times' owner Rupert Murdoch keeps banging on about.

If Google's new algorithm places greater weight on quality content then Advertsing revenue should be able to fund good journalism. Jeopen mentioned one Searchmetrics client that had erected a paywall only to find that it blocked Google's web spider, causing the website to slide down in Google's rankings.

Google's Panda update has now resulted in significant differences in the web search results offered up by Google and Bing. Jeopen said that Searchmetrics had seen this but did not carry out the same level of research because "Bing has so little market share" in Europe.

So it seems the SEO journalism market that Google created is the very same one it is trying to unravel. Good writers will breathe a sigh of relief when they realise they don't have to carve up stories and apply irrelevant SEO tricks to get them seen by readers using Google

source: bing.com

Historical pictures of Saigon’s liberation day

noreply@blogger.com (Trading Forex News) — Tue, 03 May 2011 01:09:01 PDT

VietNamNet Bridge – Tanks ran at lightning speed to the gateway of Saigon, liberation troops surrounded the Tan Son Nhat Airport… are among historical photos displayed at the exhibition to celebrate the 36^th anniversary of the liberation of south Vietnam (30/4/1975).

In late March 1975, Mr. Le Duc Tho went from the north to the south with Mr. Pham Hung

and General Van Tien Dung to direct the campaign to liberate Saigon.

Soldiers belonging to the forces called “suburban political struggling” in the campaign to liberate Saigon.

Soldiers of the Saigon-Gia Dinh forces in the campaign to liberate Saigon in April 1975.

The land forces and tanks moved at lightning speed to the liberate

Xuan Loc and break the eastern gateway of Saigon.

Liberation troops attacked the Tan Son Nhat Airport on April 30 1975.

Employees of the US Embassy fled from Saigon.

Liberation troops hoisted the flag of the National Liberation Front

on the Thu Ngu flagpole on the Saigon riverbank.

Sai Gon – Gia Dinh people attended the meeting to celebrate the country’s unification on May 15 1975.

President Obama's statement on bin Laden's death

noreply@blogger.com (Trading Forex News) — Mon, 02 May 2011 03:27:39 PDT

The White House provided this transcript of President Obama's remarks on the death of Osama Bin Laden.

THE PRESIDENT: Good evening. Tonight, I can report to the American people and to the world that the United States has conducted an operation that killed Osama bin Laden, the leader of al Qaeda, and a terrorist who’s responsible for the murder of thousands of innocent men, women, and children.

It was nearly 10 years ago that a bright September day was darkened by the worst attack on the American people in our history. The images of 9/11 are seared into our national memory -- hijacked planes cutting through a cloudless September sky; the Twin Towers collapsing to the ground; black smoke billowing up from the Pentagon; the wreckage of Flight 93 in Shanksville, Pennsylvania, where the actions of heroic citizens saved even more heartbreak and destruction.

And yet we know that the worst images are those that were unseen to the world. The empty seat at the dinner table. Children who were forced to grow up without their mother or their father. Parents who would never know the feeling of their child’s embrace. Nearly 3,000 citizens taken from us, leaving a gaping hole in our hearts.

On September 11, 2001, in our time of grief, the American people came together. We offered our neighbors a hand, and we offered the wounded our blood. We reaffirmed our ties to each other, and our love of community and country. On that day, no matter where we came from, what God we prayed to, or what race or ethnicity we were, we were united as one American family.

We were also united in our resolve to protect our nation and to bring those who committed this vicious attack to justice. We quickly learned that the 9/11 attacks were carried out by al Qaeda -- an organization headed by Osama bin Laden, which had openly declared war on the United States and was committed to killing innocents in our country and around the globe. And so we went to war against al Qaeda to protect our citizens, our friends, and our allies.

Over the last 10 years, thanks to the tireless and heroic work of our military and our counterterrorism professionals, we’ve made great strides in that effort. We’ve disrupted terrorist attacks and strengthened our homeland defense. In Afghanistan, we removed the Taliban government, which had given bin Laden and al Qaeda safe haven and support. And around the globe, we worked with our friends and allies to capture or kill scores of al Qaeda terrorists, including several who were a part of the 9/11 plot.

Yet Osama bin Laden avoided capture and escaped across the Afghan border into Pakistan. Meanwhile, al Qaeda continued to operate from along that border and operate through its affiliates across the world.

And so shortly after taking office, I directed Leon Panetta, the director of the CIA, to make the killing or capture of bin Laden the top priority of our war against al Qaeda, even as we continued our broader efforts to disrupt, dismantle, and defeat his network.

Then, last August, after years of painstaking work by our intelligence community, I was briefed on a possible lead to bin Laden. It was far from certain, and it took many months to run this thread to ground. I met repeatedly with my national security team as we developed more information about the possibility that we had located bin Laden hiding within a compound deep inside of Pakistan. And finally, last week, I determined that we had enough intelligence to take action, and authorized an operation to get Osama bin Laden and bring him to justice.

Today, at my direction, the United States launched a targeted operation against that compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan. A small team of Americans carried out the operation with extraordinary courage and capability. No Americans were harmed. They took care to avoid civilian casualties. After a firefight, they killed Osama bin Laden and took custody of his body.

For over two decades, bin Laden has been al Qaeda’s leader and symbol, and has continued to plot attacks against our country and our friends and allies. The death of bin Laden marks the most significant achievement to date in our nation’s effort to defeat al Qaeda.

Yet his death does not mark the end of our effort. There’s no doubt that al Qaeda will continue to pursue attacks against us. We must –- and we will -- remain vigilant at home and abroad.

As we do, we must also reaffirm that the United States is not –- and never will be -– at war with Islam. I’ve made clear, just as President Bush did shortly after 9/11, that our war is not against Islam. Bin Laden was not a Muslim leader; he was a mass murderer of Muslims. Indeed, al Qaeda has slaughtered scores of Muslims in many countries, including our own. So his demise should be welcomed by all who believe in peace and human dignity.

Over the years, I’ve repeatedly made clear that we would take action within Pakistan if we knew where bin Laden was. That is what we’ve done. But it’s important to note that our counterterrorism cooperation with Pakistan helped lead us to bin Laden and the compound where he was hiding. Indeed, bin Laden had declared war against Pakistan as well, and ordered attacks against the Pakistani people.

Tonight, I called President Zardari, and my team has also spoken with their Pakistani counterparts. They agree that this is a good and historic day for both of our nations. And going forward, it is essential that Pakistan continue to join us in the fight against al Qaeda and its affiliates.

The American people did not choose this fight. It came to our shores, and started with the senseless slaughter of our citizens. After nearly 10 years of service, struggle, and sacrifice, we know well the costs of war. These efforts weigh on me every time I, as Commander-in-Chief, have to sign a letter to a family that has lost a loved one, or look into the eyes of a service member who’s been gravely wounded.

So Americans understand the costs of war. Yet as a country, we will never tolerate our security being threatened, nor stand idly by when our people have been killed. We will be relentless in defense of our citizens and our friends and allies. We will be true to the values that make us who we are. And on nights like this one, we can say to those families who have lost loved ones to al Qaeda’s terror: Justice has been done.

Tonight, we give thanks to the countless intelligence and counterterrorism professionals who’ve worked tirelessly to achieve this outcome. The American people do not see their work, nor know their names. But tonight, they feel the satisfaction of their work and the result of their pursuit of justice.

We give thanks for the men who carried out this operation, for they exemplify the professionalism, patriotism, and unparalleled courage of those who serve our country. And they are part of a generation that has borne the heaviest share of the burden since that September day.

Finally, let me say to the families who lost loved ones on 9/11 that we have never forgotten your loss, nor wavered in our commitment to see that we do whatever it takes to prevent another attack on our shores.

And tonight, let us think back to the sense of unity that prevailed on 9/11. I know that it has, at times, frayed. Yet today’s achievement is a testament to the greatness of our country and the determination of the American people.

The cause of securing our country is not complete. But tonight, we are once again reminded that America can do whatever we set our mind to. That is the story of our history, whether it’s the pursuit of prosperity for our people, or the struggle for equality for all our citizens; our commitment to stand up for our values abroad, and our sacrifices to make the world a safer place.

Let us remember that we can do these things not just because of wealth or power, but because of who we are: one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.

Thank you. May God bless you. And may God bless the United States of America.

soure: wfaa.com

Good job news: Wages are rising

noreply@blogger.com (Trading Forex News) — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 01:10:10 PST

The end of more than two years of job losses can't come soon enough for most Americans.

But with all the attention given to the number of jobs on U.S. payrolls and the unemployment rate, it's easy to miss one important sign of improvement in the job market: paychecks have started to get bigger.

Despite the millions of people who have lost jobs during the past year, there are signs that personal income is increasing. Even a small gain in income is significant. If consumers have more money in their pocket, that can help to boost consumer spending and create the demand that will prompt a resumption of hiring.

"At the end of the day, we need income so people can spend money," said Sung Won Sohn, economics professor at Cal State University Channel Islands. "It is a sign that things are beginning to improve."

According to the government's monthly job reports, the average length of the work week and average hourly pay have been climbing steadily in recent months. The 1.1% rise in weekly pay in January was the biggest jump in nine months.

That's not the only evidence of a turnaround in pay.

An analysis of income and employment taxes withheld from more than 130 million U.S. workers by TrimTabs Investment Research found that total salaries and wages increased by 0.7% in February compared to a year ago. This is the first increase since 2008, and it represents $42 billion extra dollars in consumers' pockets compared to a year ago.

TrimTabs CEO Charles Biderman said he was surprised and encouraged by the increase in income, which occurred even as TrimTabs estimated there was another loss of 30,000 jobs in February, and total losses of 3.9 million jobs in the past year.

He said companies are adding hours back for workers who had been put on a part-time basis during the worst of the recession. He said there also was a much better environment than a year ago for year-end bonuses that were paid in February.

"As things stabilize, businesses are starting to spend a little more," Biderman said.

Sohn said strong gains in productivity are also allowing employers to pay their skilled workers more. Productivity rose at nearly a 7% rate in the fourth quarter, according to the government..

But Bob Brusca of FAO Economics cautions that Friday's employment report could show unduly bad numbers for both payrolls and hours due to the major snow storms that closed many businesses in the eastern United States during the week the Labor Department surveys employers.

He said bigger bonuses and slightly higher salaries can't by themselves make up for the spending power lost due to the massive job cuts of the past two years.

"You have to put these 8 million plus people back to work," he said.

By Chris Isidore cnn.com

Top Five Stocks for March

noreply@blogger.com (Trading Forex News) — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 02:37:08 PST

After a bumpy patch in early February, the market has gotten back on track thanks to strong corporate earnings.

The bull market that lifted all of Wall Street in late 2009 is still running strong. However, we are at last starting to see a rotation away from "junk stocks" into higher-quality stocks. Not all companies will succeed in this environment, but the ones that do will be richly rewarded.

In the long run, this is actually great news for Wall Street even if it causes some short-term volatility. The focus on quality and the rotation out of bad stocks now means investors are concerned with what really matters -- real numbers -- and not just investment fads or tricks of the market. Companies with strong sales and earnings are flying high, and those that don't have good earnings are falling away.

To help make sure you are in the stocks that are rising in this environment, following are my top five stocks for March.

Top Stock No. 1: Baidu

Baidu is the leading Chinese-language Internet search engine, with more than 70% of China's search market. After a big spat at the beginning of this year between Chinese regulators and American search leaderGoogle, it looks like BIDU is set to gain an even bigger leg up in the weeks ahead. According to Goldman Sachs, there's a 70% probability that Google's China search engine google.cn folds altogether. But even if it doesn't, the Chinese government will come down hard on the Silicon Valley firm and help BIDU as a result.

Baidu is flying high after its February earnings report, which included a 48% jump in profits and a significant earnings surprise on strong revenue growth. I expect continued success for this Chinese stock in March and beyond.
I rate Baidu a strong buy.
Top Stock No. 2: AmBev
AmBev, formally known as Companhia de Bebidas das Americas and translated to "the American Beverage Company," is seeing great growth right now. In fact, ABV plans to boost beer output by 15% in 2010 and invest more than $1 billion to bring its capacity up. This is a great move since Brazil's growing middle class is rapidly getting more expensive tastes when it comes to drinking. What's more, the prospects of a hot summer and the excitement of World Cup soccer driving football-frenzied Brazilians to the pub should add up to great sales for ABV.
AmBev dominates the Brazilian beer market with brands such as Antarctica, Brahma and Skol. Additionally, the company sells Pepsi brands, Lipton iced tea and other drinks like mineral water and sports drinks. As an emerging middle class in Latin America acquires Western tastes, I expect big things from this company.
I rate AmBev a strong buy.
Top Stock No. 3: Cognizant Technology Solutions

Cognizant Technology Solutions is a leading IT firm that provides a wide array of data and software services to businesses around the world. The company enjoys big margins because most of Cognizant Tech's software development centers and employees are located in India. Outsourcing has been big business as corporations in the developed world look to cut costs, and Cognizant is really cashing in on this trend.
In February, the company posted very impressive profit and revenue, and raised guidance for 2010 above Wall Street estimates. Specifically, it earned $144 million, or 47 cents a share, on the quarter. That's up 28% from $112.3 million, or 38 cents a share, a year earlier. Revenue also jumped 20% to $902.7 million. These are great results that indicate Cognizant is a strong investment right now.
I rate CTSH a strong buy.
Top Stock No. 4: Ford

Ford continues to gobble up market share from GMand Chrysler. And now, Ford is giving Toyota a run for its money in the wake of some very costly recall announcements for the Japanese auto giant.

In early February, Ford announced that its January sales jumped 25%. Car sales made up the bulk of the gains, rising 43% over last year, while sales of trucks and SUVs rose 15%.
Some of this growth is due to a dismal January a year ago, when sales dipped to a 26-year low due to the financial crisis, but this growth is far beyond what Wall Street was expecting. In the wake of Toyota's recall fiasco, I expect February numbers to be equally impressive. That makes Ford a knockout buy for March.
I recommend you buy Ford stock as long as it trades for less than $15 a share.
Top Stock No. 5: Priceline.com

f you want to know why I like Priceline.com so much, consider that shares of this stock leaped by almost 10% the day after its latest earnings report. On Feb. 17, the company reported that its quarterly profit more than doubled and sales grew 33% thanks to a rebound in consumer sentiment.

The real power of Priceline lies in the company's "name your own price" model. Because the online travel site allows users to haggle on airfares and hotels, it is a huge resource for businesses and vacationers looking to save a few bucks on their trips. I expect big things from Priceline as we enter the summer travel season, so load up on this stock now.
Priceline.com is a strong buy.

By Louis Navellier of Investor Place

Toyota Wants Its Buyers Back

noreply@blogger.com (Trading Forex News) — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 02:23:27 PST

Toyota said sales fell 8.5% in February, a relatively modest number given massive publicty around its 5.5 million recalls, and executives announced sales incentives aimed at winning customers back.

The principal incentives are 0% financing for 60 months and, for existing Toyota owners, free maintenance for two years or 24,000 miles. In addition, Toyota unveiled a major marketing campaign on Tuesday.

On a sales call with reporters, Bob Carter, general manager of the Toyota division in North America, said the campaign will be "unprecedented" but declined to provide its cost.

As Toyota sales slumped, most other automakers reported gains, led by a 43% increase at Ford. General Motors reported an 11.5% increase. Total U.S. sales rose 13%, according to Automotive News.

Toyota brand sales fell 10.6% in February, while Lexus brand sales fell 5.2%. Among the two top-selling Toyota models, Corolla sales fell 6.1% to 16,996, while Camry sales fell 19.8% to 16,552.

"Given all the challenges we faced in February, frankly, I'm surprised that we sold as many cars as we did," Carter said.

Beyond Toyota's problems related to sticky accelerators and impairment by floor mats, Carter noted that "winter storms closed many dealerships on the East Coast for the better part of two weeks," and many people delayed buying Toyotas as they anticipated March sales promotions. He said "we haven't seen any major outflow of Toyota owners to other brands," and resale values have not declined significantly, despite early reports to the contrary.

Carter said winter storms probably cost Toyota about 30,000 sales, while another 18,000 were lost due to suspended sales of several popular models as the automaker sought to devise a fix to the accelerator problems. However, the last weekend of the month "was a very good weekend for us, outside of the Northeast," Carter said. In March, he said, Toyota will return its focus to selling cars.

While Toyota was losing sales, U.S. automakers were reluctant to say they were taking sales from the company. On the Ford sales call, Ken Czubay declared that "our studies show many Toyota buyers were still undecided as to what they were going to do."

Although he said industry numbers on "conquests" or sales to owners of other brands had not yet been tabulated, he noted that the Ford Fusion and Mercury Milan both benefited. Overall, Fusion sales rose 117% to 16,459, making it Ford's top-selling car, while Milan sales rose 100% to 2,675.

On the General Motors call, Susan Docherty, vice president of sales and marketing, said Chevrolet lured some Toyota buyers. "We feel we're getting our fair share of the Toyota business," Docherty said.

Written by Ted Reed in Charlotte, N.C. .

Apple, Little Understood, Is Best-Run Company

noreply@blogger.com (Trading Forex News) — Wed, 03 Mar 2010 02:14:42 PST

Erick Maronak, manager of the Victory Large Cap Growth Fund, says Apple is the best-run company in the U.S., helping to make it the most attractive stock investment.

The $80 million mutual fund, which garners three of five stars from Morningstar, has returned more than 36% over the past year. The fund has risen an average of 2% annually during the past five years, better than 72% of its Morningstar-tracked peers.

Welcome to TheStreet.com's Fund Manager Five Spot, where America's top mutual fund managers give their stock picks and views of the stock market in five fast questions.

Are you bullish or bearish?

Maronak: We are bulls on the stock market but even more bullish on high-quality growth stocks. The current focus on sovereign debt risk, uncertainty regarding regulatory changes and policy decisions is obscuring evidence of a solid, but gradual, recovery. U.S. industrial production increased at an annualized rate of 10% over the last seven months, and the global picture is not much different.

With more than 80% of companies having reported earnings, results have been strong with greater than 50% surprising on the upside. Not surprisingly and consistent with the prior two quarters, companies that exceeded revenue expectations in addition to beating EPS estimates performed better than those that simply had positive earnings surprises. Cost-cutting can only go so far. Therefore, companies that can show true demand in terms of revenue growth are awarded a premium. We believe the same can be said of the overall market. Following last year's broad bounce off the March lows, an encore performance in 2010 will be much more challenging. The list of winners will naturally shorten, but those companies that make the list should enjoy relative premiums in terms of stock performance. Our view is that the investing environment has shifted from rewarding investors for simply staying in the market to being in the right stocks.

What is your top pick?

Maronak: Choosing one is difficult, so I'll provide two. Apple and Teva Pharmaceuticals are top picks due to their dominant industry positions, strong financials, capable management teams and the ability to provide 17% to 20% growth against very reasonable valuations.

Apple is hardly undiscovered yet not fully understood. Arguably the best-run company today, Apple has five segments in computing, consumer electronics, phones, software and retailing. Despite having excellent growth prospects, the company sells for a P/E multiple of 18, a cash flow multiple of 10, has $40 billion in cash and equivalents and no debt. Our view is that the recently announced iPad will sell well and that the next generation of phones will be a big boost to earnings.

Teva is just as dominant in generic pharmaceuticals and, given the dollar value of branded pharmaceuticals that are expected to lose patent protection, the company's growth prospects look as healthy as ever. The vertically integrated generic manufacturer will benefit irrespective of any health-care reform as it provides the lowest-cost alternatives to branded companies. The $50 billion company is expected to grow earnings 17% yet sells for 14 times 2010 estimated earnings.

What is your top "sleeper" stock pick?

Maronak: Given the underperformance against solid earnings, strong financials and attractive growth prospects, Activision is a sleeper pick worth considering. We believe the company's attractive results have been overshadowed by general concerns of a slowdown in consumer spending in this gaming category as evidenced by Electronic Arts and GameStop. Activision, however, has a better title lineup, robust recurring monthly revenue from World of Warcraft and has just announced a stock-repurchase program.

What is your favorite sector?

Maronak: A favorite is always difficult for us to choose as we emphasize company fundamentals and see attractive opportunities in most sectors. That said, health-care represents a particularly interesting combination of growth and compelling valuation. Companies like Celgene and Teva Pharmaceuticals sell for less than 1 times their EPS growth rates of 24% and 17%, respectively. The lack of relative underperformance in 2009 was attributable to regulatory uncertainty and investor preference for investing in the worst-performing sectors. As fear from health-care reform initiatives subside and investors look for opportunities in sectors that have trailed in performance, health-care companies stand to attract renewed investor attention and funds.

Which sector or stock would you avoid?

Maronak: As much as we dislike generalizations, it's hard to ignore the challenges of telecommunications services. In many ways, the success Apple has enjoyed has come at the expense of AT&T. Over the past three years, network traffic on AT&T's network has increased 50-fold yet revenue has increased only eight times. Worse yet, the most lucrative segment of revenue for carriers, text-messaging services, are being replaced by the least profitable, bandwidth-hogging data streams. Three percent of Apple iPhone users represent 40% of AT&T's traffic. With smart phones growing at 30% per year and application downloads in the billions, the problems will only become more acute, forcing carriers to spend billions upon billions on capital expenditures.

Reported by Gregg Greenberg in New York.

How to find the best deals on car insurance for your teen driver

noreply@blogger.com (Trading Forex News) — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 04:08:33 PST

Since the dawn of time children have been driving their parents crazy, and once kids reach the teen years, they are driving their parents' cars as well. So naturally parents want to know, "What's going to save our sanity once junior starts to drive?" We quip: A one-seater ... but OK, we have some tips, too.

The stats about teen drivers aren't encouraging. Sixteen-year-olds get into accidents six times more than drivers between the ages of 30 and 59, according to Edmunds. No wonder insurance premiums for this age group are so high.

Mike Poller a father in Florida warns, "I am now spending about $10K per year on auto insurance for me, my wife and two daughters."

Finding the best - and most affordable insurance coverage for your new driver is a lot like searching for a mortgage -- there are deals to be had out there, sure, but finding them takes a lot of diligent research.

Start off by using an online comparison tool, like this one here at Insurance.com. After you've input the pertinent information, this tool will shop around for the best deal for you. Of course, any online comparison tool is only as good as the companies it searches. We always recommend contacting insurance companies directly for the best quotes. It requires more work, but it often pays off.

When PR professional and mother of three Lisa Singelyn shopped around to insure her 16-year-old son, she discovered most of the major insurance companies offer a discounted rate for an "Occasional Driver" which is just what it sounds like -- get a less expensive rate for adding a driver who doesn't use the car very often. When she asked about the discount, her insurance company told her it wasn't offered, but when her husband threatened to pull their policies and go elsewhere, the company offered them the occasional driver discount. Savings for using this category? Approximately $500 annually.

As the Singelyn's experience illustrates, speaking directly with a company may insure, pun totally intentional, you get a better quote.

According to the site InsureUonline.org age-old recommendations such as buying an older model car for your teen to drive, and keeping them in something sensible, instead of a Maserati, still hold true. Not only will a big old clunker for your teen help keep your insurance premiums down, it will give you some piece of mind as well.

Popular opinion is to get at least three quotes and compare, but one dad told us, " I just got back from dropping off a $1,200 check for my youngest daughter's first six months of auto insurance. Not much shopping involved, my insurance company offers increasing multi-car discounts ... I already have three cars on my policy, so I figure it is probably not worth the time/effort to shop this... " We disagree. Don't make assumptions about whether it's worth it or not for you to explore other companies. Compared with the money you may potentially save, spending a few minutes calling around may make sense. It also may make cents.

Got a Green Teen? Maybe your state offers its own version of paying by the mile, which means you only pay for the miles you actually drive, drive fewer miles, pay less insurance. Right now there is a pilot program gaining popularity in Texas, MileMeter.com, offering discounted insurance based upon miles actually driven. Since teens drive fewer miles on average, this might be an option to consider as you hunt around for rates and plans.

Parents can also ask about an "accident forgiveness clause." An accident forgiveness clause waives any premium increase for one minor accident. Think of it as a gift, because realistically, and statistically speaking, it's not a matter of if your teen gets into a fender bender, but when they get into a fender bender. Why not look for the company which gives you a break when your new driver forgets to hit the brake.

Insurance costs money, so decide if your teen will be contributing to the cost. This contribution can be in-kind, such as keeping grades up, no speeding or parking tickets and adhering to curfew. Teens who have paid employment, can certainly contribute toward the cost of insurance and it's up to parents to decide how much of a percentage of it they expect their teen to fork over. As parents we make it clear to our kids money doesn't just grow on trees, but what about car insurance?

Parents aren't Insurance Fairies, sprinkling collision and liability coverage over the vehicles before our teens get behind the wheel of the family truckster, it is our responsibility to make sure our offspring understand the personal, and financial, responsibilities accompanying their incredible new-found freedom.

And if we really want that message to sink in? Do as Lisa Singelyn did, update your Facebook status with something along the lines of," WARNING! My 16-year-old son is now driving on the open road!"

Source

How to keep credit card reform from blocking your mortgage

noreply@blogger.com (Trading Forex News) — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 03:59:31 PST

Some experts believe an unintended consequence of credit card reform in the Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure (CARD) Act may be to actually make it more difficult for a potential homeowner to get a mortgage loan.

Heavy Hammer, Inc. is an "online networking and consulting company" that specializes in connecting homeowners with various experts. CEO Michael Urbanski, on the company's Web site, says, "As well intended as the CARD Act may have been, it is proving to be yet another nail in the coffin for the housing industry. When an interest payment increases from eight to 16 percent, the minimum monthly payment is effectively doubled for the card holder with devastating consequences for future mortgage eligibility."

Urbanski's concerns are mostly for the bigger picture: housing recovery. He does point out, however, that minimum monthly credit card payments "are weighed with increasing importance by lenders," who must decide whether you are a good mortgage risk.

Of course, we are still early in the game, and many of these concerns some experts are expressing are somewhat hypothetical at this point. Nevertheless, if you are thinking about buying a home it certainly can't hurt to try to make yourself a more attractive mortgage "bet" to a lender.

How? Let's say you are one of those people whose credit card rates have just been raised and your credit limit lowered. The key here is to try to get your bank or credit union to either lower your interest rate back down, increase your credit line as close as possible to where it stood in previous months, or, best case scenario, both.

Difficult, granted. But not impossible.

In fact, speaking to the Associated Press recently, Andy Rowe, an executive vice president with Bank of America's card business, gave a pretty good clue how to accomplish this: Said Rowe, " What we want is a deeper relationship with our customers." He told the Associate Press that customers who stick with a single bank (of course, he meant BOFA) may be able to get annual fees waived or, better yet, interest rates lowered. "That's where the competition will be," he said.

In other words, the more business you do with one lending institution, the better the odds you may be able to improve your credit profile, and your ability to get that mortgage.

Keep your eye on the bigger prize; getting that mortgage for your dream house. Now, I know many of you are loath to put all your eggs in one basket and prefer having a credit card with one bank, say, and a checking and/or savings account with another. If you are not thinking about home buying and securing a mortgage right now, there is nothing really wrong with that approach.

However, if you are contemplating home ownership and, hence, a mortgage loan at good rates, this is probably a good time to consolidate your banking business all under one roof. You should become a far more desirable customer to the bank and just may end up getting that mortgage while increasing your credit line and lowering your card rates all at the same time.

Of course, should this not happen, you can always take all that banking business of yours and put it under the roof of a different bank or credit union.

by Charles Feldman

Charles Feldman is a journalist, media consultant and co-author of the book, "No Time To Think-The Menace of Media Speed and the 24-hour News Cycle." He has written about real estate related issues for several years.

Tech Data Profit Climbs 23%

noreply@blogger.com (Trading Forex News) — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 03:49:56 PST

LONDON -- IT products distributor Tech Data said fiscal fourth-quarter to Jan. 31 net income rose 23% to $70 million, or $1.35 a share, as sales rose 10% to $6.28 billion, mostly on the strengthening of foreign currencies vs. the dollar. The quarter included a 10 cents a share benefit from a reversal of a deferred tax valuation allowance in Europe. Assuming the recent signs of improving IT demand continue, combined with the impact of certain foreign currencies against the U.S. dollar, net sales for the first quarter are expected to increase in the mid single-digit range year-over-year. Analysts polled by FactSet expected earnings of $1 a share on sales of $6.02 billion. Analysts had pegged first-quarter sales at $5.5 billion, which is up 10% from the prior-year period.

Copyright © 2010 MarketWatch, Inc.

'Fast Money' Recap: Weak Jobs Report?

noreply@blogger.com (Trading Forex News) — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 00:12:28 PST

The markets surged Monday on a flurry of M&A activity.

The Dow Jones Industrial Average jumped 78.53, or 0.76%, to 10,403.79, while the S&P 500 rose 11.22, or 1.02%, to 1,115.71. The Nasdaq was up 35.31, or 1.58%, to 2,273.57.

Gary Kaminsky, who had been saying that the market needs more M&A activity to move higher, said onCNBC's "Fast Money" TV show said the market needs to see more strategic deals and not ones like AIG's sale of its Asia unit, which he called a "liquidation" deal.

For a breakout of some stocks from a recent "Fast Money" TV show, check out Dan Fitzpatrick's "3 Stocks I Saw on TV."

Tim Seymour disagreed, saying that the AIG deal is strategic because a party with money is picking up the AIG unit.

Karen Finerman sided with Seymour, saying the AIG deal was strategic with multiple parties bidding "real" money. "This is M&A at its best," she said of the pickup in deal-making.

Guy Adami called Greenhill & Co. a pure M&A play. He said the company has received an upgrade and a $100 price target.

Pete Najarian said another name to consider is Lazard Ltd. which is now getting back together after having gotten beaten up. "This stock is poised to move up," he said.

Seymour reminded the panel that Goldman Sachs has been key to many of these deals.

Melissa Lee, the moderator of the show, asked Kaminsky to comment on his pick last week of Pall, an industrial infiltration company, as a second derivative play off of today's move by Merck KGaA to buy Millipore. Kaminsky reiterated his belief that the action is ripe for something to happen with Pall.

Lee noted that tech stocks were leading the market higher today. Najarian said there was strong options activity in SanDisk, Apple and Qualcomm. Najarian said these companies enjoy great balance sheets and is benefiting from a turn in the business cycle.

Adami said Qualcomm looks good after it announced plans to raise its dividend and go through with a buyback. He said $34 feels like the bottom for the stock.

Seymour attributed the rise in Apple shares to the strength in iPhone sales, while Najarian noted strong iMac sales as being a key factor. Finerman said it's underfortunate that most tech companies aren't willing to share their large cash positions with their shareholders.

Peter Boockvar, a equity strategist with Miller Tabak, downplayed the importance of M&A to today's market's rally. He said M&A is lagging what already is a good market. "It's not a precursor," he said.

Lee shifted to Karen Finerman, who was on assignment in an interview with Larry Summers, director of the president's National Economic Council. Finerman asked him to distinguish between what is proprietary trading and what is not.

The distinction is important because the Obama administration wants banks not to engage in proprietary trading, which it deems risky. Summers said a bank setting up a unit to guess where currency markets are going would be a proprietary function whereas underwriting a security and making a market wouldn't because it would be serving customers.

Finerman took the comments to mean that the Volcker Plan has its sights set on Goldman when it comes to proprietary trading. She said that is weighing on Goldman and its sluggish stock performance.

She also said Summer's distinctions are very subjective and believes proprietary trading will be difficult to regulate.

Brian Kelly joined in, saying he was shorting Goldman because he believes the trading environment is not going be as good in the next six to eight months as it has been for the past year. He said that revenue risk and the bad press Goldman's been getting are the reasons behind his shorting of the stock.

Shifting briefly to retail, Adami said he still sees more upside to Tiffany's on the basis of its domestic and overseas sales. However, he said he would "pull the rip cord" when it reaches $47.

Returning to the discussion of today's market rally, John Roque, a technical analyst with WJB Capital Group, said today's rise in the S&P should be given the benefit of the doubt. He said it be difficult for copper to get above $3.50 and that he would be a seller of copper of the metal. He also sees the dollar index moving higher to the 85 to 87 level.

Again in the M&A space, Kaminsky said that midcap stocks offer the best opportunities for M&A activity and cited Clorox as a prime example of a takeover stock because of the company's strong fundamentals and organic growth. He said management doesn't want to sell, but he suggested a foreign conglomerate in consumer products might be interested in buying it.

Returning to the Summers interview, Finerman asked him about job creation. Summers said it remains the administration's No. 1 priority. He also said the blizzard that hit a large portion of the nation could distort the jobless report that comes out on Friday.

He said it's important to look past the report to the underlying trends, which he says are positive because of the jobs that will be created from the several thousand projects that are coming on line. In addition, he said business investment is starting to pick up and the world economy is becoming a better market for U.S. exports.

Finerman said it seemed Summers was trying to set up low expectations for Friday's jobs report.

Lee noted that the British pound was on the skids today. Kelly said that the United Kingdom's economy is much worse than that of the U.S. and other countries. He said he was shorting the pound. Seymour agreed, adding that he's deeply concerned with the troubles with the country's financial services.

In the final trades, Tim Seymour liked Vimpel-Communications. Adami liked Qualcomm. Kaminsky expressed his belief that Berkshire Hathaway will be an index. Najarian liked Akamai.

Written by David Tong in San Francisco

CIT Sees $900M Quarterly Loss; Shares Fall

noreply@blogger.com (Trading Forex News) — Tue, 02 Mar 2010 00:01:21 PST

CIT shares fell in after-hours trading after the commercial lender said it expects to report a fourth-quarter loss of $900 million and a loss of $4 billion for the year.

CIT, in a regulatory filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, said the loss for the year is "expected to be essentially offset by the impact of reorganization," primarily the cancelation of debt.

CIT, which entered bankruptcy in November 2009 and re-emerged on Dec. 10, said the annual results include a $692 million goodwill and intangible asset impairment charge, increased provisions for credit losses and reduced net interest revenue. That compares with a 2008 loss of $2.9 billion, which includes a $2.2 billion loss from a discontinued operation resulting from the sale of the company's home-lending business.

CIT was expected to issue its results on Monday but said they would be delayed until March 16 because the company didn't have enough time since it emerged from bankruptcy to get them done.

In after-hours trading Monday, CIT shares fell 21 cents to $36.34, after ending the regular trading session higher at $36.55.

Reported by Joseph Woelfel in New York.

Sands China 2009 Earnings Rise 21.7%

noreply@blogger.com (Trading Forex News) — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 23:53:51 PST

Sands China , which began trading in Hong Kong on Nov. 30 after raising $3.1 billion in an initial public offering, said its 2009 profit was $213.8 million, an increase of 21.7% from $175.7 million in 2008.

Sands China's parent company is casino operator Las Vegas Sands.

Sands China said net revenue in 2009 rose 8.1% to $3.3 billion as casino revenue increased as Asian economies recovered, and visa restrictions were loosened for mainland China residents.

Net casino revenue rose 8.2% to $2.89 billion.

Sands China is the second-largest casino operator in Macau, the world's biggest gaming hub. Sands China said it had more than 35 million visitors in 2009.

Reported by Joseph Woelfel in New York.

Cut Credit Card Debt: An 11-Step Program

noreply@blogger.com (Trading Forex News) — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 23:43:40 PST

One positive outcome from the economic downturn of the past two years is that consumers are paying down their credit card debt.

In November, Equifax (EFX Quote) reported that credit card debt had declined 7.3% from a year ago. The latest Federal Reserve Consumer Credit said credit card debt fell in November for the 14th consecutive month. Revolving credit, the majority of which is credit card debt, has fallen more than $100 billion to $874 billion from $976.1 billion in October 2008.

A number of factors could be contributing to this trend. Millions of consumers have lost their jobs or experienced a significant decline in income. There also seems to be widespread consumer outrage with the changes made by credit card issuers. Last year was filled with interest rate increases, credit limit decreases and tightened credit by issuers. These were strong incentives for cardholders to cut back on their credit card usage and pay down their balances.

Even though the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility and Disclosure (CARD) Act will help stabilize some rate increases, many cardholders are already stuck with high rates. The best way to protect yourself against these high rates is to pay off your balance. If you are unable to pay off that balance quickly, shop for the best credit card with the lowest annual percentage rate, or APR.

Here are 11 tips to help you cut your credit card debt:

1. Accept that paying off debt won't be easy. It took you a while to get into debt, and it will probably take you longer to get out. Don't get discouraged.

2. Find out how much you owe. Collect your bills for outstanding debts, including those for credit cards, mortgages, student loans, car loans and bank loans. Create a summary sheet that lists the creditor, monthly payment, balance, interest rate and credit limit for each. List the status of each account, if any bills are past due, and verify the payment due dates.

3. Prioritize your bills. If money is short and you can't pay all of your monthly bills, first pay the bills that are necessary for health, shelter, groceries and basic transportation. Then pay secured loans, such as your car loan. Payments on unsecured loans, such as credit cards, should come last in dire situations.

4. Contact your creditors to negotiate lower rates. The less money you pay in interest, the more money you have to pay off your bills. You may also want to shop around for a mortgage or credit card with a lower rate. If you're in danger of missing a payment, contact your creditors immediately. They may be able to help you work out a payment plan, lower your rate or reduce your monthly payment. Credit card loan defaults are 10% or more for some issuers, so many are willing to strike a deal to get balances paid.

5. Focus on the card with the highest interest rate first. Continue to pay the minimum on your other cards until the card with the highest rate is paid off, then focus your effort on the card next in line. Don't close all the cards that you pay off. Keep your oldest cards open and occasionally use them to buy a magazine or a movie ticket, and just pay it off each month. This will help improve your credit score.

6. Pay more than your minimum payment. Your minimum payment is usually 2% to 5% of your balance. At this rate, it will take you years to pay off your debt. Try to double the minimum payment. Soon your credit card bill will include these calculations.

7. Consider transferring your balances to a lower-rate card. If your card's rate is more than 15%, it could wise to transfer the balance to a card that charges no interest for a certain amount of time, like the Citigroup Platinum Select. Most balance transfer offers have been reduced to six months. Pay attention to the balance transfer fee. At the beginning of 2009, the industry standard for a balance transfer fee was 3%. Some issuers increased that fee last year. In June,Bank of America increased its balance transfer fee to 4%, and Discover Financial and JPMorgan Chase charge 5%.

8. Use cash instead. If you have a credit card balance, stop using the card for anything other than necessities. Credit cards are convenient, but if you carry a balance, you are still paying interest for dinners, clothes, entertainment and things that are long gone. If your APR is 15%, ask yourself if the purchase is worth paying an additional 15% in interest per year. If you use cash, you will not only save money on interest, but also reduce the amount you spend. According to a Dun & Bradstreet report, shoppers spend 12% to 18% less when using cash.

9. Pay your bills on time, every time. Late payments can hurt your credit score. If you are 30 days late on your credit card payment, you could lose 60 to 110 points, depending on your credit score.

10. Check your credit report. It may contain an error that is creating a lower credit score and higher interest rates for you. If you find an error on your credit report, contact the credit reporting firm. They must respond to your claim within 30 days or remove the information that is incorrect or can't be verified. You can dispute information by mail, by phone or online. If the corrected error results in a higher credit score, contact your creditors and ask for a lower interest rate.

11. Focus on the positive. If you build a history of paying your bills on time, every time, and pay down your debt, not only will your debt decrease, but your credit score will increase.

Reported by Bill Hardekopf of LowCards.com.

Obama in great health but struggles with smoking

noreply@blogger.com (Trading Forex News) — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 08:44:34 PST

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama is in overall "excellent health" but still struggles with a smoking habit, his doctors said in a report after Obama had a routine medical exam on Sunday.

Obama, 48, visited the National Naval Medical Center in Bethesda, Maryland for a 90-minute checkup, his first since taking office just over a year ago.

A team of doctors led by Dr. Jeffrey Kuhlman, the chief White House physician, found Obama to be "fit for duty" and said he was likely to remain so for the rest of his presidency.

But the doctors recommended that he continue his "smoking cessation efforts" and also that he change his diet to bring down a cholesterol level that is borderline high.

The 6-foot-1-inch Obama, who weighs 180 pounds (81.5 kg), exercises every day, including jogging on a treadmill and lifting weights. He also plays basketball and golf and generally favors a diet of healthy foods.

Obama's resting heart rate was 56 beats per minute and his blood pressure was 105/62 -- both very healthy ranges.

The report said Obama uses a "nicotine replacement therapy," which suggests he has been trying to quit smoking.

Last June, when asked if he still smoked cigarettes, Obama said he was "95 percent cured" but added "there are times when I mess up."

Obama last had a medical exam in July 2008.

During his presidential campaign, in May of 2008, his campaign released a summary of an exam Obama had in January 2007 that also showed him to be in excellent health.

Obama's cholesterol levels have risen since 2007.

His latest exam found that his overall cholesterol was 209, slightly above the normal level of 200. His level of LDL, the so-called bad cholesterol, was 138 and his doctor recommended that he try to reduce that to 130 through changes in his diet.

In the 2007 exam, Obama's overall cholesterol level was 173 and his LDL cholesterol was 96.

Obama suffers from occasional pain in his left knee, a common injury in people who run. Kuhlman suggested that he modify his exercise regime and include a strengthening program for the knee.

The doctor recommended that Obama have his next checkup in August 2011, when he turns 50.

While at the medical center, Obama also visited with troops wounded in the Iraq and Afghanistan wars.

Obama's family medical history includes his mother's death from ovarian cancer and a grandfather who died of prostate cancer.

(Additional reporting by Ayesha Rascoe and Maggie Fox; Writing by Caren Bohan; Editing by Sandra Maler)

By Caren Bohan

Reuters

VIDEO: 5200 nudes at Sydney Opera House Australians

noreply@blogger.com (Trading Forex News) — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 08:19:21 PST

Sydney - About 5 200 naked people embraced each other on the steps of Sydney's iconic Opera House on Monday for a photo shoot by Spencer Tunick.

Tunick, who is known for his nude group photos in public spaces, posed participants for more than an hour in a variety of positions.

"It was difficult to get the straight participants to embrace the gay participants and vice versa," Tunick said.

"So I was very happy that that last set up finally got done and everyone came together (in a) united, friendly kiss, a loving kiss in front of this great structure."

Nineteen-year-old student Art Rush said he was thrilled to participate.

"I'll never get a chance to do this again; it's not worth being inhibited," Rush said. "It doesn't feel sexual, it just feels tribal, a gathering of humanity."

Tunick has made a name for himself with his works featuring hundreds of naked people at unusual venues.

Tunick, who is shy and adheres to mostly black dress, prefers to be called an artist, not a photographer and refers to his work as installations. - Sapa-AP

Some Pictures:

JFK runway closure to rattle nerves, wallets

noreply@blogger.com (Trading Forex News) — Mon, 01 Mar 2010 02:11:22 PST

NEW YORK (AP) -- The main runway at New York's John F. Kennedy International will be closed for four months starting March 1. Millions of travelers will experience delays, including some not flying anywhere near the Big Apple.

With about one-third of the airport's traffic and half of its departures being diverted to three smaller runways, planes will wait on longer lines on the ground for takeoffs and in the air for landings. Delays at one of the nation's largest airports will ripple to cities across the United States, including Los Angeles, San Francisco and Orlando.

Passengers using JFK also face another headache -- higher ticket prices. JetBlue, American, Delta and other airlines have cut their schedules by about 10 percent for the shutdown period. They can raise prices because there will be a smaller number of seats to meet demand.

JFK's Bay Runway, at 14,572 feet (4,441.55 meters), is one of the longest commercial runways in the world. It's a backup landing spot for the space shuttle, which has its next mission in April. The runway is being repaved with concrete instead of less-durable asphalt and widened to accommodate today's bigger planes.

The project will affect at least the first month of the peak travel season, which officially starts on Memorial Day. But the chosen four-month period was picked because it's the driest in the New York area, making weather-related construction delays less likely. Of course, prompt completion isn't certain. A similar runway repair in Minneapolis last year created thousands of delays when it was slowed by unseasonably wet weather.

JFK is already one of the nation's most delay-plagued airports. It ranked 28th out of 31 major airports in 2009 in on-time performance, according to the Department of Transportation. A delay at JFK, especially one early in the morning, can push back flights across the U.S.

The airlines and the airport are making adjustments. Besides cutting flights, airlines are adding time into their schedules. So although flights may take longer, more won't necessarily be considered late. Still, Mike Sammartino of the Federal Aviation Administration expects delays at JFK will be about 50 minutes during peak times and 29 minutes on average -- similar to busy summer days.

Sammartino also says JFK officials have added new taxi ways at angles that allow planes to go from terminal to takeoff more quickly. He noted that the FAA and the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey, which are financing the $376 million project, began planning the shutdown in early 2009.

JetBlue, the biggest carrier at the airport, said it expects some "operational challenges," but that its reduced flight schedule should help alleviate congestion.

However, for passengers on network carriers like Delta and American the delays will likely be worse, said Lance Sherry, executive director for the Center for Air Transportation Systems Research at George Mason University. JetBlue already tends to avoid the rush hours at JFK. And it has fewer connecting flights, which push delays across the country.

Even if you avoid big delays, you could face higher fares. George Hobica of Airfarewatchdog.com said some fares are up significantly for the March-June period. For example, the lowest published fares for flights between JFK and Los Angeles International Airport through June 20 range between $278 and $298 roundtrip. That's up from $198 to $218 recently. Delays and higher fares will affect Los Angeles travelers the most because the city is the most popular domestic destination from JFK, followed by San Francisco and Orlando.

Airfares usually rise as spring approaches. But the lowest published fare from LaGuardia, just 8 miles (13 kilometers) west of JFK, is $100 cheaper for a connecting flight in the same time period -- a more significant gap than normal. Nonstop flights to the West Coast aren't available from LaGuardia.

The shutdown also affects the coordination of flights, and the people who make sure the planes take off and land safely.

Steve Abraham says he and his fellow JFK air traffic controllers must learn how to move aircraft efficiently without the use of their biggest runway. That could add more time to takeoffs and landing, at least initially. Fifty percent of the controllers at JFK have less than 4 years of experience.

"It's like renting a car in England -- you know how to drive but you're driving on the other of the road," Abraham said. "I know how to say 'clear for take off' but I'm just doing it in a configuration that I'm not used to."

JFK airport officials opted for the four-month total shutdown rather than a construction schedule that included overnight work for 2 to 3 years. That's a move Abraham says air traffic controllers support.

"I'd much rather inconvenience people for four months than for two years."

Samantha Bomkamp, AP Transportation Writer

8 cities where home prices will rise

noreply@blogger.com (Trading Forex News) — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 22:57:20 PST

Tacoma, Wash.

Median home price: $239,000

Value lost since 2006: 22%

Forecast gain through 2011*: 4%

Tacoma's downtown has gone through a revival over the past few decades, with new museums, a light rail system and a branch of the University of Washington.

The metro area lies within striking distance of some of the most spectacular scenery in the Pacific Northwest, including Puget Sound, Mt Ranier and Olympia National Park.

Still, the local housing market lost more value -- 22% -- than did nearby Seattle in the past three years. It did, however, outperformed the nation as a whole, where prices fell 27.1% since September 2006.

Fiserv and Moody's Economy.com project the city to keep outperforming the nation, with an annualized gain of 4% through September 2011.

Helping to boost prices will be careful growth policies that the state has urged its cities to pursue. Development is limited to mostly a few core areas and density is encouraged while much of the area's exurbs are maintained as farmland and natural reserves.

Kennewick, Wash.

Median home price: $172,000

Value lost since 2006: Gained 5.7%

Forecast gain through 2011*: 3.9%

This small metro area -- population of about 250,000 -- may share the same state with Seattle and Tacoma, but it's an entirely different world on the eastern side of the Cascades.

Kennewick is in the rain shadow of the mountains and geographically has more in common with dry, southwestern Idaho than the rainy Washington coast. It lies very near the Hanford nuclear site, where plutonium was once produced for the Manhattan Project.

Employment has remained strong here with many high-paying jobs for scientists and support personnel being created at the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory in Richland. The unemployment rate in December was, at 8.1%, well below the national average.

The median income for the metro area is more than $61,000 while home prices, at a median of $172,000, and other expenses remain low. The cost of living is about 27% lower than Seattle. That should keep housing markets on their steady uphill climb.

Napa, Calif.

Median home price: $360,000

Value lost since 2006: 45.7%

Forecast gain through 2011*: 3.6%

Napa, the Mecca for American wine lovers, has gone through a housing bust like few other metro areas.

Values here dropped a whopping 45.7% in the last three years (ended September 2009). Napa was a big participant in California's housing bubble, and when the bubble burst, prices had a long way to fall.

The losses will continue well into 2010, according to Fiserv and Moody's Economy.com. Prices will fall an additional 3.6% through Sept. 30, 2010, before turning around in 2011.

After that, however, it will be a return to double-digit price increases with 11.2% gain over the following 12 months, as the inventory overhang is worked through and the job picture starts to improve.

It's not just the great grapes; Napa is both beautiful and boasts a vibrant life style with wonderful restaurants, a lively arts scene and great recreation. When Bay area residents and other Californians regain their financial equilibrium, they look to this area for second home and retirement purchases.

Cheyenne, Wyo.

Median home price: $172,000

Value lost since 2006: Gained 2.9%

Forecast gain through 2011*: 3.5%

All's well in cowboy country: Cheyenne was one of the few metro areas that recorded home price gains in the past three years.

The city has attracted some new employers in recent years, and one of the latest is a regional distribution center for Wal-Mart. The area's economy is also tied to the city's status as state capital, which has kept area unemployment below the national rate.

Home prices have been stagnant lately and are expected to remain flat through most of 2010. But in 2011, prices are should take off, climbing more than 7% by September 2011, according to Fiserv and Moody's Economy.com.

Population growth will help drive home prices up. The number of city residents jumped by double digits during the 2000s and will probably do so again in the coming decade. That will provide a steady demand for housing..

Seattle

Median home price: $365,000

Value lost since 2006: 18.1%

Forecast gain through 2011*: 3.2%

Seattle has become a world-class city with a diverse, vibrant economy. As a home to manufacturers, such as Boeing, and software providers, such as Microsoft, the job market has held up better than average, with December's unemployment rate sitting at 9.1%.

Home prices had a softer landing as well, dropping just 18.1% over the past three years, about half the national average, according to Fiserv, a division of Moody's Economy.com.

In the next six months prices are expected to grow 1%. After that, the market should gain momentum. By September 2011, the city could see a price gain of 5.5%.

And while that may not sound all that robust for those jaded by the annual double-digit returns recorded during the boom, that performance will be one of the best of any large city during that period.

Fairbanks, Alaska

Median home price: $211,000

Value lost since 2006: 3.8%

Forecast gain through 2011*: 3.1%

Fairbanks is a boom/bust city at the end of the road in America's Last Frontier. The economy often depends on government -- especially military contracts -- and the volatile oil industry.

The next big project could be a proposed natural gas line that would stretch form the North Slope to Prudhoe Bay and would cost billions to construct.

The area's unemployment rate has remained a bit lower than the national average, 8.3% in December. And wages tend to be high -- as are living expenses.

The city has a rapidly expanding population, putting housing in short supply and contributing to projections of accelerating home price increases over the next couple of years.

Anchorage

Median home price: $231,000

Value lost since 2006: Gained 1.4%

Forecast gain through 2011*: 3.1%

Alaska's biggest city faces some of the same issues as Fairbanks. The metro area's population has grown in double digits, sometimes triple digits, for decades and, hemmed in by mountains and sea, the city has limited space to grow.

The city managed, just barely, to stay mostly on the positive side of the home price trend for the past three years, according to Fiserv and Moody's Economy.com They turned down a bit in the past year but are expected to ramp up again in the next 18 months.

The economy should sustain the increases as job losses have not affected Anchorage as much as the average U.S. city. The unemployment rate was just 7.7% in December.

Charleston, S.C.

Median home price: $192,000

Value lost since 2006: 14.1%

Forecast gain through 2011*: 2.9%

Lovely, historic Charleston has a lot going for it but, for decades, growth wasn't one of them.

The core city lost population for decades until things started turning around in the 1960s. Since then the number of residents has increased to 100,000 from a low of about 60,000.

Economically, the city has ridden a tourism surge; it has added large numbers of hotels, bed-and-breakfast inns and restaurants over the past 40 years. And there has also been a jump in tech jobs.

Job losses have been a problem lately, however, with an unemployment rate of 10.2% in December, higher than the national average.

After recording modest home price declines over the past three years, Charleston is poised for a comeback, according to Fiserv and Moody's Economy.com. Prices will climb an average of 2.9% between now and September 2011.

By Les Christie cnn.com

Violent winter storm whips eastern Europe, killing over 50

noreply@blogger.com (Trading Forex News) — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 22:42:25 PST

The violent winter storm, dubbed as "Xynthia," has lashed most eastern European countries as of Sunday with heavy rain and strong gust, leaving over 50 deaths and massive devastation on its routes. Developed in the Atlantic off the Portuguese island Madeira, storm Xynthia landed on France's western coast late Saturday after causing three deaths in Spain, and went on to Germany via Belgium on Sunday afternoon. France, the worst hit country, recorded at least 45 victims and several disappearances, mainly in Vandee and Charente-Maritime, the two western coastal departments which registered the biggest toll. Most victims died from drowning or impacts from falling trees and buildings. French President Nicolas Sarkozy is going to visit the worst hit areas on Monday morning, the presidential office said. Over 500,000 households remained in the dark and power supply is not expected to resume at least three days later, said the national power company Electricity of France. Paris was also affected by the storm as the gust speeded up to over 100 km per hour in the day. Air France announced Sunday the cancellation of more than 100 flights at the Paris-Charles de Gaulle international airport as well as some delays and diversions. The state-run railway company SNCF also warned of massive delays on lines linking western districts.

French Prime Minister Francois Fillon called the storm a "national disaster" after holding an emergency cabinet meeting coordinating rescue efforts in the wake of the storm. French Interior Minister Brice Hortfeux said hundreds of soldiers and thousands of firefighters have been mobilized to help residents in the western districts besieged by floods with drainage operations. French state meteorologists have warned that Xynthia was the strongest storm since 1999, when 90 people died. The state meteorology broadcaster maintained two departments, Finistere and Morbihan, on orange alert in its latest statement late Sunday as they were still threatened by uprising floods. Moving to the northeast of Europe, the fierce storm killed one man in southern Belgium and brought down some electricity lines. According to German official data, four people were killed in Germany as their cars were struck by trees dragged down by the gust. The Frankfurt airport had to cancel at least 200 flights due to sweeping winds up to 130 km per hour and the city's central train station was forced to close temporarily. A woman in England was reportedly killed in her car by surging floods. Before landing on France, Xynthia had already caused three deaths in Spain and one in Portugal.

Buffett's $50 million credit card blunder

noreply@blogger.com (Trading Forex News) — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 22:32:09 PST

Peddling credit cards isn't so easy that a caveman can do it.

That seems to be the conclusion Berkshire Hathaway chief executive Warren Buffett reluctantly reached last year, when he shut down a money-losing credit card business he had dreamed up for Berkshire's Geico car-insurance unit.

The decision was disclosed in Buffett's annual letter to Berkshire shareholders, released Saturday. The letter called Geico's brief foray into credit cards "a very expensive business fiasco entirely of [Buffett's] own making."

Since Berkshire took over Geico in 1996, the company has grown rapidly, thanks to low prices and an advertising budget that has grown 25-fold to $800 million.

Geico is best known for a series of television commercials featuring a gecko that talks with a Cockney accent. Since 2004, the company also has run spots on TV showing preppy cavemen protesting the claim that buying insurance at geico.com is "so easy a caveman can do it."

Geico has been expanding fast -- it has added 4 million policyholders since 2002 and is now the top car insurer in New York, among other places -- and Buffett says he has long puzzled over which other products the company might dangle before loyal Geico customers.

Against the advice of Geico executives, Buffett said in the letter, he lit upon the idea of a Geico credit card. The Geico Platinum MasterCard was born.

"I reasoned that Geico policyholders were likely to be good credit risks and, assuming we offered an attractive card, would likely favor us with their business," Buffett wrote in this year's letter.

Buffett was so high on the idea a few years ago that he urged Berkshire shareholders to use the card.

"Sign up for the new Geico credit card," Buffett wrote in his 2005 investor letter. "It's the one I now use."

But it soon became apparent that people significantly less well off than Buffett were among the leading users of the Geico card.

The card business eventually ran up $6.3 million in pretax losses before Buffett pulled the plug. Berkshire then sold its credit card receivables for 55 cents on the dollar, resulting in additional losses, Buffett wrote.

All told, Buffett's credit card caper cost the company $50 million.

Of course, this is hardly the first time Buffett has called out a business mistake of his own. In his 2008 letter, he said he did "some dumb things in investments," including a purchase of ConocoPhillips stock with oil prices near their all-time high and a bet on Irish banks whose shares promptly fell 89%.

And a $50 million loss over half a decade is hardly worth mentioning for Geico. The insurance company posted a $649 underwriting profit for 2009.

Still, the shutdown decision wasn't a happy one for Buffett, who claims he had brushed off questions about launching the credit card by "subtly indicating that I was older and wiser."

By last year, that assessment had given way to a less uplifting one, Buffett said: "I was just older."

By Colin Barr cnn.com

AIG said to be near $35 billion Asia deal

noreply@blogger.com (Trading Forex News) — Sun, 28 Feb 2010 20:43:56 PST

American International Group Inc., majority owned by the U.S. government after a massive bailout, is close to a $35.5 billion deal to sell its Asian life insurance operations to Britain's Prudential PLC, according to a online report published Sunday.

The Wall Street Journal's online edition, citing people familiar with the matter, said AIG (AIG, Fortune 500) will sell its American International Assurance Ltd. (AIA) to the British company for $25 billion in cash and $10.5 billion in stock, including preferred shares and options.

The Journal said the U.S. government supports the deal. It said its source said that under terms of the deal, AIG would pay $16 billion of the cash component back to the government to buy back preferred shares given in the bailout.

The remaining $9 billion in cash would be used to pay down the more than $25 billion outstanding under a credit facility from the New York Fed, the source told the Journal.

The deal would be another step in getting AIG out from the nearly $132 billion it borrowed from the federal government beginning in 2008 to avoid collapse.

The Journal, which has reporting on talks between Prudential and AIG for the past few days, said the deal could be announced as early as Monday morning.

AIA markets life insurance throughout Asia and the South Pacific. AIG has said AIA has about 20 million customers throughout the region.

On Friday, AIG announced it lost $8.9 billion in the fourth quarter of 2009, largely due to costs associated with selling off large stakes in its insurance businesses to reduce the debt it owes to taxpayers.

The majority of AIG's fourth-quarter loss came from its December sale of large stakes in AIA and Alico, another foreign life insurance businesses, to the U.S. government. In exchange for those transactions, the Fed reduced the amount AIG has to repay taxpayers by $25 billion. AIG said it took a $5.2 billion charge for that sale last quarter.

cnn.com

Japan's Exports Show Strength

noreply@blogger.com (Trading Forex News) — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 08:58:42 PST

TOKYO—Japanese exports rose more than expected in January as brisk orders for electronics parts and construction materials from Asian firms helped compensate for still-anemic shipments to the U.S. and Europe.

Exports surged 40.9% on year to 4.902 trillion yen, Ministry of Finance data showed Wednesday. That beat the average forecast for a 36.4% rise in a poll of economists by Dow Jones Newswires.

The positive figure reflects how China and other Asian countries continue to demand more semiconductors, plastics and chemicals for manufacturing and construction. This Asia-led rebound in exports may strengthen the view that Japan's economy won't fall back into recession in 2010. While a weak job market and deflation still plague the economy, some firms are making up for weak domestic sales with brisk shipments to high-growth Asian markets. Operating profit at Asahi Glass Co., for example, bounced back in the final quarter of last year due in part to strong LCD glass sales to China.

January's strong exports were led by a 79.9% increase in shipments to China, which totaled 920.0 billion yen. Exports to Asia rose 68.1% to 2.720 trillion yen.

The data "confirm the nation's shipments will remain strong in the months ahead thanks to demand related to expanding infrastructure in Asian countries," said Mizuho Research Institute economist Atsushi Matsumoto.

Also behind the continued rebound in exports was the first rise in shipments to the U.S. in 29 months. Exports rose 24.2% to 710.4 billion yen, as the U.S. economy shows some signs of recovering further.

But Toyota Motor Corp.'s recall problem could still weigh on auto exports to the U.S., where Congress is holding hearings on the issue this week.

On a unit basis, auto exports to the U.S. fell 26.5% on month in January. That fall was likely due to the tendency for all types of exports to drop on month in January, due to the New Year holiday when manufacturing grinds to a halt. It didn't necessarily represent the ongoing troubles facing Toyota, a Ministry of Finance official told reporters.

"If Toyota handles congressional hearings inappropriately, the firm may be forced to cut their production. That will have a certain negative impact on the Japanese economy," said Mizuho Research Institute's Mr. Matsumoto.

Meanwhile, imports posted their first on-year rise in 15 months, due in part to higher oil and other raw materials prices. Imports rose 8.6% in January to 4.817 trillion yen.

A rise in prices from a year ago pushed up the overall cost of crude and raw oil by 76.1% to 810.4 billion yen, despite the fact that import volumes were down 3.0%.

Beyond the higher oil prices, the rise in overall import value was also due to a more encouraging trend for the Japanese economy, analysts said. The view that the export recovery is set to continue is prompting firms to buy more parts and materials for production of goods for export, they said.

Reflecting that trend, imports from Asia rose 5.6% to 2.164 trillion yen, their first rise in 15 months, as Japanese firms bought more electronics parts and other goods.

The balance in Japan's January merchandise trade balance logged a 85.2 billion yen surplus, due to the stronger-than-expected export growth. Economists surveyed by Dow Jones Newswires and the Nikkei on average expected a 144.9 billion yen deficit.

By ANDREW MONAHAN

Fed Chief: Rates to Stay Low

noreply@blogger.com (Trading Forex News) — Wed, 24 Feb 2010 08:46:05 PST

NEW YORK--Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke told Congress on Wednesday that a weak job market and low inflation would likely allow the central bank to keep interest rates at very low levels for a long time.

In his first appearance before Congress following a testy confirmation vote in the Senate last month, Bernanke offered a relatively somber assessment of the U.S. economy despite recent signs of strong growth.

The country has lost 8.4 million jobs since the start of the economic downturn, the deepest since the Great Depression. The Fed chief said job losses were abating, but also acknowledged the recession's toll on American workers.

"Notwithstanding the positive signs, the job market remains quite weak," Bernanke said in prepared testimony to the U.S. House of Representatives Financial Services Committee.

Bernanke told lawmakers that he stood prepared to continue supporting the economy with extraordinary stimulus for some time, but also argued the Fed possesses a broad array of tools to remove such accommodation when the time is right.

"The Federal Reserve will at some point need to begin to tighten monetary conditions," Bernanke said.

Among the Fed's options, he said, are reserve-draining transactions with financial institutions. One such program, a "term deposit facility" that would give banks the incentive to park their money at the central bank, could be operational shortly after being tested this spring, the Fed said in its semiannual report to Congress.

Acknowledging congressional efforts to overhaul financial regulation in the wake of a severe crisis, Bernanke urged lawmakers to preserve the confidentiality of banks who borrow from the Fed's emergency discount window. However, he added that officials would support disclosing borrowing at other special lending facilities, with a lag.

He defended the central bank's role in bank supervision, which is under threat from key proposals in the Senate, saying information gleaned from overseeing banks was critical in helping guide its response to the crisis.

Reuters

How Detroit Can Gain from Toyota's Recalls

noreply@blogger.com (Trading Forex News) — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 23:18:04 PST

The pitch was so ballsy, it bordered on the laughable. An American automaker that had just emerged from bankruptcy—an endlessly beleaguered outfit that for years had been unable to build cars people wanted to buy—was launching an ad campaign that boasted, "May the Best Car Win." It was September 2009, and General Motors was in danger of leading with its chin. Robert Lutz, then the company's marketing chief, decided it was time to shock consumers. Lutz felt Americans weren't giving GM enough credit for making cars that were as good as the Japanese competition. He was proud of his new Chevrolet Malibu, his Buick LaCrosse, and his Cadillac CTS. What could be gutsier than comparing Chevys to Toyotas and Buicks to Lexuses?

Car companies have been bragging about themselves and running down their rivals forever. But it's harder to do when 61% of your company has been pawned to the federal government. GM Chairman Edward Whitacre Jr. agreed with Lutz anyway, and greenlighted the campaign created by McCann Erickson. And the GM ads that seemed so risky last summer came to seem prescient last month when Toyota Motor (TM) stumbled into the worst crisis in its history: more than 8 million cars recalled worldwide, plummeting sales, and a U.S. government investigation into whether the company should have moved faster to correct the mechanical problems of its automobiles.

UNPRECEDENTED OPPORTUNITY

When was the last time an American carmaker caught a break? More to the point, how often does one of them create its own good fortune? Both have been rare. No one could have predicted that Toyota, the company that invented kaizen , or continuous improvement, would flame out over quality. But now that it has, GM, Ford, and even Chrysler have an unprece- dented opportunity to grab Toyota's customers. It won't be clear for some time how badly the recalls have hurt the Toyota, Scion, and Lexus brands. And Toyota, still a great company at its core, will doubtless recover some of its sheen. But it's probably fair to say that consumers will never again look at the world's largest automaker the same way.

So what's it going to be, Detroit? How far are you willing to push this? Many consumers may find it unseemly for Ford or GM to trash a bloodied competitor, even one suffering from self-inflicted wounds. That's why it's so significant that GM cooked up this approach six months ago; a company executive acknowledges that they wouldn't have dared launch the campaign after Toyota started the recall. At a moment when the industry is packing vehicles with more and more glitch-prone computers, Ford or GM could easily find themselves trapped in recall hell tomorrow. And although history may be filled with instances of companies grabbing share when their rivals are stumbling and distracted, the tricky part is doing so without appearing predatory. "Disparagement or gloating," Lutz wrote in an e-mail, "will only trigger a sympathy backlash in favor of Toyota."

For Detroit, the good news started sneaking into town in the late aughts. It showed up first at the Dearborn (Mich.) headquarters of Ford, when Alan Mulally, high-flying Boeing (BA) executive and Lexus driver, became Ford's CEO in September 2006. Mulally had studied Toyota for years and instilled its manufacturing and product development principles into Boeing's aircraft assembly. Now it was Ford's turn. Three months into the job, he made the industry equivalent of a state visit to Toyota City to see how Ford might emulate the automaker he called "the master." Upon his return, he called Toyota "the finest machine in the world, the finest production system in the world."

Mulally pushed Ford to create hotter, more sophisticated cars that would surpass Toyota's staid sedans. Ford invested billions to turn its Focus compact and Fiesta subcompact into aggressively styled small cars packed with creature comforts and powered by high-tech engines that are stingy on gas. Ford will begin selling the Fiesta in the U.S. this summer, the first subcompact in its American showrooms in years. The Focus arrives early next year. Sales of Ford's Fusion family sedan, restyled last year with a scowling face and 41-mpg hybrid system, rose 22.4% in 2009, while Toyota Camry sales fell 18.3%, according to researcher Autodata.

Mulally has been zealous about Ford's quality, too. In 2006, he delayed the launch of the Ford Edge sport wagon by a couple of months, forfeiting precious sales because he wasn't satisfied with the fit or finish. The hard work paid off. Ford now ranks in the top 10 in J.D. Power's initial quality survey—right behind Toyota. Just five years ago, Ford ranked 22nd among 41 brands and was below the industry average for problems per 100 cars. Consumer Reports, the buying bible for millions of tire kickers, recently praised Ford for having "world-class reliability" and now recommends 13 of its models, vs. 14 for Toyota. "Ford is ideally placed to steal away some business with all the work they've done on recent models in reliability," says David Champion, the magazine's auto editor.

Ford has even begun staking out a reputation as a technology innovator. The company that in 2004 had to license hybrid technology from Toyota (for its Escape hybrid SUV) now offers four hybrid models and an advanced voice-activated phone and entertainment system known as Sync that it developed with Microsoft. Its latest twists on technology are touchscreens that replace dashboard buttons and iPod-inspired thumb-wheel controls on the steering wheel. On the airwaves, Ford has begun touting that the Fusion hybrid gets 8 miles to the gallon more than the Camry hybrid in city driving. Another spot brags, "Ford quality is equal to Honda and Toyota. If they can't beat Ford, Ford must be hard to beat."

The good news came more slowly to GM, and it was easily overlooked amid all the dire headlines about bankruptcy and bailouts. But even industry skeptics acknowledge that over the past few years the company has put together one of the smartest design operations around. That is partly thanks to Lutz, who despite his 77 years remains indefatigable. The controversial Lutz, the "car guy" who said in 2001 that the newest concept cars looked like "angry kitchen appliances," has taken a blowtorch to GM's design-by-committee bureaucracy, sidestepped the bean counters, and begun putting a few sweet machines in the Chevy, Buick, and Cadillac lineups. The much-praised Malibu makes even the redesigned Camry look staid by comparison, and GM has been making a Very Big Deal in its TV commercials about the Buick LaCrosse's tony cockpit. "GM has had a design renaissance," says IHS Global Insight analyst John Wolkonowicz.

GM still has gaping holes in its model lineup, namely the sort of small cars Toyota has long made so well. The Detroit company was so distracted by its financial problems in recent years that it didn't invest real money into its passenger cars until the Malibu came out in 2008. Now that's changing. The new Chevy Cruze compact comes out this fall offering close to 40 miles per gallon on the highway. That beats the fuel economy of any small car Toyota sells except the Prius.

Chevy is finally getting serious about subcompacts, too. To counter Ford's Fiesta and the Toyota Yaris subcompact, GM will launch an all-new Aveo next year. It will be a more substantial car than the current version.

BRAGGING RIGHTS

Right now the General can't afford to get too cocky about the quality of its cars and trucks, though quality has improved significantly in recent years. But the electric Chevy Volt, which will start hitting the showroom this fall, could give GM something to talk about. The company says the Volt will get a 230-mpg fuel economy rating. That means the Volt will be four times as fuel-efficient as Toyota's 2010 Prius, which now has software problems with its brakes. GM says the Volt will go 40 miles on a charge before the gasoline engine kicks in. The auto- maker plans to sell only 10,000 of the cars next year—the Volt is more about establishing technological cred than making money. But it could take a bigger bite out of Prius sales as GM ramps up production to 60,000 a year worldwide beginning in 2012.

Given Chrysler's plunging market share, it seems almost pointless to mention Detroit's No. 3 automaker, though the company, now controlled by Italy's Fiat (FIATY), does have one brand that attracts some Toyota buyers. It's called Jeep. All the same, with Chrysler's quality scores near the bottom of the pile, the company will struggle to sell vehicles to Toyota owners who prize reliability.

With Ford picking up speed and GM pulling out of the pit stop, you might expect some chest-beating in Detroit. In fact, the atmosphere is one of trepidation. These folks have been down so long that they don't want to tempt fate. A GM marketing executive says he and his colleagues first discussed ways to capitalize on Toyota's woes without seeming ghoulish. After all, this person says, Toyota's problems are serious; several people have died driving models that the company subsequently recalled. As executives met to discuss the way forward, dealers were calling to say that Toyota customers were showing up in their showrooms and looking at GM cars. The dealers fretted that with Toyota's resale values falling, they could get burned taking a trade-in that might sell at a loss later, says one executive who asked not to be named because GM wants to keep a low profile when it comes to Toyota's problems. In late January, GM marketing executives decided to offer $1,000 to anyone wanting to trade in a Toyota for one of their cars.

Eric Hirshberg, CEO and chief creative officer of Deutsch LA, which until recently did work for GM, says the rebates "are real close to the line" in terms of taste. The better strategy for GM, he says, is to stick with its "May the Best Car Win" campaign. "The most you would do is focus on your own analogous safety strengths," he says. "People are very focused on safety. Timing is everything." Hirshberg says the American carmakers could highlight crash-test ratings or quality scores, but tactfully. "You're handling a live grenade," he says. "A whiff of opportunism or schadenfreude would be as damaging to the advertiser as this is for Toyota."

Ford has been offering $1,000 rebates, too. Few at Ford feel Toyota's pain more acutely than marketing chief James Farley, who ran the Lexus division and was a Toyota marketing executive for 17 years. "Our actions were very sympathetic to what Toyota is going through," he insists. "Our intentions weren't to be opportunistic." Still, Farley acknowledges that in the first days of the rebates Ford dealers had their best weekend in January. "The uncertainty with one of our competitors may have helped bring out some customers who felt like it was a good time to buy," he says. "People are feeling, 'Hey, it seems there's some deals out there.' " In the coming weeks and months, Ford is considering spending more on advertising in the U.S., particularly on ads that compare its cars and trucks with those offered by Toyota, says a person familiar with the plans who asked not to be identified revealing internal deliberations.

"I DON'T WANT TO BE THAT STATISTIC"

In January, Toyota's U.S. market share fell from 17.9% to 14.1% (though that was partly because it stopped selling several models). That month, Ford grabbed 16.7% of the market, up from 14.2% the previous year. Farley says Ford has been doing better lately in some regions where Toyota has long ruled the road. Although GM is in the midst of cutting its brands from eight to four, its market share jumped from 19.5% to 21% in January. If it expects to extend those gains, it will have to win over more people like Homer Benavides. The 37-year-old engineer was negotiating to buy a Toyota Sequoia in suburban Chicago when he heard the SUV was being recalled for a sticky accelerator. "Toyota produces millions of vehicles and only a fraction have the problem," says Benavides, whose wife is expecting twins. "But I don't want to be that statistic." Benavides plans to buy a Chevy Tahoe instead. Stealing back some Toyota owners who drive trucks and SUVs may be GM's best play at first, since Chevy and GMC won over those buyers long ago.

Toyota has long dominated the boomer market, and it won't be easy for Ford and GM to woo graying consumers. "There's a large group of boomers whose opinion of Toyota is very high," says Dan Gorrell, president of AutoStratagem, a California consulting firm. "They'll be unaffected by this."

However, Detroit could reel in Generation Y, which likes Toyota but is less loyal than older buyers. Ford, in particular, has an opportunity thanks to Mulally's focus on small, zippy cars such as the Fiesta and Focus, which compare favorably with such Gen Y faves as the Honda Civic and Mazda3. GM, for its part, may have more luck with the next generation. According to a survey by Strategic Visions, a market research firm in San Diego, American kids aged 12 to 16 aspire to own muscle cars such as the Ford Mustang and Chevy Corvette.

There is a lot of pent-up demand out there, and as the economy improves there will be more opportunities for Detroit to make its case to Americans. But consumer psychology has shifted over the past couple of years. Americans have not simply become less brand loyal. Buffeted by financial forces beyond their control, they are ornery and disinclined to trust corporations—especially those that make lavish promises. Ford has momentum, but its success is a recent phenomenon. The company still needs to prove itself. "We're very suspicious, our confidence is shaky, we're not feeling very good," says Faith Popcorn of the marketing consultancy BrainReserve. And GM will have to tread especially carefully. American taxpayers won't soon forget that the U.S. government bailed out the company, a policy that proved to be very unpopular even though it saved thousands of manufacturing jobs.

It's not as though Detroit has the highway to itself. Honda, Nissan, Hyundai, Kia, and others could also pick up new customers. That's why GM and Ford can probably forget about making a patriotic appeal to "buy American." Buyers arrive at dealerships armed with detailed pricing data they found on the Web, and if Hyundai has the best combination of features and price, they'll drive a Hyundai. "Americans are forward-looking," says Nancy Koehn, who teaches history at Harvard Business School. "Instead of waving an American flag, I could see Ed Whitacre walking through the plant, passing a mechanic, saying, 'We've made some mistakes, we've learned from the past, but here's how we're getting better, working on making America strong.' " Koehn says Americans like feeling they're helping the country progress, not just boosting U.S. companies.

As Whitacre and Mulally have surely not forgotten, Toyota remains a force. No one can argue that the company handled its recall crisis with aplomb. And given its internal problems—overexpansion has stretched its resources—the odds of it stumbling again are high. But once Toyota gets past the current round of recalls, it can be counted upon to rev up its marketing machine. The company has done a remarkable job in recent years of embedding itself in the American culture. Toyota employs nearly 40,000 Americans in six states, mostly in the South, and as it has proven for 40 years, it knows how to make cars that Americans want to buy. Spokesman John Hanson says the carmaker can win back confidence by handling the recall well and fixing its quality problems.

The comeback campaign has already begun. During the Super Bowl post-game show, Toyota aired a commercial that waxed nostalgic about its long years of manufacturing reliable cars in America. It's the kind of pitch that appeals to loyal customers like Brian Yamashita, 47, who works in tech support in Orange, Calif., a Toyota stronghold. He just plunked down $17,000 to buy a 2010 Corolla. Before that, he drove a '98 Tacoma pickup for 238,000 miles. His mother drives a Lexus. He figures the Japanese automaker will figure out its quality issues and his car will be fine. Would he buy another? Absolutely. "I have faith Toyota will get it resolved," Yamashita says. "With any industry, whether it's cars, hamburgers, or spinach, there will be problems. I could do a lot worse with other manufacturers."

In other words, Detroit's window of opportunity won't stay open for long. "If you're going to grab market share from Toyota," says Consumer Reports' Champion, "you have to do it in the next nine months." GM and Ford can't count on Toyota to keep kicking the ball into its own goal. They will have to convince people their cars are worth buying because they are sharply designed, reliable, and fun to drive. If they do that, they might just find a way to turn one big break into a streak of good luck.

Bloomberg.com