To expand the analytics and optimization business, IT giant International Business Machines (IBM) announced the opening of a new IBM Analytics Solutions center in Washington D.C., the sixth analytics center in a row built by the company worldwide.  The center has been built to assist federal agencies and other public sector organizations to help clients optimize individual business decisions, processes and business models and manage risk and fraud. The customers will also be able to deliver improved services.  The Analytics Solution center will draw upon the knowledge and expertise of more than 400 local employees, with plans for an additional 100 analytics specialists. The center will use IBM’s capabilities in streaming technologies, mathematical algorithms, and modeling.  The company is working on various analytics projects with government agencies. For example, IBM is working with the U.S. Special Operations Command (USSOCOM) to modernize the planning, programming, budgeting ...

TOMI Environmental Solutions, Inc. announced this morning that it has delivered a complete set of air remediation equipment for the treatment of infectious disease control to its alliance partner, ROLYN Companies. With plans to use this equipment for their clients in the Maryland, Virginia and Washington D.C. area, ROLYN has already put the TOMI air remediation package to work.

Mark Futrovsky, President of ROLYN, stated, “In conjunction with the TOMI training, we have successfully utilized the TOMI air remediation equipment, and our clients and their consultants have been pleased with the results. The multiple applications of these products and their cost effectiveness have expanded our ability to better serve our client base in need of air remediation and infection disease control services.”

Halden Shane, CEO of TOMI, commented, “The industrial hygienists we encounter on each job continue to be amazed at the effectiveness of our indoor air remediation results, whether

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Isabel (Ms Investment Postcards) and I have just heard what we were not bargaining on – our flight from Washington D.C. has been delayed by 15 hours! Indeed, news from hell.

Stuck at an airport hotel with only our small cabin bags (i.e. no clothing besides what we are wearing!) is not quite what we have had planned for the night, but I guess it could have been worse. Image the mechanical problem having occurred in mid-air, or being stuck overnight in Dakar (where the South African Airways planes refuel).

I have pre-loaded a few snippets to be posted on the site over the next day or two, but I am afraid regular posting will now only get back on track by Wednesday. Please persevere and do not unsubscribe yet – this is not a “new normal” and the usual delivery will be restored later this week.

Meanwhile, we

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Currencies rebound VS the dollar…Aussie and kiwi lead the currencies higher…Data and Central Bank speeches today…Gold rebounds back to $1,000! And Now… Today’s Pfennig!

Good day… And a Wonderful Wednesday to you… Instead of a “turn around Tuesday”, we’re seeing a whiplash Wednesday! And for once in a month of Sundays, the Big Dog, euro didn’t lead the other little dogs (currencies) off the porch to chase the dollar down the street!

No… This time it was the currencies of Australia and New Zealand that led the charge VS the dollar… The euro has taken up the charge since opening the doors to a new day of trading in Europe, so… It looks like it’s a “take the dollar to the woodshed day”…

OK… Let’s start first with the goings on yesterday and then build to a big crescendo! Yeah, right, like I can do that! HA! Any way…

As a reminder, yesterday we

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Six months after acquiring Wachovia Corp., the Wells Fargo (WFC) name and stagecoach logo have yet to be seen in the Kansas City area. Indeed it will not be visible till the next year. San Francisco-based Wells Fargo has been moving slowly to consolidate Wachovia Bank into its system.   During December last year, the brokerage firm Wachovia Securities became part of Wells Fargo. All 4,800 branches of the residential lender Wachovia Mortgage have been folded into Wells Fargo Home Mortgage.   Wachovia Corp. was purchased by Wells Fargo on Dec 31, 2008, when it ceased to be an independent corporation. The company had been battered by heavy losses – especially in its portfolio of flexible, interest-only home loans – and was suffering a run on its deposits.   The consolidation of Wachovia bank branches into Wells Fargo's network is scheduled to begin this November. The integration will begin

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No currency movement to speak of… Buffett calls out the deficits… PIMCO does too! SNB selling francs to stem gains… nd Now… Today’s Pfennig!

Good day… And a Wonderful Wednesday to you! Another day with the medicine in my knee and it feels better yet today… I did have to ice it last night though, I guess I’m still not out of the woods here, but I can see the exit!

There was very little in the way of movement in the currencies yesterday. The euro moved to 1.4150, but was brought back down

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Currencies rally…  Eurozone growth unexpectedly stronger!  FOMC extends QE…  Norges is the first! And Now… Today’s Pfennig! Good day… And a Tub Thumpin’ Thursday to you! Well… Turn-around Tuesday came 24 hours later this week! HA! Yes, the currencies came back yesterday, but not with a lot of conviction… You see… Stocks rallied, but that doesn’t mean what I talked about yesterday still won’t happen… Be careful there!

The euro has received some additional love this morning, as the Eurozone’s economic growth printed better than expected, albeit still negative… But… Germany and France showed growth, which I must say is very unexpected! That means that both Germany and France have exited the recession… Well, that is at least for now! For those of you keeping score at home, Eurozone GDP fell -.1%, which is far better than the -.5% that was expected… Oh! And this is for the 2nd QTR… You would have to

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Currencies adrift all day yesterday…Data prints begin today with Productivity…Stop to think! Chinese data is impressive…And Now… Today’s Pfennig!

Good day… And a Terrific Tuesday to you! Well, no data yesterday left the markets drifting about the open waters. Stocks rebounded, which gave the risk assets a bias to be bought, but for the most part, the day was much like being a drift in the ocean, with no direction or cares!

That will all change beginning today with the Nonfarm Productivity report for the 2nd QTR… Long time readers know my dislike for this data, as I believe it simply shows that one person works longer hours! The Fed Heads used to be all over this data like a cheap suit, and probably still

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The Dow Jones Industrial Index on Thursday breached 9,000 for the first time since January and the Nasdaq Composite Index notched up a 12th consecutive advancing day (the first time sine 1992) as favorable reactions to earnings and economics reports propelled stocks and other risky assets higher. Meanwhile, the usual debate on the outlook for the economy and shenanigans of financial institutions again dominated the video channels over the past few days.

Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke’s bi-annual testimony on Capitol Hill (and an expected grilling by Alan Grayson) and other highlights of the week’s trials and tribulations were captured on video and are included in this video-o-rama compilation. Strutting their stuff were a star-studded cast including the likes of Martin Feldstein, Stephen Roach, Bill King, Nouriel Roubini, Sheila Bair, Mario Gabelli and George Friedman.

The compilation starts off with an interview with Harvard’s Martin Feldstein about his “double-dip” economic

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A 4-day rally gets stopped at the border…  Home Prices fall at a -18.12% pace…  Alice Rivlin gives her 2-cents… * Kiwi bond maturities galore next month… And Now… Today’s Pfennig! Good day… And a Wonderful Wednesday to you! As tradition with the Pfennig would have it, here’s my introduction to July… There I was… On a July morning… Looking for love… With the strength of a new day dawning, and… The beautiful sun…

Yes, for those “old rockers” from the 70’s like me… That’s Uriah Heep, at their best!

OK… So, welcome to July! The last day of June was quite the volatile one to say the least! There we were waiting for the S&P/CaseShiller Home Price Index to print, and show that home prices were still down by quite a bit, when it did, it did, it printed at -18.12%… But! The media was all over that like a cheap suit, clamoring that

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