Thursday, March 29, 2012

PFT: 49ers sign former Giants RB Jacobs

Mike Shanahan, Donovan McNabbAP

Donovan McNabb was a failure playing for Mike Shanahan and Kyle Shanahan in Washington, and McNabb thinks Robert Griffin III will be a failure in the Shanahans? offense, too. But that won?t be Griffin?s fault.

Asked on ESPN First Take if Griffin is a good fit with the offense the Shanahans run in Washington, McNabb answered, ?No.?

McNabb, who was benched in his only season playing for the Redskins, said that if the Redskins, as expected, take Griffin with the second overall pick in the NFL draft, the father-and-son Shanahan combination will try to force Griffin into their own offensive system, rather than modifying their offense to capitalize on Griffin?s strengths.

?A lot of times ego gets too involved when it comes to being in Washington,? McNabb said.

Where ego comes into play, McNabb said, is that the Shanahans think a quarterback has to fit himself into their offense ? the same offense that Kyle Shanahan ran when he was the Houston Texans? offensive coordinator ? rather than tailoring their offense to accentuate the quarterback?s strengths.

?Here?s a guy coming out who?s very talented, mobile, strong arm, we?ve already heard he?s intelligent, football mind,? McNabb said of Griffin. ?Are you going to cater the offense around his talent, and what he?s able to do, or are you going to bring the Houston offense with Matt Schaub over to him and have him kind of be embedded in that??

McNabb then took a shot at both Mike Shanahan and the other quarterbacks who have played for them, saying that Shanahan hasn?t had success with a quarterback since John Elway in the 1990s.

?We talk so much about Mike Shanahan and the things he was able to do in Denver,? McNabb said. ?Well, I have a couple of names for you that Mike Shanahan ? quarterbacks he?s coached ? and the lack of success that he?s had.?

At that point, McNabb ran down the last decade of quarterbacks Shanahan has coached (although McNabb curiously excluded himself from the list) and proceeded to suggest that the win-loss record proves Shanahan had failed with all of them.

?We had John Beck, who was 0-4,? McNabb said. ?Rex Grossman: 6-11. Jay Cutler, who was his prize possession: 17-20. Jake Plummer, a guy who had success, led them to the AFC Championship against Pittsburgh, as we know, and then benched him the next year, because he wouldn?t do what he wanted him to do. Brian Griese, who was supposed to be the heir apparent to John Elway, hasn?t had a lot of success.?

McNabb then suggested that if Shanahan can?t make the offense work with Griffin, Shanahan could be fired at the end of the season.

?I don?t think it?s a good fit,? McNabb said. ?If this doesn?t work this year, if we don?t see a splash like a Cam Newton splash, this could be it. . . . How long does he have with RG3? The seat is hot right now.?

McNabb compared his own talents to Griffin?s talents, and McNabb indicated that Shanahan doesn?t know how to use a quarterback with those talents.

?I was misused,? McNabb said. ?Absolutely, I was misused.?

And McNabb thinks Griffin will be misused, too.

Source: http://profootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2012/03/28/brandon-jacobs-is-headed-to-the-49ers/related/

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Wednesday, March 28, 2012

The Wealthy Business Conference Attendees that Must Save the ...


Victor1558/CC BY 2.0

Renewable energy conferences tend to look a lot like other other kinds of business conferences. They are graced by flocks of middle-aged white men in suits, take place in capacious auditoriums, and are home to stylish-but-functional lounge areas, spotty wi-fi, and keynote talks that persistently spill over their allotted time slots.

iPads are tapped at, notes are scrawled, smart phones are endlessly checked and rechecked. You are suddenly tired but you don't know why. This is the second plenary. You slept well last night. A laminated name tag dangles in front of your wrinkled button-up, and your breath smells like cheap coffee.

The crowd at the Bloomberg New Energy Finance summit is similar to the crowd at the Renewable Energy Finance Forum and the World Future Energy Summit and so on and so forth. There are reps from massive energy companies like BP and Chevron, who have come to make their progress in sustainable sectors well-known. They are very serious about investing in renewable energy technology, or else why would they have come?

There are hungry-looking reps from start-ups and CEOS of scrappy cleantech ventures who circle the room smiling wide, on the lookout for seed capital or Important Connections or maybe just a slightly stale pastry from the food table.

There are cheerful event staff, fidgeting academics, austere bureaucrats. There are interview opportunities.

There is indeed value to be found in the talks, if you are patient and able to stay focused, if you are able to refrain from rechecking your inbox for the 26th time in the hour. There are interesting people doing interesting things.

And the vast majority of them are interested in making money off of clean energy. This is good. Lots more folks need to start making loads of money off of clean energy so that lots more folks will want to make loads more money off of clean energy.

There are competing ideas on how best to do this.

In one talk, four CTOs from four major corporations?Lockheed & Martin, BP, IBM, and the German utility I.ON?and Amory Lovins, the chief scientist and chairman of the Rocky Mountain Institute, engage in an energy debate with philosophical undertones.

Lovins says that Germany made a wise investment in subsidizing clean energy.

"The Chancellor made a smart bet," he says. "It was better to finance German engineers than Gazprom." Meaning building a clean energy industry is a wiser investment than continuing to buy natural gas from Russia, as many European nations do. There are millions of clean energy jobs in Europe where but a few years ago there were not.

"Those jobs will soon disappear," counters Dr. Klaus Dieter-Maubach, the CTO of I.ON. "They will all be bankrupt; Chinese competition is doing price dumping that nobody can compete with."

"When the Chinese lowered the price of solar modules, won't there be more work for solar installers though?" Lovins says. "It's just a transfer within the system."

"We have basically paid the Chinese learning curve on solar manufacturing."

"That's okay!"

"Yeah, that's okay. It's my taxpayer money, though."

There are other talks. The Verizon CEO promises to reduce his company's carbon footprint and to invest in energy management systems. A company has a new way to covert waste into energy-rich gas. A website will help you manage your clean energy investments.

This is the other half. The environmental movement, with millions of members and volunteers, can protest oil pipelines and condemn coal plants and call out polluters. Activists can take to the streets, organizations can pressure governing bodies to adopt renewable energy standards, more stringent pollution regulations, a price on carbon. They can exude a passion for ending our dependence on fossil fuels, a dependence that may cause our world to warm to the point where much of it is inhospitable. That passion is a burning moral passion that perhaps we all should feel. Tar Sands Action fights the Keystone XL, the Sierra Club fights to close down ancient coal-fired power plants.

As those battles are won?if those battles are won?a fundamental result of that protesting and petitioning and lobbying and fighting and organizing will be to create a more lucrative investment climate for the men in suits who attend renewable energy financing conferences.

The men in suits talk about climate change. Most often in the context of how it may influence markets. There are tables with computer monitors that display stock activity. There are firm handshakes and eager laughs and solemn discussions off to the sides. If these men were solely concerned with making as much money as possible, they would probably have selected another industry in which to attend conferences. A photographer takes pictures of the conference goers, and will later upload some of them to the conference's website.

A feature of the panel discussion with Dieter-Maubach and Lovins and co. is audience interaction. This is now a reliable fixture of business conferences. It is called something like the utilization of social media for audience participation. Conference goers are prompted to answer questions at various points in the presentation.

Today, one such question is beamed up on the projector screen. It is: What role will hydrocarbons play in our energy future?

The answers come back:

1% of the audience thought the role would be "none".
26% thought it would be "marginal (needed only for aircraft)".
73% of the attendees at the New Energy Finance summit thought hydrocarbons would be "essential".

Source: http://www.treehugger.com/green-jobs/these-rich-white-business-conference-attendees-must-save-world.html

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Fitch Upgrades TRW Automotive

Fitch Ratings has upgraded the issuer default ratings for TRW and its main subsidiary TRW Automotive Inc. (NYSE:TRW) from ?BB+? to ?BBB-? based on the rebound of the company from the global economic recession in 2009.

BBB is the lowest investment-grade rating, reflecting the company?s sound credit scenario and low default risk. However, BB ratings are speculative, carrying a risk of default.

Fitch also appreciated TRW?s cash flow and balance sheet positions. The agency believes that the company will continue to be financially stable despite a slowdown in production level.

In the fourth quarter of 2011, the company topped the Zacks Consensus Estimate by a significant margin of 29 cents per share. It revealed an increase in profit to $238 million or $1.84 per share in the quarter from $225 million or $1.72 per share in the same quarter of the prior year (all excluding special items).

The company?s sales in the quarter escalated 7% to $4.0 billion, driven by higher vehicle production volumes, mainly in North America, and increasing demand for its active and passive safety products compared to the prior-year quarter.????????

However, excluding special items, operating income in the quarter dipped marginally to $307 million from $310 million in the prior-year period. The decline in profit was attributable to a negative impact from higher raw material prices, higher legal fees and planned increases in costs to support future growth, partially offset by increased profit from the higher level of sales between the two quarters.????

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization before special items (adjusted EBITDA) declined slightly to $413 million in the quarter compared with $426 million in the prior-year quarter.

TRW anticipates sales in the range of $16.0 billion?$16.4 billion for full year 2012, including $4.1 billion for the first quarter of the year. The expectations are based on the assumptions for industry production volumes of 13.9 million units in North America and 18.4 million units in Europe. The company continues to expect China and the rest of world regions to be the growth drivers in 2012.

TRW, headquartered in Michigan, is a leading manufacturer of advanced technology products and services for the automotive markets. The company?s operations include design, manufacture and sale of active and passive safety related products. It is among the world?s 10 largest suppliers of automotive systems, modules and components to global automotive manufacturers. Its main competitors include Autoliv Inc. (NYSE:ALV).

The company?s continued focus on innovative technologies is capable of generating top- and bottom-line growth. In addition, we believe its strong exposure to the international markets, especially emerging markets, will fuel earnings growth.

However, we are concerned about weaknesses in the European markets ? where the company generates more than half of revenues, high customer concentration and a challenging pricing environment. As a result, it retains a Zacks #3 Rank on its stock, which translates to a ?Hold? rating for the short term (1 to 3 months).

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AUTOLIV INC (ALV): Free Stock Analysis Report
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To read this article on Zacks.com click here.
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Source: http://www.dailymarkets.com/stock/2012/03/26/fitch-upgrades-trw-automotive-2/

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Sunday, March 25, 2012

English Holidays For The Whole Family : The Wise Directory

Take your family on a vacation they will not soon forget with English Getaways. They will love the hills of luxurious green and the countrysides full of some of the most exuberant scenery they have ever seen.

You will be amazed at the countrysides of rolling green hills that seem to stretch out never ending. The charm the homes as well as the bed and breakfast houses, unless brand new buildings exude this and allow you to live in historical places of England?s past.

You must visit some of the many shires which surround the countryside here. These are still quaint in all of their English charm but have kept up with the newer times as well.

One castle which is something you and your family must tour is Thornbury Castle. This is located within South Gloucestershire England. More of a Tudor designed country house this structure is amazing. King Henry VIII confiscated this home after the Duke was beheaded.

You will also find many old-fashion English pubs everywhere you go. Some are new but the best ones are the ones that have been around for a long time and are housed within buildings of older England?s past. These have much more atmosphere and true English foods and drinks.

Visit the City of York for its history and design. In York you will view buildings still in their medieval style glory as well as be surrounded by the heritage of the Vikings who once called this area their home.

Barnsley House was once home to Rosemary Verey, the best designer of gardens in England. The hotel has now put this love of gardens into the furniture as well as the whole design theme throughout the hotel and its spa.

Close by you will find the Village Pub to grab a bite and a stout. You will taste some of the best seafood here like the Dorset crabs, mussels, bowl of clams and the ever delectable Cotswold cider.

Travel to Winchester within the West Country for a true historical monument to be seen. This mega-sight has puzzled people for thousands of years. It is the ever magical Stonehenge on the Salisbury Plains.

The famous woman author Jane Austen is laid to rest here at the cathedral Winchester as well. Ms. Austen?s home can also be toured and all its quaint English charm taken in at nearby Chawton.

Anyone who visits England for the first time has to go to London as it is a place you will remember for many years to come. You can tour castles, historical monuments, prisons, towers and so much more. Museums here are filled with literature, art and weapons from the medieval ages.

If you stay the night within this village be sure to get tickets and see the Royal Shakespeare Company plays performed on regular basis. This is a grand depiction of his most famous of plays.

In these Palace tours you will also be able to visit the Royal Mews where you can admire the collection of vehicles of the Monarchy. English Getaways would not be complete without this sight to be seen and children will delight in the vastness of it all.

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Tags: entertainment, holidays, holidays in cornwall, home and family, Leisure, lifestyle, outdoors, recreation and sports, Travel, Travel and Leisure, vacations

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Source: http://www.wisedir.com/english-holidays-for-the-whole-family?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=english-holidays-for-the-whole-family

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Saturday, March 24, 2012

Adele beats Gaga to win big at German ECHO awards

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