Space in the city

Read on Bloomberg " GM to Name Al Koch to Top Restructuring Position, WSJ Reports " Also on marketwatch " GM set to file Ch. 11 Monday morning " Who is AL Koch? Albert A. Koch, a turnaround specialist and managing director at the advisory company AlixPartners LLP , was a partner with Ernst & Young for 14 years, including seven years as Managing Partner of the firm's Detroit office. He holds a bachelor's degree in accounting from Elizabethtown College, and is a member of several professional associations. He is a Certified Turnaround Professional and a Fellow of the American College of Bankruptcy , its Treasurer and a member of its Board of Directors. He also is a member of the American Bankruptcy Institute , and the American Institute of CPAs . Mr. Koch served as interim Chief Financial Officer of Kmart Corporation . In this position, he provided executive leadership and led the development of a multi-year operating business plan, as well as dri

" Robot Suit HAL " is a cyborg-type robot that can expand and improve physical capability. Photo essay on Cyberdyne's Real Robot at Time.com

On 29 may 2009 market moved up towards the end of the market after a choppy day. From Marketwatch.com U.S. stocks post firm gains for the month of May NEW YORK (MarketWatch) -- U.S. stocks finished the week and the month of May on a high note, as rallying commodities led the market to higher ground on Friday and helped give the broad market a 5.3% gain for the month. After a late rally on Friday, the Dow Jones Industrial Average ( INDU 8,500 , +96.69 , +1.15% ) gained 96 points, or 1.1%, to end at 8,500. Shares of General Motors Corp. ( GM 0.78 , +0.03 , +4.00% ) still slumped 33% as markets braced for the auto giant's bankruptcy. The S&P 500 index ( SPX 919.14 , +12.31 , +1.36% ) rose 12 points, or 1.4%, to 919, while the Nasdaq Composite ( COMP 1,774 , +22.54 , +1.29% ) rose 22 points, or 1.3%, to 1,774. For the week, the Dow gained 2.7%, the S&P rose 3.6%, and the Nasdaq gained 4.9%.

US Stocks Slightly Higher In Choppy Trade; Materials Up - MarketWatch Posted using ShareThis

Came across an article on nextbigfuture.com about Google Wave , a new model for communication and collaboration on the web

Weight: Ultra light. At 115g just one third the average weight of current eBook readers Display size: Large 5" display, 16 greyscales Device size: The only pocket sized eReader Battery life: 30 hours of continuous reading Connectivity: Global wireless connectivity, with the greatest coverage of any eReader (Tri Band/3.5G HSDPA) Supporting ActiveSync and USB mass storage (USB FS) Communication with accessories and other devices (Bluetooth 2.0) Processor: Powerful processing engine (ARM11 400MHz) Storage: Flexible, today commercially available up to 8GB (High Capacity Micro SD) User Interface: Just 8 SimpleTouch Buttons

New E Reader Amazon Kindle alternative Watch this report on Cool-er Reader by David Pogue. Coolreaders specification click here Alexander Wolfe in his blog did make a good point The deal is, ebook competitors can come up with platforms which slice bread and take you out dancing. It won't matter. Amazon has become the iTunes of the electronic book world, and its competitors are destined to fates comparable to those of the iPod's mp3-player alternatives. Namely, miniscule market shares. But this new product, which already is making buzz in the electronic world, is more about the technology than the content in its library. Plastic Logic has made a reader using plastic screen thereby reducing weight. Hopefully Amazon can incorporate it in the next version Kindle 3.0. Here is what Technology Review wrote about this new product Plastic Logic's Touch-Screen E-Reader The company hopes to carve out a niche with its touch-based interface. As with both the Kindle and the Sony Rea

GasBuddy - 50 Best Websites 2008 - TIME Shared via AddThis

Sorting the Jewels from the Junk in the iTunes Store - Top 11 iPhone Applications - TIME Shared via AddThis

Stocks cling to gains after sentiment uptick - MarketWatch Posted using ShareThis

Microsoft Bing: The Full Press Release Posted using ShareThis

U.S. stocks pointing higher with data, GM in view - MarketWatch Posted using ShareThis S&P Futures up 4.5 (0.5%), Nasday Futures up 4.25 points (0.3%) and Dow futures up 37 points (0.44%) on June 09 contracts. (9.08 AM)

John Dvorak's Second Opinion: The good news and bad news on Bing - MarketWatch Posted using ShareThis

Stocks regain pace after Treasury auction - MarketWatch Posted using ShareThis

Lazy to do another print screen. In slide show related to today's (05/28) PC magazine article " Hands On with Microsoft's Bing Search " you can see a Microsoft outlook notification at the bottom of the screen from Sascha Segan.

US Stocks Turn Lower On New Home Sales Data - MarketWatch Posted using ShareThis

U.S. stocks turn negative after housing data - MarketWatch Posted using ShareThis

The S&P 500 Jun 08 is up 4.5 (0.50%) Nasdaq 100 Jun 09 up 6.5 points (0.46%) and Dow Jones Futures is up 47 points (0.57%) at9.28 AM (28 May 2009) Futures edge higher after strong durable goods data Auto sector remains in focus; Time Warner to spin off AOL unit US Census Bureau New Orders New orders for manufactured durable goods in April increased $3.0 billion or 1.9 percent to $161.5 billion, the U.S. Census Bureau announced today. This was the second increase in the last three months and followed a 2.1 percent March decrease. Excluding transportation, new orders increased 0.8 percent. Excluding defense, new orders also increased 1.0 percent. Shipments Shipments of manufactured durable goods in April, down nine consecutive months, decreased $0.3 billion or 0.2 percent to $174.2 billion. This was the longest streak of consecutive monthly decreases since the series was first published on a NAICS basis in 1992 and followed a 1.9 percent March decrease. Unfilled Orders Unfilled orde

Twenty-one FDIC-insured institutions failed during the first quarter, the largest number since the fourth quarter in 1992. The FDIC's "Problem List" grew during the quarter from 252 to 305 institutions, and total assets of problem institutions increased from $159 billion to $220 billion. Not Generating enough cash/profits? Three out of five insured institutions reported lower net income in the first quarter and one in five was unprofitable. Commercial banks and savings institutions insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) reported net income of $7.6 billion in the first quarter of 2009, a decline of $11.7 billion (60.8 percent) from the $19.3 billion that the industry earned in the first quarter of 2008. Read the full press release

This list includes banks which have failed since October 1, 2000 . Bank Name CERT # Closing Date Updated Date Citizens National Bank, Macomb, IL 5757 May 22 2009 May 27 2009 Strategic Capital Bank, Champaign, IL 35175 May 22 2009 May 27 2009 BankUnited, FSB, Coral Gables, FL 32247 May 21 2009 May 27, 2009 Westsound Bank, Bremerton, WA 34843 May 8, 2009 May 12, 2009 America West Bank, Layton, UT 35461 May 1, 2009 May 18, 2009 Citizens Community Bank, Ridgewood, NJ 57563 May 1, 2009 May 7, 2009 Silverton Bank, N.A., Atlanta, GA 26535 May 1, 2009 May 7, 2009 First Bank of Idaho, Ketchum, ID 34396 April 24, 2009 May 18, 2009 First Bank of Beverly Hills, Calabasas, CA 32069 April 24, 2009 May 18, 2009 Michigan Heritage Bank, Farmington Hills, MI 34369 April 24, 2009 May 7, 2009 American Southern Bank, Kennesaw, GA 57943 April 24, 2009 May 7, 2009 Great Basin Bank of Nevada, Elko, NV 33824 April 17, 2009 May 18, 2009 American Sterling Bank, Sugar Creek, MO 8266 April 17, 2009 May 7, 2009 New

“ Most of the sales are taking place in lower price ranges and activity is beginning to pick up in the midprice ranges, but high-end home sales remain sluggish,” An NAR practitioner survey in April showed first-time buyers declined to 40 percent of transactions, implying more repeat buyers are entering the traditional spring home-buying season. Total housing inventory at the end of April rose 8.8 percent to 3.97 million existing homes available for sale, which represents a 10.2.-month supply 3 at the current sales pace, compared with a 9.6-month supply in March. “The gain in inventory is largely seasonal from sellers entering the spring market. Even with the rise, inventory over the past few months has remained consistently lower in comparison with a year earlier ... read more original press release Marketwatch report's - Home sales rise 2.9%, boosted by bottom fishing Prices drop 15.4% while inventories continue to climb

Monthly Average Commitment Rate And Points On 30-Year Fixed-Rate Mortgages Since 1971 2009 2008 2007 2006 2005 Rate Pts Rate Pts Rate Pts Rate Pts Rate Pts January 5.05 0.7 5.76 0.4 6.22 0.4 6.15 0.5 5.71 0.7 February 5.13 0.7 5.92 0.5 6.29 0.4 6.25 0.6 5.63 0.7 March 5.00 0.7 5.97 0.5 6.16 0.4 6.32 0.6 5.93 0.7 April 4.81 0.7 5.92 0.4 6.18 0.5 6.51 0.6 5.86 0.6 May 6.04 0.5 6.26 0.4 6.60 0.5 5.72 0.6 June