Cheap solar? Texan house aims low to win contest

HOUSTON (Reuters) – A solar-powered house built by a group of Texas students offers a blueprint for recession-hit U.S. families to reduce their carbon dioxide emissions and their electricity bills without busting their budget.
The Zerow House, built by students at Rice University in Houston, will compete against other solar homes in Washington D.C. in October [...]

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Ten Bubbles in the Making

One year after America’s brush with economic catastrophe, there’s plenty of looking back at the bubbles that caused financial chaos.
But what’s next?
There are surely dangerous economic bubbles forming as we speak. As Alan Greenspan warned this week, “They [financial crises] are all different, but they have one fundamental source,” he said. “That is the unquenchable [...]

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China, U.S. to dominate solar market

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) – The United States and China are in a head-to-head race to become the world’s top market for solar power, and panel makers are wasting no time making plans to cash in on the growth promise of both markets despite the global recession.
At the Reuters Global Climate and Alternative Energy Summit this [...]

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The Next Shoe to Drop in Banking: An Options Strategy

The financial sector of the U.S. economy has had nearly a year to address the problems that exacerbated the crisis last fall. But many observers think that the banks haven’t done enough, and that another round of trouble may be developing for the sector. I will outline some of those concerns and then suggest some [...]

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Obama to nominate Bernanke to 2nd term

OAK BLUFFS, Mass. (AP) — Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, widely credited with taking aggressive action to avert an economic catastrophe after the financial meltdown last fall, will be nominated by President Barack Obama for a second term, The Associated Press learned Monday night.
Obama plans to make the announcement on Tuesday during a break from [...]

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Bernanke optimistic economy will grow again soon

JACKSON, Wyo. (AP) — Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke on Friday offered his most optimistic outlook since the financial crisis struck, saying the economy is on the verge of growing again.
Speaking at an annual Fed conference, Bernanke acknowledged no missteps by the central bank in managing the worst crisis since the Great Depression. But he [...]

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Poor HP Earnings Dim Hopes for Tech

Investors looking for evidence that the tech sector has rounded recession’s corner were disappointed by results released Aug. 18 by Hewlett-Packard (HPQ). The world’s largest maker of computers said profits tumbled 19% and that while business conditions are becoming more stable, pricing battles are likely to erode profit further. “We’re encouraged by the stability we’re [...]

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Japan pulls out of recession, but outlook shaky

TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s economy returned to growth in the second quarter, pulling out of its longest recession since World War Two, but analysts warned of a rocky road ahead as the nascent recovery was based on short-term stimulus efforts around the world.
The growth was mostly in line with forecasts and added to evidence that [...]

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This "Junk Rally" Could Burn Stock Investors

To the bulls, I say: I suppose one must take one’s gains where they are to be found. However, you should be aware that the recent rally is built on shaky foundations; indeed, it is the poorer-quality companies that have experienced the largest gains. This has serious implications for all prudent investors.

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Fed Views Recession as Near an End

WASHINGTON — Almost exactly two years after it embarked on what was the biggest financial rescue in American history, the Federal Reserve said on Wednesday that the recession is ending and that it would take a step back toward normal policy.
Though the central bank stopped well short of declaring victory, policy makers issued their most [...]

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