Links of the day

Energy: The Technology Industry's Newest Sector..."Venture capital investments into innovations around energy more than doubled in 2006 to $1.8B invested in 183 companies. The increase was even greater in the alternative energy sub-segment, which jumped 272% to $727M in 39 companies"..."the recent increase in crude prices reflects more of a reversion to the mean from very low prices a few years ago. In 2003 crude was selling about the same price it did in 1983 ($26/bbl) despite the fact that inflation figures would allow crude to trade at more than double that figure and still be well within the envelope of a long-term decline in real energy prices"...

The Profitability of Ethanol Production..."Ethanol producers earn $0.46 per gallon ethanol sold. This is a margin of roughly 30%"...

HP Extends Market Lead Over Dell..."HP saw more than 28.2% market growth, while Dell, the second overall PC manufacturer, saw -6.9% growth last quarter"..."HP's increasing domination can be attributed to several key factors. One of the main reasons is the company's renewed efforts to launch low cost PCs that can attract consumers who need a low-cost, efficient PC"...

Iraq may hold twice as much oil..."Iraq could hold almost twice as much oil in its reserves as had been thought, according to the most comprehensive independent study of its resources since the US-led invasion in 2003"..."The study from IHS, a consultancy, also estimates that Iraq’s production could be increased from its current rate of less than 2m barrels a day to 4m b/d within five years, if international investment begins to flow"..."Production costs in Iraq are low, particularly compared to the more complex offshore developments. IHS estimates that they are less than $2 a barrel"...

Home Equity Is Rising Source Of Funds, Greenspan Paper Says..."Housing equity served as a growing source of funds for U.S. consumer spending between 2001 and 2005, financing close to 3% of total personal consumption expenditures, according to a paper co-authored by former Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan.

In the paper, posted on the Fed's Web site Monday, Greenspan and Fed Economist James Kennedy estimate that between 1991 and 2005, equity extracted through home sales, home-equity loans and cash-out refinancings freed up about $530 billion per year in cash available for other uses, such as consumption and debt repayment"...thanks to CR for the tip...

AMD may have lost almost one third of its market share in Q1, says iSuppli..."iSuppli vice president Dale Ford estimates that AMD’s overall market share in the microprocessor industry may have declined 4.7 percentage points from 15.7% in Q4 2006 to 11.0% in Q1 2007"...

Cisco: U.S. Enterprise Business Decelerating..."the company has apparently increased “partner-focused incentives” designed to shift business in from the July quarter. “Based on the past three months, many resellers now believe that U.S. enterprises have begun to delay discretionary spending above and beyond normal seasonality typical of the [calendar] first quarter"...

Ontario Fuel Stop...a fascinating look at how one airline handled weather problems to get passengers on their way at aviation blog Rant Air...