| The Supply Chain That Saved The World If you want to cut carbon, cut costs. forbes.com |
Stimulus Initiative for Fuel Efficient Vehicles Toby Shute submits:On Monday, Secretary Chu from the Department of Energy unveiled the latest recipients of our stimulus cash. Last year, grants went to a slew of green initiatives, from alternative fuel vehicles and wind farms to smart grid implementations and biomass projects. This week, fuel efficiency is in the spotlight. A total of nine projects received $187 million in funding, which is modest compared to past awards. The biggest winners were those working on a so-called Super Truck program. This entails developing Class 8 long-haul freight trucks that can run 50% more efficiently. Class 8 trucks consume 80% of the country's diesel fuel, so they're a natural place to funnel some efficiency R&D.Complete Story » seekingalpha.com |
Dark Cloud Over Europe: Time to Short Airlines David White submits:A dark cloud hangs over Europe, but you can profit from it. Airlines were over bought before the Eyjafjallajokull volcano started erupting. They have been a hot sector as fiscal statistics have been on the upswing. Now they may be just over inflated junk. Many of the big ones have not been profitable in the last two years: UAUA, AMR, and CAL. They are hugely indebted. UAUA, AMR, and CAL have debt to capital ratios (MRQ) of 149.04%, 142.51%, and 91.39% respectively. With the problems the volcano ash is causing in Europe these ratios will go up -- ugh. Preliminary estimates say this is costing the airline industry $200M/day. UAUA, AMR, and CAL all have significant European routes. Most of those have been shut down by the volcanic ash from Eyjafjallajokull. Some may think this is just a one time event. They may think that it will not have any lasting effect on the airlines. They have neglected to study their history. When Eyjafjallajokull last erupted in 1821, the eruptions went on for a year. They could well do the same this year. The earthquake activity recently would tend to support the idea that this is an “active” year for seismic events. At the very least we are in for 3+ months of “fear” from the consumer (of air travel to Europe). This may ruin the travel season. Who wants to go breathe noxious air in Europe? Who wants to see famous gardens that are now coated with ash? The ash may cause business travelers to rethink their plans. Why pay for those hefty business class tickets when you can use video conferencing without risking noxious air or a possible crash? Too many will think this way.Complete Story » seekingalpha.com |
When Is a Railroad Not a Railroad? When It's a REIT Stockerblog submits: When reviewing some of the top yielding REIT's listed at WallStreetNewsNetwork.com, I came across an interesting stock, actually an interesting Real Estate Investment Trust. It is a railroad, Pittsburgh & West Virginia Railroad (PW), a debt free company founded in 1916 that pays a yield of 4.7%. The company owns and leases a 112 mile railroad which runs from eastern Ohio to western Pennsylvania. Earnings for the quarter ending year end were up 1%. However, quarterly earnings dropped at year end from 13 cents a share to 12 cents a share.Complete Story » seekingalpha.com |
U.S. Auto Sales Mark Slow Recovery Zacks.com submits: Light vehicle sales in the U.S. during September rose 25.5% to a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 11.8 million units, signaling a slow recovery in the industry. Stable gasoline prices and strong sales at Ford Motor (F) and Chrysler were the contributing factors behind the sales growth.U.S. Automakers Complete Story » seekingalpha.com |