Continue reading A new hybrid sports car, an outlandish price tag ... and Al Gore

A new hybrid sports car, an outlandish price tag ... and Al Gore originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 25 Sep 2009 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

With a lagging IPO market and a grinding global recession, it's been brutal for startup companies. Simply put, many VCs have been holding back.

But there is one area that remains hopeful: cleantech.

In fact, today, Hara, a new company in the space will launch. Funded with $6 million from Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers (KPCB), the firm will offer a sophisticated software system that measures, audits and provides advice on how to lower environmental waste.

Continue reading Al Gore to cleanup with a new startup?

Al Gore to cleanup with a new startup? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 01 Jun 2009 10:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

"We've looked at several ways to play anticipated growth in wind energy; we've also considered titanium makers for that industry's ties to the production of lightweight, modern aircraft," notes Bill Martin.

In his BullMarket.com, he explains, "While the two trends might not appear to have much in common at first glance, Hexcel Corp. (NYSE: HXL) offers a way to play both the aircraft and wind markets.

"The connection is the lightweight, composite materials Hexcel makes that are used by producers in both sectors. Hexcel develops and manufactures advanced structural materials.

"It is the largest U.S. producer of carbon fiber; the world's largest weaver of reinforcement fabrics; and the number-one producer of composite materials.

"Its product was initially developed for the aerospace industry, but is now used in a wide range of applications -- from golf clubs to satellite arrays, and from the rotor blades of wind turbines to life-saving monocoques for Formula 1 race cars.

"It's been a rollercoaster ride for Hexcel's stock in the past 12 months. The shares hit their one-year peak of $27.19 in December 2007; by January 22nd they had plummeted to $17.. The shares rebounded through May, only to fade again. Year to date, HXL is off about 15%.

Continue reading Hexcel (HXL): Composite gains?

Hexcel (HXL): Composite gains? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 25 Aug 2008 13:06:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

With all the hysteria about global warming and the impact that it will have on the globe, I found it quite funny that the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) reported yesterday that we just experienced the coldest winter since 2001. Hey Al Gore -- how can that be? I remember when I was growing up, in the mid- 1970's, Newsweek magazine had a cover story about the beginning of the ice age. Amazing what can happen in 25 years. We can go from an ice age, to global warming. Not bad.

According to the NOAA report:

"In the contiguous United States, the average winter temperature was 33.2°F (0.6°C), which was 0.2°F (0.1°C) above the 20th century average - yet still ranks as the coolest since 2001. It was the 54th coolest winter since national records began in 1895. "

Why not ask the Chinese about global warming? They just experience a horribly snowy winter which has been a major cause of inflation. Extreme cold temperatures were the norm this winter. Over the last 150 years or so the global mean temperature has increased by 0.7 degrees Celsius. This small amount of warming is not unusual, and falls well within the range of variation for both warming a cooling.

Continue reading What about global cooling?

What about global cooling? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 14 Mar 2008 20:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The fund has some pretty high ideals according to its Web site: "We focus on the economic, environmental, social, and governance risks and opportunities that can materially affect a company's ability to sustain profitability and deliver returns. Our research plays an important role in forming our views on the quality of the business, the quality of management, and valuation."

So how does that translate in the real world? Al Gore isn't providing performance details, according to the Bloomberg story. It's kind of weird for Gore to be so mum considering that its biggest holding Novo Nordisk (NYSE: NVO) is up more than 60% over the past year in U.S. trading.

Continue reading Al Gore's fund closes after attracting $5 billion

Al Gore's fund closes after attracting $5 billion originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 11 Mar 2008 17:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Current IPO shows Al Gore likes green money too originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 28 Jan 2008 11:47:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The Associated Press reports that 2000 president-elect and 2007 Nobel Prize winner Al Gore called for a universal global cap on carbon dioxide (CO₂) emissions and the use of the market in emissions trading to efficiently allocate resources to the most effective opportunities for speedy reduction.

In accepting his Nobel Prize in person, Gore missed a chance to attend the wedding of Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) co-founder Larry Page to Lucy Southworth at Necker Island. But Gore's speech included some stirring calls to act: "Despite a growing number of honorable exceptions, too many of the world's leaders are still best described in the words Winston Churchill applied to those who ignored Adolf Hitler's threat: 'They go on in strange paradox, decided only to be undecided, resolved to be irresolute, adamant for drift, solid for fluidity, all powerful to be impotent.'"

What action is Gore taking? This week, he plans to urge the delegates in Bali to ratify a U.N. treaty to reduce global warming and bring it into effect everywhere in the world by the beginning of 2010 -- two years ahead of schedule. He also calls for heads of state to meet every three months until the treaty is completed. He urges a moratorium on the construction of any new generating facility that burns coal without the capacity to safely trap and store CO₂. And he calls for a CO₂ tax that shifts the tax burden from employment to pollution.

Too bad Gore's not a head of state with the power to make this happen.

Peter Cohan is President of Peter S. Cohan & Associates. He also teaches management at Babson College and edits The Cohan Letter. He has no financial interest in Google.

Al Gore's Nobel speech: Cap CO2 emissions originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 10 Dec 2007 15:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

2007 Nobel Prize Winner and 2000 Presidential election winner Al Gore has another notch on his belt -- partner at Silicon Valley's most prestigious venture capital firm -- Kleiner Perkins. (Thanks to the Supreme Court, Gore -- who won the 2000 Presidential vote -- did not serve.)

But he handled the disappointment well. His work on the documentary An Inconvenient Truth -- easily the highest payoff PowerPoint presentation ever made -- has helped make the world aware of the threat it faces from global warming and what people can do about it. Gore insightfully points out that climate change is a matter of war and peace. It has created conflict -- the drying up of a lake in Sudan contributed to genocide there and the melting of the polar icecap has set off an international sea grab at the top of the world.

So what's the deal with Gore at Kleiner Perkins? According to the New York Times, President-elect Gore's part-time job at Kleiner will be to assess the potential of alternative energy companies and to opine on whether Kleiner Perkins should invest in them. Gore plans to donate his salary from the venture to the Alliance for Climate Protection, a nonprofit policy foundation. But he was not clear about whether he'd get the partner's share of the 2% of assets under management and 20% of the profits from successful "exits."

He was clearer about his political aspirations -- noting "I don't expect to be a candidate again."

Peter Cohan is President of Peter S. Cohan & Associates. He also teaches management at Babson College and edits The Cohan Letter.

Will President-Elect Gore make green at Kleiner Perkins? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 13 Nov 2007 13:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

But what does he know about the world of start-ups? Having worked in venture capital I can tell you that trailblazing around the world and meeting with world leaders at Davos, isn't how to build a successful company. Hard-work and boot-strapping it are the way to go. No first class international business trips on the company's tab. That perk went away with the hi-tech bubble burst of 7 years ago. While it was easy for the former senator to waste taxpayer money in Washington, DC, the private sector is a different ballgame. Investors expect accountability.

Until actual science proves that there is such a thing as man-made global warming, let's hope Mr. Gore goes the way of former Secretary of State Colin Powell, who joined KPCB two years ago as a part-time partner, never to be heard from again. Maybe that will end the mania.

Aaron Katsman is the lead Portfolio Manager and Managing Director of America Israel Investment Associates, LLC and Senior Editor of IsraelNewsletter.com. He holds no position in any stock mentioned as of 11/13/07.

Al Gore: From bureaucrat to company strategist? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 13 Nov 2007 10:22:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Not long ago, Al Gore seemed like a has-been. Then he snagged both an Academy Award and the Nobel Peace prize.

Will these accolades persuade him to run for president again?

Perhaps not. Perhaps there are more effective ways to enact sweeping change. To wit: Gore has become a partner at the esteemed venture capital firm, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. The firm has invested in such game-changing companies as Google (NASDAQ: GOOG), Intuit (NASDAQ: INTU), and Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN).

Continue reading Al Gore sees VC green

Al Gore sees VC green originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 12 Nov 2007 15:49:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Looking at global warming, water scarcity, increasing pollution and population, and declining natural resources, it is easy to fall into the trap of thinking that these problems are too large and intractable, no matter how much money and effort we throw at them. Stuart Hall's Capitalism at the Crossroads: Aligning Business, Earth and Humanity, with a foreword by recent Noble Peace Prize recipient Al Gore, provides reason for cautious optimism. Just as concentrated human creativity and large-scale changes in behavior helped address holes in the ozone layer, so Hall provides a framework for how multinational corporations, not governments, can lead the efforts to guild a "sustainable global network," each word being equally important.

Hall is well known for his efforts to help businesses develop products and policies to serve the needs of the 4 billion people in the world who live at "the base of the pyramid." Rather than think of the 80% of the global population who live in the developing world as "the poor," Hall provides numerous examples of how businesses can use the developing world as a lab to develop clean technologies using sustainable practices, then scale those results up to the middle of the pyramid.

Now that "going green" has entered mainstream corporate thinking. Hall offers us plans to move "beyond green." It is not enough for the developed world merely to moderate its carbon footprint. We must rethink how we use the world's natural rsources to meet our needs in ways that do not make it impossible for future generations to meet theirs. Investors will want to read this book to learn which companies are on the leading edge of developing profitable sustainable technologies to create long-term value for the triple bottom line: social, environmental and economic.

Book review: Capitalism at the Crossroads originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 18 Oct 2007 16:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Overnight, a barrel of crude hit $86.79 on the New York Mercantile Exchange, according to MarketWatch. The news site says, "Among the bigger news items impacting oil, Turkey's government asked parliament late Monday to approve a cross-border offensive against Kurdish rebels in Iraq."

But it now appears that almost any excuse will move oil up.

And this is not the end of it. OPEC is only lifting production by 2% in November, while Chinese demand for imported oil rose 18% in the first eight months of this year. Turmoil in areas where oil is produced is growing. Nigeria and Venezuela are not considered stable. It will not take much of another "little war" in the Middle East to move crude higher. The only good news is that hurricane season is winding down and production interruptions in the Gulf of Mexico are less likely.

With a tip of the hat to Al Gore, the rotund champion of the environment, former Vice President, and current Nobel winner, big economies are still their own worst enemies in the arena of energy consumption. There is no reason to believe that supply can keep up long-term, and OPEC sees no reason to help out. Higher oil prices are an excellent money-making proposition.

Oil is moving higher. There are too few forces to move it down. And, with winter setting in around the Northern Hemisphere, a bit of oil is going to be needed to keep us warm.

Douglas A. McIntyre is a partner at 24/7 Wall St.

Oil nears $87, on its way to $100 originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 16 Oct 2007 11:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

• Kim Il Jong
• Larry King
• Ziggy
• Mike Tyson
• Osama bin Laden (only in U.S., however)
• Draco Malfoy
• Joan Rivers
• Al Gore
• Tom Barlow (if you knew me, you'd understand.)

Gallery: Crocs: Love 'em or hate 'em?

Crox -- beauty is foot deep, but ugly goes right to the bone originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 12 Jul 2007 17:39:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

New Bill Clinton book scheduled for September release originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 10 Jul 2007 16:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Live Earth concert sets new record for internet views

Live Earth concert sets new record for internet views originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 09 Jul 2007 14:07:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Color me a cynic, but I have a hard time feeling the sincerity in Steve Jobs' promise to make Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) a more environmentally friendly business, with initiatives like eliminating certain toxic substances from its products and promoting recycling. Jobs issued a five-page memo discussing the new, greener Apple.

If this announcement had come a year ago, in a time when Apple wasn't in the midst of an options-backdating scandal with accusations flying all the way up to Mr. Jobs, I'd applaud the company's efforts. In a way, I still do. But it also seems like a diversionary tactic to draw attention away from governance scandals surrounding the company.

Portfolio.com wrote that, "As Home Depot and Wal-Mart have recently discovered, announcing green initiatives in the face of bad news is a great way to divert media attention from things like $100 million CEO pay packages and ongoing battles over worker wages and benefits."

The magazine also points out that Al Gore's presence on the board of directors may have contributed to the decision, although Gore recently backed the board in opposing shareholder proposals that would have called for more stringent environmental standards at the company.

Interesting timing on Apple's green initiatives originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 04 May 2007 18:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

At a National Association of Pension Funds conference in Edinburgh, former Vice President Al Gore warned of the dangers of having a short-term outlook in investing. He actually sounds a bit like Warren Buffett in some of his remarks. To wit:

"If you want management according to long-term horizons but you incentivise on a quarterly basis, will you be surprised if performance is maximised on a quarterly basis and if there is a tension between meeting targets and long-term objectives?''

"Eighty per cent of a firm's value builds up over a business cycle and a half, so if you are buying equities then selling them a few months later, clearly the aim is not to participate in the build-up of value."

While Mr. Gore certainly makes some good points about the importance of keeping the focus long-term, I came across another way of looking at in a book called The Best Investment Advice I Ever Received. Author Roger McNamee writes: "You should view the long term as a consistently infinite series of short terms. You cannot be successful in the long run without being successful most of the time in the short run."'

Oftentimes, the pursuit of short-term profits is also best accomplished through short-term results, including selling off assets or similar strategies advocated by much-maligned "corporate raiders" like Carl Icahn, who said that "We're not about liquidating companies, but if you do that, why is that terrible? We're not blowing up the factories. The person who buys it should be able to make the asset more productive."

While investors should certainly focus on buying and holding equities for the long-term, as Al Gore suggested, I think that an emphasis on short-term results can often be positive for companies themselves. A company that generates value in the short run is well on its way to strong long term results.

Al Gore laments short-termism in markets originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 03 May 2007 17:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

This morning's Wall Street Journal, the one shaped like a Holiday Inn bath towel (I'll call it the Towel), breached the separation between the news and editorial pages by keeping the biggest news story of the day off of its front page. The Towel should have plastered the front page with a deep analysis of the wide ranging implications of Apple Computer, Inc.'s (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhone. But I think the editorial page editors' rage at Al Gore and Steve Jobs kept that from happening.

To be fair, the Towel did have many stories about the iPhone. Apple Storms Cellphone Field [subscription required] graced page A3. Apple Shines Tech Shares As Stocks Sag led on page C1; Apple May Justify Hype trailed on C14; and Apple's iPhone: Is It Worth It? filled out much of page D1. This is quite a bit of coverage for Apple -- but I can't imagine why it decided to lead with a story on how Towel publisher, Dow Jones & Company Inc.'s (NYSE: DJ) competitors are trying to sell national advertisements through a joint venture with Yahoo, Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO).

These stories are besides the point. The real action in the Apple coverage is on the Towel's editorial page. Apple's Gore was Holman Jenkins's pointless rumination on his internal conflicts about the success of Apple's business, his unspoken frustration about how Democrats Al Gore and Steve Jobs are benefiting from it, and his angst that the backdating scandal -- which he feels is much ado about nothing -- has left Jobs unscathed. And Should Steve Jobs Go To Jail? hints that just as Jobs got off for backdating, so should the authors' client, Brocade Communications Systems Inc.'s (NASDAQ: BRCD) former CEO, Gregory Reyes.

The irony of this is that publisher, Gordon Crovitz, recently crowed about how Towel reporters uncovered the backdating scandal last year. But I guess the Towel couldn't decide how to handle all the internal conflict created by Apple's iPhone announcement. As a result, the Towel's dirty laundry kept it from plastering the front page with what could turn out to be one of the biggest business stories of 2007.

Peter Cohan is President of Peter S. Cohan & Associates, a management consulting and venture capital firm, and a Professor of Management at Babson College. He subscribes to the Wall Street Journal but doesn't have any financial interest in Apple, Brocade, Dow Jones, or Yahoo.

Wall Street Journal (aka The Towel) Gores Apple originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 10 Jan 2007 11:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Following on Brian White's coverage last week of Al Gore's pending visit to Wal-Mart HQ today on the topic of Global Warming is an AP article on some of Wal-Mart's recent eco-friendly efforts.

Wal-Mart's official estimate of the amount of carbon dioxide it emits was roughly 20.8 million metric tons. To put that in perspective, Coca-Cola emits about 5 million metric tons and American Electric Power emits around 160 million metric tons.

Wal-Mart has been the target of various environmental groups for it eco-practices or lack thereof.

Ahead of Al Gore's visit today on his Anti-Global Warming campaign, Wal-mart officials have been clamoring to highlight results they have achieved since CEO Lee Scott launched the official Wal-Mart "good steward for the environment" campaign last October as well as initiatives the company plans on launching.

Continue reading Wal-Mart's global warming follow up

Wal-Mart's global warming follow up originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 12 Jul 2006 15:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Al Gore to visit Wal-Mart HQ to talk about the environment originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 07 Jul 2006 11:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.