A joint effort to make solar systems more affordable for consumers was announced recently by SolarCity and banking giant Morgan Stanley (NYSE: MS).

According to a report by Justin Moresco on RedHerring.com, the financing program is an attempt to jump start the conversion of homes to solar usage by providing financing incentives that will lower solar installation costs to consumers. The financing incentive program is called SolarLease, and it will undergo a test run in California.

The Red Herring article indicates that the program may enable consumers to have solar systems installed with an initial payment as low as 10 percent of the total installation cost. It is then expected that the money consumers save on their utility bills by going solar will cover the monthly lease payments for the installed solar equipment.

The article does not indicate whether consumers will eventually own their solar systems or if the lease program is expected to be perpetual.

One of my fun, quick reads each month is Business 2.0. It is a magazine for investors and entrepreneurs alike. It costs me practically nothing to subscribe (under $10) and covers new ideas, products, industries, and inventors, presenting off-line and online start-ups. I worry about losing this wonderful magazine. It seems that it has been shrinking over the past couple of years.

During the heyday of the Internet bubble period I could not wait to plow into my Red Herring magazine -- it collapsed with 'Web 1.0'. It went bankrupt and was bought out, or perhaps absorbed by Business 2.0 and now I find this is struggling too. Perhaps there are simply too many business publications or just too few entrepreneurs. I subscribe to at least ten and read plenty more online. But that's me and I have managed to mix business with pleasure. All of them contribute to my investment knowledge and my writing.

The latest issue August 2007 touches upon global initiatives; Electric Cars from Norway sold over the Internet to order with interchangeable batteries the company will own; the worlds largest uranium mine, owned and operated by Cameco Co. (NYSE: CCJ) of Canada; MBA's heading to Africa to learn and to help, and a "carbon free city" planned for Abu Dahbi are some of the topics. They also discuss new internet companies and copy-cat companies around the globe.

Hopefully there are others out there interested in learning about intriguing new ideas beyond their own immediate realm that are close enough to be real...real soon.

Those of you who are new to BloggingStocks can check out my other stories and read Chasing Value or Serious Money to find more potential opportunities and verify my track record as well.

Sheldon Liber is the CEO of a small private investment company and the principal for design and research at an architecture & planning firm.

I remember reading this story at Fast Company over a year ago and remembering how prescient it was at the time; here is a CEO that flat out wanted to leave Wal-Mart behind as a customer, based on his company's values and predisposition to remain a powerhouse in its traditional industry.

Instead of catering to the "plunging" vendor prices that Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. (NYSE:WMT) negotiates every year with the seemingly endless list of vendors whose products it carries, the CEO of Snapper Lawnmower (part of a larger company now) could see the days of the waning influence and cheapened nameplate of Snapper if he continued to sell his premium lawnmowers to Wal-Mart and agreed to lower prices every year, even if it did mean a huge increase in volume.

Part of the reason company execs bow to Wal-Mart in the first place are the visions of huge sales that make balance sheets and income statements seem fat, only to tear into the heart of the company years later when reality sets in. To those company leaders who just want to see increased sales while putting all other considerations aside, I say go for it (and reap the consequences). To those leaders with a sense of value and pride of ownership, read Jim Wier's story and then sit back and think for a bit.

According to a story in Red Herring, The cofounder of AOL, Steve Case, as well as a big executive name from the '90s, Ted Leonsis, have invested about $5.5 million in Clearspring.

Clearspring develops so-called widgets. Basically, these are small programs that can enhance a web site. For example, widgets can do things like show videos or allow for quizzes or slide shows. What's more, Clearspring has a proprietary system that allows for tracking the use of widgets.

It's cool stuff.

So, I pinged a good friend of mine, who works for a tier-1 venture capital firm. He also thought it was cool. But he did have a good question: "How do these guys make money?"

I'm not sure. But, at least for now, Clearspring is making money from some willing investors.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including the Complete M&A Handbook and the EDGAR-Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements.

MAJOR PAPERS:

• The Wall Street Journal's (subscription required) "Heard on the Street" column focused on Credit Suisse Group's (NYSE: CS) new CEO, Brady Dougan, saying the company chose him to hold a steady course, avoiding periods of high revenues followed by crashes.
  
• Barron's Online's (subscription required) "Weekday Trader" column wrote that Elizabeth Arden Inc (NASDAQ: RDEN) trades at a discount to its industry and the broader market, and looks enticing at current levels.

OTHER PAPERS:

• BusinessWeek's "Inside Wall Street" column reported that AMR Corporation (NYSE: AMR), the parent of American Airlines, is a buyout target of a group that includes the Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE: GS).
• The New York Times reported that Congress has reintroduced legislation to allow the federal government to further regulate the tobacco industry by cracking down on marketing aimed at young people.
• The New York Times also reported that Microsoft Corporation's (NASDAQ: MSFT) CEO Steve Ballmer said Wall Street analysts are being too optimistic about sales of Windows Vista.
• According to the Red Herring, Google Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG) has acquired Adscape for $23 million.

As reported in the Red Herring, Dell (NASDAQ (GS):DELL) CEO Kevin Rollins may be made to exit the company in the face of trying times. The report casts no blame on Rollins in particular. In fact, the article is tacitly defensive of him while still expressing that there are issues at Dell that Rollins has allowed to get out of control. It should noted that CEO Rollins has remained steady at the helm while many of the individuals beneath him have left the company in search of a new vessel. It is rumored that many of them have found sanctuary at Hewlett Packard (NYSE: HPQ). I find this indicative of a pattern that has become much too familiar, where a management team runs a good company onto the rocks and then seeks higher ground.

Dell had returned earnings beyond expectations at its last quarterly report. This is believed to have bought some time for Kevin Rollins, but has it given him a reprieve? The analysts aren't saying so. Share holders are expecting something that can be termed a "turn around" for the company. I think possibly a few impatient people are expecting too much too soon.

We have yet to see any big and bold adjustments to the way Dell does business. There seems to be some particular disdain building for Dell's unrelenting grip on their tried and true customer direct marketing approach. I think they had better keep doing business that way because it worked very well in the first place and made Dell what they are today. I agree with many people who say that Dell needs to create a new spin and to find ways to invigorate growth. But in my opinion, they had better not just blow out the old marketing plan just to try something new.

We'll see how the SEC investigation into Dell's accounting and reporting practices goes. We'll see if any of those executives who have fled the company will be made to answer for company ills. We'll see if the investors decide to give Kevin Rollins more time to adjust. Personally I hope they do.