That's a Wrap: Good-bye to 2009

As Franklin Roosevelt said about public speaking "Be sincere, be brief, be seated".

First off, thanks to our regular visitors. Since we started the blog we've been continually impressed by how scary smart [and good looking -ed] you are. Because we don't have time to moderate comments you have to go through the extra step of sending an email. We appreciate the effort, the feedback and the post ideas.
Thanks.

For newcomers, we started the blog as a place where we could bookmark stories that we thought were important. Pretty homely as far as aspirations go.
That's expanded to included some of our thinking on the torrent of news that flows by, every minute of the day.

The original focus was energy/alt-energy/cleantech but when the sub-prime fiasco started being recognized, we expanded to include our forte, global macro.
Everything is connected.
Take a look around and you'll find a [very -ed] idiosyncratic diary of the last few years. We are fans of the 'search blog' box.

Although it's "on to the new decade" we'll leave you with a couple videos that look back.

First up, Jib-Jab's Year in Review, 2009:

Try JibJab Sendables® eCards today!

And next, one of the songs that we played almost daily during the crisis portion of the financial meltdown, September 2008-March 2009.
(followed by the health care version):
Ladies and Gentlemen, The Ramones: "I Wanna be Sedated".


Healthcare meets Punk


[he forgot to say Happy New Year, so I'll do the honors "Best Wishes for 2010!" -ed]

A Look Back: "The Top Stories of the Last 4.5 Million Years"

From America's Finest News Source:

Our Annual Year 2009

Evolution Going Great, Reports Trilobite 12.16.09

Slowly inching his segmented exoskeleton across the floor of the primordial waters, a local marine arthropod, class Trilobita, reported that Earth's natural evolution was "progressing quite nicely." more»

Internet Archaeologists Find Ruins Of 'Friendster' Civilization 12.16.09

Researchers conducting the Friendster excavation say the site has been deserted since the year 2005 A.D. …more »

Rat-Shit-Covered Physicians Baffled By Spread Of Black Plague 12.15.09

According to recently discovered journals, the 14th century's rat-feces-smeared men of science were at a total loss to explain how the Black Death was able to spread so quickly across...…more»

Four Or Five Guys Pretty Much Carry Whole Renaissance 12.14.09

Following 1,000 years of cultural decline and societal collapse known as the Dark Ages, the 15th century brought forth the Renaissance, an unprecedented resurgence in learning and the arts, which...…more »

honorable mentions

Early Humans Finally Drunk Enough To Invent Dancing

• New 'War' Enables Mankind To Resolve Disagreements

• Deaths Of 550,000 Confirm Which Mushrooms Are Okay To Eat

American Voices »

Henry Ford Modernizes Production

"It's satisfying to know I'm helping to build an industry and a future for my grandchildren and great-grandchildren right here in Detroit."

• Magna Carta Issued

• Neanderthal Man Flocking To Caves

Also Historical

Some Of Man's Most Important Inventions

A Long, Elaborate History Of Time

The Ones We Lost

And Many More

HT: Kottke

Predicting the pace of rate hikes

From the Financial Post's Trading Desk blog:

It's pretty much a sure thing that the U.S. Federal Reserve will begin tightening monetary policy next year but when and by how much the central bank will raise interest rates remains a bit of a mystery.

Joseph Lavorgna, U.S. chief economist, Deutsche Bank, weighed in on the subject this week, saying small rate increases will begin in the second half of 2010, followed by larger hikes in 2011.

"We are projecting 100 bps of tightening next year and then 200 bps of tightening in 2011, thereby bringing the funds rate to around 3%.

In particular, he expects the first two rate increases to be 25 basis points in size, occurring at the August and September FOMC meetings.

After that, he forecasts the Fed to hike 50 basis points in November and then at alternate FOMC meetings thereafter.

Oil, natural gas markets brace for surprises

From MarketWatch:

Crude's stimulus 'drugs' may wear out soon; supply's a drag for natural gas

Energy traders certainly have their work cut out for them when it comes to guessing the next direction for oil and natural gas as the year comes to an end.

After all, oil's made an impressive run, poised to end the year with a gain of more than 75% after closing out last year down 54% -- its biggest yearly loss since oil futures started trading in New York.

And while natural-gas prices are about to end the year will little fanfare, around 4% higher for the year, that's still much better than the 25% loss they posted in 2008. Prices have more than doubled from their lows around $2.50 per million British thermal units in early September.

'These quantitative easing and zero interest rate drugs feel pretty good right now. The problem is that we cannot stay on these drugs forever.'

Phil Flynn, PFG Best

"For both the crude and natural gas markets, I would say look to sell rallies of false optimism, but be careful of surprises in the weather," said Todd Hultman, president of DailyFutures.com.

That's easier said than done since "false optimism" will be everywhere.

Still, most analysts agree that the outlook for both commodities look promising in the long-term big picture, with the near-term path likely to be a difficult one to travel as major economies around the world begin to exit their economic stimulus packages and raise interest rates.

"This year was one where many oil traders had to forget everything they believed about supply and demand ... and instead were forced to focus on the intricacies of currency exchange rates and global macro economics and the relationships therein," said Phil Flynn, vice president at futures trading firm PFG Best.

Oil had started the year in the "grips of a deflationary death spiral," he said. Prices hit a high above $147 per barrel in 2008, only to sink to lows near $30 by February of this year.

"As the [Federal Reserve] pumped in more cash, the dollar lost value and commodities soared and oil more than doubled in price," said Flynn....MORE

Buffett & Berkshire Stocks With Most Upside in 2010 (BRK-A, BAC, COP, CMCSA, GCI, GE, IRM, KFT, NRG, STI, USB, WFC)

From 24/7 Wall Street:
Warren Buffett has a different timeframe than most investors. Unless he sees something drastic to the long-term fundamentals, he maintains a near-forever outlook when he invests in or buys companies for Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE: BRK-A). What we wanted to do was peruse the Warren Buffett and Berkshire Hathaway portfolio of common stock holdings and then see which stocks of the portfolio had the most implied upside in 2010 compared to consensus analyst price targets....

...NRG Energy, Inc. (NYSE: NRG) $23.92 and 1-year mean price target is $30.08, implying upside of 25.7%.

• NRG is well under its 52-week high of $29.26 from over two months ago. This is a ‘value stock’ under most screens, but the problem is that most analysts expect declining earnings in 2010 despite an expectation of higher revenues....

...MUCH MORE

Carbon ends year on a bearish note

A quick hit from PointCarbon:

European carbon prices ended the year with a whimper, falling to €1.25 below the yearly average.

Prices

Point Carbon's OTC price assessments

31 Dec 2009 13:06:23 CET

/ChartServer/DownloadTable?p=zUOKBD3SNKAK%2BUErfGYaI%2B41NaYHBAMO6VoSctJzNO%2FlAFppDjzPCkmp7Ey7uiuu%2FwRD63j4Vk%2BM2wtkgDDoX2lpNBoZLozN

EUA	Dec 2010	12.53	-0.15
sCER	Dec 2010	11.03	0.00

31 Dec 2009 13:06:23 CET

EUA last 30 days

Cheers! To a decade of innovation at General Electric’s labs (GE)

The stock is down another dime at $15.25.
If you do a blog search on "General Electric" you'll see that I don't care much for Jeff Immelt and his rentseeking/quasi-fascist approach to political capitalism. Research and Development has long been one of GE's strengths, so much so that it may be what saves the company.*
I'll buy the stock the day Immelt is fired by the board.
From GE's in-house blog, GE Reports:

With the first decade of the 2000s coming to a close tonight, we thought it would be a good time to toast a few of the many milestones reached over the last 10 years at GE Global Research — which is the company’s technology development arm. Hundreds of millions of dollars have been invested in R&D since Jeff Immelt became Chairman and CEO in 2001, resulting in dramatic expansions at research headquarters in Niskayuna, New York and our center in Bangalore, India; the creation of global research centers in Munich and Shanghai; and new technology centers planned for Detroit, Michigan and Masdar City in the Middle East. Those investments either are, or soon will, produce an array of benefits for science, the marketplace and investors. To keep it short (so that you’ll have plenty of time to make it to the big party!) we’ve highlighted four that are about to jump from the lab — and four that have already made the leap.

Technologies coming to market in the next 1-3 years:

1. Batteries: GE’s $150 technology investment in advanced batteries, including the new sodium metal halide battery technology, positions the company to enter a $1 billion business over the next decade.
2. Digital pathology: A joint venture between GE Healthcare and the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center created a new company, Omnyx, to develop and commercialize a high speed scanner and software platform to bring pathology — which for over 150 years was practiced with a microscope and glass slides — into the digital age. It’s already caught the attention of industry thought leaders like Frost and Sullivan and the digitization of pathology and its work flow represents an estimated $2 billion global opportunity.
3. Cell technologies: GE researchers are developing new tools and products for the emerging cell therapy market – which is a $1 billion market opportunity.
4. Silicon carbide: With airplanes replacing traditional hydraulic systems with more efficient electrical designs, there’s a critical need for more on board electrical power. GE’s silicon carbide power semiconductor technology will dramatically reduce inefficiencies and the size and weight of electric components. It’s a $1 billion market opportunity.

Technologies already to market:

5. Wind energy: GE acquired Enron’s Wind business out of bankruptcy for around $200 million. By 2008, GE’s wind business generated $6.7 billion in revenues – driven by significant technology investments to improve the turbines.
6. Diesel emissions: GE’s Evolution Locomotive, launched in 2005, broke the longstanding paradigm in locomotives that reducing emissions came at the expense of lower fuel economy. The technology has produced $6.5 billion in orders won.
7. Diagnostic imaging: GE’s ultrasound technology includes breakthroughs such as the compact Venue 40, which is the size of a laptop computer, and the new Vscan, which is a handheld ultrasound device that is coming to market in early 2010. In total, GE’s compact ultrasound sales were $800 million in the past four years.
8. GEnx jet engine: The GEnx is the best selling engine for the Boeing 787 Dreamliner and the sole source engine for the Boeing 747-8 aircraft — and it uses advanced composite technologies developed in GE’s labs. With more than 1,100 engines on order, the GEnx is the fastest-selling large jet engine in GE history.

* Learn more about GE Global Research in these GE Reports stories.

We’ll be back on January 4, 2010. Happy New Year!

*"Can R&D Save General Electric?" and "GE's Risky Energy Research" (GE)

Bundle up: "It's going to be a cold 2010"

From the BBC:

As much of the country braces itself for further snow falls and freezing temperatures word reaches me from several US forecasters that the whole of the Northern Hemisphere is in for a very cold start to 2010. Apparently there's been a strong downspike in something called the Arctic Oscillation Index and the North Atlantic Oscillation Index is also strongly negative.

This alignment in both atmospheric circulation patterns in a downward direction has led some forecasters in North America to predict a bitterly cold snap for the first half of January for North America and Northern Europe. One AccuWeather senior meteorologist called Joe Bastardi is even forecasting

"cold of a variety not seen in over 25 years in a large scale is about to engulf the major energy consuming areas of the northern Hemisphere. The first 15 days of the opening of the New Year will be the coldest, population weighted, north of 30 [degrees] north world wide in over 25 years."

Some other forecasters agree. But not the Met Office here in Britain, which is apparently sticking to its forecast of a relatively mild winter (I think ... it's not really clear from its website), despite recent evidence (ie from the mid-December onwards) to the contrary. Indeed, from Scotland to the Great Lakes in North America the December weather has been fiercer than it has been for quite some time....MORE

Day Brightener (Wrecker): "9 Child Prodigies (Who Actually Ended Up Doing Something) "

From Mental Floss:

Being a child prodigy is no guarantee that you’ll grow up to be rich, famous or happy. You might have a breakdown and fade into obscurity (like that guy in the movie Shine), quit the scene altogether (like chess maestro Bobby Fischer), or turn to a life of petty crime (insert the name of your favorite child actor here). The road from kid genius to adult dud is a well-traveled one. But if you or someone you love happens to be a budding brainiac, don’t despair. Here are 9 instances of wonder boys and girls who bucked the trend and grew up to be smart cookies.

1. Blaise Pascal (1623-1662)

Areas of Expertise: Math, physical science, and philosophy
Notable Achievement: Making a bet with God
Secret to His Success: Doing geometry when his dad wasn’t looking

The great French thinker Blaise Pascal began studying geometry at age 12, even though his father had forbidden such academic endeavors and removed all mathematics textbooks from the house. But even Pascal senior couldn’t help but be impressed when his son recreated the geometry theories of Euclid, so he started taking young Poindexter to weekly meetings with the elite mathematicians of Paris. By age 19, Pascal had begun to develop a hand-held, mechanical calculator, which might have made him rich if it hadn’t proved impractical to mass produce (a big relief to the abacus industry). Fortunately, that didn’t send him spiraling into child-burnout depression, and he went on to many more years of scientific achievement. Besides publishing influential treatises in geometry, Pascal made significant contributions in physical science, like experimenting with atmospheric pressure and determining that a vacuum exists outside Earth’s atmosphere. His contributions to philosophy include the famous “Pascal’s Wager,” which states that believing in God costs you nothing if you’re wrong, and wins you everything if you’re right.

2. Maria Agnesi (1718-1799)

Areas of Expertise: Mathematics and astronomy
Notable Achievement: Proving that chicks are good at math, too
Secret to Her Success: Time management; she was known to write the solutions to difficult math problems in her sleep (literally)

When Maria Gaetana Agnesi was born in Milan in 1718, girls in upper-class Italian society were taught dressmaking, etiquette and religion, but not how to read. Thankfully, her father, himself a mathematician, recognized Maria’s amazing memory and talent for languages and decided that something like literacy might be a good thing for his daughter. By the time she was nine, Agnesi was impressing party guests with speeches she’d translated into Latin. By age 13, when a visitor would ask her for a waltz, Agnesi would treat her dance partner to a discussion of Newton’s theory of gravity (a second waltz was a rare request). But thanks to her father’s second and third marriages, Agnesi eventually found herself in charge of a household of 20 brothers and sisters, and since she was the oldest, she ended up utilizing more of those Home Ec skills than she had anticipated. Fortunately, in between breaking up slap fights and doling out bowls of spaghetti, the 30-year-old Agnesi managed to compose a highly influential, two-volume manual on mathematics that included cutting edge developments like integral and differential calculus. Afterward, Pope Benedict XIV wrote Agnesi, commending her work and suggesting her for a post at the University of Bologna.

3. Felix Mendelssohn (1809-1847)

Areas of Expertise: Piano, organ, and orchestra (performance and composition)
Notable Achievement: His “Wedding March,” which has survived over a century of rising divorce rates and overpriced wedding planners
Secret to His Success: Nicest guy in classical music

Widely regarded as the 19th-century equivalent of Mozart, German composer Felix Mendelssohn was musically precocious at an early age. Mendelssohn began taking piano lessons at age six, made his first public performance at age nine, and wrote his first composition (that we know of) when he was 11. By the time he turned 17, he had completed his Overture to “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” one of the Romantic period’s best-known, most-loved works of classical music. Then, in 1835, Mendelssohn’s father died, which (just like Wolfy) came as a crushing blow to the composer. But rather than sending him into an alcohol-induced stupor, the experience motivated Felix to finish his oratorio, “St. Paul,” which had been one of his father’s dying requests. From there, he went on to compose important and popular works, including the “Wedding March.” In 1843, at age 34, Mendelssohn founded the Conservatory of Music in Leipzig, where he taught composition with fellow musical great Robert Schumann.

4. Marie Curie (1867-1934)

Areas of Expertise: Physics, chemistry and radioactivity
Notable Achievement: The first woman to win a Nobel Prize; and just for good measure, she won two
Secret to Her Success: Wanted to be in her element, so she discovered it

Born in Warsaw, Poland, Marie Sklodowska was the child of two teachers who placed great importance on education for all of their children. This wasn’t a problem for four-year-old Marie, who, just by hanging around her four older siblings, taught herself how to read (Russian and French) and was known to help her brothers and sisters with their math homework. It was also at age four that she began to freak people out with her incredible memory, as she was able to recall events that had happened years before (“Remember that time when I was three months old and you put my diaper on backwards, idiot?”) As a teenager, Marie was anxious to attend college, but her family couldn’t afford it since her father had lost his teaching job, so she spent five grueling years earning money as a governess (it wasn’t like The Sound of Music at all; the kids were stupid, and there was no singing or dancing). But her time came in 1891, and she headed for the Sorbonne in Paris. There, she discovered future husband Pierre Curie, along with the radioactive elements radium and polonium. In her thirties, Marie worked closely with her husband, and together they devised the science of radioactivity, for which they were awarded a Nobel Prize in physics. After Pierre’s death in 1906, Marie continued her work, winning her second Nobel (this time in chemistry) at age 44....MORE

2009 White Collar Crime Awards

From the White Collar Crime Prof blog:

Each year this blog has honored individuals and organizations for their work in the white collar crime arena by bestowing "The Collar" on those who deserve praise, scorn, acknowledgment, blessing, curse, or whatever else might be appropriate. I welcome comments from readers who would like to suggest additional categories or winners (or losers?).

With the appropriate fanfare, and without further ado,

The Collars for 2009:

The Collar for Causing the Most Dominoes to Fall - To Bernie Madoff for causing more Ponzi schemes to come to light

The Collar for Missing the Boat -To the past SEC that failed to notice Madoff and other schemes

The Collar for Best U-Turn - To the new DOJ for dismissing Ben Kuehne's case and exposing discovery violations, like seen in the Stevens case

The Collar for the Most Needing a Hearing Aid - For whoever decided to use a wiretap for alleged securities violations in the Rajaratnam case

The Collar for the Latest Fashion - To the DOJ for changing the name of the corporate crime task force to, what else - the financial fraud task force

The Collar for the Hottest Freezer - To William Jefferson, convicted after a search found cash in his freezer

The Collar for Adhering to Terry MacCarthy's Rule of Threes - To the Supreme Court for accepting three mail fraud cases, all pertaining to the honest services statute's 28 words....MORE

2009 best year for commodities since 1973 (or 1970)

Copper and natural gas were the commods we had the most posts on this year.
From Reuters via MineWeb:

The Reuters/Jefferies CRB index is on track for a 24% increase, withbase metals strong, gold recording its ninth straight year of gains and soft commodities increasing too, 2009 has been a strong year for commodity prices.

Commodity markets are on course for their strongest year since 1973, lifted by oil's biggest annual gains in a decade and a 140 percent surge in copper prices.

With the Reuters/Jefferies CRB index .CRB on track for a 24 percent rally in 2009, gold heading for its ninth increase in as many years, sugar near record highs and cocoa headed for its fourth annual rise, traders are describing 2009 as "the year of commodities".

But the strategies that worked this year may fail in 2010 as the market switches from picking up bargains left in the wake of the financial market meltdown that started in 2008 to a strategy based on macro economic data and fundamentals. "The year 2009 was really a value proposition, it was about momentum buying on value, which was buying on cheapness in the market," Mark Pervan, Head of Commodity Research at ANZ, said.

"2010 is going to be much more macro driven, more fundamentally driven. You won't see so much influence from the dollar. It will be more closely aligned with supply and demand."

First amongst CRB constituents is copper HGc1, which is heading for a rally of nearly 140 percent this year....MORE

From Bloomberg via the Mayor's latest addition to the empire, BusinessWeek:

Commodities Heading for Best Year Since 1970 on Chinese Demand

Commodities headed for their best year since at least 1970, led by a doubling in copper, sugar and lead prices, as Chinese demand compensated for the steepest slump in the global economy since World War II.

The S&P GSCI Index of 24 raw materials rose 51 percent, its best annual gain according to data on Bloomberg going back to 1971, as of 8:57 a.m. in New York. That outpaced the 28 percent gain in the MSCI World Index of stocks in 23 developed nations and 3.5 percent decline in Treasuries, according to Bank of America Merrill Lynch indexes. The S&P GSCI Total Return Index climbed 14 percent this year.

China, the biggest consumer of commodities such as copper and iron ore, expanded 9 percent this year, according to the median estimate of economists surveyed by Bloomberg. The nation imported record amounts of both raw materials this year, making up for weaker demand from countries such as the U.S., whose economy is forecast to contract 2.5 percent, and the euro zone, with a projected 4.1 percent drop. Commodities drew record investment of $60 billion this year, Barclays Capital estimates....MORE

"A Quantum Leap in Battery Design" 10 Times the Energy Density of Lithium-ion

Seriously disruptive technology.
From MIT's Technology Review:

Digital quantum batteries could exceed lithium-ion performance by orders of magnitude.

A "digital quantum battery" concept proposed by a physicist at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign could provide a dramatic boost in energy storage capacity--if it meets its theoretical potential once built.

The concept calls for billions of nanoscale capacitors and would rely on quantum effects--the weird phenomena that occur at atomic size scales--to boost energy storage. Conventional capacitors consist of one pair of macroscale conducting plates, or electrodes, separated by an insulating material. Applying a voltage creates an electric field in the insulating material, storing energy. But all such devices can only hold so much charge, beyond which arcing occurs between the electrodes, wasting the stored power.

If capacitors were instead built as nanoscale arrays--crucially, with electrodes spaced at about 10 nanometers (or 100 atoms) apart--quantum effects ought to suppress such arcing. For years researchers have recognized that nanoscale capacitors exhibit unusually large electric fields, suggesting that the tiny scale of the devices was responsible for preventing energy loss. But "people didn't realize that a large electric field means a large energy density, and could be used for energy storage that would far surpass anything we have today," says Alfred Hubler, the Illinois physicist and lead author of a paper outlining the concept, to be published in the journal Complexity.

Hubler claims the resulting power density (the speed at which energy can be stored or released) could be orders of magnitude greater, and the energy density (the amount of energy that can be stored) two to 10 times greater than possible with today's best lithium-ion and other battery technologies....MORE

HT: Next Big Future who links to the PDF and posted a Christmas Eve follow-up:

The energy density and the power density of nano vacuum tubes in comparison to other energy storage devices (a). The volumetric energy density and the gravimetric energy density of nano vacuum tubes in comparison with combustion engines and several types rechargeable batteries, including those based on lead, nickel-cadmium, nickel-metal hydride, and lithium (b). Nano vacuum tube arrays are lighter and smaller energy storage devices than other batteries.

MIT Technology Review: A "digital quantum battery" concept proposed by Alfred W. H¨ubler and Onyeama Osuagwu at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign could provide a dramatic boost in energy storage capacity--if it meets its theoretical potential once built.

(17 page pdf) Digital quantum batteries: Energy and information storage in nano vacuum tube arrays

MORE

And:

December 24, 2009
Digital Quantum Batteries Managing Risk of a Quantum Engineering Age

Dr Alfred Hubler discusses the managing the risks of the high energy densities if digital quantum batteries are developed.

Could one use nano capacitors for energy storage, where dielectric breakthrough is prevented by quantization phenomena?

This is an exciting prospect. The introduction of digital batteries could spark an exciting transition from the nuclear age to a quantum engineering age.

The theoretical limit for electrostatic energy storage in quantum devices is very high. The energy density in heavy atoms, i.e. the ratio between the stored energy and atomic volume for an excitation from the ground state of heavy metal ions is 10,000 times higher than in hydrogen atoms. Based on this theoretical limit, the maximum density of retrievable energy in nano capacitors is comparable with the density of retrievable energy from nuclear reactions.

The rapid energy release of nano capacitors discharged by an electrical short makes them potent explosives, potentially exceeding the power of any chemical explosive. In contrast to nuclear explosives, the production of nano capacitors requires not radioactive substances but common, nonpoisonous, environmentally friendly

chemicals. Without electrical charge, nano capacitors have no explosive power. In contrast to both nuclear and chemical explosives, simply using nano capacitors as batteries and slowly removing their charge as electrical current could easily and safely discharge them. In the discharged state, they could be shipped without safety concerns. At their destination they could be easily charged with electrical current. Even if an explosion were to occur, it would produce no radioactive waste, no long term radiation, and probably could be designed to produce no chemicals.

Technology to produce nano capacitors may already exist because similar quantum effects are used to keep charge separated in MTJ capacitors (used in MRAM), in flash drives and in laser diodes. In laser diodes, the recombination of electrons and holes is a forbidden transition. Therefore, the holes are long lived even if they are very close to the electrons. This leads to large electric fields. Literature data suggest that in standard laser diodes the electric field is above the breakthrough field of regular capacitors, and could be much larger. Conceivably, conventional flash drives could be used for energy storage, but they are not designed for this purpose: the substrates are thick and the energy to weight ratio is small. One could design large arrays of individually connected nano capacitors, to be charged and discharged one-by-one, similar to flash drives. In contrast to regular batteries, the output voltage would remain constant until the last nano capacitor is discharged. One could call these arrays of nano capacitors digital batteries....

"More Gains For Ag Stocks In 2010?" (MOO; MON; MOS; POT)

From HardAssetsInvestor:

In a recent Desktop article ("Gasoline Welcomes You To Winter"), we celebrated the beginning of winter and marked the 200th anniversary (that's 200 days, mind you) of the equity market low culminating the Great De-leveraging.

Although the widely followed S&P 500 Composite was the yardstick used to score the market's nadir, that doesn't mean that every issue in the index bottomed on March 6. Take agribusiness stocks, for example. Of the five biggest domestically traded components of the DAXglobal Agribusiness Index—the benchmark tracked by the Market Vectors Agribusiness ETF (NYSE Arca: MOO)—only one scraped its pan in March. The rest actually started pulling up in late 2008, well ahead of the broader market.

Certainly, ag stocks have been on a tear this year. The Market Vectors agribusiness portfolio headed into the Christmas trading break with a 58 percent gain, nearly two and a half times the run-up of the S&P 500:

Market Vectors Agribusiness ETF (MOO)

Underlying the ag sector's buoyancy are continuing concerns about the impact on food prices from growing global populations. The Food Price Index of the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization has climbed relentlessly for months; in fact, November's index reading was the highest since September 2008.

Aside from these supply/demand fundamentals, external factors such as volatility in exchange rates and oil prices are also adding an uncertainty premium to many agricultural commodity prices.

The Biggest Winners, Stock By Stock

Closer to home, market dynamics piqued investors' appetites for agribusiness. As an example, let's look at the top five components of the DAXglobal Agribusiness Index.

First, take Mosaic Co. (NYSE: MOS), a company that makes up 8.2 percent of the DAXglobal Agribusiness Index. Mosaic produces and markets phosphate and potash fertilizers and animal feed components. Demand for potash seems likely to increase in 2010, as farmers replenish soils following two years of limited applications.

Last week, shares of Mosaic (along with those of Potash Corp. of Saskatchewan (NYSE: POT)—but more on that later) were given a lift with upgrades by Goldman Sachs research.

Mosaic, now trading with a $60 handle, bottomed in November 2008 just under $22 and has now cleared the 24 percent retracement level of its 2008 decline. Mosaic's price trajectory is shallower than some of its competitors, indicating that share values haven't been overextended. The technical balance point between "oversold" and "overbought" conditions for Mosaic currently appears to be around the $58 level. Just before Christmas, Mosaic shares were trading 21 percent above their 200-day moving average.

Another agrichemical component in the index is Syngenta AG (NYSE:SYT), a Swiss company that produces herbicides, genetically modified seeds and pest-resistant specialty crops. The company also invests in the development of amylase corn for use in ethanol production. Syngenta accounts for 8 percent of the DAXglobal Agribusiness Index.

Syngenta ADRs broke through the 62 percent retracement level of their 2008 decline—they bottomed in October 2008—and are now trading above $55, quite near their balance point. At current levels, the receipts trade 19 percent ahead of their 200-day moving average....MORE

After TARP: Hidden bank subsidies-12/30/2009 (BAC; C; FNM; FRE)

From NASDAQ:

Citigroup and Wells Fargo repaid $45 billion of government funds under the Troubled Asset Relief program last week, freeing their management teams to increase executive compensation without government interference. As a result, the general perception has been that these banks and others that received TARP money at the height of the financial crisis are now free of taxpayer support.

But these institutions are still enjoying extensive benefits at the public''s expense--albeit with much less publicity. In this first installment of a two-part special report, we will explore three unspoken subsidies the banks still receive, and will probably continue to enjoy, long into the future.

Subsidy No. 1: Cheap Money

Banks can now repay government funds because they''re getting virtually free money from the Federal Reserve''s low-interest rate policies. Case in point: Bank of America, the country''s biggest lender.

Between Dec. 31, 2008, and Sept. 30, 2009, BAC''s deposit base grew 10 percent to $975 billion, but its interest expenses on those deposits plunged by 56 percent to $1.7 billion. The cost of its short-term borrowings, which consist of commercial paper and notes tied to the Libor index, fell 62 percent to $1.2 billion over the same period.

However, despite higher long-term borrowing costs, BAC''s overall interest expense fell 33 percent between the fourth quarter of 2008 and the third quarter.

Of course, the company earned less money as many of its loans adjusted lower because they''re tied to short-term interest rates. But its overall interest income fell barely half as much--by 17 percent--during the same period.

BAC also bulked up on "cash and cash equivalents," quadrupling them to $152 billion, and shrank its loan portfolio by about 1.8 percent.

In other words, the company took much less risk yet still earned almost the same amount of money from its core banking business because of cheap money afforded by the Fed''s lending policies. The low rates also helped revive the broader capital markets, which allowed BAC to add $5.9 billion of income from investment-banking and trading activities over the same period.

Instead of receiving the public''s money in the form of government support, banks now simply pay much less interest on the public''s deposits. This will reduce Americans'' taxable incomes on savings and make them more likely to put capital into investments like gold or foreign equities, which reduces investment at home. The Fed''s plan to keep rates low for an "extended period" suggests that we may face an extended period of capital flight similar to Japan in the wake of its financial crisis.

Subsidy No. 2: Agency Bonds

Banks traditionally held Treasuries as their "cash and cash equivalent" assets. But over the last 20 years, the financial sector has come to rely almost entirely upon Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac securities as their "cash."

The nice thing for the banks is that these "agency" bonds yield more than ordinary Treasury securities. For instance, on Dec. 16, Fannie Mae sold $1 billion of five-year notes at a yield of 2.526 percent. That same day, the five-year Treasuries yielded 2.35 percent. While 18 basis points might not sound like much, it''s massive in fixed income--especially for "risk free" assets and when you''re paying almost nothing on deposits.

FNM and FRE are now largely insolvent wards of the state. Their balance sheets are so choked with bad mortgages that the Treasury Department quietly issued a decision on Christmas Eve giving them unlimited access to public funds. (This also came just days after the White House allowed their chief executives to collect $6 million of annual pay in cash--unlike widely criticized Goldman Sachs, where top executives will receive their bonuses in company stock.)

So the banks increasingly rely on the yield-rich government-sponsored enterprises, and those same GSEs are wholly dependent on the Treasury. Letting banks invest so heavily in taxpayer-supported bonds that pay higher yields amounts to another hidden subsidy....MORE

Lawmakers Want Probe Into Treasury Aid for Fannie, Freddie (FRE; FNM)

Told ya this was a big deal.
From the Wall Street Journal:

The Treasury Department's surprise Christmas Eve move to uncap the potential aid to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac should be investigated, lawmakers from both political parties said Wednesday.

Rep. Dennis Kucinich (D., Ohio) said his congressional subcommittee plans to investigate Treasury's decision to lift the existing $400 billion cap on government cash available to the two firms. Separately, Reps. Scott Garrett (R., N.J.) and Spencer Bachus (R., Ala.) called for the House Financial Services Committee to hold a hearing on the matter.

Mr. Kucinich, who chairs the domestic policy subcommittee on the House Oversight and Government Reform panel, said he is concerned about how the two government-controlled firms will use their new flexibility.

"This cannot be used simply to purchase toxic assets at inflated prices, thus transferring the losses to the U.S. taxpayers and acting as a back door [Troubled Asset Relief Program]," Mr. Kucinich said in a statement released by his office.

Messrs. Garrett and Bachus raised similar concerns in a letter to Rep. Barney Frank (D., Mass.), who chairs the Financial Services panel. The two GOP panel members decried what they called a "transparent attempt to hide the news from the American people" by announcing the news the day before a major holiday.

"With hundreds of billions of taxpayer dollars committed to these two organizations and trillions of dollars in total taxpayer exposure, this level of oversight is plainly insufficient," the two wrote, referring to the lack of committee hearings on the two firms this year....MORE

HT: MarketFolly who is pretty steamed himself:

Kucinich et.al.: Prove It (Fannie/Freddie "Outrage")

So now Mr. Kucinich comes out with this regarding the Christmas Eve "announcement" from Treasury:

"This cannot be used simply to purchase toxic assets at inflated prices, thus transferring the losses to the U.S. taxpayers and acting as a back door [Troubled Asset Relief Program]," Mr. Kucinich said in a statement released by his office.

Mr. Garrett and Bachus echoed these sentiments.

So sirs, what do you intend to do about it, given that as things stand right now this certain CAN be and WILL BE used to purchase toxic assets at inflated prices and WILL result in the transfer of the losses to the US Taxpayer, acting as, indeed, a back-door "TARP"!

As I said when the "deal" was announced (in the dark of the trading night):

Cost the taxpayer an unlimited amount due to shoddy underwriting and lax (or absent) risk controls and not only do you get bailed out, you also get paid $6 million a year.

Kucinich went on to say:

"I want to determine whether Fannie and Freddie have a cohesive plan to buy up underperforming mortgages that remain on the books of the big banks, at appropriate prices, and undertake a massive reworking of the terms of the mortgages," he said in the statement.

The banks will not sell at an "appropriate price", just as The Fed did not buy at an "appropriate price" with its "support."

The reason is clear: If one actually goes through those MBS and adjusts their value for the so-called "prime" loans that really were not, yet were stuffed into those securitizations, one would be forced to price them at their actual intrinsic value....MORE

Correction, Gawker style

Four from Regret the Error:

Earlier this week, we called congressman Jason Chaffetz a self-hating weirdo, an asshole, a probable closet case, and the son of Kitty Dukakis. He is not the son of Kitty Dukakis. We regret the error. Link

Editor’s note

An earlier version of this list entry was written by CNBC journalist David Faber and was solicited by Newsweek.com without accurately conveying to him the context in which it would appear. As a result, Faber, who was not shown the final edited item, appeared to be complicit in the criticism of a network colleague, which was not his intention. In light of the circumstances, we have removed the piece, we deeply regret its publication and we apologize to Faber and to CNBC for the error in judgment. Link

Not a broker in a Ponzi scheme

A story that ran in the National Post yesterday incorrectly suggested that Ehud Telem was a broker in an alleged Ponzi scheme. Mr. Telem was not named or alleged to be a broker in the final report issued by the court-appointed receiver. The Post regrets the error. Link

No apology?

Lucky him

A review of John Cassidy’s book How Markets Fail on 27 November listed the huge salaries and wealth of some of the chief executives of the big Wall Street banks, adding: “All lost their jobs – and fortunes – spectacularly when the crash came.” One of them didn’t: Lloyd Blankfein, CEO of Goldman Sachs, has retained both his job and (most of) his fortune. Our apologies to him. Link

Get Rich Quick: 6 People Who Accidentally Found a Fortune

From Mental Floss:

We’ve all been there—a week until payday, the rent is due, and you’re rummaging in your parents’ attic to find Dad’s Mickey Mantle rookie card. If you’re in need of some quick cash, here are six stories of people who found a fortune when—and where—they least expected it.

1. Lose a Hammer, Find a Horde

In November 1992, a farmer living near the village of Hoxne in Suffolk, England, lost a hammer in one of his fields, so he asked Eric Lawes to use his metal detector to search for it. While looking for the hammer, Lawes happened upon something else of interest – 24 bronze coins, 565 gold coins, 14,191 silver coins, plus hundreds of gold and silver spoons, jewelry, and statues, all dating back to the Roman Empire.

As required by British law, the so-called “Hoxne Hoard” was reported to the local authorities, who declared it a “Treasure Trove,” meaning it was now legally the property of Britain. However, the government is required to pay fair market value for a treasure trove, meaning the farmer and Lawes split a cool £1.75 million. The Hoxne Hoard is now on permanent display at the British Museum, drawing thousands of people every year.

Sadly, there is no word on whether or not the hammer was ever found.

2. Arkansas is a Girl’s Best Friend

W.O. Bassum found a giant of a gemstone in 1924 – a 40.23 carat diamond. It might surprise you to hear that he wasn’t digging in one of the famous South African diamond mines at the time, but was near Murfreesboro, Arkansas, at a site that is now the Crater of Diamonds State Park. Sitting on top of a volcanic pipe (a geologic tube formed by an ancient underground volcanic explosion), the park is the only diamond site in the world that is open to the public. Best of all, the park’s policy is: “You find it. You keep it. No matter how valuable it is.”

Bassum’s big find – nicknamed “The Uncle Sam Diamond,” the largest diamond ever discovered in North America – was later cut down to 12.42 carat and sold for $150,000 in 1971 (About $800,000 today). But his wasn’t the last valuable rock dug out of that Arkansas soil.

In 1964, “The Star of Murfreesboro” was discovered at the same site, weighing in at 34.25 carat. Then, in 1975, came the 16.37 carat “Amarillo Starlight Diamond.” The 6.35 carat “Roden Diamond” was found in 2006. And the crown jewel of the park has been the “Strawn-Wagner Diamond” (pictured), a comparatively small 3.09 carat diamond, that was dug up in 1990, and expertly cut down to 1.90 carat. Despite its smaller size, the Strawn-Wagner stands out because it was given a “Perfect” rating by the American Gem Society – the first diamond to ever receive such a high grade.

But don’t think this list of big gems means the site has been tapped out. On average, two diamonds are found every day at Crater of Diamonds. They’re not all as big as The Uncle Sam Diamond, but maybe you’ll get lucky. There’s only one way to find out….MORE

The Price for Fannie and Freddie Keeps Going Up (FNM; FRE)

UPDATE: "Lawmakers Want Probe Into Treasury Aid for Fannie, Freddie (FRE; FNM)"
Original post:
This is a bookmark as much as anything else. Next month we'll get into some serious questions:

1) If the Treasury backstop is now "explicit", why the heck are the agencies paying higher yields than comparable treasuries.

2) With rising interest rates (thus falling prices) all but baked in, who is going to take the other side of the interest rate swaps that Fannie and Freddie need to manage their portfolio risk? AIG? Lehman?

3) Is Chairman Bernanke taking a page from Greenspan's book (using the agencies as liquidity providers during the Russian default/LTCM meltdown of 1998)?

All these fascinating queries and more, coming up!
From the Wall Street Journal:

On Christmas Eve, when most Americans' minds were on other things, the Treasury Department announced that it was removing the $400 billion cap from what the administration believes will be necessary to keep Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac solvent. This action confirms that the decade-long congressional failure to more closely regulate these two government-sponsored enterprises (GSEs) will rank for U.S. taxpayers as one of the worst policy disasters in our history.

Fannie and Freddie's congressional sponsors—some of whom are now leading the administration's effort to "reform" the financial system—have a lot to answer for. Rep. Barney Frank (D., Mass.), chairman of the House Financial Services Committee, sponsored legislation adopted in 2008 that established a new regulatory structure for the GSEs. But by then it was far too late. The GSEs had begun buying risky loans in 1993 to meet the "affordable housing" requirements established under congressional direction by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

Most of the damage was done from 2005 through 2007, when Fannie and Freddie were binging on risky mortgages. Back then, Mr. Frank was the bartender, denying that there was any cause for concern, and claiming that he wanted to "roll the dice" on subsidized housing support.

In 2005, the Senate Banking Committee, then controlled by Republicans, adopted tough regulatory legislation that would have established more auditing and oversight of the two agencies. But it was passed out of committee on a partisan vote, and with no Democratic support it never came to a vote.

By the end of 2008, Fannie and Freddie held or guaranteed approximately 10 million subprime and Alt-A mortgages and mortgage-backed securities (MBS)—risky loans with a total principal balance of $1.6 trillion. These are now defaulting at unprecedented rates, accounting for both their 2008 insolvency and their growing losses today. Since 2008, under government control, the two agencies have continued to buy dicey mortgages in order to stabilize housing prices.

There is more to this ugly situation. New research by Edward Pinto, a former chief credit officer for Fannie Mae and a housing expert, has found that from the time Fannie and Freddie began buying risky loans as early as 1993, they routinely misrepresented the mortgages they were acquiring, reporting them as prime when they had characteristics that made them clearly subprime or Alt-A....MORE

"Heckuva Job, Janet": Options Traders Bet on Air Security (ASEI; LLL; OSIS)

I've seen the "Heckuva Job..." line at sources as disparate as the HuffPo and RealClearPolitics. Here's the New York Times' On the White House blog:
A Phrase Sets Off Sniping After a Crisis

To the list of phrases it may be best for political leaders to avoid after a major security incident, add “the system worked” right after “Brownie, you’re doing a heck of a job.”...

From MarketBeat:

Options traders are betting that stocks of companies that design airport security systems will be able to build off recent gains. Trading activity in OSI Systems and American Science & Engineering has been heavy since Monday, as shares in both companies climbed higher following the failed attempt to bomb a Detroit-bound plane. Today, traders are showing interest in buying bullish call options in OSI Systems, gravitating toward January $30 calls....MORE

And from ClusterStock:
"L3 Shares Soar, As Travelers Prepare For Full-Body Scans"

Tom Konrad's "Ten Clean Energy Stocks for 2010" (BGC; MTZ; WM...and seven more) PBW

Tom had a good year in '09, up an average of 57%. He (and we) did suffer from some altitude sickness in June, we covered it in "AltEnergyStocks Cautiously Cautions: Be Cautious":

...In Monday's "Solar: Street Feeling Upbeat After Intersolar Conference (Short 'em?)" it was:

Funny, I was just musing "What level should I start scaling in some shorts?". I'm not kidding.
Time to look at the MACD, grab a Big Mac, be the mac daddy, maybe Mack the Knife*....

Kudos to Tom. He may be a few percentage points early but booking 70% or so sure isn't dumb.
And just yesterday, although I think it could quadruple over 36-48 months, I suggested a partner may want to write some calls on Trina (TSL)!
(those calls paid off as TSL didn't exceed the strike before expiring. Then the stock doubled.)

From AltEnergyStocks:

A mini-portfolio of stocks that not only are green, but should outperform the market in an environment of increasing concern about climate change and peak oil.

This is the third annual list of green stocks I have published. In 2008, it was a list of ten speculative alternative energy companies (in three parts) that I thought might catch public notice that year. As we all now know, 2008 was a horrible year for speculative stocks, and my stocks were no exception, losing an average of 55% that year, although that still ended up being better than seven out of nine of the sector mutual funds and ETFs that I was then tracking.

In 2009, my ten green stock picks were more conservative, with a focus on profitable companies with good cash flow. The results have been better than I hoped. These 10 picks gained an average of 57%, beating my benchmarks by an even wider margin. I'll be surprised if I do as well in 2010, but if there's one thing the stock market delivers reliably, it is surprises.

10 for '10

In November, I wrote a series of articles for the beginning investor in clean energy, and I plan to follow my own advice with this list, putting emphasis on those clean energy sectors that most investors are not giving enough attention. Once you've decided how much of your portfolio to put in clean energy, splitting that investment evenly between these ten stocks should give you exposure to the best clean energy sectors, as well as decent diversification. In other words, these ten stocks are intended as a substitute for a clean energy Exchange Traded Fund (ETF).

In late 2008, when I was putting together my list for 2009, I had a relatively easy time. Fear was rampant, and there were many great companies selling for single-digit multiples of earnings. Today, complacency and greed have returned to the markets, and good values are very hard to come by. The following 10 are mostly the result of culling through our Alternative Energy Stock lists for companies in my favored sectors that look ready for the premature end of the recovery: Companies with strong balance sheets, good cash flow and profitability at not-too-expensive multiples.

Electric Grid & Electricity Storage (30%)

• General Cable (BGC)
• MasTec (MTZ)
• C&D Technologies (CHP)

-or-

• Smart Grid Infrastructure Index Fund (GRID)

Efficient/Clean Transportation (30%)

• New Flyer Industries (NFI-UN.TO, NFYIF.PK)
• Firstgroup PLC (FGP.L)
• Portec Rail Products (PRPX)

-or-

• Powershares Global Progressive Transport ETF (PTRP)

Energy Efficiency (30%)

• Waterfurnace, Inc. (WFI.TO, WFFIF.PK)
• Linear Technology Corp (LLTC)
• Flir Systems, Inc. (FLIR)

Biomass, Waste to Energy, Recycling - 10%

• Waste Management (WM)

Simplified Portfolio...MORE

See also:

In Review: 10 Clean Energy Stocks for 2009

Are the Exploding Lithium Batteries Back?

From BuzzFeed:

Link: imgur.com

Our Best Short Idea--San Francisco: "The Worst-Run Big City in the U.S."

I had to bookmark this. HAD to.
From SF Weekly:

Spend more. Get less. We’re the city that knows how.

Despite its good intentions, San Francisco is not leading the country in gay marriage. Despite its good intentions, it is not stopping wars. Despite its spending more money per capita on homelessness than any comparable city, its homeless problem is worse than any comparable city's. Despite its spending more money per capita, period, than almost any city in the nation, San Francisco has poorly managed, budget-busting capital projects, overlapping social programs no one is certain are working, and a transportation system where the only thing running ahead of schedule is the size of its deficit.

It's time to face facts: San Francisco is spectacularly mismanaged and arguably the worst-run big city in America. This year's city budget is an astonishing $6.6 billion — more than twice the budget for the entire state of Idaho — for roughly 800,000 residents. Yet despite that stratospheric amount, San Francisco can't point to progress on many of the social issues it spends liberally to tackle — and no one is made to answer when the city comes up short.

The city's ineptitude is no secret. "I have never heard anyone, even among liberals, say, 'If only [our city] could be run like San Francisco,'" says urbanologist Joel Kotkin. "Even other liberal places wouldn't put up with the degree of dysfunction they have in San Francisco. In Houston, the exact opposite of San Francisco, I assume you'd get shot."

Who is to blame for this city's wretched state of affairs? Yomi Agunbiade, that's who. Metaphorically, that is.

An engineer by trade, Agunbiade was appointed by Mayor Gavin Newsom to head the San Francisco Recreation and Park Department in 2004. Even before Agunbiade's tenure, Rec and Park was the department other city departments pointed and laughed at — but under Agunbiade, it became Amy Poehler funny.

During his reign, an audit revealed, rec centers frequently didn't open, because staff simply didn't show up — and the department had no process to do anything about it. Good news: New rec centers were slated to open. Bad news: Agunbiade's department had no plan for how to staff them. But that wasn't enough to cost Agunbiade his job.

When the city controller's office made the common-sense recommendation that groundskeepers ought to be where they were assigned to be when they're supposed to be there, Agunbiade fought them on it for three years. Running a department where no one knows where anyone is — and no one even wants to know? Not a problem.

Then a report by the city's budget analyst found massive fiscal mismanagement at the Marina Yacht Harbor, which is run by Rec and Park. Perhaps so much money wouldn't have gone unaccounted for, the audit suggested, if the department had installed a cash register. Still, not a problem for Agunbiade. Other reports exposed one organizational or fiscal snafu after another, but his position was secure. In San Francisco, running a city department like a Franz Kafka nightmare doesn't cost a decisionmaker his job.

Then, in July 2008, we apparently discovered what does. Rec and Park spokeswoman Rose Dennis claimed that Agunbiade had been sexually and religiously harassing her for years, and produced letters he'd sent to her home as evidence. She confirmed to SF Weekly that Agunbiade's letters urged her to stop wearing revealing clothes so that she could get right with Jesus. Though she didn't release the letters publicly, Dennis did bring them to the city attorney's office — which determined that this could turn into a messy lawsuit.

Agunbiade was subsequently called in to chat with Newsom. The conversation between the mayor-who-slept-with-his-appointments-secretary and the department-head-accused-of-sexually-and-religiously-harassing-his-spokeswoman (in writing!) must have been one for the ages. Whatever was said, the outcome was this: Agunbiade resigned not long after, and Dennis this year received a $91,000 settlement from the city.

Minus the alleged harassment, city government is filled with Yomi Agunbiades — and they're hardly ever disciplined, let alone fired. When asked, former Board of Supervisors President Aaron Peskin couldn't remember the last time a higher-up in city government was removed for incompetence. "There must have been somebody," he said at last, vainly searching for a name.

Accordingly, millions of taxpayer dollars are wasted on good ideas that fail for stupid reasons, and stupid ideas that fail for good reasons, and hardly anyone is taken to task.

The intrusion of politics into government pushes the city to enter long-term labor contracts it obviously can't afford, and no one is held accountable. A belief that good intentions matter more than results leads to inordinate amounts of government responsibility being shunted to nonprofits whose only documented achievement is to lobby the city for money. Meanwhile, piles of reports on how to remedy these problems go unread. There's no outrage, and nobody is disciplined, so things don't get fixed.

San Francisco is the city that simply will not hold itself accountable.

---

Here are a few examples of the best of San Francisco at its worst.

Finding books in the library is easy: There are logical, organized systems in place. Finding where the money to build libraries went — that's hard. Last year, the Civil Grand Jury could not find — we reiterate, could not find — up-to-date budget numbers for the city's Branch Library Improvement Program. The numbers that were available aren't pretty: Voters approved a $106 million bond in 2000 to rebuild 19 libraries, and $28 million more was ponied up by the state and private donors. That money was spent without a coherent building plan being formulated between the Library Commission and Department of Public Works — leading to such large cost overruns and long delays that the commission abandoned five of the projects. In 2007, the city went back to the voters, asking for another $50 million for libraries — without publicizing that this would fund the five unfinished projects voters had already paid for. Voters approved it. After all, who doesn't like libraries?...

...SO MUCH MORE You'll be looking for ways to play this