Yesterday, eMagin Corporation announced that it has commenced a 2-year, $6 million program to develop an ultra-high resolution OLED microdisplay. Managed by the Telemedicine and Advanced Technology Research Center of the US Army Medical Research and Materiel Command, the program introduces the third phase of a multiple year effort to provide a prototype of an ultra-high resolution display system suitable for several applications within Army medicine and military simulation and training.

The Widescreen Ultra eXtended Graphics Array (WUXGA) microdisplay will be sized for a less than one-inch diagonal with over 7 million pixels at a 9.6 micron color pixel pitch. The program involves optic design for a wide field-of-view between 60 and 80 degrees.

Currently, eMagin’s OLED microdisplays already meet military specifications across diverse applications, including IR night vision and tactical situational awareness HMDs, in addition to being integrated into commercial devices such as thermal video cameras and video gaming systems.

Susan

The Economist’s Buttonwood Gathering, a conference bringing together global regulators and bankers to discuss and debate new ideas and develop a new set of guidelines moving forward, has just taken place in New York. Michael Panzer, writer of the Financial Armageddon blog and author of “Financial Armageddon: Protect Your Future from Economic Collapse”, was in attendance and has kindly shared some of the more interesting quotes on his blog, as reported below.

Secretary Tim Geithner, United States Department of the Treasury:

“Generally, we did not do enough.” (Referring to the failure to address growing concerns over excessive risk-taking in the period leading up to the financial crisis.) [Editor's note: understatement of the year?]

Stephen Roach, Chairman, Morgan Stanley Asia:

Those who are looking for a “V”-shaped recovery are in for “a rude awakening.”

“The imbalances going into the crisis were large to begin with.

James Surowiecki spoke with Professor Joseph Stiglitz, the Nobel Prize-winning economist, about the mishandling of the financial crisis, the relationship between government and markets, and the future of capitalism around the world. They met last month at Stiglitz’s office at Columbia University.

Source: James Surowiecki, The NewYorker, September 28, 2009.

Did you enjoy this post? If so, click here to subscribe to updates to Investment Postcards from Cape Town by e-mail.

By Robert Folsom

Editor’s Note: The following article discusses Robert Prechter’s view of the Efficient Market Hypothesis. For more information, download this free 10-page issue of Prechter’s Elliott Wave Theorist.

When a maverick idea becomes vindicated, there’s a good story to tell. It usually involves a person (or small group of people) who courageously challenge the orthodoxy of the day — and, over time, the unorthodox yet better idea prevails.

A “good story” of this sort has surfaced during the current financial crisis. A chapter of the story appeared in a recent New York Times article, “Poking Holes in a Theory on Markets.” The theory in question is the efficient market hypothesis (EMH), which the article suggested is so hazardous that it “is more or less responsible for the financial crisis.” This quote tells you most of what you need to know:
“In the last decade, the efficient market hypothesis, which had …

European orders increase more than expected… Was Cash for Clunkers necessary?… Roubini sees a ‘W’ not a ‘V’… Lessons from Mary Poppins…And Now… Today’s Pfennig!

Good day… And welcome to another week, the last one in August! The weather here in St. Louis has shifted toward fall, which is my favorite season. Chuck is flying back home from San Francisco today and will be back in the saddle tomorrow. Both he and the big boss, Frank Trotter, sent me some great Pfennig pfodder over the weekend so lets get right to it.

The dollar continued to drift lower throughout the trading day on Friday, with the commodity currencies of Australia, South Africa, and New Zealand leading the way. Confidence is returning to the markets, and investors are once again moving out of the ’safe havens’ of the Japanese yen and US dollar. The reports coming out of Jackson Hole indicate that central bankers believe

Stock markets recorded another strong week as further signs of economic stabilization emerged. The S&P 500 Index worked its way back to above the 1,000 level on Friday, and more upside lies ahead said Abby Joseph Cohen, Goldman Sachs’ market strategist, as she expected the Index to reach the 1,100 mark by year end.

This week’s batch of video clips not only covers the outlook for stock markets, but also discussions about the economy’s transition from recession to recovery and other topical issues. Appearing on camera are Jeffry Sachs, Robert Shiller, Larry Summers, Lakshman Achuthan, Joseph Stiglitz, David Rosenberg and David Hickey.

The selection starts off with two academics - Jeffrey Sachs and Robert Shiller - and concludes with a discussion about the “man-cession” - older white male workers being among the hardest hit by job losses.

Fora.tv: Jeffrey Sachs - global effects of crisis “Jeffrey Sachs, Director

This week’s video-o-rama comes to you a day late as I make my away from Cape Town to Europe. Notwithstanding terribly slow broadband at South African airports, I have managed to compile an interesting potpourri of clips.

Topics ranged from another round of discussions about the proposed regulatory reform to Fed chairman Ben Bernanke facing a grilling on Capital Hill over the Bank of America-Merrill Lynch deal to the usual dose of debate on the outlook for the economy and financial markets.

The stars of this week’s round-up include Steven Pearlstein, Pete Peterson, Warren Buffett (US economy in “shambles”), Nouriel Roubini (US economy “sort of stabilizing”), Puru Saxena, Edmund Phelps, Mohamed El-Erian, Robert Prechter (a “lot more” bear market) and T. Boone Pickens.

The compilation kicks of with Barry Ritholtz, author of must-read “Bailout Nation” and editor of The Big Picture blog, sharing his views on

Today, Clear Channel Communications appointed John Partilla, 44, as its Executive Vice President and President of Global Media Sales. Partilla, based in New York, will lead national business development across the company’s radio and outdoor businesses, and will report to CEO Mark Mays. Partilla brings an extensive roster of strategic sales and brand development experiences.

Mays stated, “We’ve driven a tremendous increase in the value of our radio and outdoor platforms to national brands over the past five years and now is the time to accelerate and expand our attention to chief marketing officers and brand managers. John is widely respected as a creative and ‘intrepreneurial’ leader with a deep understanding of client needs. His success in crafting differentiated solutions makes him the ideal strategic sales executive for us at this important time.”

Partilla joins Clear Channel from Time Warner, where he led the company’s Global Media Group in its work with

Zevotek is focused on independently marketing and selling a range of distinct and independent lines of home care and household products. The company has entered into a license agreement to sell an energy saving compact fluorescent light bulb named the Ionic Bulb. Zevotek plans to market the Ionic Bulb through TV infomercials, websites, major US retail and specialty stores, catalogs and magazines.

Zevotek recently announced the addition of Chang Hun Kim who will act as the company’s comptroller on a consultant basis. Mr. Kim has been an AICPA member since August of 2000. He is a graduate of Columbia University with a BS in 1988 and a MS completed in May 1989. Mr. Kim passed all four parts of the CPA exam in his first attempt.

Mr. Kim was brought to Zevotek’s attention by Jason Ryu, the inventor of the Ionic Bulb. Mr.

By Michael McKee and Matthew Benjamin

April 17 (Bloomberg) — The Obama administration’s bank- rescue efforts will probably fail because the programs have been designed to help Wall Street rather than create a viable financial system, Nobel Prize-winning economist Joseph Stiglitz said.

“All the ingredients they have so far are weak, and there are several missing ingredients,” Stiglitz said in an interview yesterday. The people who designed the plans are “either in the pocket of the banks or they’re incompetent.”

The Troubled Asset Relief Program, or TARP, isn’t large enough to recapitalize the banking system, and the administration hasn’t been direct in addressing that shortfall, he said. Stiglitz said there are conflicts of interest at the White House because some of Obama’s advisers have close ties to Wall Street.

“We don’t have enough money, they don’t want to go back to Congress, and they don’t want to do it in an open way and