Back in December when we wrote our post “Is It Finally Time To Sort The Euro” we got a lot of flack for saying that the US Dollar was bottoming out and that the Euro was going to drop.  We received e-mails telling us about all of the problems with the US and why the Dollar is going down forever.  Our basic answer has been that while the US has tons, and by tons we mean trillions upon trillions, of problems the US Dollar is not going the way of toilet paper anytime soon.

While we knew of many of the problems in the EU when we wrote our post we had no idea how bad and how fast they would manifest themselves.  As you can see in the chart below since our post the Euro has broken down, consolidated at the 200-day moving average, and

The USD remains on a steady downward path and is likely to continue to face a combination of both cyclical and structural negative forces. www.econometer.org; By: Mitul Kotecha; Words: 408

In further edited excerpts from his original article Kotecha goes on to say:

1. Cyclical pressure will come from: a) the extremely easy monetary policy stance of the Fed b) the ongoing improvement in risk appetite.

2. Structural pressure continues to come from: a) the diversification of new FX reserve flows (mainly from Asian central banks) b) concerns about the reserve value of the USD in the wake of massive US fiscal and monetary stimulus.

3. Risk aversion is no longer as correlated with the USD as it was a few months ago but there is no doubt that the USD is still highly sensitive to equity market movements.

4. Correlations between the USD index and the S&P 500 are consistently high

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Power3 Medical Products (OTCBB:PWRM) (www.Power3Medical.com) is a leading bio-medical company engaged in the commercialization of neurodegenerative disease and cancer biomarkers, pathways, and mechanisms of diseases through the development of diagnostic tests and drug targets. Power3’s patent-pending technologies are being used to develop screening and diagnostic tests for the early detection and prognosis of disease, identify protein biomarkers, and drug targets. Diagnostic tests are targeted toward markets with critical unmet needs in areas including neurodegenerative disease (NuroPro(R)) and

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TAXS, TaxMasters, Inc., TAXS.OB

TaxMasters Outlines Strategic Growth Plan for 2010

- Strong growth and profitability in 2010 expected to be fueled by demand for services and targeted advertising campaign -

HOUSTON, (CRWENEWSWIRE) — TaxMasters, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: TAXS), the IRS tax relief company, announced that the Company issued a letter to shareholders in December highlighting its 2009 financial results through the third quarter and outlining its plan for continued growth in 2010.

In a recent

ICP Solar Technologies Inc., an established innovator in every aspect of solar systems, from panels to monitoring and power management solutions (all based on unique and proprietary technology), announced today the signing of a letter of intent (LOI) with EPOD Solar Inc. (EPDS.OB).

Based in Canada and headquartered in Kelowna, British Columbia, EPDS implements and runs a variety of solar parks in both North America and Europe. With proven expertise in developing the essential elements of the solar equation, from power generation to the manufacturing of panels, EPDS creates and installs solar panels in its own solar parks as well as offering such parks to third-party clients.

EPDS achieves its success through innovation with the help of several strategic partners. The first is Peterborough Utilities Inc., or PUI, with which EPDS has an option agreement for solar parks exceeding $32M. PUI is owned by the city of Peterborough and based

Saia, Inc. (SAIA) Strengthens Balance Sheet with Equity Offering

Saia, Inc. (SAIA) signed an agreement to sell 2.31 million shares of common stock at a price of $11.50 per share to a group of institutional investors. The company will receive $25.1 million in net proceeds, which will be used pay down outstanding debt.

Saia, Inc. also amended its credit agreement with its lenders to waive compliance with certain of its debt covenants. The amendments permit non-compliance with certain leverage and fixed charge covenants through March 31, 2011. Saia, Inc. agreed to the following conditions in return for this waiver:

• The interest rate on an outstanding senior note issue is increased to 9.75% from 6.8% until June 30, 2011. • The company will prepay $24.5 million on that senior note issue, which represents all principal and interest due in 2010. • A reduction in borrowing capacity under its credit agreement to $120 million

The energy markets are in a state of flux at the moment. Oil, gas, wind, geothermal and solar are all thought to be ways to invest in energy. Past oil and natural gas not going away anytime soon, no realistic forecast can indicate what the next mainstream power source will be. With this in mind, one can point to a certainty as it relates to investing. If a company has survived a boom and bust cycle for a sustained period, it will likely remain and be stable as additional booms and busts occur, regardless of the sector.

Pyramid Oil Company, an oil and natural gas exploration and development company, works to locate, develop and exploit oil and natural gas reserves primarily in California. It also maintains sites in Wyoming, New York and Texas. This year the company is celebrating 100 years of continuous operations.

The fact that Pyramid Oil has been

As per a recent credit trend report published by Equifax Inc. (EFX), consumer delinquency rates for bankcards, first mortgages and home equity lines of credit increased on a month-to-month basis in November 2009.

Home mortgage rates touched another record of 7.91% in November, up from 7.76% recorded in the month of October and 7.65% in the prior month. This has increased substantially over 5.83% recorded in November 2008 and 3.93% in November 2007.

This apart, home equity lines of credit (HELOC) available to consumers have come down significantly by $68.0 billion, and the number of accounts are also lower by 855,000 than the September 2008 peak of approximately 14.5 million accounts.

Most importantly, as per the Equifax report, delinquency rates have moved up from 3.39% in October to 3.43% in November. These rates were much above the 2.95% rate of November 2008 and the 1.92% rate of November 2007. On the other

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Prudential Financial, Inc. (NYSE:PRU) today announced that it has completed the sale of its minority joint venture interest in Wachovia Securities Financial Holdings, LLC, which includes Wells Fargo Advisors (formerly Wachovia Securities) to Wells Fargo & Company. At the closing, Prudential received $4.5 billion in cash.

Levi & Korsinsky is investigating the Board of Directors of Quixote Corp. (NasdaqGM: QUIX) for possible breaches of fiduciary duty and other violations of state law in connection with their attempt

China-based Zhejiang Geely Holding Group is optimistic about its acquisition of Swedish brand Volvo from Ford Motor Co. (F). Geely is close to acquiring Volvo in early 2010, with strong support from the Chinese Government.

Geely is eager to tap China’s high-growth auto market by acquiring modern, innovative technologies from the Swedish brand to upgrade its car lineup. The automaker expects robust growth for China’s auto industry in 2010. In this situation, upgrading the product lineup would no doubt land the automaker in a favorable market position.

Geely is seeking about $1 billion in loans to finance the $1.8 billion deal. Three major Chinese banks, including Bank of China, China Construction Bank and Export-Import Bank of China have agreed to extend loans to the Chinese automaker for the deal.

Beside the financial support for the deal, Geely would also benefit from the Chinese Government’s subsidies policy, which will continue in 2010.

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