Filed under: Products and services, Apple Inc (AAPL), Garmin Ltd (GRMN)

You would think that companies making standalone GPS devices would be making bank right now. The devices that never let you get lost when driving are important to many travelers, especially when you don’t want to fumble with maps, let alone get lost and waste a bunch of expensive gas getting back on track. Garmin Ltd. (NASDAQ: GRMN), one of the leading GPS makers, though, has seen tough times recently. Its shares have declined 56% recently. Why I’m not sure. I do know that it has nothing to do with Apple, Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL)’s iPhone that’s about to be released in a few weeks.

Apple’s new 3G iPhone will have embedded GPS, which will make the gadget all the more useful. Regardless, though, will consumers be using their iPhones as replacements for full GPS devices in all those automobiles? Unless there is a decent vehicle mount kit available, it’s hard to believe so. The iPhone does have the ideal chance at displacing more units from Garmin and other GPS makers like TomTom in the automobile navigation arena, but the entire GPS experience is what some folks probably forget about.

If you’ve ever used a GPS navigation program installed on a normal cellphone or smartphone, does it works seamlessly like a standalone product? Can you take and make calls while the GPS continues working in the background, giving you all those voice directions? What makes standalone GPS devices so valuable is that they work even when we’re multitasking with phone calls. That’s the kicker: the first time you miss a direction by voice because you’re busy chatting on the phone, a GPS solution on top of a cellphone — at least for driving purposes — would become useless to the average consumer. I doubt Apple’s upcoming solution will be this drab, but I continue to see a bright future for standalone GPS device manufacturers (although profits will continue to dwindle). Apple, as always, isn’t the only game in town. It will still be large for non-driving GPS uses, though.

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ulash writes “Ars Technica has an article about the (alleged) leaked ‘wishlist’ that RIAA submitted to the US government back in March of this year listing what they wish to see as a part of ACTA. The list includes such gems as forced filtering of materials by the ISPs, gutting the parts of the DMCA that provides safe harbor to the ISPs, and even restricting supplies of ‘optical grade polycarbonate’ in countries ‘with high rates of production of pirated optical discs.’ While the effectiveness of such a ‘wishlist’ on the law isn’t by any means objectively measurable, if one takes into account how *AA was instrumentative in the passing of DMCA, I think it is more than likely that they will get at least some of their wishes.”

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Travis writes “An international collaboration of astronomers is taking a one-of-a-kind approach to funding their research, through an ‘adopt-a-star’ program. Preparing for the launch of NASA’s Kepler satellite next February, the group will help characterize thousands of stars that the mission will be searching for evidence of Earth-like planets. For a small donation, early adopters get a certificate by email and updates when any planets are found around their adopted star.”

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An anonymous reader writes “British biologists have received government approval to create the world’s first human stem cells from hybrid embryos, part pig, part human. The Warwick Medical School team, led by Justin St. John of the Clinical Sciences Research Institute, was allowed the country’s third animal-human embryo license from the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, which goes into effect today (July 1).” The above link requires (free) registration; the Telegraph’s coverage does not.

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Travis writes “An international collaboration of astronomers is taking a one-of-a-kind approach to funding their research, through an ‘adopt-a-star’ program. Preparing for the launch of NASA’s Kepler satellite next February, the group will help characterize thousands of stars that the mission will be searching for evidence of Earth-like planets. For a small donation, early adopters get a certificate by email and updates when any planets are found around their adopted star.”

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An anonymous reader writes “British biologists have received government approval to create the world’s first human stem cells from hybrid embryos, part pig, part human. The Warwick Medical School team, led by Justin St. John of the Clinical Sciences Research Institute, was allowed the country’s third animal-human embryo license from the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority, which goes into effect this day (July 1).” The above link requires (free) registration; the Telegraph’s coverage does not.

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Instine writes “Salford University, in the UK, is showing an article suggesting that Britain’s biggest ever rocket has been unveiled, by an academic planning a space tourism offering by 2013. ‘Nova 2 qualifies as the biggest rocket ever created and flown from the UK mainland,’ states Steve Bennett, Head of Salford’s Space Technology Laboratory The current offering is stated to amount to 20 minutes ‘flight’ and 3-4 mins floating. I’m not sure how much, but I’d pay for that.”

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New Georgia poll shows McCain ahead of Obama - Atlanta Journal Constitution
Who’s right? That’s impossible to state. But pollster Matt Towery has a recommendation for McCain. “If you’re the McCain campaign and you’re satisfied that Georgia is safe, then God bless you,” stated Towery, CEO of Insider Advantage, which produced the poll

The best way to take a pension - CNN Money
(Money Magazine) — If you’re one of the lucky 30 million American workers still covered by a traditional defined-benefit pension plan, you’ll likely be faced with a crucial and irrevocable decision when you retire: should you take your pension in

UPDATE:Top Expert Urges FDA To Raise Diabetes-Drug Standards - CNN Money
SILVER SPRING, Md. -(Dow Jones)- A prominent medical expert on Tuesday urged the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to raise its standards for approving diabetes drugs, saying companies need to prove new drugs don’t increase cardiovascular disease

Cleo Laine: fame and fortune - Daily Telegraph
My dad was an itinerant labourer from Jamaica – how he met my English mother I do not know, but it was after the First World War. Since he was black he didn’t get much work in England so he busked for money. I didn’t realise what he did until I

Corporate Charity Challenge Inspires Healthy Competition, Charitable - MSN MoneyCentral
Life Time Fitness, Inc. LTM today announced the organizations participating in the second annual 2008 Life Time Fitness Corporate Charity Challenge. A division within the 2008 Life Time Fitness Triathlon, which is set for Saturday, July 12, in

Summer Credit Tips For A Wintry Economic Climate - NPR News
Harvard’s Elizabeth Warren is an outspoken critic of consumer lenders. Fresh Air from WHYY , July 1, 2008 · Given the sluggish economy, staying out of debt and maintaining a high credit score have become even more important. Professor Elizabeth

UK life costs ‘at least £13,400′ - BBC Business
A single person in Britain needs to earn at least £13,400 a year for a minimum standard of living, the Joseph Rowntree Foundation (JRF) has claimed. A couple with two children need to spend £370 a week excluding rent or mortgage payments, and a

Brian J. O’Connor - Detroit News
Most of them already have left, but this day marks the official end of GM’s latest round of buyouts, with 17,398 hourly workers taking the latest offer. For GM employees who were eligible to receive full pensions, the $45,000 or $62,500 incentive is a

Ford Honors the Legacy and Impact of the Model T at 2008 Centennial ‘T - MSN MoneyCentral
– Ford Motor Company will mark the 100th anniversary of Henry Ford’s groundbreaking Model T with a special presentation and collection of automotive masterpieces for 2008 Centennial “T Party” — the world’s largest gathering of Model Ts since they

126 Days to the Election: A look at the race for 2008 on Tuesday - Minneapolis Star Tribune
Obama announces support and expansion for Bush’s faith based programs McCain to visit Colombia, Mexico to show support for free trade Hispanic voters gaining strength in key says Obama to expand Bush’s faith based programs ZANESVILLE, Ohio

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Filed under: International markets, Personal finance, Housing

You think that only U.S. citizens have been hit hard by a lousy real estate market? New data released by the Nationwide Building Society in the UK, points to similar housing problems for our friends across the pond.

According to a report on Bloomberg: “Real-estate stocks had their worst performance in more than 20 years in the second quarter and Bank of England Governor Mervyn King predicts ‘extremely weak activity’ in the housing market. Mortgage approvals fell to the lowest in at least nine years in Might and consumer confidence dropped to the lowest level in 18 years last month, reports showed yesterday.”

While many predict that the US housing market will only start recovering in another year or two, I think that in the UK, you can double that amount of time. During the bull housing run, prices in the UK just skyrocketed, and what goes up tends to come back down. Also, it’s important to keep in mind that the US has already been in the midst of the slump for a few years already and we are much closer to the end of this negative cycle than many international housing markets, as they just recently entered the downturn.

Investors thinking of buying beaten up UK housing real estate, should be very careful, as it’s possible that there could be further price drops.

Aaron Katsman is the lead Portfolio Manager and Managing Director of America Israel Investment Associates, LLC. and Senior Editor of IsraelNewsletter.com. DISCLOSURE: Writer’s fund has no position in any stock mentioned, as of 7/1/08.

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Filed under: Countrywide Financial (CFC), Housing, Recession

If pretty much each other attorney general in the country was suing Countrywide Financial (NYSE: CFC), would Florida’s? Apparently. Last night the Associated Press reported that Florida Attorney General Bill McCollum has sued the company for misleading and unfair trade practices.

There’s no question that Countrywide is a horrible company on a multitude of levels, but there’s some irony to the allegations that the company took advantage of borrowers. Take a look at the chart for the company’s stock price over the past 5 years — how much worse would it have done if they’d treated people ethically? It’s a tiny bit like finding out that career minor leaguer Manny Alexander was a steroid user.

In some ways the beat down on Countrywide seems unfair, more of a response to general market problems than anything else. Countrywide helped people use toxic mortgages to buy homes they couldn’t afford at a time when lenders were operating on the assumption that home values always went up, interest rates never did, and everything was comin’ up roses. It was a happy conspiracy and, sure, Countrywide was happily working on loans that were fraudulent — but everyone knew the subprime game was the wild west and no one cared. Towns benefited from increased property taxes and federal loan programs encouraged home buying with tiny money down. But with a lot of people angry about losing their homes, these lawsuits are good politics in an election year.

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