Trading on the OTCBB, mPhase Technologies, Inc. focuses on developing and commercializing a new battery technology. Headquartered in Little Falls, New Jersey, they do this through their wholly owned subsidiary AlwaysReady, Inc. They base their technology on a well-patented phenomenon known as electrowetting. This phenomenon provides a unique way to store energy and manage power.

Research groups at several universities including MIT, Rutgers, and the University of Wisconsin are now publicizing their work on electrowetting and superhydrophobicity and superlyophobicity. They are working to create “smart” structures on metal, ceramic, or polymer surfaces that resist getting dirty, fogging up, or forming ice. These structures can find use on displays, lenses, as well as other applications.

mPhase Technologies Inc. is looking to use this phenomenon in their Smart NanoBattery. They are looking to manipulate the liquid electrolyte via a proprietary silicon structure - a porous membrane - coupled with

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Initial Claims for the week ending Jan. 3rd fell 24,000 to 467,000, from 491,000 last week, and  from a  26-year high of 586,000 the week before.  This decrease came at a -13.5% surprise from the 540,000 estimate.  Initial claims have fallen the last two weeks, which may have been a result of offices closed for holidays allowing less opportunity for initial unemployment claims filings were made.  Also, the figures indicate that those filing haven't regained employment as the number of persons continuing to receive unemployment benefits rose to 4,611,000, the highest since November of 1982 (when size of labor force was smaller), and was only 2,690,000 in the prior year.  In the past week, ending December 27th, initial claims decreased as a result of significantly reduced filings in Texas, California, Florida, and Virginia cited from fewer layoffs in construction, trade, services, automobile, and manufacturing industries.  In Wisconsin, Michigan, Kansas,

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Markets kick off 2009 with sizable rally… what’s behind the best New Year’s rally since 2003…  Obama bounce back in effect… Rob Parenteau on whether his $1 trillion plan will actually work… Dan Amoss on the difference between shorting in 2008 and 2009… Bullish factors for gold (and gold stocks) for 2009… The second wave cometh… more troublesome commercial real estate ripples on the horizon.

For the first time in a long time, we can tell you today that the U.S. stock market is up year to date:

The major indexes rang in the new year with a 3% rally on Friday — the best first day of a new year in the last six. And a sharp contrast to 2008, when the Dow had its worst opening day since 1983.

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Merge Healthcare Incorporated (MRGE), based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin is a healthcare software and services company focused on integrating radiology workflow to improve productivity, profitability and patient care by fusing business and clinical workflow, and intelligently managing and distributing diagnostic images and information throughout the healthcare enterprise.The continued slowdown in the medical imaging sector is negatively impacting the company's sales. The company received a much needed cash injection of $20 million through a private placement in Q208. However, with only two quarters of cash remaining, MRGE will have a very difficult time locating investors in the current economic climate.In its 2007 annual report, the company received a "going concern" qualification, with which we concur. Since then, the company has replaced its independent auditors. We continue to rate this company a Sell.Rajarshi Maulik contributed to this report.Read the full analyst report ...

Casey's General Stores, Inc. (CASY) recently delivered a solid fiscal second quarter in the face of a difficult environment. Analysts are hinting toward more growth going forward. For the third quarter, analysts upped the earnings per share forecast by a penny over the past week to 24 cents. For the year ending April 2009, earnings projections have held relatively steady lately at about $1.58 per share.

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Casey's General Stores, Inc. together with its subsidiaries, operate convenience stores under the Casey's General Stores name in the Midwest states. It has operations in Iowa, Missouri, Illinois Kansas, Minnesota, Nebraska, South Dakota, Wisconsin, and Indiana. The company was founded in 1959 and is headquartered in Ankeny, Iowa.

CASY Saw Revenue Growth during a Challenging Quarter

The company recently delivered a solid fiscal second quarter in the face of a difficult environment. President and CEO Robert J. Myers said, “despite the

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Wisconsin-based Plexus Corp. (PLXS) is a leading provider of electronic manufacturing services (EMS) to original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) in a wide range of industries, including wireline/networking, wireless infrastructure, industrial/commercial, defense/security/aerospace, and medical.Plexus Corp. has posted several quarters of strong results, with significantly higher-than-expected revenue and bookings. We believe that PLXS is among the best-positioned in the industry and is poised to grow with a strong pipeline and new customer wins in 2009 and beyond.However, macro-economic headwinds are expected to result in a reduced top-line in 2009 and the company may not be able to reach its given guidance for the first quarter. As such, we are reducing our estimates for 2009 and 2010. We maintain a Buy rating on the stock but lower our six-month price target to $22.00.Priyanka Poddar contributed to this report.Read the full analyst report on ...

Here's the video from a panel convened by the University of Wisconsin's Center on World Affairs and the Global Economy (WAGE) on November 20, 2008. Presenting were Alison Alter, Associate Director of WAGE; Mark J. Ready, Professor of Finance, Investment and Banking; Darian M. Ibrahim, J.D., Assistant Professor of Law; Menzie D. Chinn, Professor of Public Affairs and Economics; and Mark S. Copelovitch, Assistant Professor of Political Science and Public Affairs, and Edward Friedman, Professor of Political Science.

My powerpoint presentation was posted here if one just wants the slides.

Initial Claims for the week ending Dec. 6 increased 58,000 to 573,000 from the upwardly revised figure of 515,000 (+6,000) from last week, a 6.9% surprise from the 536,000 estimate.  This is the fifth consecutive week unemployment filings surpassed the half million mark.  Filings in Wisconsin increased 16,331 in the past week (ending 11/29) from layoffs in construction, trade, service, and manufacturing industries, and Iowa also had a substantial increase in filings, 6,240, cited from layoffs in the manufacturing sector.  This increase was more than offset from layoffs in California decreasing 20,304, and significantly fewer layoffs in Florida, Missouri, Michigan, Texas and Georgia which led to a 15,000 decrease in initial claims last week.  The 4-week moving average was 540,500, an increase of 14,250 from the previous week's revised average of 526,250524,500, which for the second week continues to be the highest level since December of 1982, the

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Jeff is traveling, so we are republishing his recent interview from the Kirk Report, one of our featured sources.  The Kirk Report is an excellent investor resource, with many specific stock ideas for members.  Charles Kirk also reads very widely and provides regular links to articles we might otherwise have missed.  He came up with some excellent questions for the interview, getting Jeff to discuss many topics he has not covered on "A Dash." Here is the Kirk Report interview: It is with great pleasure to have Jeff Miller, from A Dash Of Insight, to participate in this month's Q&A. Many of you know Jeff because I've linked to many (if not the vast majority) of his blog posts. In this Q&A we'll cover a variety of topics ...

a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_T9VXVyuEITg/SSzhuXNGTuI/AAAAAAAAAl8/tRtxMxNVyqA/s1600-h/Memphis.jpg"img style="float:right; margin:0 0 10px 10px;cursor:pointer; cursor:hand;width: 320px; height: 212px;" src="http://2.bp.blogspot.com/_T9VXVyuEITg/SSzhuXNGTuI/AAAAAAAAAl8/tRtxMxNVyqA/s320/Memphis.jpg" border="0" alt=""id="BLOGGER_PHOTO_ID_5272837450363195106" //abr /If there is half as much future as there is history for Tennessee, then it is a bright future. And according to several independent organizations, Tennessee is one of the best states in the country to do business. The future is looking bright! Here are some interesting facts about the state:br /br /1. The state offers several incentives for new businesses and businesses relocating to Tennessee. They include, tax credits and tax exemptions.br /2. 80% of the state land is used for agricultural and forestry purposes.br /3. Tennessee most important crops are tobacco, soybeans, and cotton.br /4. The agricultural industry produces more than $2.5 billion in cash receipts.br /5. In a report issued by the American Legislative Exchange Council Tennessee is the 5th best economy in the country.br /6. Tennessee mining ...