| Shippers vs. Transports Using ETFs Andy Wang submits: Dow theory implies that when the country recovers from a recession, one of the first signs will be that the volume of materials shipped will increase. This led to the creation of the Dow Jones Transportation average, because investors wanted to track the prices of industrial stocks against the average of the stocks of companies transporting materials for them.Complete Story » seekingalpha.com |
Ford to Invest $500 Million in Hybrid Batteries Zacks.com submits: Ford Motor (F) has promised to invest up to $500 million in Michigan for the development and production of batteries for hybrid and electric vehicles. In exchange, the company has asked for a tax break in the range of $85 million to $120 million from the Michigan Government for its move that would create more than 1,000 jobs focused on engineering and building the battery packs. Over the years, Ford’s advanced battery researchers have been working with battery suppliers, utility companies and top-tier academic researchers to develop, test and validate high-powered battery systems. The company feels that battery technology is a core competency that it must develop in-house.Complete Story » seekingalpha.com |
Toyota Skids Toward Brand Erosion Ravi Nagarajan submits:Toyota’s (TM) recalls in recent weeks have attracted a predictable amount of attention given the number of impacted vehicles on the road. Rarely a day goes by when Toyota’s latest woes are not reported on the front page of The Wall Street Journal and on television news reports. For a company that has built its reputation on safety and dependability, the recalls are particularly damaging.Building a Brand Complete Story » seekingalpha.com |
GM and the Unions: Some Things Never Change Tom Lindmark submits:Remember how much more competitive GM was going to be coming out of bankruptcy. Aside from shedding a lot of its debt and attendant costs, the company was going to emerge with a competitive labor cost structure. Turns out that it didn’t quite happen that way. From the WSJ:Complete Story » seekingalpha.com |
Nissan and the Electric Vehicle Battery Conundrum David Fessler submits:As I mentioned here a few weeks ago, I’ve forked over $99 to reserve a Nissan (NSANY.PK) LEAF all-electric vehicle. And as of mid July, so have over 16,100 other people, according to Nissan. Since putting down my deposit, I’ve received numerous e-mails telling me what a great car it will be, what a great choice I’ve made for the environment, etc.Complete Story » seekingalpha.com |