Overview

Toyota’s 1/X, which debuted at the 2007 Tokyo Auto Show, is a lightweight, 4-door tribrid—meaning it can use three different fuels for propulsion: electricity, conventional gasoline, and ethanol (E85). It is named the 1/X because it “weighs only ‘1/Xth’ that of other vehicles in its class.”

Despite Toyota’s emphasis on her nifty powertrain, they also gave consideration to safety, space and weight efficiency. Consequently, the 1/X is sporting some impressive specs.


What We Like

• The Flex-Fuel engine. FFV technology—Flex-Fuel—allows the use of E85, a blend of 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline. Also called bioethanol, E85 is a high octane fuel that substantially lowers carbon dioxide emissions compared to conventional gasoline.

• The plug-in. Coupled with the flex-fuel engine, the plug-in battery addition gives the Toyota 1/X a unique and enviable powertrain.

• The safety. The body frame’s rigid carbon fiber reinforced plastic (CFRP) should make for outstanding collision safety.

• The roof. Made out of a bio-plastic derived from plant material (kenaf and ramie), it improves heat insulation, reduces noise and increases the amount of light entering the cabin


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Overview

Loremo is a portmanteau for ‘low resistance mobile’ and the vehicle made big headlines at the Geneva Auto Show in 2006 when it boasted of a jaw-dropping 157 mpg. The Germany-based company hopes to make it, along with the sportier GT model, the world’s first mass-market ultralight vehicles.

Recently they announced production plans for an all electric car model, the E-Loremo, with hopes of a prototype in mid-2008. Although they have offered up a number of proposed specs for this vehicle in the company blog, they read a bit like they’re winging it, and as you'll note below, they aren’t very good at accurately estimating specs. So we’ll side-step the electric model for now and focus on the original.


What We Like

• The wing door. There are concerns that, on a rainy day your interior will get wet when open. To their credit, Loremo responds in their FAQ: “Driving pleasure was the more important factor to us. After all, how many days will there be, when it rains so heavily, that the front seats will be affected by water?”

• The seating configuration. As a 2+2, the Loremo rear seats are either folded up for truck space or, as seats prove not quite big enough for your average adult, but in the event you can fit back there, do it—the seats are mounted facing the rear window. Fun ride! A great distraction for otherwise unruly kids as well.

• The crash-resistant frame. Thanks to energy-transferring, front-to-back steel girders and a single crossbeam, the frame weighs less than half that of other cars, without a compromise in safety.

• The price. Despite some fluctuations, the current estimate of 15,000 Euros amounts to about US $22,000 ofr the Loremo. This is a consumer-friendly price that, coupled with the vehicle’s mpg, dynamic profile and trunk space, suddenly makes the Loremo cost-efficient (in re fuel), good-looking and reasonably practical.

Forex 101

• What is Forex
• Why Trade Foreign Currencies?
• What Tools Do I Need to Start Trading Forex?
• Is Forex Legitimate?

Overview

Norway-based manufacturer Think successfully previewed the Think City at the 2008 Geneva Auto Show, and having recently been on the receiving end of a few million dollars from GE, the vehicle shows no signs of slowing down. Currently there are about 1200 Think vehicles driving the streets of Norway.


What We Like

• The materials. According to the company web site, the Think City is made of 95% recyclable material, and “the car itself is designed to be recycled”. You don’t see that claim very often.

• The clever, and honest, marketing copy. The Think City says what few others do—that, as an electric car that plugs into the grid, it is not a zero emissions vehicle when you consider the source of that energy. Instead, the Think City is a “zero local emissions” vehicle. Bravo.

• The safety. ABS brakes, airbags, side impact bars in the doors, and those are just for starters. Granted when you make a car this small, safety will automatically come to mind to wary consumers, but the Think City is armed with about as much as she can handle.

• The 2+2. This option elevates the Think City into a practical electric car.

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Is this regulated by any government agency?

Yes. If you trade with a Philippine broker, they have to be regulated by SEC ( Security and Exchange Commission ), however if you trade with an offshore broker ( a broker outside the Philippines), the broker must be registered in the particular country that they are based and they must also be a registered on FCM ( Futures Commissions Merchant ) regulated by the Commodities and Futures Trade Commission (CFTC) and the National Futures Association.


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What Tools Do I Need to Start Trading Forex?

A computer with a high-speed Internet connection and all the information on this site is all that is needed to begin trading currencies.

What Does It Cost to Trade Forex?

An online currency trading (a “micro account”) may be opened with a couple hundred bucks. Do not laugh – micro accounts and its bigger cousin, the mini account, are both good ways to get your feet wet without drowning. For a micro account, we'd recommend at least $1,000 to start. For a mini account, we’d recommend at least $10,000 to start.


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Why Trade Foreign Currencies?
There are many benefits and advantages to trading Forex. Here are just a few reasons why so many people are choosing this market:

No commissions.No clearing fees, no exchange fees, no government fees, no brokerage fees. Brokers are compensated for their services through something called the bid-ask spread.
No middlemen. Spot currency trading eliminates the middlemen, and allows you to trade directly with the market responsible for the pricing on a particular currency pair.

No fixed lot size.In the futures markets, lot or contract sizes are determined by the exchanges. A standard-size contract for silver futures is 5000 ounces. In spot Forex, you determine your own lot size. This allows traders to participate with accounts as small as $250 (although we explain later why a $250 account is a bad idea).

Low transaction costs. The retail transaction cost (the bid/ask spread) is typically less than 0.1 percent under normal market conditions. At larger dealers, the spread could be as low as .07 percent. Of course this depends on your leverage and all will be explained later.

A 24-hour market. There is no waiting for the opening bell - from Sunday evening to Friday afternoon EST, the Forex market never sleeps. This is awesome for those who want to trade on a part-time basis, because you can choose when you want to trade--morning, noon or night.
No one can corner the market.The foreign exchange market is so huge and has so many participants that no single entity (not even a central bank) can control the market price for an extended period of time.

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Leverage.In Forex trading, a small margin deposit can control a much larger total contract value. Leverage gives the trader the ability to make nice profits, and at the same time keep risk capital to a minimum. For example, Forex brokers offer 200 to 1 leverage, which means that a $50 dollar margin deposit would enable a trader to buy or sell $10,000 worth of currencies.
Similarly, with $500 dollars, one could trade with $100,000 dollars and so on. But leverage is a double-edged sword. Without proper risk management, this high degree of leverage can lead to large losses as well as gains.

High Liquidity.Because the Forex Market is so enormous, it is also extremely liquid. This means that under normal market conditions, with a click of a mouse you can instantaneously buy and sell at will. You are never "stuck" in a trade. You can even set your online trading platform to automatically close your position at your desired profit level (a limit order), and/or close a trade if a trade is going against you (a stop loss order).

Free “Demo” Accounts, News, Charts, and Analysis. Most online Forex brokers offer 'demo' accounts to practice trading, along with breaking Forex news and charting services. All free! These are very valuable resources for “poor” and SMART traders who would like to hone their trading skills with 'play' money before opening a live trading account and risking real money.
“Mini” and “Micro” Trading: You would think that getting started as a currency trader would cost a ton of money. The fact is, compared to trading stocks, options or futures, it doesn't. Online Forex brokers offer "mini" and “micro” trading accounts, some with a minimum account deposit of $300 or less. Now we're not saying you should open an account with the bare minimum but it does makes Forex much more accessible to the average (poorer) individual who doesn't have a lot of start-up trading capital.

What is FOREX?

The Foreign Exchange market, also referred to as the "FOREX" or "Forex" or "Retail forex" or “FX” or "Spot FX" or just "Spot" is the largest financial market in the world, with a volume of over $2 trillion a day. If you compare that to the $25 billion a day volume that the New York Stock Exchange trades, you can easily see how enormous the Foreign Exchange really is. It actually equates to more than three times the total amount of the stocks and futures markets combined! Forex rocks!

What is traded on the Foreign Exchange?

The simple answer is money. Forex trading is the simultaneous buying of one currency and the selling of another. Currencies are traded through a broker or dealer, and are traded in pairs; for example the Euro dollar and the US dollar (EUR/USD) or the British pound and the Japanese Yen (GBP/JPY).

Because you're not buying anything physical, this kind of trading can be confusing. Think of buying a currency as buying a share in a particular country. When you buy, say, Japanese Yen, you are in effect buying a share in the Japanese economy, as the price of the currency is a direct reflection of what the market thinks about the current and future health of the Japanese economy.

In general, the exchange rate of a currency versus other currencies is a reflection of the condition of that country's economy, compared to the other countries' economies.

Unlike other financial markets like the New York Stock Exchange, the Forex spot market has neither a physical location nor a central exchange. The Forex market is considered an Over-the-Counter (OTC) or 'Interbank' market, due to the fact that the entire market is run electronically, within a network of banks, continuously over a 24-hour period.

Until the late 1990’s, only the “big guys” could play this game. The initial requirement was that you could trade only if you had about ten to fifty million bucks to start with! Forex was originally intended to be used by bankers and large institutions - and not by us “little guys”. However, because of the rise of the Internet, online Forex trading firms are now able to offer trading accounts to 'retail' traders like us.

All you need to get started is a computer, a high-speed Internet connection, and the information contained within this site.

Source: Babypips

A total solar eclipse was sweeping across Earth Friday, providing a rare sight for people in the upper Northern Hemisphere.

The eclipse will be visible in parts of Canada, northern Greenland, the Arctic, central Russia, Mongolia, and China. It will move across the planet in a narrow path that begins in Canada's northern territory of Nunavut and ends in northern China's Silk Road region at sunset, according to NASA.

A solar eclipse happens when the moon passes directly between Earth and the sun. When the moon's shadow falls on Earth, people within that shadow see the moon block a portion of the sun's light.

The moon's shadow has two parts, an umbra and a penumbra. The umbra is the main part of the shadow which appears to black out the sun. The umbra is the moon's faint "outer" shadow -- the outer ring of the main shadow.

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During a total solar eclipse, the moon appears to cover all of the sun for observers located in the moon's umbral shadow. Those viewing the eclipse from the moon's penumbral shadow see the moon cover only a portion of the sun.

At the moment of "totality," when the moon's shadow totally obscures the sun, the sun's outer atmosphere -- the solar corona -- becomes visible. NASA says this seldom-seen sight -- visible for about two minutes at most -- is coveted by experienced eclipse watchers and an awe-inspiring vision for first-time viewers.

The solar corona extends farther than 620,000 miles from the sun's visible surface and reaches temperatures up to 2 million degrees.

Total solar eclipses happen once or twice a year somewhere in the world but can still be a special experience for viewers.

"Just to say how special it is, in the whole universe we might be among the few beings that have the chance of seeing something like that," said Michael Khan, a mission analyst at the European Space Agency. "The fact that we have a moon and that the moon passes in front of our sun, and that the apparent size of our moon is approximately equal to the apparent size of the sun -- all these factors combine to create the solar eclipse phenomenon."

Those viewing any part of the eclipse should never look directly at it, experts warn. People can use a dense plastic foil made specifically for viewing eclipses, available at opticians or astronomy shops, or they can mount telescopes or binoculars and project the image of the sun on to cardboard.

Source:CNN