Multi-Purpose Crew Vehicle (9)

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SPACE WATCH

Sub-scale Drogue Chute Testing
NASA – Dr. Anita Sengupta and Donn Liddle of NASA are pictured in the low speed wind tunnel at Texas A&M University, which is being used for testing of a scale model of the Orion spacecraft and its parachute system Image credit: NASA/James Blair

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The Crowdfunding Conundrum

By Terry Murray – The House of Representatives recently voted in favor 407-17 of legislation that would allow non-accredited investors to make equity investments in privately held, small startup companies.

Currently, in order for an investor (that isn’t a friend or family member) to participate in a private placement memorandum the SEC requires that the investor has a net worth (excluding their primary residence) in excess of $2 million and/or an income of at least $250,000 per year for the past three consecutive years.

The crowd funding crowd has come back with the argument that anyone can go down to the local casino, or the state lottery outlet, and squander their money there, so why should the government be trying to protect these potential investors from the democratization of investor-driven startups? more> http://tinyurl.com/7edqv72

Is Private Equity Bad For the Economy?

By Jordan Weissmann – With Mitt Romney on the march towards the Republican presidential nomination, chances are we’re all going to be hearing a lot about the world of private equity for the next 11 months. The GOP frontrunner is already getting tarred by his primary rivals for his time running Bain Capital, where he helped write the playbook on how to buy up companies, rebuild them for maximum value, and flip them for a tidy profit.

In the nightmares of unions and Occupiers, a private equity buyout works something like this: A firm run by men wearing Brioni suits snaps up a helpless corporation, fires as many workers as it can, lards their new asset up with debt, and then sells it off for as much profit as possible. The employees suffer. The fat cats make bank. more> http://tinyurl.com/6wdhbe7

Related articles

• Why Bain Capital’s Targets Went Bust (thedailybeast.com)
• Private-equity industry: A bad rep, but is it deserved? – Los Angeles Times (latimes.com)
• Private Equity: Hero or Villain? (businessweek.com)
• Watch the full 28 minute video of the Bain Capital Story while you can. (iflizwerequeen.com)
• As Romney rises, private equity titans fear spotlight (msnbc.msn.com)
• Dave Helfert: Mitt in the Minefield (huffingtonpost.com)
• Why Romney’s targets went bust so often (professorbainbridge.com)

IBM Keeps Top Patent Spot for 19th Year as Asian Rivals Gain

Image @Wikipedia

Bloomberg – International Business Machines Corp. won a record number of U.S. patents in 2011, its 19th straight year on top, as some Asian competitors advanced in the rankings at the expense of Microsoft Corp. and Intel Corp.

IBM, the world’s biggest computer-services provider, gained 6,180 patents last year, researcher IFI Claims Patent Services said in a statement. Samsung Electronics Co. was second, its growth outpacing IBM, and Canon Inc. replaced Microsoft as third. Panasonic Corp. moved up to No. 4 and Toshiba Corp. advanced to fifth spot. more> http://tinyurl.com/722bm7h

Related articles

• IBM Showcase, StrategyGroup
• Asian Companies Rival U.S. Patent Champs (pcworld.com)
• IBM wins most patents for 19th straight year (infoworld.com)
• IBM Wins Most Patents for 19th Straight Year (pcworld.com)
• IBM maintains top spot in global patent rankings, Canon overtakes Microsoft (engadget.com)
• IBM breaks U.S. patent record, with a little help from Canada (business.financialpost.com)
• Patent grants hit all-time high in 2011; IBM leads the way (news.cnet.com)
• IBM’s Patent Abandonment Strategy, Dennis Crouch, Patently-O

Republicans move to control Keystone approval

By Roberta Rampton and Richard Cowan – After delaying the $7 billion project past the November 2012 election, Obama was compelled by Congress to decide by February 21 on whether to approve the pipeline that would sharply boost the flow of oil from Canada’s oil sands.

Should Obama reject the pipeline, Senate Republicans would look at a bill that would force the go-ahead for work to begin, said Ryan Bernstein, an energy adviser to Senator John Hoeven of North Dakota, citing the powers given to Congress in the Constitution to regulate commerce with foreign nations. more> http://tinyurl.com/7pflosc

Related articles

• U.S. Republicans seek to cut Obama out of Keystone (vancouversun.com)
• Congressional Republicans Planning End-Run Around Obama On Contentious Issue (huffingtonpost.com)
• New route for controversial Keystone pipeline nearly done, TransCanada says (foxnews.com)
• New Keystone XL route almost ready (cbc.ca)
• TransCanada: New route for pipeline nearly done (seattletimes.nwsource.com)
• TransCanada: New Route for Pipeline Nearly Done (abcnews.go.com)
• TransCanada: New route for pipeline nearly done (sfgate.com)