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Tuesday, January 3, 2012

Vestas, green energy sold short

Colorado has become a leader in government subsidizing green jobs. A major beneficiary of those state and local subsidies has been a Danish company, Vestas Wind Systems A/S. Vestas operates four manufacturing facilities in Colorado in Windsor, Brighton and Pueblo.

Democrats accuse Republicans of selling green energy short. Turns out they might be right. As of Dec. 26, short sales of Vestas stock reached 17.6 percent of outstanding shares. In a short sale, an investor borrows stock, sells it, and then hopes to buy the stock later at a lower price. Short-sellers have no theoretical limit on their losses. That unlimited risk means that short sellers must be highly certain in their pessimism.

On Thursday, Vestas announced a major sale to Brazil, but the order still left Vestas short of earlier 2011 sales estimates. Vestas still has until Saturday to reach its annual estimate, but the shorts appear skeptical. Earlier this month, Vestas testified in the U.S. Senate in favor of extending a U.S. Production Tax Credit beyond the end of 2012. Wind energy benefits from a 2.1 cent per kilowatt-hour tax credit. Vestas claims that if the tax credit expires, 80,000 U.S. jobs are at risk, including thousands in Colorado.

Some investors doubt the value of other green energy stocks as well. The solar panel company Solyndra has received lots of press attention. The Department of Energy provided the company massive loans despite the likelihood of a business failure. Political considerations apparently trumped common sense. Solyndra is just the tip of the melting iceberg.

Vestas doesn't even make the top fifty stocks in terms of short interest as a percentage of the total stock float. Consider some of the other stocks subjected to short interest. Number two on the list is Tesla Motors, Inc. As of Tuesday, short interest in the stock was 52.1 percent. Tesla plans to release its Tesla Model S Sedan in the summer of 2012 at a net base price of $49,900 --after deducting a $7,500 federal tax credit.

A stock analyst recently reduced estimates of the global market for electric cars. By 2025, the analyst expects electric cars to be just 4.5 percent of the global car market, instead of 8.6 percent. That has huge implications for Tesla, as well as the whole notion of government subsidies re-inventing the auto market. The Department of Energy extended $465 million in loans to Tesla as part of the Advanced Technology Vehicle Manufacturing Program. Every car sold will also benefit from that federal tax credit.

Lithium battery maker Ener1 was one of 30 electric car battery makers to receive a DOE grant. In 2009, Ener1 was scheduled to receive $118.5 million in stimulus money, but only received about half. In January, Vice-President Biden visited an Ener1 plant in Indiana to highlight the administration's commitment to electric cars. Indiana Republicans shared the Obama administration's commitment, and the company had received over $10 million in DOE and Defense Department research grants during the Bush administration. In October, NASDAQ de-listed the stock. A Bloomberg stock analyst believes Japan and South Korea will dominate the electric car battery market. That's bad news for taxpayers.

Number 18 on the list of short interests on Tuesday was First Solar, Inc., with 35 percent of its outstanding shares shorted. First Solar is approaching its all-time low and still hasn't cleared out the short sellers. GreenStocksCentral.com reported in mid-December that the company is in "serious disarray" after being a "darling" among green energy stocks.

First Solar now plans to flee the U.S. market for other countries that do not depend on subsidies. Selling stocks short is risky business. First Solar concluded that depending upon government subsidies for success is a far greater risk.

(None of the above should be construed as investment advice.)

Send comments or suggestions to barroompolitics at live "dot" com.

The opinions expressed on this page are those of the authors and not the Trail-Gazette or its staff.*

Source: http://www.eptrail.com/ci_19640341?source=rss_viewed

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SKorea president warns NKorea against provocations

South Korean President Lee Myung-bak delivers a speech to the nation during his New Year's speech at the presidential Blue House in Seoul, South Korea, Monday, Jan. 2, 2012. Lee opened the door Monday to possible nuclear talks with North Korea and warned the neighboring country to avoid any provocations, saying the Korean peninsula is at a crucial turning point.(AP Photo/ Yonhap, Jin Sung-chul) KOREA OUT

North Koreans bow in front of a portrait of the late leader Kim Jong Il outside a stadium in Pyongyang as people paid respects to him on New Year's Day Sunday, Jan. 1, 2012. (AP Photo)

North Koreans lay flowers in front of a portrait of the late leader Kim Jong Il outside a stadium in Pyongyang as people paid respects to him on New Year's Day Sunday, Jan. 1, 2012. (AP Photo)

Two North Koreans pass by a New Year message on a street in Pyongyang on Sunday, Jan. 1, 2012. The sign reads "Glorify 2012 as a year of proud victory, when an era of prosperity unfolds, true to instructions of the Great General Kim Jong Il". (AP Photo)

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) ? South Korea's president opened the door Monday to possible nuclear talks with North Korea and warned the neighboring country to avoid any provocations, saying the Korean peninsula is at a crucial turning point.

Lee Myung-bak's comments in a nationally televised speech come as the young son of the late Kim Jong Il takes power in North Korea as Supreme Commander of the military and ruling party leader after Kim's death last month. The North vowed Sunday in a New Year's message that it would bolster its military and defend the son, Kim Jong Un, "unto death."

"The situation on the Korean peninsula is now entering a new turning point," Lee said. "But there should be a new opportunity amid changes and uncertainty."

Lee warned that South Korea would sternly respond to any North Korean provocation. In 2010, 50 South Koreans died in attacks blamed on the North, though the Koreas have met in recent months for preliminary nuclear discussions.

North Korea, which has tested two atomic devices since 2006, has said it wants to return to long-stalled six-nation talks on halting its nuclear weapons program in return for aid. Washington and Seoul, however, have insisted that the North first show progress on past disarmament commitments.

If North Korea halts its continuing nuclear activities, Lee said in his speech, negotiations could resume.

"We are ready to resolve security concerns on the Korean peninsula and provide assistance to revive North Korea's economy through agreements in the six-nation talks," Lee said.

North Korea, however, has so far taken a hard line toward the South. It warned last week that there would be no softening of its position toward South Korea's government after Kim Jong Il's death. North Korea's powerful National Defense Commission said the country would never deal with Lee.

On Monday, Pyongyang accused Lee of plotting to shake up the North by temporarily placing his troops on high alert after Kim Jong Il's death. The North's main Rodong Sinmun newspaper said in a commentary carried by the official Korean Central News Agency that Lee must "kneel down and apologize" for his acts.

North Korea has regularly criticized Lee since he took office in 2008 and ended a no-strings-attached aid policy toward the North. Lee sought to link aid to progress in North Korea's nuclear disarmament.

The six-nation nuclear talks involve the two Koreas, the United States, China, Russia and Japan.

The Korean peninsula remains technically in a state of conflict because the 1950-53 Korean War ended in a truce, not a peace treaty.

North Korea's New Year's message, however, didn't include the country's routine harsh criticism of the United States and avoided the country's nuclear ambitions, a suggestion that the North may be willing to continue talks with Washington to win food aid.

This year is a crucial one for North Korea as it tries to build a "great, prosperous and powerful nation" befitting the April 2012 centenary of the birth of national founder Kim Il Sung, the new leader's grandfather.

In the North Korean capital, Pyongyang, New Year's Day was cold, snowy and gray, with splashes of bright color provided by flags, lanterns and banners reading "Happy New Year" that decorated the streets. Coming just days after the official mourning period for Kim Jong Il ended, the celebration was muted, unlike past years when cheerful people in their best holiday clothes thronged the streets.

Kim Jong Un, meanwhile, spent part of the day visiting a tank division, state media said, in what was apparently his first reported military field inspection since his father's death. Kim Jong Il regularly visited military units, factories and farms across the country, and his son's trip provided further evidence of the North's intention to link him closely with the military.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2012-01-01-AS-Koreas-Tension/id-715ef8cc0e1d4248bbfbaa6c5674c0ea

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Debate over who needs a thyroid check in pregnancy (AP)

WASHINGTON ? Check-ups during pregnancy tend to focus around the waist. But there's growing debate about which mothers-to-be should have a gland in their neck tested, too.

Numerous studies since 1999 have found that an underactive thyroid can raise a woman's risk of miscarriage, premature birth, or a lower IQ for her baby ? even if it's so mildly sluggish that she feels no symptoms.

The problem: While serious cases are treated with a hormone pill, so far there's little evidence that treating the milder cases makes a difference. So guidelines about who should be tested vary widely.

Now a peek at prenatal testing from one of the country's largest medical labs suggests that nearly a quarter of pregnant women are getting the simple thyroid blood test regardless of whether they have symptoms.

Researchers at Quest Diagnostics examined records for half a million pregnant women. Of those who got tested, a higher-than-expected number ? 15 percent ? had an underactive thyroid. That's five-fold higher than some previous estimates, partly because the way in which the condition is diagnosed has changed recently, says the study published by the Journal of Clinical Endocrinology & Metabolism.

The vast majority of those women were in the gray zone, with milder cases where no one knows for sure if a diagnosis helps or wastes money on testing and thyroid medication.

The finding adds pressure for science to settle this long-running controversy.

"We still don't have perfect answers," says Dr. Elizabeth Pearce, a well-known endocrinologist at Boston Medical Center, where a recent survey found widespread prenatal thyroid testing. But, "if it's my patient in my office, or it's me or my family member, I'm going to treat every time."

Obstetricians seem more wary.

"There are studies on both sides of the fence," says Dr. Dena Goffman of New York's Montefiore Medical Center, which tests only women at high risk. "If you don't know what to do with the results, you probably shouldn't order the test," she said.

The unassuming thyroid ? a small bow tie-shaped gland nestled in the front of the neck ? plays a big role in good health for everyone. It produces hormones that regulate metabolism and can affect almost every type of tissue in the body. About 20 million Americans are estimated to have a malfunctioning thyroid that, if serious enough, can contribute to heart disease, bone-thinning osteoporosis and infertility.

An overactive thyroid, called hyperthyroidism, speeds up bodily functions, causing such symptoms as weight loss, nervousness, anxiety and increased heart rate and vision problems.

Much more common is an underactive thyroid, called hypothyroidism. It slows body functions, causing such problems as fatigue, weight gain, depression, constipation and dry skin. It even can contribute to high cholesterol, according to the National Institutes of Health.

Thyroid problems increase with age, but they affect far more women than men ? and pregnancy puts extra stress on the gland.

Having enough thyroid hormones is important for fetal brain development, especially during the first trimester, when the fetus depends solely on the mother for them. The hormones also play a role in avoiding miscarriage or premature birth.

Mothers also may harbor immune system cells called antibodies that subtly attack the gland and likewise are linked to miscarriage and prematurity. Italian researchers found that treating those women lowered their risk of encountering this problem.

There is broad agreement that women with overt hypothyroidism ? a seriously underactive gland ? should be treated, most likely given a once-a-day hormone pill long known to be safe in pregnancy. But it takes blood testing to diagnose overt disease because even those women don't always report the vague symptoms.

Those $25 blood tests are sure to uncover women with mild hypothyroidism, too, the people in the so-called gray zone. Some research has raised questions about whether mild cases really pose a pregnancy risk, and preliminary results from a large British study recently found no overall IQ benefit to the resulting children if their mothers had been treated.

But the damage might already have been done by the time treatment began late in the first trimester, notes Boston's Pearce. In the U.S., doctors are anxiously awaiting a similar National Institutes of Health study; results aren't expected until 2015.

What's the advice until then? The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists recommends testing only pregnant women who have thyroid symptoms, have had previous thyroid problems, or have similar autoimmune diseases such as Type 1 diabetes ? those considered at risk for overt disease.

The American Thyroid Association goes further. Last summer it advised also testing all pregnant women age 30 and older, and those with enlarged thyroids, previous pregnancy problems or those who are obese, says Pearce, who co-authored the guidelines.

Most guidelines cite the lack of evidence for treating mild cases. The thyroid association does urge treatment if those women harbor the worrisome antibodies.

A final tip: Pregnant women should check that their prenatal vitamins contain iodine, important for proper thyroid function, Pearce says. Not all do. Most Americans get enough iodine from dairy products, bread, seafood and iodized table salt. But women need extra during pregnancy.

___

EDITOR'S NOTE ? Lauran Neergaard covers health and medical issues for The Associated Press in Washington.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/us/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20120102/ap_on_he_me/us_med_healthbeat_thyroid_pregnancy

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Monday, January 2, 2012

DollyGray_: Hey ladies I'm only in Houston for a few more days so get at me asap if you need your professional weave jobs done yes I do urrthannng lol

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The Wacky Stuff We Drop on New Year?s Eve

There are actual food drops, too, that offer a visual bite of local delicacies. Atlanta, for instance, releases an 800-pound fiberglass-and-foam peach. Known for its multimillion-dollar melon industry, Vincennes, Ind., raises an 18-foot watermelon into the sky, which then opens to release 12 real Knox County watermelons.

Source: http://feeds.slate.com/click.phdo?i=4ac36c1d012df5248bdccc9ba4109117

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Sunday, January 1, 2012

Deaths in Somalia underscore risks MSF endures

Residents walk outside of the Medecins Sans Frontieres (Doctors without Borders) compound in Mogadishu, Somalia Thursday, Dec. 29, 2011. A disgruntled former employee shot at least two international workers from the aid group Doctors Without Borders at the group's office in the Somali capital, a security guard said Thursday. (AP Photo/Mohamed Sheikh Nor)

In this handout photo released by Doctors Without Borders, an undated photo of Belgian aid worker Philippe Havet is shown. The deaths in Mogadishu of Philippe Havet, 53, from Belgium, and Andrias Karel Keiluhu, 44, from Indonesia, on Thursday, Dec. 29, 2011 underscore the risks that volunteers for the group encounter all over the world. Havet was country director for MSF, as the group is known by its initials in French. Keiluhu was a doctor. (AP Photo/Francois Dumont)

In this handout photo released by Doctors Without Borders, an undated photo of Indonesian aid worker Andrias Karel Keiluhu is shown. The deaths in Mogadishu of Philippe Havet, 53, from Belgium, and Andrias Karel Keiluhu, 44, from Indonesia, on Thursday, Dec. 29, 2011 underscore the risks that volunteers for the group encounter all over the world. Havet was country director for MSF, as the group is known by its initials in French. Keiluhu was a doctor. (AP Photo/Francois Dumont)

NAIROBI, Kenya (AP) ? A second foreigner working with Doctors Without Borders died of his wounds in an attack in Somalia that also killed the group's country director, though the aid organization declared Friday that despite the risks it would still provide medical care in one of the world's most dangerous countries.

The deaths in Mogadishu of Philippe Havet, 53, from Belgium; and Andrias Karel Keiluhu, 44, from Indonesia, on Thursday underscore the risks that volunteers for the group encounter all over the world. Havet was country director for MSF, as the group is known by its initials in French. Keiluhu was a doctor.

The shootings were blamed on a Somali MSF logistics officer who had been fired the day before over allegations he had been stealing medicine. The gunman was arrested after the attack.

"MSF will be relocating some staff for security reasons, but remains committed to continuing our humanitarian work in Mogadishu and elsewhere in Somalia," the group said in a statement Friday. MSF said it was "shocked and saddened" by the deaths.

Doctors Without Borders was worried that Keiluhu could be targeted for further attack even while he was in the hospital in Mogadishu, clinging to life. An internal security report obtained by The Associated Press said that MSF asked the Somali government to protect Keiluhu.

"The clan of the former logistics officer is thought to have been making significant profits from the re-sale of stolen MSF-Belgium medicine, and there were concerns about further attempts on the doctor's life," the security report said.

Doctors Without Borders has endured deadly attacks before. In June 2004, five workers with the group ? two Afghans, a Norwegian, a Dutchman and a Belgian ? were killed by gunmen in Afghanistan. The group pulled out of Afghanistan shortly afterward. Three MSF members ? a Kenyan surgeon, a French logistics expert and a Somali driver ? died in Somalia in 2007 after a landmine attack that the group believes was premeditated.

The Somali employee, who ran the group's logistics, was dismissed from his job on Wednesday, then returned to the MSF compound on Thursday and opened fire with a pistol, according to a security guard there. Guards who had not been informed of the dismissal allowed the former employee onto the compound, the security guard said.

Havet died immediately. Keiluhu died later of his wounds later despite numerous blood transfusions, said nurse Abdiaziz Haji. Keiluhu had been shot several times in the torso, Haji said.

Somali Prime Minister Abdiweli Mohamed Ali said the perpetrator of the attack would be brought to justice "at the earliest opportunity." Ali offered condolences to the families of the two aid workers and thanked them "for their enormous contribution to making the lives of Somalis better."

"This year's response from the international aid community to the disaster in Somalia ought to be commended," he said, referring to the severe famine. "We welcome those who are willing to come to Somalia to work for the benefit of Somalis. This is a callous attack and a tragic example of an isolated incident and does not reflect any increased risk to international aid workers. I want to reassure the international aid community that we will do everything we can to enable foreign aid workers to operate safely in Somalia."

Despite Ali's assurances, the deaths underscore the dangers faced by aid workers trying to help residents in a country mired in two decades of anarchy.

In October, gunmen entered the world's largest refugee camp ? Dadaab, in Kenya but near the Somali border ? and snatched two Spanish women working for Doctors Without Borders. There whereabouts are unknown. Dadaab is filled with nearly a half million Somali refugees fleeing conflict and hunger. Kenya used that kidnapping, as well as previous abductions of British and French women, to justify its military incursion into Somalia.

Only a few days later, gunmen abducted a 32-year-old female American aid worker in northern Somalia along with a Danish colleague from the de-mining unit of the Danish Refugee Council.

Many aid groups do not allow international aid workers in Somalia or limit the time they can spend there. Security in Mogadishu has improved this year but Thursday's shooting shows how dangerous it remains. Doctors Without Borders has been working in the Horn of Africa nation since 1991.

In its statement, the group described Havet as an "experienced emergency coordinator" who worked with MSF in Angola, Congo, Indonesia, Lebanon, Sierra Leone, South Africa and Somalia, beginning in 2000. Keiluhu had worked with the group since 1998, in Indonesia, Ethiopia, Thailand and Somalia.

Meanwhile, Kenya's military spokesman said Friday that five fighters from the militant group al-Shabab and one Kenyan soldier died in a clash in southern Somalia. Kenyan forces moved into Somalia in mid-October, declaring the cross-border kidnappings had created insecurity in neighboring Kenya.

Al-Shabab reported a far different version of events, saying on its official Twitter feed that its fighters burned three armored personnel carriers and killed 11 Kenyan soldiers in a complex ambush that began with the detonation of an improvised explosive device.

It was impossible to confirm either version of events.

The International Committee of the Red Cross said Friday that it has sent urgently needed medical supplies to southern Somalia "on both sides of the frontline" ? meaning on the Kenyan military side and the al-Shabab side.

"More than 100 wounded people, mainly civilians, reached the medical facilities during the most recent phase of the fighting," said Randi Jensen, an ICRC nurse. "It has become very dangerous for patients to reach the few clinics available to them and we just don't know how many more wounded are still out there, desperately waiting to get help."

The ICRC urged both sides to ensure that civilians are not harmed during the fighting.

The United Nations refugee agency said a refugee leader in Dadaab was shot Thursday evening and died Friday. Commissioner Antonio Guterres said he regretted the killing of the chairperson of the Community Peace and Security Team in the Hagadera camp.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/cae69a7523db45408eeb2b3a98c0c9c5/Article_2011-12-30-AF-Somalia/id-2efe76fd19964d7ea89edf43fa5ef0ae

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Gene Mutation May Be Key to Familial Pancreatic Cancer (HealthDay)

THURSDAY, Dec. 29 (HealthDay News) -- Individuals may face a higher hereditary risk for developing pancreatic cancer if they carry abnormalities in the so-called "ATM" gene, new research reveals.

The finding, reported in an upcoming issue of Cancer Discovery, stems from genetic-sequencing work conducted among 166 pancreatic cancer patients. For comparative purposes, 190 other individuals who did not have pancreatic cancer also underwent sequencing.

The study was led by Alison Klein, an associate professor of oncology at the Sidney Kimmel Comprehensive Cancer Center at Johns Hopkins and director of the National Familial Pancreas Tumor Registry.

Noting that 10 percent of pancreatic cancer patients are from families in which more than one member has battled the disease, Klein pointed out in a news release from the American Association for Cancer Research that "there was significant reason to believe this clustering was due to genetics."

But she added that no previous effort had "been able to find the causative genes that explained the cluster of pancreatic cancer for a majority of these families."

Among the pancreatic cancer patients examined, four were found to have the ATM gene mutation. By contrast, none of the healthy individuals who were sequenced carried the abnormality, according to the report.

Ultimately, the finding could lead to the development of a new screening option for a disease that kills 95 percent of patients within five years of diagnosis, according to the release. Though endoscopy is under study as another possible screening tool, there are as yet no other recommended screening alternatives for the number four cause of cancer-related death.

More information

For more on pancreatic cancer, visit the U.S. National Library of Medicine.

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/health/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/hsn/20111230/hl_hsn/genemutationmaybekeytofamilialpancreaticcancer

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