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Monthly Archives: August 2011

Today’s Top Performing ETF’s

No. Ticker % Change
1 DPK 6.84
2 SOXS 5.79
3 EPV 5.30
4 EDZ 4.63
5 SJH 4.56
6 AGQ 4.34
7 EFU 4.26
8 TVIX 4.23
9 TZA 4.21
10 SRTY 4.16
11 SQQQ 3.89
12 MWN 3.87
13 BDD 3.82
14 INDZ 3.62
15 TYP 3.38
16 BGZ 3.31
17 SCC 3.24
18 DRV 3.24
19 SPXU 3.16
20 ERY 3.09
21 UVU 3.08
22 SKK 3.07
23 TMF 3.01
24 SIJ 2.99
25 SSG 2.95

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Dr. Masters: Irene Could Be Worst Hurricane to Hit Northeast Since 1938

Back in 1938, long before satellites, radar, the hurricane hunters, and the modern weather forecasting system, the great New England hurricane of 1938 roared northwards into Long Island, New York at 60 mph, pushing a storm surge more than 15 feet high to the coast. Hundreds of Americans died in this greatest Northeast U.S. hurricane on record, the only Category 3 storm to hit the Northeast since the 1800s. Since 1938, there have been a number of significant hurricanes in the Northeast–the Great Atlantic hurricane of 1944, Hazel of 1954, Diane of 1955, Donna of 1960, Gloria of 1985, Bob of 1991, and Floyd of 1999–but none of these were as formidable as the great 1938 storm. Today, we have a hurricane over the Bahamas–Hurricane Irene–that threatens to be the Northeast’s most dangerous storm since the 1938 hurricane. We’ve all been watching the computer models, which have been steadily moving their forecast tracks for Irene more to the east–first into Florida, then Georgia, then South Carolina, then North Carolina, then offshore of North Carolina–and it seemed that this storm would do what so many many storms have done in the past, brush the Outer Banks of North Carolina, then head out to sea. Irene will not do that. Irene will likely hit Eastern North Carolina, but the storm is going northwards after that, and may deliver an extremely destructive blow to the mid-Atlantic and New England states. I am most concerned about the storm surge danger to North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, New York, and the rest of the New England coast. Irene is capable of inundating portions of the coast under 10 – 15 feet of water, to the highest storm surge depths ever recorded. I strongly recommend that all residents of the mid-Atlantic and New England coast familiarize themselves with their storm surge risk. The best source of that information is the National Hurricane Center’s Interactive Storm Surge Risk Map, which allows one to pick a particular Category hurricane and zoom in to see the height above ground level a worst-case storm surge may go. If you prefer static images, use wunderground’s Storm Surge Inundation Maps. If these tools indicate you may be at risk, consult your local or state emergency management office to determine if you are in a hurricane evacuation zone. Mass evacuations of low-lying areas along the entire coast of New Jersey, Delaware, Maryland, and Virginia are at least 50% likely to be ordered by Saturday. The threat to the coasts of New York, Connecticut, Rhode Island, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and Maine is less certain, but evacuations may be ordered in those states, as well. Irene is an extremely dangerous storm for an area that has no experience with hurricanes, and I strongly urge you to evacuate from the coast if an evacuation is ordered by local officials. My area of greatest concern is the coast from Ocean City, Maryland, to Atlantic City, New Jersey. It is possible that this stretch of coast will receive a direct hit from a slow-moving Category 2 hurricane hitting during the highest tide of the month, bringing a 10 – 15 foot storm surge.

 

Full article

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GSVC Makes Investments in Groupon, Twitter and Zynga

Here are their current holdings:

 

Investment (1) (2) Amount
Invested (3)
Source(s) Description
Bloom Energy Corporation $1,771,335 Secondary marketplace and direct from stockholder Provider of solid oxide fuel cell technology that generates power onsite from a wide variety of fuel sources
Chegg, Inc. $5,999,996 Direct from stockholder Online textbook rental company serving students nationwide
Facebook, Inc. $6,587,500 Secondary marketplace Leading online social network
Gilt Groupe, Inc. $5,499,250 Secondary marketplace and direct from stockholder Online shopping destination offering its members access to discounted prices on merchandise, restaurants and vacations
Groupon, Inc. $2,035,200 Secondary marketplace Online provider of daily coupons for various consumer products
Kno, Inc. $2,250,000 Direct from issuer Provider of education software, digital textbooks and social engagement tools for students
PJB Fund LLC (4) $4,000,000 Direct from borrower Investment linked to the value of Zynga, Inc., a developer of online social games
Serious Energy, Inc. $712,380 Secondary marketplace Products and services to make buildings more energy-efficient
SharesPost, Inc. $2,250,000 Direct from issuer Online marketplace for the exchange of private company equity
Silver Spring Networks, Inc. $200,000 Secondary marketplace Hardware, software and services that connect devices on the smart grid
Twitter, Inc. $6,932,493 Secondary marketplace and direct from stockholder Short messaging platform
Total $38,238,154

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Today’s Large Cap Underperformers

No. Ticker % Change Market Cap
1 HRL -6.36 7,600,000,000
2 LFC -5.88 75,230,000,000
3 DAL -5.79 6,130,000,000
4 RCL -5.78 5,180,000,000
5 PUK -4.75 25,410,000,000
6 AV -4.48 15,620,000,000
7 BP -4.45 124,850,000,000
8 NYX -4.36 7,150,000,000
9 VOD -4.25 143,130,000,000
10 ALU -4.19 7,840,000,000
11 AES -4.13 8,340,000,000
12 CB -4.12 17,270,000,000
13 HOT -4.08 8,110,000,000
14 NGG -4.07 35,310,000,000
15 LNKD -3.94 7,140,000,000
16 QEP -3.93 6,170,000,000
17 S -3.91 10,330,000,000
18 BT -3.90 21,510,000,000
19 FMS -3.88 20,600,000,000
20 TNE -3.86 5,940,000,000
21 GGB -3.83 14,240,000,000
22 HSIC -3.78 6,010,000,000
23 AMAT -3.74 14,980,000,000
24 IVZ -3.60 8,020,000,000
25 VIV -3.60 33,420,000,000

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Why Germany is Tanking: Bi-lateral Talks With Finland and Greece Likely to Fall Through Adding Pressure to Germany and French Banks

A German finance minister said that a bi-lateral agreement with Finland and Greece is likely to fall through. Bots react.

This would put added pressure upon German and French banks.

As per CNBC

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Irene’s storm surge may flood New York City’s subway system

Irene is no joke

Irene’s storm surge may flood New York City’s subway system
The floodwalls protecting Manhattan are only five feet above mean sea level. During the December 12, 1992 Nor’easter, powerful winds from the 990 mb storm drove an 8-foot storm surge into the Battery Park on the south end of Manhattan. The ocean poured over the city’s seawall for several hours, flooding the NYC subway and the Port Authority Trans-Hudson Corporation (PATH) train systems in Hoboken New Jersey. FDR Drive in lower Manhattan was flooded with 4 feet of water, which stranded more than 50 cars and required scuba divers to rescue some of the drivers. Mass transit between New Jersey and New York was down for ten days, and the storm did hundreds of millions in damage to the city. Tropical Storm Floyd of 1999 generated a storm surge just over 3 feet at the Battery, but the surge came at low tide, and did not flood Manhattan. The highest water level recorded at the Battery in the past century came in September 1960 during Hurricane Donna, which brought a storm surge of 8.36 feet to the Battery and flooded lower Manhattan to West and Cortland Streets. However, the highest storm surge on record in New York City occurred during the September 3, 1821 hurricane, the only hurricane ever to make a direct hit on the city. The water rose 13 feet in just one hour at the Battery, and flooded lower Manhattan as far north as Canal Street, an area that now has the nation’s financial center. The total surge is unknown from this greatest New York City hurricane, which was probably a Category 2 storm with 110 mph winds. NOAA’s SLOSH model predicts that a mid-strength Category 2 hurricane with 100-mph winds could drive a 15 – 20 foot storm surge to Manhattan, Queens, Kings, and up the Hudson River. JFK airport could be swamped, southern Manhattan would flood north to Canal Street, and a surge traveling westwards down Long Island Sound might breach the sea walls that protect La Guardia Airport. Many of the power plants that supply the city with electricity might be knocked out, or their docks to supply them with fuel destroyed. The more likely case of a Category 1 hurricane hitting at high tide would still be plenty dangerous, with waters reaching 8 – 12 feet above ground level in Lower Manhattan. Given the spread in the models, I predict a 20% chance that New York City will experience a storm surge in excess of 8 feet that will over-top the flood walls in Manhattan and flood the subway system. This would most likely occur near 8 pm Sunday night, when high tide will occur and Irene should be near its point of closest approach. Such a storm surge could occur even if Irene weakens to a tropical storm on its closest approach to New York City.

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