Vehicle-to-grid: Genius or waste of energy?

  A professor at the University of Delaware has patented a vehicle-to-grid (V2G) technology for parked electric vehicles to return power to the grid and teamed up with NRG Energy to commercialize it. Professor Willett Kempton, who has been testing V2G technology that lessens the load on natural gas plants, told the New York Times utilities would not be interested in buying electricity from individual cars but from groups of perhaps 100 vehicles. The idea is not without its critics. “The only way this will take off is for users to have a financial incentive to allow the power company to do this, i.e. the power price during peak demand must be so high that it’s cheaper to deplete your EV battery rather than draw from the grid,” writes hackertourist on listserv slashdot. Ancillary services could fetch $3,000 a year for EV owners, CNET Green Tech reported the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission chairman saying last year. Others are concerned with vehicular range. “What happens when you want to drive the car and the battery isn’t charged because the power has been returned to the grid?” writes mcavic on slashdot. Meanwhile, V2G appears to be heading for a big push in the Japanese market, reports Jim Motavalli in the New York Times, possibly due to its potential during blackouts. Nissan, Mitsubishi and Toyota are all developing V2G systems expected to reach customers by the end of 2012. Is America ready to embrace V2G? Nope, it will never fly It has potential so let’s wait and see I think it’s brilliant - sign me (and my EV) up! View Results

Irish ‘ghost estates’ fall by a quarter

Since receiving an IMF-EU bailout last year, Ireland has been praised for swiftly implementing austerity measures and recapitalising its banks, but property prices, which have fallen more than 50 percent in some areas, continue to slide.Ireland’s National Housing Development Survey said there were now 2,066 unfinished housing developments around the country, down from the 2,876 recorded last year.More than 7,000 dwellings on the estates that were vacant in 2010 are now occupied, but the survey did not say whether this was as a result of sales or rentals.Ireland’s junior minister for housing said only eight units in three separate estates had been cleared for demolition.”This is a last resort option. It’s on a case by case basis and ultimately they may have to be taken down for safety issues,” Willie Penrose told a news conference.”I believe one of the consequences though is that some of the residents in one particular area gained significantly because the land became an amenity.”

Malaysia’s SP Setia says no rival bid for its shares

MOVES-Renaissance Capital, SAV Credit, Lasalle

AUGEN CAPITAL CORPThe fund, which invests in early-stage resource companies, appointed Amy Stephenson as its chief financial officer, succeeding Manish Kshatriya who resigned.BROWN BROTHERS HARRIMAN & COThe privately held financial institution appointed Rafael Febres-Cordero as head of its International Wealth Management business.GOTTEX FUND MANAGEMENT HOLDINGS LIMITEDThe asset management group appointed Steven Lee Hyungwk as Marketing Director for the Asia Pacific region. Previously, he was a member of the marketing team at Wellington Management Company.BANK OF AMERICA MERRILL LYNCHBofA-Merrill Lynch appointed Ian Ferguson as a Managing Director in UK Investment Banking. Previously, Ferguson was a Senior Managing Director in Corporate Advisory at Evercore Partners.LASALLE INVESTMENT MANAGEMENTChris Brett is named to the newly-created position of European Head of Strategic Partnerships. Previously, Brett headed the International Desk of Jones Lang LaSalle in London.SAV CREDIT LTDThe UK-based credit card provider appointed Ali Chaudhry as Managing Director and Chief Risk Officer. Previously, Chaudhry was Managing Director of Barclaycard’s open market businesses in the UK.RENAISSANCE CAPITALThe investment bank appointed John Hyman as co-head of Investment Banking and Financing (IBF), based in Moscow.

How to play it: Harrisburg not a meltdown for munis

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Municipalities across the country face budget woes, but few are expected to follow in the Pennsylvania capital city’s footsteps.True, municipal bond downgrades are on the rise this year. But defaults remain rare and represent a small share of the $3.7 trillion municipal bond market. Just $1.1 billion dollars in outstanding debt have defaulted this year, according to Lipper Research Services.In a market environment where yield is hard to find, intermediate-grade muni funds have had a total return of 5.33 percent this year, without figuring in any tax advantage, according to Lipper. Top-rated munis total returns, meanwhile, have been just over 4 percent.Concern over the fiscal health of U.S. states and cities has boosted yields over levels of past years. But the overwhelming majority continue to pay down their bonds — and strategists see muni opportunities for judicious investors.STEADY MUNI ETFSFunds offer safety by not putting too much cash in any one place. Moreover, A-rated muni ETFs will completely avoid riskier bonds issued by Harrisburg.”It would not have qualified for these ETFs,” said Tom Lydon of etftrends.com. The city’s $69 million in water refunding bonds are rated Ba1, several steps down from an A rating, and were put on review for possible downgrade earlier this month.Lydon list four ETFs in his safe category: iShares S&P National Muni Bond Fund, SPDR Barclays Capital Short-Term Muni Bond ETF, SPDR Barclays Capital Muni Bond ETF, and PowerShares Insured National Muni Bond Portfolio.Dave Fry of fund analysis Web site ETFDIGEST.COM said it’s best to play safe. He says”long-maturity, high-yield ETF” would be a solid option.The key with all of the funds is that they can spread out the risk posed by a single city’s failure to pay. But investors should look at the fund prospectus before leaping.”Any more than 50 percent of a portfolio in a single state shows a lack of diversification,” said Alan Schankel, a bond market analyst at Janney Montgomery Scott.MUNI FUNDSHugh McGuirk, who heads the municipal bond team at T. Rowe Price said municipal bond fund investors won’t see any impact from the Harrisburg bankruptcy because the city is a small issuer of debt - its bankruptcy filing stemmed from $300 million debt from a failed incinerator project.Indeed, some strategists say the current slump in muni prices might be coming to an end soon. That means those unusually fat yields could slim down and bargains will be harder to find.”Premiums for munis are at historically cheap levels,” said Jerry Paul, chief investment officer of Essential Investment Partners.Typically yields for munis are below treasuries because investors can get valuable tax breaks. Right now the current muni/treasury ratio is 120 percent, meaning they offer 20 percent more yield. The ten-year average of 88 percent, meaning their yields were 12 percent lower.”They have gotten as cheap (in price) as they are going to get in this cycle, and they are going to get more expensive,” said Schankel. As their prices rise, yields will fall.Paul sees promise in inexpensive national funds like Fidelity Tax-Free Bond Fond or the Vanguard Florida Long Term Tax-Exempt Fund.LOOKING FOR REVENUE STREAMSDebt that is linked to specific projects is seen as better protected than the general debt of municipalities. These revenue bonds are paid with “ring-fenced” cash streams from such things as highway tolls or parking fees. General obligation bonds, on the other hand, depend upon elected government officials’ taxing authority to pay off the bonds.Timothy Pynchon of Pioneer Investments, invests long in “essential-need projects” such as hospitals, nursing homes, charter schools, airport bonds. “You know what you own,” he said.Domenic Vonella, a market analyst for Thomson Reuters, said even lottery bonds are considered safer. Florida state Board of Education lottery revenue bond bonds of 2021 were recently yielding 3.25 percent.THE SAFETY OF ‘AAA’ ROADMAPIt’s hard to avoid the obvious learning moment provided by Harrisburg. The Pennsylvania capital city’s bankruptcy offers a fresh lesson to investors that states will not automatically intervene to assist cities. So investing in more financially sound communities is probably the best route for most investors. The extra yield of lower-rated issues may not be worth the anxiety, some strategists say.Joshua Laurito, co-founder and principal of market data provider Lumesis, said for more general investment without the headache of sussing out the minutiae of city soundness, he likes investing long in AAA-rated general obligation bonds.Top rated 10-year munis currently yield 2.58 percent on MMD’s benchmark triple-A scale.

Akamai shares surge on Google deal report

Representatives from Google and Akamai said the companies do not comment on rumors.Akamai, whose shares closed Wednesday’s regular session down 57 percent from their 52-week high of $54.65, is a long-running subject of takeover rumors. Last week, there were reports that the company could be acquired by Verizon Communications or International Business Machines Corp, said Mark Kelleher, an analyst with Dougherty & Co.”Ever since I can remember there’s been theories of who could come in” and acquire Akamai, he said.Shares of Akamai rose more than 11 percent following the Google report, before trading up 9.1 percent at $25.45 in extended trading.

MOVES-Renaissance Capital, SAV Credit, Lasalle

AUGEN CAPITAL CORPThe fund, which invests in early-stage resource companies, appointed Amy Stephenson as its chief financial officer, succeeding Manish Kshatriya who resigned.BROWN BROTHERS HARRIMAN & COThe privately held financial institution appointed Rafael Febres-Cordero as head of its International Wealth Management business.GOTTEX FUND MANAGEMENT HOLDINGS LIMITEDThe asset management group appointed Steven Lee Hyungwk as Marketing Director for the Asia Pacific region. Previously, he was a member of the marketing team at Wellington Management Company.BANK OF AMERICA MERRILL LYNCHBofA-Merrill Lynch appointed Ian Ferguson as a Managing Director in UK Investment Banking. Previously, Ferguson was a Senior Managing Director in Corporate Advisory at Evercore Partners.LASALLE INVESTMENT MANAGEMENTChris Brett is named to the newly-created position of European Head of Strategic Partnerships. Previously, Brett headed the International Desk of Jones Lang LaSalle in London.SAV CREDIT LTDThe UK-based credit card provider appointed Ali Chaudhry as Managing Director and Chief Risk Officer. Previously, Chaudhry was Managing Director of Barclaycard’s open market businesses in the UK.RENAISSANCE CAPITALThe investment bank appointed John Hyman as co-head of Investment Banking and Financing (IBF), based in Moscow.