Financial News

[NorthSideSox72]

Unfortunately you're looking in a market that probably won't see a hybrid edition for at least a few years. Jeep had tried a diesel version of the Grand Cherokee but that was discontinued, and all-elecrtic versions were talked about but nothing seemed to materialize. My guess is that for those who are intending to use a Jeep as an offroader just don't care about gas mileage and there is no market for that.

Actually there are a number of hybrid SUV's in that size, just not with the 30+ MPG numbers. But really, it needs to be looked at as relative. What does the hybrid version get versus non-hybrid? That's the key math.

 

[NorthSideSox72]

Where do you go camping and stuff at?

All over. I also run a small not-for-profit for wilderness travel. I'll PM you a link.

 

[Y2HH]

All over. I also run a small not-for-profit for wilderness travel. I'll PM you a link.

 

You seem to like the Boundaries.

[StrangeSox]

All over. I also run a small not-for-profit for wilderness travel. I'll PM you a link.

 

can you send that to me too?

[Jenksismyhero]

I average about 20-22, sometimes mid 20's with my 4wd 2010 escape non-hybrid. bumper to bumper it's closer to 19 or 18. Agree with NSS that's it's great for camping/traveling, especially for 2 people and a dog. Enough "off-road" capability to be able to handle rough dirt roads and fields, but clearly not intended for serious offroading.

[NorthSideSox72]

You seem to like the Boundaries.

 

Yeah, we do BWCA/Quetico pretty often, but usually prefer the Quetico (Canadian) side because its less used.

 

can you send that to me too?

 

Will do.

 

By the way, we are rebuilding the site now, entirely new version will be out in a week or two. So the link is a bit stale.

 

[Cknolls]

Is this still the financial news board or the eco hybrid car board?

[NorthSideSox72]

Is this still the financial news board or the eco hybrid car board?

Yes.

 

[iamshack]

Interesting stuff I just stumbled across...

 

Hybrid/EV/Conventional High MPG?

 

Although 2011 has the potential to be a breakout year for electric cars, current policies and existing infrastructure continue to make hybrids like the Toyota Prius a better choice over EV’s such as the Chevy Volt and Nissan LEAF. Whether the car buyer wants to lower greenhouse gas emissions or to have economical transportation, conventional hybrids remain the better option.

 

Determining emissions from conventional hybrid is straightforward. Researchers for the MIT Energy Initiative found that carbon dioxide emissions from hybrids are 33% lower compared to gasoline engines. Figuring out emissions from EV’s, however, is more complicated, since it depends on how electricity is generated. If a plug-in hybrid electric car, like the Chevy Volt, is charged by carbon-free power, it would have 66% less CO2 emissions compared to gasoline engines. But if the recharge relies on coal-fired power, the emissions from plug‐in hybrids are higher than the convention hybrids. And in spite of gains in renewable power, coal-fired power plants still accounted for 45% (and natural gas plants for 24%) of 2010 electricity generation. Using EV’s will not significantly decrease CO2 emissions until nuclear and renewable electric generation replaces fossil-fueled power plants.

 

But EV’s would be cheaper to drive, right? Not necessarily. According Purdue University economist Wally Tyner, the economics of EV’s depends on the electrical pricing structure, which varies from state to state. California – which is at the forefront of EV’s penetration – may be the most costly place to operate them. California has a tiered electricity pricing system designed to encourage people to use less electricity. The perverse result of the system is that it makes using EV’s more expensive than hybrids and even internal combustion engines that get high mileage, like the Chevy Cobalt. Tyner determined that oil prices have to reach between $171 and $254 a barrel in order for the Volt to be more economical than the Prius or Cobalt.

 

[kapkomet]

Yeah, we do BWCA/Quetico pretty often, but usually prefer the Quetico (Canadian) side because its less used.

 

 

 

Will do.

 

By the way, we are rebuilding the site now, entirely new version will be out in a week or two. So the link is a bit stale.

 

 

I've seen some of your pics... I would love to do this sometime but a.) I'd die and b.) I'd die.

[southsider2k5]

I've seen some of your pics... I would love to do this sometime but a.) I'd die and b.) I'd die.

 

So what's the down side again?

[StrangeSox]

 

Saudi Arabia's `Day of Rage' Lures Record Bets on $200 Oil: Chart of Day

 

 

[NorthSideSox72]

Interesting statistical projection divergence going on in the housing market.

 

On the one hand, looking at continued price declines and looming foreclosures, some have been saying lately there is still substantial, like 20%, downside price risk.

 

On the other hand, mortgage applications last week surged 16% (biggest gain since June), and existing home sales are at an 8 month high.

 

New home sales continue to drop, down 13% last week, which some contend is bad, though I'd say its good.

 

Seems to me that we are still in this general sideways thing. We're more or less at the bottom, unless you want to hunt for that last few %. But we're not seeing much increase in overall market conditions either.

 

[southsider2k5]

 

Saudi Arabia's `Day of Rage' Lures Record Bets on $200 Oil: Chart of Day

 

I just pulled up a chain on that, it is 0.22 at 0.25. In other words it is a $250 lottery ticket. That sounds like a lot to you and me, but really for most traders, it is nothing.

 

If something crazy happens, they can make a bunch of money. That's what that is all about. The time allowance plus volatility is worth the $250. A one day spike could easily push that to trading at $500.

[NorthSideSox72]

I just pulled up a chain on that, it is 0.22 at 0.25. In other words it is a $250 lottery ticket. That sounds like a lot to you and me, but really for most traders, it is nothing.

 

If something crazy happens, they can make a bunch of money. That's what that is all about. The time allowance plus volatility is worth the $250. A one day spike could easily push that to trading at $500.

Yeah, you have to consider that these are derivatives, and so is the philosophy. Its not that the options traders think that $200 oil is likely in the short run, its that they know fear will cause some run-up so they are playing it.

 

[StrangeSox]

Can these options influence price if enough people are taking that bet?

[southsider2k5]

Can these options influence price if enough people are taking that bet?

 

At the money pricing, maybe a small chance on expiration day. Out of the money, three months from now? No. Never.

 

The difference in risk doesn't allow for it. Realize that each penny change in the price of crude oil futures is worth $10. So to run the price of crude oil from $105.00 to $200 would be roughly $95,000 worth of price movement in each futures contract of the underlying. You aren't going to see that kind of risk all for an options contract worth a small fraction of that.

[Y2HH]

I've seen some of your pics... I would love to do this sometime but a.) I'd die and b.) I'd die.

 

It's not that dangerous, especially if you have someone with you that knows what they're doing. I went to BWCA, but NS is right, it's pretty crowded, going the Canadian way is probably a better idea, just have to pick the right time of year to go or you end up in black fly season.

 

I have some really nice pictures of the areas I tend to visit, a few of my friends are photographers, so some of the shots I have laying around are pretty amazing.

[StrangeSox]

At the money pricing, maybe a small chance on expiration day. Out of the money, three months from now? No. Never.

 

The difference in risk doesn't allow for it. Realize that each penny change in the price of crude oil futures is worth $10. So to run the price of crude oil from $105.00 to $200 would be roughly $95,000 worth of price movement in each futures contract of the underlying. You aren't going to see that kind of risk all for an options contract worth a small fraction of that.

 

Thank you for the explanation. I have a vague understanding of options trading at best.

[NorthSideSox72]

Bad news, the new UE claims weekly number jumped back up, and more than expected, to 397k (expected 388k). Good news is, even on a spike, it stayed below 400k. Next week, if it goes back down again, I'll start to feel pretty good about it.

 

[NorthSideSox72]

Fun charts for illustration of where we are at with jobs...

 

4 week moving average of initial claims over 40 year period seems to show this recession not a lot different than 82-83, or another from the 70's.

 

Then there's the churn data, turnover in jobs, that show the number of layoffs and lost jobs is similar over time, but the total hires and openings, while increasing lately (which is good), is still on an overall slight downward trend in the past decade (that's bad).

 

But then there is the really scary one - percent job losses over time, showing the depth and, more importantly, length of the recession (this is the one that scares the bejeezus out of me).

 

My personal viewpoint is, the recessions are longer and have shallower recoveries because we don't accelerate out of them into sustainable growth areas - we grow into service too much. Need to invest in getting us in front of cutting edge technologies, getting us innovating, building and exporting... THEN let the other countries with lower cost of manufacture take those industries secondarily. We're just skipping part of that entirely.

 

[Jenksismyhero]

Fun charts for illustration of where we are at with jobs...

 

4 week moving average of initial claims over 40 year period seems to show this recession not a lot different than 82-83, or another from the 70's.

 

Then there's the churn data, turnover in jobs, that show the number of layoffs and lost jobs is similar over time, but the total hires and openings, while increasing lately (which is good), is still on an overall slight downward trend in the past decade (that's bad).

 

But then there is the really scary one - percent job losses over time, showing the depth and, more importantly, length of the recession (this is the one that scares the bejeezus out of me).

 

My personal viewpoint is, the recessions are longer and have shallower recoveries because we don't accelerate out of them into sustainable growth areas - we grow into service too much. Need to invest in getting us in front of cutting edge technologies, getting us innovating, building and exporting... THEN let the other countries with lower cost of manufacture take those industries secondarily. We're just skipping part of that entirely.

 

I'm still not sure what Obama/Congress are waiting for. Is there any pending legislation for something like this?

[NorthSideSox72]

I'm still not sure what Obama/Congress are waiting for. Is there any pending legislation for something like this?

Well, its not that Congress has done literally nothing for this. There has been some investment, but its a small fraction of what it needs to be. Furthermore, you have a large majority of Congress (all GOP and a fair share of Dems) who refuse to find the money from the obvious places - oil subsidies, and absurdly narrow and useless business tax breaks. Without finding that money, and with the big squeeze on discretionary spending (since we've chosen to ignore the elephants in the roomof Medicare, Soc Sec and Defense), its a tough competition for that cash.

 

But the other thing is, some of this stuff can be done smartly without necessarily spending money. For example, back when there was the instant big tax credit thing going on with cars, they made it for ANY car. Well that was just stupid. They could have made it an even larger incentive, but said it had to be a model manufactured in the US. Would have done more good here. Something similar can happen with, say, credits for various energy saving home changes, or high efficiency vehicles. Tax credits only apply to cars manufactured here. That brings more jobs and more technology here, instead of going overseas, and the demand for those skilled scientific and engineering jobs would make a nice funnel from the colleges.

 

[iamshack]

NSS, would you ever consider running for political office?

[NorthSideSox72]

NSS, would you ever consider running for political office?

That's always been part of my plan. Not now though, a little later. Starting locally. We just moved to a new community, where we plan to raise our kid(s), so we'll be here a while. I need to take a few years to get involved in the community first (getting to know people, maybe volunteering for a commission or committee, etc.), then start toying with ideas of local office to run for.