Continue reading Hotel Chains to Cut Back on Housekeeping

Hotel Chains to Cut Back on Housekeeping originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 23 Jun 2010 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

On April 26, the long anticipated Senate climate bill is slated for its debut. Climate change talking points aside, how powerful a piece of legislation will this bill turn out to be for investors, and what could be its effects on manufacturing, retail and energy stocks?

For the sake of discussion, let's just assume that the bill will pass and become law. The first thing to understand is that it's not much more than an act of taxation. That new tax will be levied against businesses large and small via carbon offsets. They'll be showing up on balance sheets everywhere. Granted, we all know that businesses hand their tax bills down line to the consumers, but for large corporations and conglomerates, it's certain that the documentation and accounting will be more than a little distracting. Of course some business giants will be able to simply buy their way out from under the mess.

Continue reading Five Days Left to Deeply Consider Manufacturing and Energy Stocks

Five Days Left to Deeply Consider Manufacturing and Energy Stocks originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 21 Apr 2010 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Instigated by an agreement negotiated between the European Commission (EC) and Microsoft Corp. (MSFT), a new browser selection utility has just become available. Although the browser choice software is intended mainly to be distributed through the Windows update system familiar to Microsoft's Internet Explorer (IE) users, it is also available online for anyone to access.

It is reported that Microsoft IE currently holds approximately 62% of browser market share. That is a powerful position for the company to be in when considering that web browsers are absolutely essential pieces of software. That is, in part, why the EC put pressure on Microsoft to open up the playing field to lesser known browser utilities. With their demands, European regulators essentially cut Microsoft's exclusive IE umbilical cord in July of 2009.

Continue reading Microsoft and the Browser Wars

Microsoft and the Browser Wars originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 07 Mar 2010 15:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

A recent study from the London School of Economics produced some findings that could be seen as a blow to proponents of aggressive investment in emerging green technologies: investments in contraception are five times more effective in reducing carbon emissions than green energy technologies like wind and solar power.

The symbol of the green movement shouldn't be a wind turbine. It should be a condom.

Continue reading Contraception: The Most Green-Friendly Technology There Is

Contraception: The Most Green-Friendly Technology There Is originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 27 Dec 2009 15:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

How do you know the green finance sector has arrived? Well, it got its first Ponzi scheme! Allegedly.

The SEC filed charges against four people and two companies in a Denver federal court on Monday. Mantria Corp. and its principals, Troy Wragg and Amanada Knorr, stand accused of running raising $122 million from more than 300 investors in what could be a dozen fraudulent offers of securities. Mantria engaged Speed of Wealth LLC, run by Wayde and Donna McKelvy, to dump the cash out of their retirement plans and tap their home equity to "invest" in Mantria, which they said was offering returns ranging from 17% to "hundreds of percent" every year.

Continue reading Ponzi goes green, SEC in pursuit

Ponzi goes green, SEC in pursuit originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 17 Nov 2009 13:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading With solar overheated, here are two indirect ways to play climate change

With solar overheated, here are two indirect ways to play climate change originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 15 Oct 2009 09:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Across the country, college classes are starting. In each of these classrooms, students are struggling with calculus, trudging through Candide, and wondering just what the hell they're going to do with their degrees upon graduation. The last of these is characteristic of every college student, especially those of us, with the foresight fortitude recklessness zeal to major in liberal arts fields (in my case, Philosophy).

The anxiety is a bit higher this year, given a high rate of unemployment, the likelihood of a "jobless recovery" and the fact that it could take years for destroyed value to be recovered.

Continue reading 2.9 million college kids unsure of career plans

2.9 million college kids unsure of career plans originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 31 Aug 2009 14:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

We're still in the early stages of this trend, but it's pretty clear that the green energy sector is fast becoming a venture capital darling. Today, for example, five deals were announced in one publication alone (three VC, two acquisitions). The three investments account for $47.4 million in VC investment. And only yesterday, Solazyme picked up another $57 million in its Series C round.

In what remains a capital-constrained market, the cash is still flowing. In the private equity space, investments in clean technologies have remained steady from 2007 to 2008, despite broader economic calamity. Such commitment this early in the game may hint at what the next bubble will be.

Continue reading Green VC deals continue to mount, next bubble?

Green VC deals continue to mount, next bubble? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 10 Jun 2009 12:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Investors don't care about environment due to economic woes originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 29 Oct 2008 18:48:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Ben & Jerry's new green freezers blaze frozen trails originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 24 Oct 2008 14:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Minyanville's Sean Udall dares to share the kind of keen insight and actionable information you won't find in any prospectus. Here he answers a reader's burning question about "green" stocks. For more original thought, visit www.minyanville.com.

Professor Udall,

Do you have any opinions on Zoltek Companies, Inc. (NASDAQ: ZOLT)? My wife wants me to buy everything "green". Her last "green" company idea was General Electric (NYSE: GE). I know, right? I bought a little just to quiet the noise level. I'm into a little SunPower (NASDAQ: SPWR) and Evergreen Solar (NASDAQ: ESLR). Does Zoltek have legs?

Thanks,

Minyan L.

Minyan L.,

First, that's hysterical. Second, a word of caution: Going all green, or all of any one thing, is something I'd never advocate. If you do, you do so at your own risk, as nothing in the market is ever as obvious as it seems, especially when it seems totally obvious.

Continue reading Mailbag: Using Green for Green Stocks

Mailbag: Using Green for Green Stocks originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 19 Jun 2008 12:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

If the nation's oil companies are having trouble getting more crude out of existing fields, perhaps the solution is to put rigs in Yellowstone National Park.

"Green" environmentalists may be in for bad days. According to The Wall Street Journal, "Increasing U.S. oil production would require overturning decades-old moratoriums that limit offshore drilling and accelerating leasing of federal lands." It may come down to whether eagles and black bears mind oil exploration in the regions where they live.

Forest animals may not care, and that could be the crux of the argument. Although oil spills are not unheard of, they have become exceedingly rare. Bringing out oil from protected land may have very little environmental risk.

In some ways, opening restricted land may be the only way to save lower class and some middle class Americans from gas and oil prices so high that their spending ability is being crushed.

What black bear would want to see that happen?

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

Oil industry wants to drill on protected land originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 23 May 2008 08:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Whole Foods Market (NASDAQ: WFMI) is banning plastic bags from its 270 locations. The switch to a choice between reusable bags and paper will take effect on Earth Day, April 22.

It's certainly a bold move and demonstrates a lot of concern for the environment. It will also spruce up Whole Foods' image as an environmentally-conscious retailer and generate a ton of free publicity for the company, starting with the New York Times story.

Whole Foods has served as a trend-setter for the larger grocery chains, and this move could inspire stores like Kroger (NYSE: KR) and Safeway (NYSE: SWY) to make similar switches, depending on how it works out.

During its trial runs, Whole Foods found that eliminating plastic only led to a 10% increase in paper bag use, demonstrating that consumers tend to switch to the reusable bags.

That's good for the environment, and it also cuts costs: Even Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT) has taken notice by phasing in reusable bags as a third option. The plastic bag seems destined for obsolescence.

The 21st century may be the end of the "Plastics, young man!" era.

Whole Foods Market goes plastic bag-free originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 23 Jan 2008 11:33:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Google is green - except when it comes to power consumption

Google is green - except when it comes to power consumption originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 28 Dec 2007 12:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Wal-Mart

• "Energy-efficient fluorescent lamps are used throughout our stores, a first in the retail industry. We are currently changing our sales floor lighting from a three-lamp to a two-lamp fixture, which will reduce our energy consumption by 22 percent."
• "Four stores in California draw 20 percent of their annual electricity needs from their own rooftop solar-panel systems. In 2007, Target will retrofit 14 more California stores to operate on solar power."
• In 2006, the company "reused 385 million garment hangers and recycled 2.1 million pounds of plastic and 153,000 pounds of metal from broken hangers."

Target jumps on green bandwagon with reduced PVC use originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 06 Nov 2007 09:56:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Toyota (TM) working on plug-in Prius electric car originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 29 Oct 2007 14:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Cramer on BloggingStocks: Skyrocketing oil boosts the alt fuels originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 26 Oct 2007 08:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Wal-Mart Stores

Another shift at Wal-Mart: Environmental relations head Andrew Ruben moved originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 23 Oct 2007 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

TechCrunch reports that Greenpeace is chiding Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) for the iPhone's toxic chemical ingredients. Moreover, Greenpeace's analysis suggests that the iPhone is losing "green ground" to other mobile phone competitors which are in the process of eliminating the iPhone's toxic chemicals.

According to Greenpeace, the iPhone contains toxic brominated compounds (indicating the presence of brominated flame retardants (BFRs)) and hazardous PVCs. Two of the "phthalate plasticisers" found at high levels in the iPhone headphone cable are classified in Europe as 'toxic to reproduction, category 2′ and are banned from use in all toys or childcare articles sold in Europe.

Greenpeace's analysis of competitors is most interesting: Nokia Corp. (NYSE: NOK) is totally PVC free while Motorola Inc. (NYSE: MOT) and Sony Ericsson already have products on the market with BFR free components. I am in Greenpeace's camp on this one. I also think that if Apple cleaned up the iPhone, it would find that green means green -- particularly in Europe.

That's something that Apple shareholders and Greenpeace would both celebrate.

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 the securities mentioned.

Greenpeace to Apple (AAPL): iPhone may be in the black but it's not green originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 15 Oct 2007 09:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Will GE's iconic lightbulb soon be a thing of the not-so-green past?

Will GE's iconic lightbulb soon be a thing of the not-so-green past? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 09 Oct 2007 14:42:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.