They took SUV and added electronics that you can just buy of the shelf.The price? $8700 more than gas only SUV.This is not a concept.This is real!

The Oregon centre, now largely complete, is just one of dozens of “server farms” that the company has built around the world, holding an estimated 500,000 computers.

But Google is not just using its computing grid to process web searches. It is also supplying services such as word processing, spreadsheets, and e-mail – programs that have long been the mainstays of Microsoft’s profitability.

No corporate computing system, not even those operated by big companies, can match the efficiency, speed, and flexibility of plants such as Google’s. One analyst estimates that Google can carry out a computing task for one-tenth of what it costs a typical company.

That is why the big data centres make Bill Gates and other technology executives so nervous.

The BlueCar, a concept which has been presented at several European autoshows, can run 250 km (155.3 miles) between charges, has a top speed of 125 km per hour and can accelerate from zero to 60 km per hour in 6.3 seconds.

Cedric Bollore said on Thursday Pininfarina would produce cars from 2009 and, from 2012, at a rate of 15,000 cars per year.

The 36 million euro ($52.8 million) factory, will produce 100,000 supercapacitators -- electric energy storage elements -- per year, and production can be ramped up quickly.Investments in the project so far total at least 250 million euros, Bollore said during a trip to the site.

Vincent Bollore

The U.S. Financial Accounting Standards Board Rule 157, which is effective for fiscal years that begin after November 15, 2007, will make it harder for companies to avoid putting market prices on securities considered hardest to value, known as Level 3 assets, the wire service reported.

Janjuah noted that, for example, Morgan Stanley has the equivalent of 251 percent of its equity in Level 3 assets, Goldman Sachs has 185 percent, Lehman Brothers has 159 percent and Citigroup has 105 percent, according to Bloomberg.

On the other hand, Merrill Lynch has Level 3 assets equal to 38 percent of its equity. As a result, Janjuah believes Merrill ''may well come out of all of this in the best health.''

http://www.cfo.com/article.cfm/10097878/c_10098290

At 109.8 million tons, 2007/08 world ending stocks remain the lowest in 30 years.

World ending stocks are the lowest since 1983/84, and at 17.5 percent,The stocks-to-use ratio is the lowest since 1981/82.

Given the final stocks estimate, the residual statistical discrepancy between supply and use amounts to negative 121,000 tons of use.

''If you put a thousand people in barrels and push them over Niagara Falls, some of them will survive. And if you take those guys and push them over again, some of them will survive. And then they’ll write books about how to survive being pushed over Niagara Falls in a barrel.'' Merryn Webb

If you compare Warren Buffett's stock pick PetroChina (PTR) to iShares FTSE/Xinhua China 25 Index (FXI) you get interesting results in 1 year, 2 year or 3 year period you would do better if you choosed Chinese ETF rather than company (PTR) itself.

You get this offer: To work for Warren Buffett as a portfolio manager with this condition - he gives you % from what you earn above S&P 500.

What this offer actually mean? It means if you can find him any economy that will do better than US economy he will pay you every year % from the difference between US and other economy.

If you choosed Egypt's index then from 1998 you would be on vacation and what more Buffett would pay you money every year.

See how funny this guru US-sector competition is.So many hours and hard work and at the end it is just bet on US economy.

This brings me to my other point: hedge funds. I will skip their salaries   FTSE summarized hedge funds into 3 groups so I will use their summary.

Directional
Equity Hedge
CTA/Managed Futures
Global Macro

Non-Directional
Equity Arbitrage
Fixed Income Relative Value
Convertible Arbitrage

Event Driven
Merger Arbitrage
Distressed & Opportunities
 

If you buy global ETF as mutual fund portfolio manager then people will pay you 1.5% p.a.,but if you call it global macro hedge fund strategy then people they will pay you 1.5% p.a. +  25% from new water mark profit.

The other option you have as a mutual fund portfolio manager is to buy ETC or if you want to squeeze more money from people then you can call your strategy CTA/MAnaged Futures. 

You can buy inverse ETF (Proshares Ultrashort ETF),but because you want to earn as much as possible then the best thing for you would be to call your strategy equity hedge - you have some shorts in your portfolio and now you can squeeze their money.

Last thing is the best why? Because it sounds professional. Convertible,merger,arbitrage etc. Here people pay for your knowledge that you can use leverage on both sides long and short :)

Sometimes there are bankruptcies in the worst performing sector. If you buy this sector ETF then you can call your ETF pick distressed & opportunities hedge fund startegy.

I want to look professional as well so I called my strategy:
Global,Long/Short,Leveraged,Multi (ETF,ETC,Currency),risk optimal strategy

Why risk optimal?
There are some suprises on the road:cooked accounting, lawsuits,sector downturn,political suprises etc.There should be some effort to limit the downsize as well.

So what about:

Global:33% Europe/America;33% Asia;33%Middle east/Africa
Long/Short:I blogged about it before but there are reasons why hedge funds are usually Long and Short at one time
Leveraged:100%Long and 30% Short= 130% = 30% Leverage
Multi:70%ETF,30%ETC;(stocks have commodity exposure = 70%ETF:30%ETC) EUR,USD,TKY,YEN,CAD,Yuan   
Risk optimal: as I showed in my previous blog posts.Strategy: single US dollar,US economy,long only didn't prove to be best in high interest rates,USA downturn.

I think that this strategy should force you to think in more possibilities,mind models and after some time it should give users required flexibility.
 
Write me what you think !