Filed under: Other issues, Rants and raves, Interviews, Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A), Money and Finance Today, Media World, Politics, Housing, Recession

The Oracle of Omaha, Warren Buffett, of Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A) spent a few moments on CNN answering some key questions about the economy at a Fortune Magazine Forum. He was asked where he would place the blame for the current financial crises being played out on the world stage, and he stated he’s not one to point fingers. There’s plenty of blame to go around.

Initially Buffett quipped that “every saint has a past, and each sinner has a future.” He went on to say that the everyone participated in the creation of the housing bubble with the unrealistic expectation that prices would continue to rise.

He summarized that home ownership is worshiped in the United States, and once cheap funding became available and prices started to rise there became the feeling that if you didn’t buy a home now you would be facing higher prices next year and perhaps less favorable interest rates as well.

Continue reading Fortune interviews Buffett on CNN

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roncosmos writes “Science News has up a feature on the first use of sound recording in a presidential campaign. In 1908, for the first time, presidential candidates recorded their voices on wax cylinders. Their voices could be brought into the home for 35 cents, equivalent to about $8 now. In that pre-radio era, this was the only way, short of hearing a speech at a whistle stop, that you could hear the candidates. The story includes audio recordings from the 1908 candidates, William Jennings Bryan and William Howard Taft. Bryan’s speech, on bank failures, seems sadly prescient now. Taft’s, on the progress of the Negro, sounds condescending to modern ears but was progressive at the time. There are great images from the campaign; lots of fun.”

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Filed under: Products and services, Google (GOOG)

According to Taiwan’s CENS website, T-Mobile USA will sell half a million of the Google, Inc. (NASDAQ: GOOG) G1 smartphone built by Taiwan’s own HTC and sold exclusively (so far) by T-Mobile USA. Even though that’s not up to par with announced Apple, Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhone 3G sales, it’s no slouch expectation either.

When the G1 phone is released for sale on October 22, that leaves just over two months for that projected sales figure to be hit. Although the unit will cost a relatively paltry $179 with a two-year contract, can T-Mobile USA really hit that sales number? I’ve severe doubts, although T-Mobile USA will easily be able to begin competing with established players like Apple in 2009.

Even though Apple has an entire year headstart over rivals like the G1 and the Samsung Instinct, there are lots of customers who want the novelty of a touchscreen smartphone but don’t want to be locked down into the Apple ecosystem — even though it works very well and would serve most customers 100% perfectly.

But then again, Apple’s first-mover advantage and its incredibly powerful marketing muscle might just keep it floating above the likes of the Google-powered G1 for quite some time. Google’s efforts with the G1 could make it a second-tier player here while Apple dominates. That’s, unless, T-Mobile USA starts off swift with half a million in unit sales this holiday season and never looks back. What’s your projection?

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Toren Altair writes “Space Adventures announced this day that Charles Simonyi, Ph.D., intends to train with the Soyuz TMA-14 crew in preparation for a spring mission in 2009 to the International Space Station. Simonyi flew his first space mission in 2007. He would be the first space tourist to repeat the experience. Space Adventures’ sixth orbital spaceflight participant, Richard Garriott, son of NASA astronaut Owen Garriott, is currently scheduled to launch to the ISS on October 12 of this year.”

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Completely fabulous - Guardian Unlimited
A few weeks ago, I walked into a fabulous, gilt-trimmed room in the heart of Manhattan and had tea with Sex And The City’s very own Samantha. It’s hard to have a more New York experience than that Except the woman who greets me in the Edison

Unprecedented debt and no jobs for the class of 2008 - Times On the web
The class of 2008 faces unprecedented levels of debt and is struggling to find jobs as the credit crunch takes hold. Students who graduated from university this summer have apparently never have had it so bad. Many borrowed tens of thousands of

Business Highlights - MSN MoneyCentral
WASHINGTON (AP) — With the economy on the brink of meltdown and elections looming, a reluctant Congress abruptly reversed course and approved a historic $700 billion government bailout of the battered financial industry on Friday. President Bush

‘Easy Money’ - Los Angeles Times
For a moment or two, it is difficult to understand that “Easy Money” is a television drama premiering in the fall of 2008. Look, there are people who actually resemble real Americans, as opposed to a central-casting-corralled swarm of super-rich

Invest in a Programmable Thermostat - Forbes
It’s common knowledge that turning down your thermostat a degree or two will shave away at your heating bill, but investing in a programmable thermostat, which costs between $50 and $100, might slice off an even bigger chunk. These thermostats grant

Cookies For Cancer: Raising Money For A Cure - CBS 2
Childhood cancer is the number one disease killer of children in the United Says. It’s a devastating diagnosis, but many parents are also devastated when they find that treatments are limited because research funds are scarce. Now there is

My secret life: Margot Stilley, actress, 25 - The Independent
The home I grew up in was built in the Twenties by my great-grandfather. It had an astounding hanging garden made up of Spanish moss. My family was really into plywood, timber and bricks, and inside all the features had intricate detail. I still miss

In Depth: Secrets Of An Energy Efficient Home - Forbes
This quick fix was No. 1 on many of our expert’s lists. While the initial cost of replacing your incandescent light bulbs with compact fluorescents is noticeable–they cost, on average, about three times more–the money and energy saved overtime

Dear Jeremy - Guardian Unlimited
What is your view of the value of exit interviews? I recently retired from a department in an NHS foundation hospital. I worked there part-time for a couple of years after a lifetime in the NHS in various posts (including senior departmental

UPDATE: AIG CEO: Might Need More Money From Government Credit Line - CNN Money
Despite receiving an $85 billion line of credit from the Federal Reserve, American International Group Inc. (AIG) is still seeing tightness in the marketplace, said Edward Liddy , the company’s chairman and chief executive Friday. The insurance giant

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DOScrash writes “Popular Mechanics has a story on MIT’s most autonomous robotic submarine ever, the Odyssey IV. It can dive more than 3.5 miles without a tether and knows how to get itself up if it’s in trouble.”

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Filed under: Products and services, Apple Inc (AAPL), Sony Corp ADR (SNE), Technology

Nintendo (OTC: NTDOY) has had amazing success with its Nintendo DS hand-held gaming device. Sony’s (NYSE: SNE) PSP just doesn’t have the same heat. And now, the DS is getting an upgrade. It’s to be called the Nintendo DSi. The new version is going to have a camera and an SD slot. You’ll be able to play music on it. The system will debut in Japan on November 1. For a look at the specs, and a comparison chart that includes the Apple (NASDAQ: AAPL) iPhone, check out this item at Joystiq.com. In terms of North American availability, it has been reported that it will be released in this territory sometime in 2009.

So, what does this mean for those who may own shares of Nintendo? Well, in case you haven’t noticed, the price of the ADR’s are sitting a tiny too close to a 52-week low. And quite honestly, I think they’re going lower. The reason I think they’re going lower is exactly the reason you think it is: the market for equities is awful. The financial crisis has become a global-sized blob, consuming everything in its path. It’s a shame, too, because I think Nintendo has a decent shot at doing well with the Nintendo DSi. Even if it does, though, there’s no way anyone could say “buy Nintendo now” ahead of the roll-out since the technicals on the stock, and for the market indexes at large, aren’t too pretty.

Nintendo closed at $46.26 on Thursday. The 52-week low is $45.80. The shares are in bear mode for certain. I was really hoping to have an excuse to dive back in for a holiday trade. Now, that hope is deader than a mortgage-laden financial stock. Longer-term, I think Nintendo will do just fine as an investment car. But, you’ll be waiting a while, I’m afraid. And even if you want to purchase for a long-term portfolio, like I say, you’d probably do well to remain patient for a lower entry price. How low do I think it’s going? Below $40 looks to be a given, but I wouldn’t be surprised to see Nintendo’s ADR’s dip under $30 at some point. Now that would be one heck of a compelling price, wouldn’t it? All depends, of course, on what the macro situation is at the time…

Disclosure: I don’t own any company mentioned; positions can change at any time.

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Irvu writes “A New Jersey Better Court Judge has prohibited the release of an analysis conducted on the Sequoia AVC Advantage voting system. This report arose out of a lawsuit challenging on constitutional grounds the use of these systems. The study was conducted by Andrew Appel on behalf of the plaintiffs, after the judge in the case ordered the company to permit it. That same judge has now withheld it indefinitely from the public record on a verbal order.”

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Filed under: Lehman Br Holdings (LEH), Housing, Financial Crisis

Oh how the mighty have fallen.

With Lehman Bros. in the midst of winding up what’s left of its operations following its bankruptcy filing, chairman and CEO Richard Fuld has been kicked out of the corner office at Lehman’s Manhattan headquarters — and sent packing to to a 41st floor office at 1271 6th Avenue.

Lehman’s building at 745 7th Avenue is now the headquarters for Barclays’ investment banking operations. It has no use for Mr. Fuld. With a flair for drama, The Wall Street Journal sums it up (subscription required) this way: “Napoleon cooled his heels on Elba. The Dalai Lama lives in Dharamsala, India. And Lehman Brothers Holdings Chairman and CEO Richard Fuld Jr. will be banished to 1271 Sixth Ave.”

Meanwhile former CFO Erin Callan — who was pushed out as a sacrificial lamb back in July — gave her first post-Lehman interview to Fortune, telling the reporter that Mr. Fuld had been brought to tears by the difficulties the company was facing.

If you’re in the market for $15 million worth of Fuld’s modern art collection, Christie’s has got you covered.

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coondoggie sends in a Network World post that begins “It sounds like a math phobic’s worst nightmare or perhaps Good Will Hunting for the ages. Those wacky folks at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Bureau have put out a research request it calls Mathematical Challenges, that has the mighty goal of ‘dramatically revolutionizing mathematics and thereby strengthening DoD’s scientific and technological abilities.’ The challenges are in fact 23 questions that, if answered, would offer a high potential for major mathematical breakthroughs, DARPA said.” Some of the questions overlap with the Millennium Prize Problems of the Clay Mathematics Institute, which each carry a $1M prize.

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