Friday, March 27, 2009

Political Spotlight: Timothy Geithner

Geithner, as of right now, has one of the most stressful jobs in the country. Previously he was the chairman of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York, but president Obama nominated him for the Treasury Secretary position in January.

Although it may seem as if Geithner is rather new to the job, he has been working on this financial mess for quite some time. One year ago, he organized the rescue and sale of Bear Stearns. Giethner also played key roles into organizing the AIG bailout, and deciding not to bailout Lehman Brothers. Obama has mentioned many times that he would not accept Mr. Geithner’s resignation if he offered.

Thursday Geithner asked lawmakers to enact the most revised and comprehensive changes to the financial market since the New Deal. He also is in control of $340 billion dollars of the bailout that he can use in any way he feels would benefit the economy the most. According to the WSJ, there are four aspects of Geithner’s plan: “limiting risks that could threaten the broader economy, enhancing protections for investors and consumers, closing gaps in regulatory oversight, and coordinating any actions globally.

Nearly everyone has disagreed with him on one issue or another, but he is someone that is not afraid to get things done. Government regulation and control seem to the theme of this “Newer Deal”. FDR would be proud of Geithner’s work, whether this is a good thing is your opinion. 

Introducing... The Tesla Model S

Tesla Motors, headquartered in San Carlos, California, has been a major player in the electric car business for several years with the Tesla Roadster, an electric sports car capable of reaching 0-60 mph in under 4 seconds. The performance-rich Roadster is base priced at a not-so-modest $100,000. This high price tag has discouraged many buyers from purchasing Tesla vehicles, but this trend may soon be shot down courtesy of the Tesla Model S.

The Model S, an electric four door sedan, is base priced at just under $50,000. It can travel 150 miles on a single charge (300 miles on the premium model), which is not bad for a car that can be charged in 45 minutes using a high voltage jack or overnight with a standard electrical plug. A full charge ends up costing only 4 dollars, which is impressive for the 150 mile driving range.

The Model S can reach 0-60 mph in just under 6 seconds, but the premium model is predicted to hit 60 mph in less than 5 seconds, with a top speed predicted to be around 120 mph. The engine, being electric, has a single-speed transmission, so the car accelerates without ever shifting a gear.

Aside from the impressive engine performance, I found one of the more intriguing aspects of the Model S to be the 17-inch "infotainment" touchscreen. This touchscreen is equipped with 3G internet access for the use of Google Maps or Pandora Radio. This screen is a very stylish way to do away with less-attractive buttons and dials on the center console.

With all of these features priced at less than $50,000, Tesla has made a step in the right direction. The Model S is not just a benchmark for more affordable electric cars, but also a technological showcase intimidating the likes of Mercedes and BMW, as well. It will not be released until 2011, but Tesla is already taking reservations for the much-anticipated Model S.

Tuesday, March 24, 2009

Gore's New Book is to come out in Novermber

http://artsbeat.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/03/24/gore-to-revisit-climate-crisis-in-new-book/?hp

Will Consumer Electronics Innovation Reach a Plateau?

In the age of consumer electronics where cell phones, computers, and televisions have dominated the market for the last 10 years, I have but one question: In what direction will consumer electronics go in the future?

The trend over the last 5 years with televisions has been increasing the resolution to high definition and most currently having a thinner display. LCD televisions are becoming extremely popular, with the future being even thinner OLED displays. The future for movies looks to be downloadable content through services like Slingbox, which use the internet for movie/TV show viewing. DVDs and Blu-Ray discs will slowly fade out to downloadable content, similar to the way that CD sales have diminished. Home entertainment will all be administered through a television (most likely thinner than your wallet) that has all of these capabilities combined.

Computer innovation has been stagnant for the last 10-15 years. Windows Vista is organized the exact same way as Windows 95, except it is more visually appealing. Laptops have not changed much in the last 10 years either, except being thinner with a nicer screen, and touch screen laptops (AKA tablet PCs) have yet to catch on. This trend of thinner, lighter, and prettier laptops will continue without any major changes to laptop design.

The cell phone innovation throughout the last 5 years started off with the thinner the better. The original Motorola RAZR was instantly popular because of its thin appearance, but recently touch screen cell phones have increased in popularity. These phones have taken a step backwards, however, because of their poor touch functionality and clunky appearance. The next step for phones will be touch screen phones that have better design and perfected touch screen controls. They will also decrease in thickness as well. The cell phone interface will not change significantly, with internet and GPS already included with many phones, but internet service will be much faster than current cell phone internet.

After stating my believed technological advances for the future, there will never be a plateau with electronic innovation, but the rate of technological advancements will drastically decrease. Most improvements to electronic devices will occur slowly over time (no large leaps) so that businesses can make more money. Apple's iPod has been a prime example of this strategy. Each iPod has typically had just one more "major" feature than the last, so Apple can market the product and make more money. There will be no significant "breakthroughs" in computers in the foreseeable future, with most changes being with cell phone appearance. These cell phone advances won't be major, and that is okay with me. Technology has already increased laziness in America and around the world. If everything a person needs can be accessed from the couch (pizza orders, online shopping), physical activity in America will continue to decline. Great...

Monday, March 23, 2009

March Madness

#1 Killer of Economies: Emotion

The AIG fiasco has angered everyone. Dems and Repubs have come together, reaching across the aisle, to legislate something in honor of the AIG executives. Yes, like everyone else, I was pissed. How could these execs steal from the American tax-payer in this time of trouble? Was it immoral? Yes.

Before we address the rest of the AIG situation, let’s looks at a different perspective. When Obama and his team were doling out the $840 billion, did they not think someone somewhere would skim off the top? Of course they knew it would happen. About $167m was assigned to the AIG execs, that comes to about .0019% of the total bailout. Could the government possibly be blowing this whole situation out of proportion to keep the spotlight off themselves? I am not saying the AIG executives were being ethical, but is this really something we need to jump straight into legislation? As I said we were all mad, but we cannot legislate due to our emotions.

The contracts for the exec bonuses were made one year ago. Bernanke knew of the contracts as well. This issue should have been dealt with one year ago, but procrastination seems to be the American way. This emotional decision making needs to stop. Ask any successful company president, CEO, etc if they use emotion to direct their companies. America needs to be run as if it were a company. A profit seeking company not a bureaucracy.