Biofuel is defined as solid, liquid or gas fuel derived from recently dead biological material and is distinguished from fossil fuels, which are derived from long dead biological material. Theoretically, biofuels can be produced from any (biological) carbon source; although, the most common sources are photosynthetic plants. Various plants and plant-derived materials are used for biofuel manufacturing. Globally, biofuels are most commonly used to power vehicles, heating homes cornstoves and cooking stoves. Biofuel industries are expanding in Europe, Asia and the Americas.
Types
First generation biofuels
'First-generation biofuels' are biofuels made from sugar, starch, vegetable oil, or animal fats using conventional technology.[10] The basic feedstocks for the production of first generation biofuels are often seeds or grains such as wheat, which yields starch that is fermented into bioethanol, or sunflower seeds, which are pressed to yield vegetable oil that can be used in biodiesel.
Second generation biofuels
Main article: Second generation biofuels
Supporters of biofuels claim that a more viable solution is to increase political and industrial support for, and rapidity of, second-generation biofuel implementation from non food crops, including cellulosic biofuels.[23] Second-generation biofuel production processes can use a variety of non food crops. These include waste biomass, the stalks of wheat, corn, wood, and special-energy-or-biomass crops
Third generation biofuels
Main article: Algae fuel
Algae fuel, also called oilgae or third generation biofuel, is a biofuel from algae. Algae are low-input, high-yield feedstocks to produce biofuels. It produces 30 times more energy per acre than land crops such as soybeans.[25] With the higher prices of fossil fuels (petroleum), there is much interest in algaculture (farming algae). One advantage of many biofuels over most other fuel types is that they are biodegradable, and so relatively harmless to the environment if spilled.[26][27][28]
Fourth generation biofuels
An appealing fourth generation biofuel is based on the conversion of vegoil and biodiesel into gasoline. [29]
Craig Venter's company Synthetic Genomics is genetically engineering microorganisms to produce fuel directly from carbon dioxide on an industrial scale.[30]
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biofuel
Liquid biofuels have been used since the early days of the car industry. Nikolaus August Otto, the German inventor of the internal combustion engine, conceived his invention to run on ethanol. Rudolf Diesel, the German inventor of the Diesel engine, designed it to run on peanut oil. Henry Ford originally designed the Ford Model T, a car produced from 1903 to 1926, to run completely on ethanol. However, when crude oil became cheaply available (thanks to oil reserves discovered in Pennsylvania and Texas), cars began using fuels derived from mineral oil: petroleum or diesel.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Biofuel
Sunday, October 12, 2008
GROWING BIOFUEL IN A BIOREACTOR USING LIGHT, ALGAE, AND CO2
FACTORY FARMED BIOFUEL
Biofuel From Algae
by Ramesh Suri, October 16, 2006
Algae are microscopic, single-celled plants, growing in an aqueous environment.
For growth algae make use of sunlight as energy source and simple inorganic nutrients, predominantly CO2, soluble nitrogen components and phosphates. For many years, there has been a theory that noxious flue gases produced by industries could be substantially reduced by using algae. The algal biomass produced can then be used for generating high-energy biofuel. In the case of the cement industry, the biofuel produced can be directly fired in captive power plants and kilns.
Characteristics of algae cultivation are:
- The productivity per area is 2 to 5 fold higher as compared with traditional agricultural crops and fast growing ‘energy crops.’
- Lower quality water can be used for growing algae, e.g. the effluent of biological waste water treatment facilities.
- Algal systems can remove CO2 (and NOx) from flue gases.-
Many algal species produce valuable products, such as colorants, polyunsaturated fatty acids and bioactive compounds. These ‘fine chemicals’ are applicable as a natural ingredient in food products, pharmaceuticals, food supplements and personal care products.
- After extraction of these valuable compounds the remaining biomass (approx. 80%) can be used for production of ‘green’ electricity and heat. Alternatively, microalgae can be used for the production of methylesterfuel (bio-diesel).
Finding renewable energy sources has been a top concern for many scientists around the world and algae based biofuel has emerged as a viable resource. At present there are two common methods for algae based biofuel production: open ponds and bioreactors. The major technical challenges of these systems are how to: sustain highest photosynthesis and biomass productivity, reduce cell damage by hydrodynamic stress, reduce costs in fabrication, installation, and maintenance, and increase the capability of the system to expand to an industrial scale.
From 1978 to 1996, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Fuels Development funded a program to develop renewable transportation fuels from algae. The main focus of the program, know as Aquatic Species Program (or ASP), was the production of biodiesel from high lipid-content algae grown in ponds utilizing waste CO2 from coal fired power plants. The study demonstrated that more than 300 species of algae were well suited to the task. Gaseous emission was pumped through the base of a pond and algae grown on the surface. The project was eventually abandoned because of the difficulty in harvesting algae and high cost of energy required to agitate the pond to ensure sufficient algal exposure to sunlight. As photosynthesis efficiency is driven by complex cellular mechanisms that depend on having just the right exposure to light, past algal systems grew to be complex and ultimately too expensive for most industries to contemplate. They took the form of huge, shallow ponds with extensive pumping and distribution mechanisms.
GreenFuel Technologies Corp., a Massachusetts based research company, working in collaboration with theMassachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), using the air-lift bioreactors for algal growth on flue gas, has succeeded in reducing the capital investment by streamlining the harvesting of algae, limiting the energy required to operate the system, automating many of the necessary controls (e.g., flow controllers and gas uptake), and minimizing the physical space required.
SCHEMATIC OF AN AIR LIFT BIOREACTOR
Solid arrows indicate the direction of the gas flow;
open arrows indicate the direction of the liquid flow.
GreenFuel uses an implementation of an air-lift reactor (ALR), which is a type of pneumatic contacting device in which fluid circulation takes place in a defined cyclic pattern through channels built specifically for this purpose. The process, called photomodulation, rotates the algae in and out of the sunlight. On the basis of the ALR principles and the specific requirements of photosynthetic processes, a “triangular” ALR configuration was developed that is particularly suitable for algal growth. The GreenFuel bioreactor consists of a riser tube or channel, a gas separator, and a down comer tube or channel. The difference in the apparent fluid densities between the riser and down comer provides the driving force for liquid circulation. Air-lift reactors (ALRs) have great potential for industrial bioprocesses, because of the low level and homogeneous distribution of hydrodynamic shear.
In the GreenFuel Technologies beta system at MIT, a slipstream from the MIT Cogeneration Plant is passed directly from a sampling port on the stack into a bank of triangle-shaped bioreactors containing algae in a salt water growth medium. Each bioreactor is self-contained; the gas enters at the bottom two vertices, and makes a single pass though the tubular bioreactor before exiting at the top vertex. The bioreactor dimensions-approximately 8 feet tall by 6 feet long by several inches wide-are determined by the amount of time required for the gas to dissolve in the growth medium as it rises through the vertical and hypotenuse legs (The triangle design is patented by GreenFuel).
Greenfuel Technologies)
The GreenFuel team has been growing algae on the Cogen gases, and harvesting algae ‘crops’ daily. Algae reduced NOx day and night, regardless of temporal and weather conditions. The process is essentially an effect of the surface configuration of the algae cell walls. Even dead algae can reduce NOx up to 70 percent. The harvested algae can be used to generate biofuel products. A week-long evaluation by a third party called CK Environmental Inc. certified that over the seven-day test period, the GreenFuel beta system simultaneously removed 85.9 percent NOx (2.1 percent, regardless of weather conditions), and 82.3 percent CO2 (12.5 percent) on sunny days, or 50.1 percent CO2 (6.5 percent) on cloudy or rainy days. The testing methods conformed to EPA standards for measuring NOx and CO2 emissions.
The Academic and University Centre in Nove Hrady, Czech Republic developed a closed tubular photobioreactor. This “penthouse-roof” photobioreactor was based on solar concentrators (linear Fresnel lenses) mounted in a climate-controlled greenhouse on top of the laboratory complex combining features of indoor and outdoor cultivation units. The dual-purpose system was designed for algal biomass production in temperate climate zones under well-controlled cultivation conditions and for heating service water with surplus solar energy.
Greenshift Corporation
GreenShift Corporation has acquired rights to Ohio University’s patented cynaobacteria based bioreactor process for reducing greenhouse gases emissions from fossil-fuel combustion processes. Dr. David Bayless at OU designed a bioreactor based on a newly discovered iron-loving cyanobacterium (blue-green algae). In concept, this is very similar to GreenFuel Technology’s reactor. The algae grown in the bioreactor on 60 by 120-centimeter membranes of woven fibers resembling window screens interspersed between the Oak Ridge glow plates. Capillary action wicks water to the algae, fiber optic cables channel sunlight into the glow plates, and ducts bring in the hot flue gas. Spreading the cyanobacteria on membranes maximizes surface area for growth, minimizes water and optimizes the use of sunlight. The algae use the available carbon dioxide and water, giving off pure oxygen and water vapor in the process. The organisms also absorb nitrogen oxide and sulfur dioxide. A prototype is capable of handling 140 cubic meters of flue gas per minute, an amount equal to the exhaust from 50 cars or a 3 megawatt power plant. Once the algae grow to maturity, they fall to the bottom of the bioreactor and are used as feedstock and fertilizers. The biomass can also be utilized for producing biodiesel.
Future research in this area would involve determination of the operational and economic feasibility of such systems for organic biomass production from the viewpoint of cement industry. This would lead to sequestration of CO2 produced from cement manufacturing and production of biofuel as an alternate fuel.
References:
Novakovic, G.V., Kim, Y., Wu, X., Berzin, I., and Merchuk, J.C., 2005. Air-Lift Bioreactors for Algal Growth on Flue Gas: Mathematical Modeling and Pilot-Plant Studies. Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. Vol. 44, pp. 6154-6163.
Sheehan, J., Dunahay, T., Beneman, J. and Roessler,P., 1998. A Look Back at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Aquatic Species Program Biodiesel from Algae. U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Fuels Development.
De Boer, A.J., and van Doorn, J., 1998. Combined production of chemicals and biomass with microalgae in a closed photobioreactor. ECN Contribution to the 10th European Conference: ‘Biomass for energy and industry’. ECN RX-98-003, pp. 27-29.
Reith, J.H., van Doorn, J., Mur, L.R., Kalwij, R., Bakema,G. and van der Lee, G., 2000. Sustainable co-production of natural fine chemicals and biofuels from microalgae. Conference Biomass for Energy and Industry, Sevilla, June 2000.
Bayless, D.J., et al., 2002. Enhanced Practical Photosynthetic CO2 Mitigation (http://www.netl.doe.gov/publications/proceedings/01/carbon_seq/5a4.pdf)
Masojídek, J., Papácek, S., Sergejevová, M., Jirka, V., Cervený, J., Kunc, J., Korecko, J., Verbovikova, O., Kopecký, J., `tys, D. and Torzillo, G., 2003. A closed solar photobioreactor for cultivation of microalgae under supra-high irradiance: basic design and performance. Journal of Applied Phycology, Vol. 15, pp. 239-248.
Website References:
GreenFuel: Using Algae to Capture Emissions
Vision: The World Student Community for Sustainable Development, April 22, 2005
Greenshift Licenses Bioreactor Technology
Green Car Congress, December 12, 2005
Beta Test Set for Emission-Fighting Algae Bioreactor
Power Engineering International, November 2004
Blue Green Acres
Scientific American, August 29, 2005
Algae Emissions Reduction Concept Shows New
Editor’s Note: With every new technology there is a lot of hype, especially when it is green technology. Biofuel is no exception. In the realm of new green energy technologies not only is the holy grail of abundant energy held forth by entrepreneurs to investors as an irresistable temptation, there is also the claim that we will save the planet. Heady stuff.
We’ve been aggressively covering developments in biofuel for quite some time now, and we’ve learned a few things. First of all, using the best crops out there, such as palm oil for biodiesel and sugar cane for bioethanol, you will get an economically viable crop. But at 6,000 barrels of fuel per square mile per year, you will not get a substitute for petroleum. In fact, to replace worldwide petroleum use with biofuel you would have to consume 10.8 million square miles of farmland with the highest yielding biofuel crops, and there are only 5.8 million square miles of farmland on earth.
We’ve also learned that the biofuel boom is already having unintended negative consequences. It’s crowding out food production and driving up food prices in nations where many of the poorer citizens already can’t afford to buy enough food. It is also encouraging new rounds of deforestation in regions where deforestation for rangeland, farms and timber harvesting are still out of control. Clearly, biofuel is a new technology with potential, but it is also problematic. A conscientious environmentalist will undoubtedly make a nuanced appraisal of biofuel, not a total endorsement.
Now we have a new concept - factory produced biofuel. In the following assessment of biofuel produced in a “bioreactor” from algae, the pitfalls of producing biofuel from algae ponds is recognized, and then the author explains the potential to produce biofuel within illuminated, enclosed containers, infused with carbon dioxide. While much more needs to be learned, it is certainly possible this process could become economically viable, and could result in a far higher contribution from biofuel to the ever increasing fuel requirements of civilization. - Ed Ring
http://ecoworld.com/features/2006/10/15/factory-farmed-biofuel/
-----------------------------------------------------------------
DOE Doles Out Bucks for Biofuel Producers
Greentech Media
10/10/08 - 04:08 PM EDT
Written by Rachel Barron
Novozymes said Wednesday it scored $12.3 million from the U.S. Department of Energy to develop enzymes that would help cut the cost of producing cellulosic ethanol.
Enzymes are used to help break down the starch of cellulose feedstocks, such as switchgrass, corncobs and woodchips, and turn them into sugars. The sugars are then fermented and distilled to become ethanol. The government expects something in return for its investment. The deal calls for the Danish company to increase the efficiency of the enzymes by two folds.
To accomplish this goal, Novozymes will match the DOE's funding, bringing the total amount invested into the project to $25 million. The company said it will have the cost-cutting enzymes ready for the commercial market by 2012.
This is the second time the company has received funding from the DOE. In 2001, Novozymes bagged $18 million from the federal government, again to improve enzymes used in producing biofuels.
The company has received government support at a time when private industry investments are harder to come by. Doing research and building biofuel refineries are multimillion-dollar undertakings, but raising money will be difficult while the financial market continues to take its lumps. Commercializing biofuel technologies could take longer as a result, Arnold Klann, CEO of waste-to-ethanol company BlueFire Ethanol, told Reuters last week.
Still, the biofuel industry keeps moving forward. Here's a breakdown:
Mascoma Corp. said Tuesday it grabbed $26 million from the DOE and $23.5 million from the State of Michigan to build a cellulosic ethanol plant. The plant, which will be located in Michigan's Chippewa County, will produce 40 million gallons of ethanol per year from woodchips. Mascoma and JM Longyear, a timber and mining company, plan to form Frontier Renewable Resources to own and operate the new plant.
The food vs. fuel debate continued to brown biofuels' green image Tuesday when the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization released a report that found that biofuel subsidies and policies contributed to rising food prices. The U.N. agency called for biofuel policies and subsidies to be reviewed right away in an effort to preserve the world's food security. The report did have some positive things to say about next-generation biofuels such as cellulosic ethanol, which it said could reduce the fossil energy used and greenhouse gasses produced during biofuel production.
We all need a plan to accomplish a goal. And some of us need a plan to create a plan. And that's basically what U.S. Departments of Agriculture and the DOE said Tuesday when the agencies outlined the steps needed to accomplish the country's goal of cutting U.S. gasoline consumption by 20 percent over the next 10 years. Titled the National Biofuels Action Plan, the plan calls for interagency efforts to help drive the development of a sustainable biofuel production. For example, a group led by the USDA, DOE and the Environmental Protection Agency is defining the criteria to be used when assessing the sustainability of biofuel production. And another interagency group is creating a 10-year technology research plan for developing cost-effective ways for producing cellulosic ethanol.
In April, the United Kingdom required those supplying more than 450,000 liters (118,890 gallons) of fossil fuel-based transportation to make sure up 2.5 percent of their fuels sold are coming from biofuels over the next year. But that wasn't all. The biofuels will also have to meet the U.K. government's environmental standards. According to an interim quarterly report published Tuesday by the U.K.'s Renewable Fuels Agency, biofuels supplied by several companies, including BP (BP Quote - Cramer on BP - Stock Picks) and Exxon Mobil (XOM Quote - Cramer on XOM - Stock Picks) subsidiary Esso, have so far failed to meet the country's green standards.
Ethanol producer Poet said Tuesday it is getting the total funding the DOE promised last year. In February 2007, the DOE said it would give Poet up to $80 million to build a commercial ethanol plant that makes fuel from corn as well as corn fiber and cobs. The first part of the deal with the government gave the Sioux Falls, S.D.-based company $3.7 million to help with the preliminary design of the plant and feedstock collection. Now, the company is getting the remaining $76.3 million for construction and plant operation. Upon completion, the plant will make 125 million gallons ethanol per year, 25 million of which will be from corn fiber and cobs. Construction on the plant will begin in 2009, and cellulosic fuel production could come as early as 2011, the company said.
http://www.thestreet.com/print/story/10441893.html
Biofuel From Algae
by Ramesh Suri, October 16, 2006
Algae are microscopic, single-celled plants, growing in an aqueous environment.
For growth algae make use of sunlight as energy source and simple inorganic nutrients, predominantly CO2, soluble nitrogen components and phosphates. For many years, there has been a theory that noxious flue gases produced by industries could be substantially reduced by using algae. The algal biomass produced can then be used for generating high-energy biofuel. In the case of the cement industry, the biofuel produced can be directly fired in captive power plants and kilns.
Characteristics of algae cultivation are:
- The productivity per area is 2 to 5 fold higher as compared with traditional agricultural crops and fast growing ‘energy crops.’
- Lower quality water can be used for growing algae, e.g. the effluent of biological waste water treatment facilities.
- Algal systems can remove CO2 (and NOx) from flue gases.-
Many algal species produce valuable products, such as colorants, polyunsaturated fatty acids and bioactive compounds. These ‘fine chemicals’ are applicable as a natural ingredient in food products, pharmaceuticals, food supplements and personal care products.
- After extraction of these valuable compounds the remaining biomass (approx. 80%) can be used for production of ‘green’ electricity and heat. Alternatively, microalgae can be used for the production of methylesterfuel (bio-diesel).
Finding renewable energy sources has been a top concern for many scientists around the world and algae based biofuel has emerged as a viable resource. At present there are two common methods for algae based biofuel production: open ponds and bioreactors. The major technical challenges of these systems are how to: sustain highest photosynthesis and biomass productivity, reduce cell damage by hydrodynamic stress, reduce costs in fabrication, installation, and maintenance, and increase the capability of the system to expand to an industrial scale.
From 1978 to 1996, the U.S. Department of Energy’s Office of Fuels Development funded a program to develop renewable transportation fuels from algae. The main focus of the program, know as Aquatic Species Program (or ASP), was the production of biodiesel from high lipid-content algae grown in ponds utilizing waste CO2 from coal fired power plants. The study demonstrated that more than 300 species of algae were well suited to the task. Gaseous emission was pumped through the base of a pond and algae grown on the surface. The project was eventually abandoned because of the difficulty in harvesting algae and high cost of energy required to agitate the pond to ensure sufficient algal exposure to sunlight. As photosynthesis efficiency is driven by complex cellular mechanisms that depend on having just the right exposure to light, past algal systems grew to be complex and ultimately too expensive for most industries to contemplate. They took the form of huge, shallow ponds with extensive pumping and distribution mechanisms.
GreenFuel Technologies Corp., a Massachusetts based research company, working in collaboration with theMassachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), using the air-lift bioreactors for algal growth on flue gas, has succeeded in reducing the capital investment by streamlining the harvesting of algae, limiting the energy required to operate the system, automating many of the necessary controls (e.g., flow controllers and gas uptake), and minimizing the physical space required.
SCHEMATIC OF AN AIR LIFT BIOREACTOR
Solid arrows indicate the direction of the gas flow;
open arrows indicate the direction of the liquid flow.
GreenFuel uses an implementation of an air-lift reactor (ALR), which is a type of pneumatic contacting device in which fluid circulation takes place in a defined cyclic pattern through channels built specifically for this purpose. The process, called photomodulation, rotates the algae in and out of the sunlight. On the basis of the ALR principles and the specific requirements of photosynthetic processes, a “triangular” ALR configuration was developed that is particularly suitable for algal growth. The GreenFuel bioreactor consists of a riser tube or channel, a gas separator, and a down comer tube or channel. The difference in the apparent fluid densities between the riser and down comer provides the driving force for liquid circulation. Air-lift reactors (ALRs) have great potential for industrial bioprocesses, because of the low level and homogeneous distribution of hydrodynamic shear.
In the GreenFuel Technologies beta system at MIT, a slipstream from the MIT Cogeneration Plant is passed directly from a sampling port on the stack into a bank of triangle-shaped bioreactors containing algae in a salt water growth medium. Each bioreactor is self-contained; the gas enters at the bottom two vertices, and makes a single pass though the tubular bioreactor before exiting at the top vertex. The bioreactor dimensions-approximately 8 feet tall by 6 feet long by several inches wide-are determined by the amount of time required for the gas to dissolve in the growth medium as it rises through the vertical and hypotenuse legs (The triangle design is patented by GreenFuel).
Greenfuel Technologies)
The GreenFuel team has been growing algae on the Cogen gases, and harvesting algae ‘crops’ daily. Algae reduced NOx day and night, regardless of temporal and weather conditions. The process is essentially an effect of the surface configuration of the algae cell walls. Even dead algae can reduce NOx up to 70 percent. The harvested algae can be used to generate biofuel products. A week-long evaluation by a third party called CK Environmental Inc. certified that over the seven-day test period, the GreenFuel beta system simultaneously removed 85.9 percent NOx (2.1 percent, regardless of weather conditions), and 82.3 percent CO2 (12.5 percent) on sunny days, or 50.1 percent CO2 (6.5 percent) on cloudy or rainy days. The testing methods conformed to EPA standards for measuring NOx and CO2 emissions.
The Academic and University Centre in Nove Hrady, Czech Republic developed a closed tubular photobioreactor. This “penthouse-roof” photobioreactor was based on solar concentrators (linear Fresnel lenses) mounted in a climate-controlled greenhouse on top of the laboratory complex combining features of indoor and outdoor cultivation units. The dual-purpose system was designed for algal biomass production in temperate climate zones under well-controlled cultivation conditions and for heating service water with surplus solar energy.
Greenshift Corporation
GreenShift Corporation has acquired rights to Ohio University’s patented cynaobacteria based bioreactor process for reducing greenhouse gases emissions from fossil-fuel combustion processes. Dr. David Bayless at OU designed a bioreactor based on a newly discovered iron-loving cyanobacterium (blue-green algae). In concept, this is very similar to GreenFuel Technology’s reactor. The algae grown in the bioreactor on 60 by 120-centimeter membranes of woven fibers resembling window screens interspersed between the Oak Ridge glow plates. Capillary action wicks water to the algae, fiber optic cables channel sunlight into the glow plates, and ducts bring in the hot flue gas. Spreading the cyanobacteria on membranes maximizes surface area for growth, minimizes water and optimizes the use of sunlight. The algae use the available carbon dioxide and water, giving off pure oxygen and water vapor in the process. The organisms also absorb nitrogen oxide and sulfur dioxide. A prototype is capable of handling 140 cubic meters of flue gas per minute, an amount equal to the exhaust from 50 cars or a 3 megawatt power plant. Once the algae grow to maturity, they fall to the bottom of the bioreactor and are used as feedstock and fertilizers. The biomass can also be utilized for producing biodiesel.
Future research in this area would involve determination of the operational and economic feasibility of such systems for organic biomass production from the viewpoint of cement industry. This would lead to sequestration of CO2 produced from cement manufacturing and production of biofuel as an alternate fuel.
References:
Novakovic, G.V., Kim, Y., Wu, X., Berzin, I., and Merchuk, J.C., 2005. Air-Lift Bioreactors for Algal Growth on Flue Gas: Mathematical Modeling and Pilot-Plant Studies. Ind. Eng. Chem. Res. Vol. 44, pp. 6154-6163.
Sheehan, J., Dunahay, T., Beneman, J. and Roessler,P., 1998. A Look Back at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Aquatic Species Program Biodiesel from Algae. U.S. Department of Energy, Office of Fuels Development.
De Boer, A.J., and van Doorn, J., 1998. Combined production of chemicals and biomass with microalgae in a closed photobioreactor. ECN Contribution to the 10th European Conference: ‘Biomass for energy and industry’. ECN RX-98-003, pp. 27-29.
Reith, J.H., van Doorn, J., Mur, L.R., Kalwij, R., Bakema,G. and van der Lee, G., 2000. Sustainable co-production of natural fine chemicals and biofuels from microalgae. Conference Biomass for Energy and Industry, Sevilla, June 2000.
Bayless, D.J., et al., 2002. Enhanced Practical Photosynthetic CO2 Mitigation (http://www.netl.doe.gov/publications/proceedings/01/carbon_seq/5a4.pdf)
Masojídek, J., Papácek, S., Sergejevová, M., Jirka, V., Cervený, J., Kunc, J., Korecko, J., Verbovikova, O., Kopecký, J., `tys, D. and Torzillo, G., 2003. A closed solar photobioreactor for cultivation of microalgae under supra-high irradiance: basic design and performance. Journal of Applied Phycology, Vol. 15, pp. 239-248.
Website References:
GreenFuel: Using Algae to Capture Emissions
Vision: The World Student Community for Sustainable Development, April 22, 2005
Greenshift Licenses Bioreactor Technology
Green Car Congress, December 12, 2005
Beta Test Set for Emission-Fighting Algae Bioreactor
Power Engineering International, November 2004
Blue Green Acres
Scientific American, August 29, 2005
Algae Emissions Reduction Concept Shows New
Editor’s Note: With every new technology there is a lot of hype, especially when it is green technology. Biofuel is no exception. In the realm of new green energy technologies not only is the holy grail of abundant energy held forth by entrepreneurs to investors as an irresistable temptation, there is also the claim that we will save the planet. Heady stuff.
We’ve been aggressively covering developments in biofuel for quite some time now, and we’ve learned a few things. First of all, using the best crops out there, such as palm oil for biodiesel and sugar cane for bioethanol, you will get an economically viable crop. But at 6,000 barrels of fuel per square mile per year, you will not get a substitute for petroleum. In fact, to replace worldwide petroleum use with biofuel you would have to consume 10.8 million square miles of farmland with the highest yielding biofuel crops, and there are only 5.8 million square miles of farmland on earth.
We’ve also learned that the biofuel boom is already having unintended negative consequences. It’s crowding out food production and driving up food prices in nations where many of the poorer citizens already can’t afford to buy enough food. It is also encouraging new rounds of deforestation in regions where deforestation for rangeland, farms and timber harvesting are still out of control. Clearly, biofuel is a new technology with potential, but it is also problematic. A conscientious environmentalist will undoubtedly make a nuanced appraisal of biofuel, not a total endorsement.
Now we have a new concept - factory produced biofuel. In the following assessment of biofuel produced in a “bioreactor” from algae, the pitfalls of producing biofuel from algae ponds is recognized, and then the author explains the potential to produce biofuel within illuminated, enclosed containers, infused with carbon dioxide. While much more needs to be learned, it is certainly possible this process could become economically viable, and could result in a far higher contribution from biofuel to the ever increasing fuel requirements of civilization. - Ed Ring
http://ecoworld.com/features/2006/10/15/factory-farmed-biofuel/
-----------------------------------------------------------------
DOE Doles Out Bucks for Biofuel Producers
Greentech Media
10/10/08 - 04:08 PM EDT
Written by Rachel Barron
Novozymes said Wednesday it scored $12.3 million from the U.S. Department of Energy to develop enzymes that would help cut the cost of producing cellulosic ethanol.
Enzymes are used to help break down the starch of cellulose feedstocks, such as switchgrass, corncobs and woodchips, and turn them into sugars. The sugars are then fermented and distilled to become ethanol. The government expects something in return for its investment. The deal calls for the Danish company to increase the efficiency of the enzymes by two folds.
To accomplish this goal, Novozymes will match the DOE's funding, bringing the total amount invested into the project to $25 million. The company said it will have the cost-cutting enzymes ready for the commercial market by 2012.
This is the second time the company has received funding from the DOE. In 2001, Novozymes bagged $18 million from the federal government, again to improve enzymes used in producing biofuels.
The company has received government support at a time when private industry investments are harder to come by. Doing research and building biofuel refineries are multimillion-dollar undertakings, but raising money will be difficult while the financial market continues to take its lumps. Commercializing biofuel technologies could take longer as a result, Arnold Klann, CEO of waste-to-ethanol company BlueFire Ethanol, told Reuters last week.
Still, the biofuel industry keeps moving forward. Here's a breakdown:
Mascoma Corp. said Tuesday it grabbed $26 million from the DOE and $23.5 million from the State of Michigan to build a cellulosic ethanol plant. The plant, which will be located in Michigan's Chippewa County, will produce 40 million gallons of ethanol per year from woodchips. Mascoma and JM Longyear, a timber and mining company, plan to form Frontier Renewable Resources to own and operate the new plant.
The food vs. fuel debate continued to brown biofuels' green image Tuesday when the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization released a report that found that biofuel subsidies and policies contributed to rising food prices. The U.N. agency called for biofuel policies and subsidies to be reviewed right away in an effort to preserve the world's food security. The report did have some positive things to say about next-generation biofuels such as cellulosic ethanol, which it said could reduce the fossil energy used and greenhouse gasses produced during biofuel production.
We all need a plan to accomplish a goal. And some of us need a plan to create a plan. And that's basically what U.S. Departments of Agriculture and the DOE said Tuesday when the agencies outlined the steps needed to accomplish the country's goal of cutting U.S. gasoline consumption by 20 percent over the next 10 years. Titled the National Biofuels Action Plan, the plan calls for interagency efforts to help drive the development of a sustainable biofuel production. For example, a group led by the USDA, DOE and the Environmental Protection Agency is defining the criteria to be used when assessing the sustainability of biofuel production. And another interagency group is creating a 10-year technology research plan for developing cost-effective ways for producing cellulosic ethanol.
In April, the United Kingdom required those supplying more than 450,000 liters (118,890 gallons) of fossil fuel-based transportation to make sure up 2.5 percent of their fuels sold are coming from biofuels over the next year. But that wasn't all. The biofuels will also have to meet the U.K. government's environmental standards. According to an interim quarterly report published Tuesday by the U.K.'s Renewable Fuels Agency, biofuels supplied by several companies, including BP (BP Quote - Cramer on BP - Stock Picks) and Exxon Mobil (XOM Quote - Cramer on XOM - Stock Picks) subsidiary Esso, have so far failed to meet the country's green standards.
Ethanol producer Poet said Tuesday it is getting the total funding the DOE promised last year. In February 2007, the DOE said it would give Poet up to $80 million to build a commercial ethanol plant that makes fuel from corn as well as corn fiber and cobs. The first part of the deal with the government gave the Sioux Falls, S.D.-based company $3.7 million to help with the preliminary design of the plant and feedstock collection. Now, the company is getting the remaining $76.3 million for construction and plant operation. Upon completion, the plant will make 125 million gallons ethanol per year, 25 million of which will be from corn fiber and cobs. Construction on the plant will begin in 2009, and cellulosic fuel production could come as early as 2011, the company said.
http://www.thestreet.com/print/story/10441893.html
Those With Sense of History May Find It’s Time to Invest
By ALEX BERENSON
The four most dangerous words for investors are: This time is different.
In 1999, technology companies with no earnings or sales were valued at billions of dollars. But this time was different, investors told themselves. The Internet could not be missed at any price.
They were wrong. In 2000 and 2001 technology stocks plunged, erasing trillions of dollars in wealth.
Now investors have again convinced themselves that this time is different, that the credit crisis will push economies worldwide into the deepest recession since the Depression. Fear runs even deeper today than greed did a decade ago. But in their panic, investors are ignoring 60 years of history. Since the Depression, governments have become far more aggressive about intervening when credit markets seize up or economies struggle. And those interventions have generally succeeded. The recessions since World War II, while hardly easy, have been far less painful than the Depression.
Now some veteran investors, including G. Kenneth Heebner, a mutual fund manager who has one of the best long-term track records on Wall Street, say that the sell-off has gone much too far and stocks are poised to rally powerfully if the downturn is less severe than investors fear.
“The fact is, there are a lot of tremendous bargains out there,” said Mr. Heebner, who manages about $10 billion in several mutual funds. Indeed, by many measures stocks are as cheap as they have been in the last 25 years.
He pointed to Chesapeake Energy, a natural gas producer that he owns in his CGM Focus mutual fund. In July, Chesapeake traded for $63 a share. On Friday, it fell as low as $11.99.
He says that investors with a stomach for risk and a long time horizon should consider following Warren E. Buffett, who in the last three weeks has invested $8 billion in Goldman Sachs and General Electric.
Mr. Heebner expects world economies to contract over the next year. But he said the market plunge in the last week was no longer being driven by rational analysis. Stocks are probably falling because of a combination of panic and forced selling by hedge funds that must meet margin calls from their lenders, he said.
Mr. Heebner’s funds have not avoided the carnage this year. The CGM Focus fund is down about 42 percent so far in 2008. But his long-term track record is impressive. In the decade that ended Dec. 31, 2007, CGM Focus rose 26 percent a year, including reinvested dividends, making it among the best-performing mutual funds.
Mr. Heebner is not alone in his optimism.
“I think in years to come — I wouldn’t say months to come — we will perceive this as being a great value-buying opportunity,” said David P. Stowell, a finance professor at Northwestern and a former managing director at JPMorgan Chase. “Two and three years from now, it will seem very smart.”
Even before their jaw-dropping plunge of the last month, stocks were not expensive by historical standards, based on fundamentals like earnings and cash flow. Now, after falling 30 percent or more since early September, stocks in stalwart, profitable corporations like Nokia, Exxon Mobil and Boeing are trading at nine times their annual profits per share or less. Many smaller companies are even cheaper. Some of those stocks are trading at five times earnings or less.
Those ratios are historically low. Over all, the Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index is trading at about 13 times its expected profits for 2009, its lowest level in decades. In contrast, at the height of the technology bubble in early 2000, the stocks in the S.& P. traded at about 30 times earnings, the highest level ever. At the same time, the 10-year Treasury bond paid about 6 percent interest, compared with less than 4 percent today.
Investors have fled stocks in favor of government bonds, insured bank deposits and other low-risk investments because they are deeply afraid of the worldwide economic crisis, said Stephen Haber, an economic historian and senior fellow at the Hoover Institution. But he said he believed that fear might have gone too far.
“If there is good and wise policy, and government moves effectively, this need not play itself out in ways like the Great Depression, which is the image that is playing itself out in people’s mind,” Mr. Haber said. Government action typically does not work immediately, and banking crises around the world often require multiple interventions, he said.
Still, optimists remain in the minority on Wall Street. Most investors seem to believe that the credit crisis will do substantial damage to stocks and overall economic activity.
“We have never before seen for such sustained periods of time such a sustained turn away from risk taking,” said Steven Wieting, the chief United States economist for Citigroup. “This has broken out of the boundaries we’ve seen.” Economic activity appears to have slowed sharply in September, Mr. Wieting said.
The panic last week took the biggest toll on financial companies, as well as companies that are highly leveraged. But stocks fell 10 to 30 percent even for companies typically thought to be resistant to economic downturns, like the manufacturers of consumer staples.
For example, Newell Rubbermaid fell to $12.82 on Friday from $17.34 on Oct. 1, a 26 percent decline in 10 days. Newell Rubbermaid now trades at its lowest levels since 1990, and just eight times its expected earnings for next year.
Yet Newell Rubbermaid, whose brands include Calphalon, is profitable and insulated from the credit crisis, said William G. Schmitz Jr., who follows household products companies for Deutsche Bank. “There’s really no balance sheet risk,” Mr. Schmitz said. The company also pays a 6 percent dividend.
Newell Rubbermaid said in July that it would earn $1.40 to $1.60 a share for 2008, excluding restructuring charges. For 2009, stock analysts predict it will make $1.53 a share. And while a slowing economy may mean that people will be buying fewer products from Newell Rubbermaid, the recent plunge in oil prices will reduce its costs, Mr. Schmitz said.
“The way the stock’s reacted, you’d think they were going out of business,” he said.
Martin J. Whitman, a professional investor for more than 50 years, said that as long as economies worldwide could avoid an outright depression, stocks were amazingly cheap. Mr. Whitman manages the $6 billion Third Avenue Value fund, which returned 10.2 percent annually for the 15 years that ended Sept. 30, almost two percentage points a year better than the S.& P. 500 index. The fund is down 46 percent this year.
“This is the opportunity of a lifetime,” Mr. Whitman said. “The most important securities are being given away.”
Copyright 2008 The New York Times Company
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/12/business/12stox.html?exprod=myyahoo
The four most dangerous words for investors are: This time is different.
In 1999, technology companies with no earnings or sales were valued at billions of dollars. But this time was different, investors told themselves. The Internet could not be missed at any price.
They were wrong. In 2000 and 2001 technology stocks plunged, erasing trillions of dollars in wealth.
Now investors have again convinced themselves that this time is different, that the credit crisis will push economies worldwide into the deepest recession since the Depression. Fear runs even deeper today than greed did a decade ago. But in their panic, investors are ignoring 60 years of history. Since the Depression, governments have become far more aggressive about intervening when credit markets seize up or economies struggle. And those interventions have generally succeeded. The recessions since World War II, while hardly easy, have been far less painful than the Depression.
Now some veteran investors, including G. Kenneth Heebner, a mutual fund manager who has one of the best long-term track records on Wall Street, say that the sell-off has gone much too far and stocks are poised to rally powerfully if the downturn is less severe than investors fear.
“The fact is, there are a lot of tremendous bargains out there,” said Mr. Heebner, who manages about $10 billion in several mutual funds. Indeed, by many measures stocks are as cheap as they have been in the last 25 years.
He pointed to Chesapeake Energy, a natural gas producer that he owns in his CGM Focus mutual fund. In July, Chesapeake traded for $63 a share. On Friday, it fell as low as $11.99.
He says that investors with a stomach for risk and a long time horizon should consider following Warren E. Buffett, who in the last three weeks has invested $8 billion in Goldman Sachs and General Electric.
Mr. Heebner expects world economies to contract over the next year. But he said the market plunge in the last week was no longer being driven by rational analysis. Stocks are probably falling because of a combination of panic and forced selling by hedge funds that must meet margin calls from their lenders, he said.
Mr. Heebner’s funds have not avoided the carnage this year. The CGM Focus fund is down about 42 percent so far in 2008. But his long-term track record is impressive. In the decade that ended Dec. 31, 2007, CGM Focus rose 26 percent a year, including reinvested dividends, making it among the best-performing mutual funds.
Mr. Heebner is not alone in his optimism.
“I think in years to come — I wouldn’t say months to come — we will perceive this as being a great value-buying opportunity,” said David P. Stowell, a finance professor at Northwestern and a former managing director at JPMorgan Chase. “Two and three years from now, it will seem very smart.”
Even before their jaw-dropping plunge of the last month, stocks were not expensive by historical standards, based on fundamentals like earnings and cash flow. Now, after falling 30 percent or more since early September, stocks in stalwart, profitable corporations like Nokia, Exxon Mobil and Boeing are trading at nine times their annual profits per share or less. Many smaller companies are even cheaper. Some of those stocks are trading at five times earnings or less.
Those ratios are historically low. Over all, the Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index is trading at about 13 times its expected profits for 2009, its lowest level in decades. In contrast, at the height of the technology bubble in early 2000, the stocks in the S.& P. traded at about 30 times earnings, the highest level ever. At the same time, the 10-year Treasury bond paid about 6 percent interest, compared with less than 4 percent today.
Investors have fled stocks in favor of government bonds, insured bank deposits and other low-risk investments because they are deeply afraid of the worldwide economic crisis, said Stephen Haber, an economic historian and senior fellow at the Hoover Institution. But he said he believed that fear might have gone too far.
“If there is good and wise policy, and government moves effectively, this need not play itself out in ways like the Great Depression, which is the image that is playing itself out in people’s mind,” Mr. Haber said. Government action typically does not work immediately, and banking crises around the world often require multiple interventions, he said.
Still, optimists remain in the minority on Wall Street. Most investors seem to believe that the credit crisis will do substantial damage to stocks and overall economic activity.
“We have never before seen for such sustained periods of time such a sustained turn away from risk taking,” said Steven Wieting, the chief United States economist for Citigroup. “This has broken out of the boundaries we’ve seen.” Economic activity appears to have slowed sharply in September, Mr. Wieting said.
The panic last week took the biggest toll on financial companies, as well as companies that are highly leveraged. But stocks fell 10 to 30 percent even for companies typically thought to be resistant to economic downturns, like the manufacturers of consumer staples.
For example, Newell Rubbermaid fell to $12.82 on Friday from $17.34 on Oct. 1, a 26 percent decline in 10 days. Newell Rubbermaid now trades at its lowest levels since 1990, and just eight times its expected earnings for next year.
Yet Newell Rubbermaid, whose brands include Calphalon, is profitable and insulated from the credit crisis, said William G. Schmitz Jr., who follows household products companies for Deutsche Bank. “There’s really no balance sheet risk,” Mr. Schmitz said. The company also pays a 6 percent dividend.
Newell Rubbermaid said in July that it would earn $1.40 to $1.60 a share for 2008, excluding restructuring charges. For 2009, stock analysts predict it will make $1.53 a share. And while a slowing economy may mean that people will be buying fewer products from Newell Rubbermaid, the recent plunge in oil prices will reduce its costs, Mr. Schmitz said.
“The way the stock’s reacted, you’d think they were going out of business,” he said.
Martin J. Whitman, a professional investor for more than 50 years, said that as long as economies worldwide could avoid an outright depression, stocks were amazingly cheap. Mr. Whitman manages the $6 billion Third Avenue Value fund, which returned 10.2 percent annually for the 15 years that ended Sept. 30, almost two percentage points a year better than the S.& P. 500 index. The fund is down 46 percent this year.
“This is the opportunity of a lifetime,” Mr. Whitman said. “The most important securities are being given away.”
Copyright 2008 The New York Times Company
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/12/business/12stox.html?exprod=myyahoo
Friday, October 10, 2008
Comprehensive Comparative Study of Vaccinated
Dear Mr. Love:
I am writing to ask for your sponsorship of Representative Carolyn
Maloney's H.R. 2832, Comprehensive Comparative Study of Vaccinated and
Unvaccinated Populations Act of 2007. Rep. Maloney will be introducing
this bill again in the new Congress and it needs as much support as
possible.
With the recent concession in the national vaccine court that Hannah
Poling's autism was indeed caused by vaccines it is imperative that we
have independent and objective analysis of the health affects, both
positive and negative, created by our vaccination program. Only a large
scale study of the kind proposed by Rep. Maloney will provide the type of
information.
Autism is an out of control epidemic now affecting 1 in 90 American
children according to the most recent numbers. The dramatic rise in the
number of children with autism coincided with the rapid increase in the
extent of the mandatory vaccine schedule. This is also the same time that
we saw a rapid escalation in the number of children with allergies,
asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes and other auto-immune diseases.
Your swift and affirmative response to this message will play an important
part in my decision come election day.
Sincerely,
Leslie Hatcher RN
817-488-4062
----------------------------------------------------------
REPLY
I would that thought the the CDC, FDA, or NIH would have done this study long ago? If the premise is correct, then I will support this study for all childhood vaccinations and their relevance to providing proper protection against preventable disease and medical conditions.
Tom
Tom Love Democratic Candidate for US Congress TX 24www.TomLoveforTexas.com Ph#972-263-5630Office Address:132 E Main St, Ste 110, Grand Prairie, TX 75050Mailing Address:PO Box 7231,Arlington, TX 76005-7231
Also check out:Jenny McCarthy's Autism Organization - Generation Rescue
Generation Rescue is an international movement of scientists, physicians and parent-volunteers researching the causes and treatments for autism and mentoring thousands of families in recovering their children from autism.
http://www.generationrescue.org/
----------------------------------------------------------------
Comprehensive Comparative Study of Vaccinated and Unvaccinated Populations Act of 2007 (Introduced in House)
HR 2832 IH 110th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2832
To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to conduct or support a comprehensive study comparing total health outcomes, including risk of autism, in vaccinated populations in the United States with such outcomes in unvaccinated populations in the United States, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 22, 2007
Mrs. MALONEY of New York (for herself, Mr. HINCHEY, and Mr. PAUL) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the `Comprehensive Comparative Study of Vaccinated and Unvaccinated Populations Act of 2007'.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds as follows:
(1) Securing the health of the Nation's children is our most important concern as parents and stewards of the Nation's future.
(2) The Nation's vaccine program has greatly reduced human suffering from infectious disease by preventing and reducing the outbreak of vaccine-preventable diseases.
(3) Total health outcomes are the best measure of the success of any public health effort, including security from both chronic and infectious disease.
(4) Childhood immunizations are an important tool in the pursuit of childhood health.
(5) The number of immunizations administered to infants, pregnant women, children, teenagers, and adults has grown dramatically over recent years.
(6) The incidence of chronic, unexplained diseases such as autism, learning disabilities, and other neurological disorders appears to have increased dramatically in recent years.
(7) Individual vaccines are tested for safety, but little safety testing has been conducted for interaction effects of multiple vaccines.
(8) The strategy of aggressive, early childhood immunization against a large number of infectious diseases has never been tested in its entirety against alternative strategies, either for safety or for total health outcomes.
(9) Childhood immunizations are the only health interventions that are required by States of all citizens in order to participate in civic society.
(10) Public confidence in the management of public health can only be maintained if these State government-mandated, mass vaccination programs--
(A) are tested rigorously and in their entirety against all reasonable safety concerns; and
(B) are verified in their entirety to produce superior health outcomes.
(11) There are numerous United States populations in which a practice of no vaccination is followed and which therefore provide a natural comparison group for comparing total health outcomes.
(12) No comparative study of such health outcomes has ever been conducted.
(13) Given rising concern over the high rates of childhood neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism, the need for such studies is becoming urgent.
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?c110:1:./temp/~c110wfWK05::
I am writing to ask for your sponsorship of Representative Carolyn
Maloney's H.R. 2832, Comprehensive Comparative Study of Vaccinated and
Unvaccinated Populations Act of 2007. Rep. Maloney will be introducing
this bill again in the new Congress and it needs as much support as
possible.
With the recent concession in the national vaccine court that Hannah
Poling's autism was indeed caused by vaccines it is imperative that we
have independent and objective analysis of the health affects, both
positive and negative, created by our vaccination program. Only a large
scale study of the kind proposed by Rep. Maloney will provide the type of
information.
Autism is an out of control epidemic now affecting 1 in 90 American
children according to the most recent numbers. The dramatic rise in the
number of children with autism coincided with the rapid increase in the
extent of the mandatory vaccine schedule. This is also the same time that
we saw a rapid escalation in the number of children with allergies,
asthma, rheumatoid arthritis, diabetes and other auto-immune diseases.
Your swift and affirmative response to this message will play an important
part in my decision come election day.
Sincerely,
Leslie Hatcher RN
817-488-4062
----------------------------------------------------------
REPLY
I would that thought the the CDC, FDA, or NIH would have done this study long ago? If the premise is correct, then I will support this study for all childhood vaccinations and their relevance to providing proper protection against preventable disease and medical conditions.
Tom
Tom Love Democratic Candidate for US Congress TX 24www.TomLoveforTexas.com Ph#972-263-5630Office Address:132 E Main St, Ste 110, Grand Prairie, TX 75050Mailing Address:PO Box 7231,Arlington, TX 76005-7231
Also check out:Jenny McCarthy's Autism Organization - Generation Rescue
Generation Rescue is an international movement of scientists, physicians and parent-volunteers researching the causes and treatments for autism and mentoring thousands of families in recovering their children from autism.
http://www.generationrescue.org/
----------------------------------------------------------------
Comprehensive Comparative Study of Vaccinated and Unvaccinated Populations Act of 2007 (Introduced in House)
HR 2832 IH 110th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 2832
To direct the Secretary of Health and Human Services to conduct or support a comprehensive study comparing total health outcomes, including risk of autism, in vaccinated populations in the United States with such outcomes in unvaccinated populations in the United States, and for other purposes.
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
June 22, 2007
Mrs. MALONEY of New York (for herself, Mr. HINCHEY, and Mr. PAUL) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Energy and Commerce
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the `Comprehensive Comparative Study of Vaccinated and Unvaccinated Populations Act of 2007'.
SEC. 2. FINDINGS.
The Congress finds as follows:
(1) Securing the health of the Nation's children is our most important concern as parents and stewards of the Nation's future.
(2) The Nation's vaccine program has greatly reduced human suffering from infectious disease by preventing and reducing the outbreak of vaccine-preventable diseases.
(3) Total health outcomes are the best measure of the success of any public health effort, including security from both chronic and infectious disease.
(4) Childhood immunizations are an important tool in the pursuit of childhood health.
(5) The number of immunizations administered to infants, pregnant women, children, teenagers, and adults has grown dramatically over recent years.
(6) The incidence of chronic, unexplained diseases such as autism, learning disabilities, and other neurological disorders appears to have increased dramatically in recent years.
(7) Individual vaccines are tested for safety, but little safety testing has been conducted for interaction effects of multiple vaccines.
(8) The strategy of aggressive, early childhood immunization against a large number of infectious diseases has never been tested in its entirety against alternative strategies, either for safety or for total health outcomes.
(9) Childhood immunizations are the only health interventions that are required by States of all citizens in order to participate in civic society.
(10) Public confidence in the management of public health can only be maintained if these State government-mandated, mass vaccination programs--
(A) are tested rigorously and in their entirety against all reasonable safety concerns; and
(B) are verified in their entirety to produce superior health outcomes.
(11) There are numerous United States populations in which a practice of no vaccination is followed and which therefore provide a natural comparison group for comparing total health outcomes.
(12) No comparative study of such health outcomes has ever been conducted.
(13) Given rising concern over the high rates of childhood neurodevelopmental disorders such as autism, the need for such studies is becoming urgent.
http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/D?c110:1:./temp/~c110wfWK05::
Wall Street ends worst week ever
Wall Street ends mixed after 8 days of massive losses; Dow swings over 1,000 pts
NEW YORK (AP) -- Wall Street capped its worst week ever with a wild session Friday that saw the Dow Jones industrials rocket within a 1,000 point range before closing with a relatively mild loss and the Nasdaq composite index actually end with a modest advance. Investors were still agonizing over frozen credit markets, but seven days of massive losses made many stocks tempting for traders looking for bargains.
The Dow lost 128 points, giving the blue chips an eight-day loss of just under 2,400. The average had its worst week on record in both point and percentage terms, as did the Standard & Poor's 500 index, the indicator most watched by market professionals.
But there were signs Friday that some investors might believe the market was at or near a bottom. Just one day earlier, selling accelerated in the last hour of trading, giving the Dow a loss of 678 points, as many market players fled, while Friday, many people were clearly buying. And the Russell 2000 index, which tracks the movements of smaller company stocks, had a 4.66 percent gain Friday; small-cap stocks are often first on investors' shopping lists when they think a market turnaround is at hand.
The hair-trigger mentality of the market -- a reflection of the intense anxiety on the Street -- was evident from the opening bell. The Dow fell 696 points in the first 15 minutes, recovered to an advance of more than 100 before the first hour was over, then turned sharply lower again before moving in swings of hundreds of points at the day's end.
Investors have spent much of the past month shuddering over a credit market that remains frozen, posing a threat to the economy. But Friday's gainers included financial stocks, the ones most decimated amid the ongoing banking and credit crisis.
The major indexes' sharp swings throughout the day were likely exacerbated by the computer-driven "buy" and "sell" orders that kicked in when prices fell far enough to make some stocks look like attractive bets or make other investors want to exit the market. The spurts of buying didn't reflect an easing of the market's despair, and trading is likely to remain volatile when the market reopens on Monday.
"Fear has been running rampant all over the Street. Fear and greed, that's what rules the Street. I think the carcass has been stripped to the bone," said Dave Henderson, a floor trader on the New York Stock Exchange for Raven Securities Corp.
According to preliminary calculations, the Dow fell 128.00, or 1.49 percent, to 8,451.49. At its low point Friday, the Dow was down 696 at 7,882.51, just 60 points above its low in Wall Street's last bear market, 7,286.27, reached Oct. 9, 2002. It crossed the line between gains and losses 32 times during the session.
The Dow rebounded from a low of 7,882.51 for the day -- the worst trading level since March 17, 2003. Still, its closing level Friday was the lowest since April 25, 2003.
The Dow has lost 1,874.19 points, or 18.2 percent, over the past week. Its dismal performance outdid the week that ended July 22, 1933, which saw a 17 percent drop -- and back then, during the Great Depression, there were six trading days in a week.
Broader stock indicators were mixed. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 10.70 or 1.18 percent, to 899.22, while the Nasdaq composite index rose 4.39, or 0.27 percent, to 1,649.51.
The Russell 2000 rose 23.28, or 4.66 percent, to 522.48.
President Bush said Friday the government's efforts to rescue the financial sector was powerful enough to succeed but that it would take some time to be fully implemented.
His remarks came as finance ministers and central bankers from the Group of Seven nations gathered Friday in Washington to discuss the economic meltdown. One of the potential remedies expected to be reviewed at the meeting is for governments to guarantee lending among banks.
Most major central banks around the world slashed interest rates this week after continuing problems in the credit market triggered concerns that banks will run out of money. Analysts have described the mood on trading floors this week as panicked at times, with investors bailing out of investments on fears there is no end in sight to the financial carnage.
A stream of selling forced exchanges in Austria, Russia and Indonesia to suspend trading, and those that remained opened were hammered. The rout in Australian markets caused traders there to call it "Black Friday."
European stocks sank Friday, with Britain's FTSE-100 falling 8.85 percent, German's DAX declining 7.01 percent, and France's CAC-40 ending down 7.73 percent. In Asia, the collapse of Japan's Yamato Life Insurance caused already nervous investors to pull even more money out of the market -- the Nikkei 225 fell 9.6 percent.
An index considered to be Wall Street's fear gauge reached record highs on Friday in another sign of massive investor anxiety. The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index, known as the VIX, rose to an all-time intraday high of 76.94 Friday. The VIX, which usually trades under 50, tracks options activity for the companies that make up the S&P 500.
Still, prospects of further government help and, perhaps, attractive prices helped parts of the financial sector show signs of life. Big national banks were among the gainers, including Bank of America Corp., which rose $1.24, or 6.3 percent, to $20.87. Some smaller banks also rose, including Fifth Third Bank Corp., which advanced 67 cents, or 6.9 percent, to $10.40.
Not all financials enjoyed a bounce, however. Morgan Stanley Inc. fell $2.77, or 22 percent, to $9.68 as investors worried that even with a major investment from Japan's Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group the company was still facing troubles. Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. fell $12.55, or 12 percent, to $88.80.
Citigroup Inc. said late Thursday it was suspending its bid to acquire Wachovia Corp., which will be acquired by Wells Fargo & Co. Citigroup rose $1.18, or 9.1 percent, to $14.11, while Wells Fargo fell $1.06, or 3.9 percent, to $28.31. Wachovia surged $1.55, or 43 percent, to $5.15.
Financials were most prominent among the smattering of stocks that rose in the S&P 500, though technology stocks generally advanced. Apple Inc. rose $8.06, or 9.1 percent, to $96.80, while eBay Inc. rose 77 cents, or 4.8 percent, to $16.73.
Investors appeared unfazed by final results arriving in afternoon trading from an auction Friday that set the price of debt issued by now bankrupt Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. at 8.625 cents on the dollar, down from a preliminary estimate of 9.75 cents.
The auction was for credit default swaps, which are contracts used to insure against the default of financial instruments like bonds and corporate debt. Traded in a $60 trillion, unregulated market, many of the instruments have fallen sharply because of their ties to bad mortgage debt. Those big losses and nervousness about who holds what CDS has made financial institutions hesitant to lend to one another. The auction could help the market determine which companies are most at risk from CDS losses.
New York Stock Exchange: http://www.nyse.com
Nasdaq Stock Market: http://www.nasdaq.com
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Dow falls 'only' 128 points
Commentary: Stock market missed turning in a Key Reversal Day
By MarketWatch
Last update: 5:00 p.m. EDT Oct. 10, 2008The following First Take is real-time analysis and opinion by the MarketWatch commentary team.
ANNANDALE, Va. (MarketWatch) -- For a brief and all-too-fleeting moment late in Friday's session, it looked as though the stock market would turn in what's known as a Key Reversal Day.
But, alas, it was not to be.
A Key Reversal Day, at least according to the standard definition, occurs when the market hits a new intraday low and then closes higher. Many technical analysts consider them to be bullish.
Just such a day was shaping up nicely near the close, since the Dow Jones Industrial Average ($INDU:Dow Jones Industrial Average
News, chart, profile, more
Last: 8,451.19-128.00-1.49%
4:30pm 10/10/2008
$INDU 8,451.19, -128.00, -1.5%) early in Friday's session had been down nearly 700 points -- a new low for the bear market that began one year ago.
And then, in the last hour of trading, the Dow battled back into positive territory, and at about 30 minutes prior to the close was ahead by a couple of hundred points. If the market could only hang on, a Key Reversal Day would have been registered.
But it couldn't.
The Dow finished down 128 points for the day and nearly 1,900 points for the week --making the week the worst in the gauge's 112-year history, in terms of points lost as well as percentage decline (22.1%).
Disappointing as Friday's close was, however, investors perhaps can take some solace from the fact that the Dow closed nearly 500 points off its low. It could have particularly damaging to the collective morale for investors to contemplate all weekend a much bigger loss.
It's a strange testament to how bad the market has been that a "mere" 128-point loss can seem to be such good news. See Market Snapshot.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
US STOCKS-Wall St turns higher on G7 action hope
NEW YORK, Oct 10 (Reuters) -U.S. stocks turned positive and the Dow industrials jumped more than 200 points in late afternoon trading on Friday, led by financials in a turbulent session with analysts citing bets that the finance chiefs of the world's major economies will take coordinated steps this weekend to confront the financial crisis.
"We're kind of rallying late here on speculation about what the G7 will do over the weekend," said John O'Brien, senior vice president at MKM Partners LLC in Cleveland.
Earlier, all three major U.S. stock indexes were sharply lower as panicked investors dumped stocks on mounting fears that frozen credit markets would push the global economy into recession.
The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI was up 273.75 points, or 3.19 percent, at 8,852.94. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX was up 16.55 points, or 1.82 percent, at 926.47. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC was up 42.25 points, or 2.57 percent, at 1,687.37. (Reporting by Kristina Cooke and Leah Schnurr; Editing by Jan Paschal)
------------------------------------------------
Will Fed's Moves Work? If Not, What Can It Do Next?
by Chris Isidore CNN Money
Efforts by governments worldwide to stop a slide in financial markets haven't worked yet and the Federal Reserve and the U.S. Treasury may have to consider more dramatic measures.
This week the Fed has moved to pump potentially trillions of additional dollars into the nation's banks and leading corporations. And it led the way on emergency interest rate cuts by central banks around the globe Wednesday morning.
As the global selloff continues, the U.S. government is now said to be considering steps that include taking direct investments in banks, as well as guaranteeing their debt and insuring all deposits.
But experts say the Fed's actions may not be enough to stop the global economy from plunging into the worst downturn seen in at least 25 years, if not since the Great Depression.
Even those praising the Fed say it's not clear what it would take to calm markets.
"I think they've been pretty inventive and pretty unrestrained," said Tom Schlesinger, executive director of the Financial Markets Center, a think tank that follows the Fed. "But I'm not sure what it would take to stem the fear in the markets. It's such a contagious and irrational phenomenon, and feeding on itself and compounding itself day by day."
What the Fed Has Already Done....
On Tuesday, the Fed unveiled a plan to lend directly to the nation's major companies by buying up an unlimited amount of the $1.3 trillion in commercial paper, short-term loans that businesses use to operate day-to-day, on the market.
The Fed also announced it was doubling the size of its term auction facility, a program the Fed created last year to lend banks money for up to 85 days at a time, to $300 billion. The Fed added it was prepared to boost the term auction facility to $900 billion by year's end.
Despite this, banks still appear to be reluctant to lend money and stock markets around the globe have continued to fall. On Thursday, the Dow industrials plunged nearly 700 points to a five-year low and markets worldwide plunged.
Experts say there are worries that the global economy is now sliding towards recession and that there is relatively little that the Fed or other central banks can do to stop that. The International Monetary Fund warned Wednesday that the world's economy will slow sharply this year and next.
"They're looking a bit more impotent with each action," said Lakshman Achuthan, managing director of the Economic Cycle Research Institute, about the Fed.
Achuthan said that since major banks around the world are cutting back on their lending, that dwarfs the economic muscle of the world's central banks and governments.
But in a speech Tuesday, Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke vowed that the Fed would do whatever it takes to try to fix the credit crunch.
"To support growth and reduce the downside risks, continued efforts to stabilize the financial markets are essential," he said. "The Federal Reserve will continue to use the tools at its disposal to improve market functioning and liquidity."
Experts say they don't think Wednesday's global rate cuts are the last steps the Fed plans to take. And many have suggestions as to what the Fed might do to get banks in the business of lending again.
More Cuts On the Way?
The first step is probably the most traditional one - further rate cuts.
According to closely watched interest rate futures, investors are pricing in an 84% chance of another quarter point cut at the Fed's next meeting, a two day session that concludes on Oct. 29. That would leave the central bank's key fed funds rate at 1.25%.
Many experts believe the Fed would not want to take rates below 1% - which is where they were for 12 months in 2003 and 2004. Some have blamed those low rates for helping to create an environment of easy lending that contributed to the housing bubble.
Yet, the Bank of Japan's key interest rate is already at 0.5%. And some argue that it would be justified for the Fed to lower rates to that level, or even to 0%, because of current conditions.
"Why not? If you're facing a situation where you need to lower the rates all the way to zero to keep the economy from going over the precipice, why wouldn't you do that," said Lyle Gramley, a former Fed governor now working as an economist for the Stanford Group.
Regardless of how far the Fed is willing to cut, more cuts are expected by other central banks, most notably the European Central Bank. That's because the ECB had not been cutting rates during the past year and have more room to lower rates.
Other Options for the Fed
Bill Gross, the chief investment officer at giant bond manager Pimco, wrote this week that another step the Fed could take is to become a clearing house for trades of a variety of exotic and arcane financial instruments such as collateralized debt obligations or credit default swaps. These have traditionally been traded directly between two firms rather than in an open market.
"We believe that the Federal Reserve must now act as a clearing house, guaranteeing that institutional transactions clear," Gross wrote in his most recent commentary.
Schlesinger agreed, saying that while the Fed would normally never think to take such an active role in markets, these are far from normal times.
Gramley said he also believes that the Fed may supplement its efforts to help larger firms by starting to lend money to small and medium sized businesses as well.
The Fed could agree to buy small business loans from banks that are backed by collateral, such as inventories or equipment. Gramley said the loans could be purchased on a non-recourse basis, meaning the Fed, and not the bank, assumes the risk if the loan goes bad.
That would free the banks from the need to raise more capital if the loans sour and could make them more willing to make such loans once again.
Can Anything Work but Time?
Still, Schlesinger is worried that there is little that the Fed or other government entities can do to fix the current crisis of confidence gripping financial markets.
A painful recession may be the only way for the markets to work the problems out of the system - with further declines in housing prices and deeper job losses likely a result.
"I wish I had a silver bullet. But the fear is disconnected from underlying fundamentals at this point," said Schlesinger. "What will thaw it out is a sense among lenders that a modicum of trust has been restored in these complicated, opaque markets."
But Gramley said that even if recent or future actions by the Fed aren't enough to stop the economy from slowing further, they can still have a positive effect.
"Even if it's not going to prevent the recession from deepening, what it can prevent is a huge meltdown," said Gramley.
Copyrighted, CNNMoney. All Rights Reserved.ADVERTISEMENT
Rates
See today's average rates across the country.
MortgageLoan Type Today Last Week
30 Year Fixed 5.97% 5.96%
15 Year Fixed 5.73% 5.67%
1 Year ARM 7.20% 6.10%
30 Year Fixed Jumbo 7.38% 7.12%
5/1 ARM 5.89% 5.92%
3/1 ARM 5.77% 5.77%
Source: Bankrate Home EquityLoan Type Today Last Week
$30K Home Equity Loan 7.65% 7.62%
$50K Home Equity Loan 7.25% 7.25%
$75K Home Equity Loan 7.26% 7.26%
$30K HELOC 5.15% 5.28%
$50K HELOC 4.73% 4.90%
$75K HELOC 4.74% 4.91%
Source: Bankrate SavingsSavings Type Today Last Week
6 month CD 3.15% 3.20%
1 year CD 3.63% 3.68%
3 year CD 3.81% 3.86%
MMA 2.42% 2.44%
$10K MMA 2.71% 2.70%
$25K MMA 3.05% 3.04%
Source: Bankrate AutoLoan Type Today Last Week
36 Month New Car Loan 6.77% 6.73%
48 Month New Car Loan 6.83% 6.52%
60 Month New Car Loan 6.85% 6.53%
72 Month New Car Loan 6.44% 6.44%
36 Month Used Car Loan 7.15% 7.11%
48 Month Used Car Loan 6.95% 6.81%
Source: Bankrate Credit CardsCard Type Today Last Week
Balance Transfer 10.31% 10.03%
Low Interest 11.01% 10.97%
For Bad Credit 13.02% 13.12%
Cash Back 11.47% 11.46%
Business 11.10% 10.91%
Airline 12.75% 12.69%
Source: CreditCards.com View rates in your area
Most Popular ArticlesDollar climbs on global market rout
CNNMoney.com - Fri, Oct 10 - 2:24pm ET
Oil drops 10 percent on demand, risk concerns
Reuters - Fri, Oct 10 - 2:23pm ET
Wall St. giants buried in global stock market panic
Reuters - Fri, Oct 10 - 2:15pm ET
Oil prices plunge as troubled economy weakens global demand
CNNMoney.com - Fri, Oct 10 - 2:15pm ET
NEW YORK (AP) -- Wall Street capped its worst week ever with a wild session Friday that saw the Dow Jones industrials rocket within a 1,000 point range before closing with a relatively mild loss and the Nasdaq composite index actually end with a modest advance. Investors were still agonizing over frozen credit markets, but seven days of massive losses made many stocks tempting for traders looking for bargains.
The Dow lost 128 points, giving the blue chips an eight-day loss of just under 2,400. The average had its worst week on record in both point and percentage terms, as did the Standard & Poor's 500 index, the indicator most watched by market professionals.
But there were signs Friday that some investors might believe the market was at or near a bottom. Just one day earlier, selling accelerated in the last hour of trading, giving the Dow a loss of 678 points, as many market players fled, while Friday, many people were clearly buying. And the Russell 2000 index, which tracks the movements of smaller company stocks, had a 4.66 percent gain Friday; small-cap stocks are often first on investors' shopping lists when they think a market turnaround is at hand.
The hair-trigger mentality of the market -- a reflection of the intense anxiety on the Street -- was evident from the opening bell. The Dow fell 696 points in the first 15 minutes, recovered to an advance of more than 100 before the first hour was over, then turned sharply lower again before moving in swings of hundreds of points at the day's end.
Investors have spent much of the past month shuddering over a credit market that remains frozen, posing a threat to the economy. But Friday's gainers included financial stocks, the ones most decimated amid the ongoing banking and credit crisis.
The major indexes' sharp swings throughout the day were likely exacerbated by the computer-driven "buy" and "sell" orders that kicked in when prices fell far enough to make some stocks look like attractive bets or make other investors want to exit the market. The spurts of buying didn't reflect an easing of the market's despair, and trading is likely to remain volatile when the market reopens on Monday.
"Fear has been running rampant all over the Street. Fear and greed, that's what rules the Street. I think the carcass has been stripped to the bone," said Dave Henderson, a floor trader on the New York Stock Exchange for Raven Securities Corp.
According to preliminary calculations, the Dow fell 128.00, or 1.49 percent, to 8,451.49. At its low point Friday, the Dow was down 696 at 7,882.51, just 60 points above its low in Wall Street's last bear market, 7,286.27, reached Oct. 9, 2002. It crossed the line between gains and losses 32 times during the session.
The Dow rebounded from a low of 7,882.51 for the day -- the worst trading level since March 17, 2003. Still, its closing level Friday was the lowest since April 25, 2003.
The Dow has lost 1,874.19 points, or 18.2 percent, over the past week. Its dismal performance outdid the week that ended July 22, 1933, which saw a 17 percent drop -- and back then, during the Great Depression, there were six trading days in a week.
Broader stock indicators were mixed. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 10.70 or 1.18 percent, to 899.22, while the Nasdaq composite index rose 4.39, or 0.27 percent, to 1,649.51.
The Russell 2000 rose 23.28, or 4.66 percent, to 522.48.
President Bush said Friday the government's efforts to rescue the financial sector was powerful enough to succeed but that it would take some time to be fully implemented.
His remarks came as finance ministers and central bankers from the Group of Seven nations gathered Friday in Washington to discuss the economic meltdown. One of the potential remedies expected to be reviewed at the meeting is for governments to guarantee lending among banks.
Most major central banks around the world slashed interest rates this week after continuing problems in the credit market triggered concerns that banks will run out of money. Analysts have described the mood on trading floors this week as panicked at times, with investors bailing out of investments on fears there is no end in sight to the financial carnage.
A stream of selling forced exchanges in Austria, Russia and Indonesia to suspend trading, and those that remained opened were hammered. The rout in Australian markets caused traders there to call it "Black Friday."
European stocks sank Friday, with Britain's FTSE-100 falling 8.85 percent, German's DAX declining 7.01 percent, and France's CAC-40 ending down 7.73 percent. In Asia, the collapse of Japan's Yamato Life Insurance caused already nervous investors to pull even more money out of the market -- the Nikkei 225 fell 9.6 percent.
An index considered to be Wall Street's fear gauge reached record highs on Friday in another sign of massive investor anxiety. The Chicago Board Options Exchange Volatility Index, known as the VIX, rose to an all-time intraday high of 76.94 Friday. The VIX, which usually trades under 50, tracks options activity for the companies that make up the S&P 500.
Still, prospects of further government help and, perhaps, attractive prices helped parts of the financial sector show signs of life. Big national banks were among the gainers, including Bank of America Corp., which rose $1.24, or 6.3 percent, to $20.87. Some smaller banks also rose, including Fifth Third Bank Corp., which advanced 67 cents, or 6.9 percent, to $10.40.
Not all financials enjoyed a bounce, however. Morgan Stanley Inc. fell $2.77, or 22 percent, to $9.68 as investors worried that even with a major investment from Japan's Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group the company was still facing troubles. Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. fell $12.55, or 12 percent, to $88.80.
Citigroup Inc. said late Thursday it was suspending its bid to acquire Wachovia Corp., which will be acquired by Wells Fargo & Co. Citigroup rose $1.18, or 9.1 percent, to $14.11, while Wells Fargo fell $1.06, or 3.9 percent, to $28.31. Wachovia surged $1.55, or 43 percent, to $5.15.
Financials were most prominent among the smattering of stocks that rose in the S&P 500, though technology stocks generally advanced. Apple Inc. rose $8.06, or 9.1 percent, to $96.80, while eBay Inc. rose 77 cents, or 4.8 percent, to $16.73.
Investors appeared unfazed by final results arriving in afternoon trading from an auction Friday that set the price of debt issued by now bankrupt Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. at 8.625 cents on the dollar, down from a preliminary estimate of 9.75 cents.
The auction was for credit default swaps, which are contracts used to insure against the default of financial instruments like bonds and corporate debt. Traded in a $60 trillion, unregulated market, many of the instruments have fallen sharply because of their ties to bad mortgage debt. Those big losses and nervousness about who holds what CDS has made financial institutions hesitant to lend to one another. The auction could help the market determine which companies are most at risk from CDS losses.
New York Stock Exchange: http://www.nyse.com
Nasdaq Stock Market: http://www.nasdaq.com
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Dow falls 'only' 128 points
Commentary: Stock market missed turning in a Key Reversal Day
By MarketWatch
Last update: 5:00 p.m. EDT Oct. 10, 2008The following First Take is real-time analysis and opinion by the MarketWatch commentary team.
ANNANDALE, Va. (MarketWatch) -- For a brief and all-too-fleeting moment late in Friday's session, it looked as though the stock market would turn in what's known as a Key Reversal Day.
But, alas, it was not to be.
A Key Reversal Day, at least according to the standard definition, occurs when the market hits a new intraday low and then closes higher. Many technical analysts consider them to be bullish.
Just such a day was shaping up nicely near the close, since the Dow Jones Industrial Average ($INDU:Dow Jones Industrial Average
News, chart, profile, more
Last: 8,451.19-128.00-1.49%
4:30pm 10/10/2008
$INDU 8,451.19, -128.00, -1.5%) early in Friday's session had been down nearly 700 points -- a new low for the bear market that began one year ago.
And then, in the last hour of trading, the Dow battled back into positive territory, and at about 30 minutes prior to the close was ahead by a couple of hundred points. If the market could only hang on, a Key Reversal Day would have been registered.
But it couldn't.
The Dow finished down 128 points for the day and nearly 1,900 points for the week --making the week the worst in the gauge's 112-year history, in terms of points lost as well as percentage decline (22.1%).
Disappointing as Friday's close was, however, investors perhaps can take some solace from the fact that the Dow closed nearly 500 points off its low. It could have particularly damaging to the collective morale for investors to contemplate all weekend a much bigger loss.
It's a strange testament to how bad the market has been that a "mere" 128-point loss can seem to be such good news. See Market Snapshot.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
US STOCKS-Wall St turns higher on G7 action hope
NEW YORK, Oct 10 (Reuters) -U.S. stocks turned positive and the Dow industrials jumped more than 200 points in late afternoon trading on Friday, led by financials in a turbulent session with analysts citing bets that the finance chiefs of the world's major economies will take coordinated steps this weekend to confront the financial crisis.
"We're kind of rallying late here on speculation about what the G7 will do over the weekend," said John O'Brien, senior vice president at MKM Partners LLC in Cleveland.
Earlier, all three major U.S. stock indexes were sharply lower as panicked investors dumped stocks on mounting fears that frozen credit markets would push the global economy into recession.
The Dow Jones industrial average .DJI was up 273.75 points, or 3.19 percent, at 8,852.94. The Standard & Poor's 500 Index .SPX was up 16.55 points, or 1.82 percent, at 926.47. The Nasdaq Composite Index .IXIC was up 42.25 points, or 2.57 percent, at 1,687.37. (Reporting by Kristina Cooke and Leah Schnurr; Editing by Jan Paschal)
------------------------------------------------
Will Fed's Moves Work? If Not, What Can It Do Next?
by Chris Isidore CNN Money
Efforts by governments worldwide to stop a slide in financial markets haven't worked yet and the Federal Reserve and the U.S. Treasury may have to consider more dramatic measures.
This week the Fed has moved to pump potentially trillions of additional dollars into the nation's banks and leading corporations. And it led the way on emergency interest rate cuts by central banks around the globe Wednesday morning.
As the global selloff continues, the U.S. government is now said to be considering steps that include taking direct investments in banks, as well as guaranteeing their debt and insuring all deposits.
But experts say the Fed's actions may not be enough to stop the global economy from plunging into the worst downturn seen in at least 25 years, if not since the Great Depression.
Even those praising the Fed say it's not clear what it would take to calm markets.
"I think they've been pretty inventive and pretty unrestrained," said Tom Schlesinger, executive director of the Financial Markets Center, a think tank that follows the Fed. "But I'm not sure what it would take to stem the fear in the markets. It's such a contagious and irrational phenomenon, and feeding on itself and compounding itself day by day."
What the Fed Has Already Done....
On Tuesday, the Fed unveiled a plan to lend directly to the nation's major companies by buying up an unlimited amount of the $1.3 trillion in commercial paper, short-term loans that businesses use to operate day-to-day, on the market.
The Fed also announced it was doubling the size of its term auction facility, a program the Fed created last year to lend banks money for up to 85 days at a time, to $300 billion. The Fed added it was prepared to boost the term auction facility to $900 billion by year's end.
Despite this, banks still appear to be reluctant to lend money and stock markets around the globe have continued to fall. On Thursday, the Dow industrials plunged nearly 700 points to a five-year low and markets worldwide plunged.
Experts say there are worries that the global economy is now sliding towards recession and that there is relatively little that the Fed or other central banks can do to stop that. The International Monetary Fund warned Wednesday that the world's economy will slow sharply this year and next.
"They're looking a bit more impotent with each action," said Lakshman Achuthan, managing director of the Economic Cycle Research Institute, about the Fed.
Achuthan said that since major banks around the world are cutting back on their lending, that dwarfs the economic muscle of the world's central banks and governments.
But in a speech Tuesday, Federal Reserve chairman Ben Bernanke vowed that the Fed would do whatever it takes to try to fix the credit crunch.
"To support growth and reduce the downside risks, continued efforts to stabilize the financial markets are essential," he said. "The Federal Reserve will continue to use the tools at its disposal to improve market functioning and liquidity."
Experts say they don't think Wednesday's global rate cuts are the last steps the Fed plans to take. And many have suggestions as to what the Fed might do to get banks in the business of lending again.
More Cuts On the Way?
The first step is probably the most traditional one - further rate cuts.
According to closely watched interest rate futures, investors are pricing in an 84% chance of another quarter point cut at the Fed's next meeting, a two day session that concludes on Oct. 29. That would leave the central bank's key fed funds rate at 1.25%.
Many experts believe the Fed would not want to take rates below 1% - which is where they were for 12 months in 2003 and 2004. Some have blamed those low rates for helping to create an environment of easy lending that contributed to the housing bubble.
Yet, the Bank of Japan's key interest rate is already at 0.5%. And some argue that it would be justified for the Fed to lower rates to that level, or even to 0%, because of current conditions.
"Why not? If you're facing a situation where you need to lower the rates all the way to zero to keep the economy from going over the precipice, why wouldn't you do that," said Lyle Gramley, a former Fed governor now working as an economist for the Stanford Group.
Regardless of how far the Fed is willing to cut, more cuts are expected by other central banks, most notably the European Central Bank. That's because the ECB had not been cutting rates during the past year and have more room to lower rates.
Other Options for the Fed
Bill Gross, the chief investment officer at giant bond manager Pimco, wrote this week that another step the Fed could take is to become a clearing house for trades of a variety of exotic and arcane financial instruments such as collateralized debt obligations or credit default swaps. These have traditionally been traded directly between two firms rather than in an open market.
"We believe that the Federal Reserve must now act as a clearing house, guaranteeing that institutional transactions clear," Gross wrote in his most recent commentary.
Schlesinger agreed, saying that while the Fed would normally never think to take such an active role in markets, these are far from normal times.
Gramley said he also believes that the Fed may supplement its efforts to help larger firms by starting to lend money to small and medium sized businesses as well.
The Fed could agree to buy small business loans from banks that are backed by collateral, such as inventories or equipment. Gramley said the loans could be purchased on a non-recourse basis, meaning the Fed, and not the bank, assumes the risk if the loan goes bad.
That would free the banks from the need to raise more capital if the loans sour and could make them more willing to make such loans once again.
Can Anything Work but Time?
Still, Schlesinger is worried that there is little that the Fed or other government entities can do to fix the current crisis of confidence gripping financial markets.
A painful recession may be the only way for the markets to work the problems out of the system - with further declines in housing prices and deeper job losses likely a result.
"I wish I had a silver bullet. But the fear is disconnected from underlying fundamentals at this point," said Schlesinger. "What will thaw it out is a sense among lenders that a modicum of trust has been restored in these complicated, opaque markets."
But Gramley said that even if recent or future actions by the Fed aren't enough to stop the economy from slowing further, they can still have a positive effect.
"Even if it's not going to prevent the recession from deepening, what it can prevent is a huge meltdown," said Gramley.
Copyrighted, CNNMoney. All Rights Reserved.ADVERTISEMENT
Rates
See today's average rates across the country.
MortgageLoan Type Today Last Week
30 Year Fixed 5.97% 5.96%
15 Year Fixed 5.73% 5.67%
1 Year ARM 7.20% 6.10%
30 Year Fixed Jumbo 7.38% 7.12%
5/1 ARM 5.89% 5.92%
3/1 ARM 5.77% 5.77%
Source: Bankrate Home EquityLoan Type Today Last Week
$30K Home Equity Loan 7.65% 7.62%
$50K Home Equity Loan 7.25% 7.25%
$75K Home Equity Loan 7.26% 7.26%
$30K HELOC 5.15% 5.28%
$50K HELOC 4.73% 4.90%
$75K HELOC 4.74% 4.91%
Source: Bankrate SavingsSavings Type Today Last Week
6 month CD 3.15% 3.20%
1 year CD 3.63% 3.68%
3 year CD 3.81% 3.86%
MMA 2.42% 2.44%
$10K MMA 2.71% 2.70%
$25K MMA 3.05% 3.04%
Source: Bankrate AutoLoan Type Today Last Week
36 Month New Car Loan 6.77% 6.73%
48 Month New Car Loan 6.83% 6.52%
60 Month New Car Loan 6.85% 6.53%
72 Month New Car Loan 6.44% 6.44%
36 Month Used Car Loan 7.15% 7.11%
48 Month Used Car Loan 6.95% 6.81%
Source: Bankrate Credit CardsCard Type Today Last Week
Balance Transfer 10.31% 10.03%
Low Interest 11.01% 10.97%
For Bad Credit 13.02% 13.12%
Cash Back 11.47% 11.46%
Business 11.10% 10.91%
Airline 12.75% 12.69%
Source: CreditCards.com View rates in your area
Most Popular ArticlesDollar climbs on global market rout
CNNMoney.com - Fri, Oct 10 - 2:24pm ET
Oil drops 10 percent on demand, risk concerns
Reuters - Fri, Oct 10 - 2:23pm ET
Wall St. giants buried in global stock market panic
Reuters - Fri, Oct 10 - 2:15pm ET
Oil prices plunge as troubled economy weakens global demand
CNNMoney.com - Fri, Oct 10 - 2:15pm ET
Wells Fargo wins Wachovia battle
Wells Fargo & Co. has won the battle for Wachovia Corp.
Citigroup Inc. has withdrawn from negotiations brokered by regulators that sought a compromise to the competing bids from Wells and Citigroup. The issue is likely to go to court, but New York-based Citigroup (NYSE:C) says it will no longer seek to block Wells’ proposed $15.1 billion stock purchase of Wachovia.
“We believe that is the correct and right decision for our country and our citizens and the health of our already stressed financial system, as well as our and Wachovia’s respective shareholders and stakeholders,” Wells Fargo Chairman Dick Kovacevich said in a statement.
Kovacevich didn’t address the pending action for damages. But he did address, at least indirectly, reports Thursday indicating Citigroup and Wells, whose mortgage division has three branches in Central Ohio, had both found more problems in Wachovia’s mortgage portfolio than expected.
“Credit teams at Wells Fargo have had an opportunity to work with their counterparts at Wachovia,” Kovacevich said. “Given our broad-based operating expertise, and specific understanding of these individual businesses we believe we have adequately evaluated the risks inherent in the portfolios as of the time of this merger agreement.”
The combined company will have $1.42 trillion in assets, $787 billion in deposits, 48 million customers, $258 billion assets under management in mutual funds, 10,761 offices, 12,227 ATMs and 280,000 employees.
Citigroup still plans to seek damages for Wachovia’s decision to choose San Francisco-based Wells (NYSE:WFC) over an earlier agreement to sell banking operations to Citigroup for $2.1 billion.
“We did not seek the Wachovia transaction; Wachovia brought it to us,” Citigroup CEO Vikram Pandit said in a statement.
In a statement Thursday evening, Charlotte, N.C.-based Wachovia (NYSE:WB) said it looks forward to closing the deal with Wells, which “we have always believed is in the best interest of shareholders, employees, creditors and retirees as well as the American taxpayers, and it imposes no risk to the FDIC fund.”
Under the earlier agreement, Citigroup would have absorbed up to $42 billion of losses on a $312 billion pool of loans. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. would have absorbed losses beyond that.
Christina Pretto of Citigroup said the bank will seek the $60 billion in damages it has claimed from the deal gone sour. That case will proceed, she says, in New York Supreme Court.
Analysts trace Wachovia’s troubles to its 2006 purchase of Golden West Financial Corp., a thrift based in California. Golden West was a major player in a class of adjustable-rate mortgages that have proved particularly troublesome in the credit crisis.
Wachovia had about $122 billion, or 70 percent of its mortgage portfolio, in those mortgages, analysts recently said.
http://columbus.bizjournals.com/columbus/stories/2008/10/06/daily34.html?ana=yfcpc
Citigroup Inc. has withdrawn from negotiations brokered by regulators that sought a compromise to the competing bids from Wells and Citigroup. The issue is likely to go to court, but New York-based Citigroup (NYSE:C) says it will no longer seek to block Wells’ proposed $15.1 billion stock purchase of Wachovia.
“We believe that is the correct and right decision for our country and our citizens and the health of our already stressed financial system, as well as our and Wachovia’s respective shareholders and stakeholders,” Wells Fargo Chairman Dick Kovacevich said in a statement.
Kovacevich didn’t address the pending action for damages. But he did address, at least indirectly, reports Thursday indicating Citigroup and Wells, whose mortgage division has three branches in Central Ohio, had both found more problems in Wachovia’s mortgage portfolio than expected.
“Credit teams at Wells Fargo have had an opportunity to work with their counterparts at Wachovia,” Kovacevich said. “Given our broad-based operating expertise, and specific understanding of these individual businesses we believe we have adequately evaluated the risks inherent in the portfolios as of the time of this merger agreement.”
The combined company will have $1.42 trillion in assets, $787 billion in deposits, 48 million customers, $258 billion assets under management in mutual funds, 10,761 offices, 12,227 ATMs and 280,000 employees.
Citigroup still plans to seek damages for Wachovia’s decision to choose San Francisco-based Wells (NYSE:WFC) over an earlier agreement to sell banking operations to Citigroup for $2.1 billion.
“We did not seek the Wachovia transaction; Wachovia brought it to us,” Citigroup CEO Vikram Pandit said in a statement.
In a statement Thursday evening, Charlotte, N.C.-based Wachovia (NYSE:WB) said it looks forward to closing the deal with Wells, which “we have always believed is in the best interest of shareholders, employees, creditors and retirees as well as the American taxpayers, and it imposes no risk to the FDIC fund.”
Under the earlier agreement, Citigroup would have absorbed up to $42 billion of losses on a $312 billion pool of loans. The Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. would have absorbed losses beyond that.
Christina Pretto of Citigroup said the bank will seek the $60 billion in damages it has claimed from the deal gone sour. That case will proceed, she says, in New York Supreme Court.
Analysts trace Wachovia’s troubles to its 2006 purchase of Golden West Financial Corp., a thrift based in California. Golden West was a major player in a class of adjustable-rate mortgages that have proved particularly troublesome in the credit crisis.
Wachovia had about $122 billion, or 70 percent of its mortgage portfolio, in those mortgages, analysts recently said.
http://columbus.bizjournals.com/columbus/stories/2008/10/06/daily34.html?ana=yfcpc
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
Subject: 24th Congressional District Issues
Subject: 24th Congressional District Issues
To: thomasplove@sbcglobal.net
Date: Friday, October 3, 2008, 6:26 PM
Dear Mr. Love:
I am a retired USAF officer, a retired telecom executive, and currently a part-time consultant. I am also a life-long registered Republican, however I am so pissed at Kenny Marchant and his narrow-minded lack of support for the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act (EESA) that I had to go looking for his opponent in this fall’s election. After some work, I found your website, but I have to be honest, it doesn’t tell me squat.
If I’m going to vote for you, I need to know where you stand on veterans’ issues, defense issues, Iraq , Afghanistan , Israel , Palestinian rights, energy independence, economic recovery and stabilization, and other issues vital to the 24th district.
Thank you for your attention to my concerns.
Sincerely,
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
MY REPLY:
Thank you for writing me as I also am deeply concerned with our District's issues.
I support the EESA, extended Veterans benefits, a coordinated plan of withdrawal from Iraq devised with Iraq and our military to be completed within 16 months, elimination of using private security forces such as Blackwater, elimination of cost plus military no bid contracts, and establishing policies to get the deficit under control once we get past this current recession. I believe in increasing the assistance in Afghanistan and help end other problems by establishing a Mid East Regional Conference on Stability and Policy with all countries within that region to monitor and help advise avenues for solutions for it and to the Israeli-Palestinian problem. We need to help develop realistic plans for peace.
I have advocated green job creation and energy independence by the use of alternative energy sources such as wind and solar for power plants and bio fuel for combustion engines. I believe and in using non agricultural land and high yield bio mass products such as blue green algae rather than corn ethanol to solve reliance on foreign oil.
We must establish job creation and reverse the outward flow of money to countries that provide 70% of our energy.
Many of these positions are on my blog:
http://tomlovetexas.blogspot.com/
Tom
Tom Love Democratic Candidate for US Congress TX 24
www.TomLoveforTexas.com Ph#972-263-5630
Office Address:132 E Main St, Ste 110, Grand Prairie, TX 75050
Mailing Address:PO Box 7231,Arlington, TX 76005-7231
To: thomasplove@sbcglobal.net
Date: Friday, October 3, 2008, 6:26 PM
Dear Mr. Love:
I am a retired USAF officer, a retired telecom executive, and currently a part-time consultant. I am also a life-long registered Republican, however I am so pissed at Kenny Marchant and his narrow-minded lack of support for the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act (EESA) that I had to go looking for his opponent in this fall’s election. After some work, I found your website, but I have to be honest, it doesn’t tell me squat.
If I’m going to vote for you, I need to know where you stand on veterans’ issues, defense issues, Iraq , Afghanistan , Israel , Palestinian rights, energy independence, economic recovery and stabilization, and other issues vital to the 24th district.
Thank you for your attention to my concerns.
Sincerely,
--------------------------------------------------------------------------
MY REPLY:
Thank you for writing me as I also am deeply concerned with our District's issues.
I support the EESA, extended Veterans benefits, a coordinated plan of withdrawal from Iraq devised with Iraq and our military to be completed within 16 months, elimination of using private security forces such as Blackwater, elimination of cost plus military no bid contracts, and establishing policies to get the deficit under control once we get past this current recession. I believe in increasing the assistance in Afghanistan and help end other problems by establishing a Mid East Regional Conference on Stability and Policy with all countries within that region to monitor and help advise avenues for solutions for it and to the Israeli-Palestinian problem. We need to help develop realistic plans for peace.
I have advocated green job creation and energy independence by the use of alternative energy sources such as wind and solar for power plants and bio fuel for combustion engines. I believe and in using non agricultural land and high yield bio mass products such as blue green algae rather than corn ethanol to solve reliance on foreign oil.
We must establish job creation and reverse the outward flow of money to countries that provide 70% of our energy.
Many of these positions are on my blog:
http://tomlovetexas.blogspot.com/
Tom
Tom Love Democratic Candidate for US Congress TX 24
www.TomLoveforTexas.com Ph#972-263-5630
Office Address:132 E Main St, Ste 110, Grand Prairie, TX 75050
Mailing Address:PO Box 7231,Arlington, TX 76005-7231
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