The Big Bid For Bud Everyone knows, you don't mess with a mans beer, but maybe Belgium never got the memo. InBev, maker of Beck's and Stella Artois brands has just made a $46 Billion bid for Anheuser-Busch. Not only is this a good offer, it is a great offer valuing the stock at $65 a share. Budweiser's struggling stock has been hanging out around the $40-50 level for the last 5 years. From a shareholder standpoint, the company should take the deal. Unfortunately this story gets a lot uglier. For those who don't know, Anheuser-Busch is a company that is very near and dear to my heart. What can I say... I love drinking a cold Bud. JK. Actually, my dad has worked for Anheuser-Busch since before I was born and beer money has basically funded my entire life. Growing up around "The Bud Guys", I can truly say that this is the most genuine company/group of people who not only represent the American dream, but are respected as a great American company. The thought of losing such a great American icon to the dark side of free/open capital markets puts pit in my stomach. What we are seeing here represents a scary trend in the American financial system. Our weak dollar and shot economy make American companies a target for takeover by thriving emerging countries. While the bulls-eye has been on America's forehead for many years, it was not until now that our oversees competitors have the ability to pull the trigger. So who decides whether the deal goes through? The Busch family owns 4%, Buffett owns 5%, the Budweiser distributors own a good chunk of the company, but the boys on Wall Street still own controlling interest in the company. Will it matter to them that losing this company will dent the ego of our already suffering country? The legal eagles on capital hill are already buzzing trying to figure out ways to make the deal "illegal". On the other hand, Budweiser is batting around it's own ideas on how to avoid the merger. Mexico's Grupo Modelo SAB and Anheuser-Busch have been working together for many years and if they were to merge, the combined company would be too large for InBev to swallow. Unfortunately one rumor floating around the Bud camp is that InBev has the financial backing to raise it's bid as high as $70 Billion which would value BUD at roughly $98 a share! It would be a hard sale convincing the market to deny an offer which is 2X the what the stock price was only a few short months ago. This is going to be a long battle and I am only hoping we can hang on to this great American icon. The least we can do at this point is sign this petition to save Budweiser and keep Anheuser-Busch an American owned company. I will make sure to keep everyone updated on any news/rumors that come floating my way. 13 Jun 2008

	The GPS & Location Targeting Trend Is Still In It's Infant Stages If there is one trend that I truly believe in it is GPS and location awareness. This technology is another example of tech developed for the government and military which is finding consumer applications. Not only is GPS extremely helpful, but it will soon change advertising as we know it. The launch of the iPhone 3G with it's new GPS capabilities got me thinking about how this technology is really still in it's infant stages. Last year sent some GPS stocks soaring, but they look to have come back down to attractive levels. There are also a few hidden gems out there still waiting to be discovered by the market. Garmin (GRMN) Garmin is one of the biggest names in GPS because they brought those dashboard turn by turn navigation systems to the masses. The HUGE runup we saw at the end of last year was driven by pure speculation that every car in America would get a new navigation system in their Christmas stockings. In an attempt to leverage it's brand and diversify it's product lineup, Garmin will launch the nuvifone in the third quarter of '08. SiRF Technology Holdings (SIRF) SiRF develops the chips found in many GPS devices. Unfortunately the company was a victim of the big hit GPS stocks took at the beginning of '08. Last year, many of SiRF's competitors were swallowed up by big chip makers who were looking to integrate GPS into their other technologies. The stock isn't looking too attractive right here, but being the last independent GPS technology company around makes them an interesting play. Navteq (NVT) You must have seen it at the bottom of your Google maps, "Map Data Provided By Navteq". This is the company that keeps the worlds maps up to date and accurate. They basically dominate the market and without them, none of this GPS madness would be possible. Their real time traffic data is a recent example of various products the company can offer in the future to attract customers and investors. GeoEye (GEOY) GeoEye is big brother at it's finest. Soon this year, GeoEye will launch it's new satellite capable of taking the highest resolution images of any commercial satellite ever. GeoEye's images already show up on services like Google Maps and are used by many businesses for detailed data on large areas. Local.com (LOCM) This is my favorite play because the stock is so cheap and has so much potential. While it is not a pure GPS play I think it will turn into one. Local.com is a search engine strictly targeted towards local searches. For example you type in your zip code, and pizza to find all the local pizza shops, reviews and ratings. While this is nothing new, data like this will be extremely important when everyone in the united states has GPS in their pocket. There will be no more typing in your zip code when the phone knows exactly where you are at any given time. Imagine sitting in a restaurant and the phone pulling up the reviews and ratings because it knows you are inside. I can see local.com getting bought up by a big phone manufacturer, service provider or even a competitor. If you know of any other good stocks which will benefit from the trend in GPS and location targeting make sure and share in the comments below. 09 Jun 2008

	Can Hybrid Technologies Win The X-Prize? Hybrid Technologies has given us the first look at the vehicle they plan on winning the X-Prize with. This new car will come in two models, one gas/electric and one all electric vehicle. This new electric only racecar will travel between 120-180 miles on one charge, and the gas/electric model should go a minimum of 220 mpg. Some big questions for me still remain, will they will win the automotive X-Prize? How will this help their stock? Red or silver? Related Articles: Nissan Plugs In (19 May, 2008) Investing In Hybrid Technologies (16 May, 2008) 03 Jun 2008

	Cisco Brings 3D Holographic Projections To Center Stage Sometimes it seems as if I have no reason to go meet with people. If I have a question or want to contact someone I just use text; send them an email, text message, instant message or direct twit. If I need to hear or see them I call them at their office, on their cell, skype them or video chat. While none of these forms of communication reach the emotional level of actually hanging out or having a face to face conversation. I have never believed technology could replace that experience, until now. Guy Kawasaki tipped me off to this video of the guys from Cisco and Musion presenting the most advanced communication platform ever made. When I first saw Cisco's(CSCO) telepresence system, I thought it was pretty gimmikee. I can see how a major corporation with a giant budget might get a couple, but thats about it. After watching this video showing conversations between holographic projections and real people, I feel communication may never be the same again. If Cisco is right, and within the next 10-20 years everyone has one of these systems in their home, that might just make Cisco one of the best tech investments around. Help me Obe One Kenobi you're my only hope. Click to see the video 30 May 2008

	Jamba Juice Finally Extends It's Brand, Officially I have been a big believer in Jamba Juice since back before it was a public company. Not only have I lost a lot of money owning JMBA, but it has been very disappointing. I have been patiently waiting for the new management to do something and finally the day has come. Today Jamba announced that distribution has launched of the new Nestle/Jamba ready-to-drink beverages in eight western states. Nestle's giant distribution channel is exactly what JMBA needed to get it's products to the masses. Drinks will be available at Target, Safeway, Albertsons, Ralph's, 7-Eleven, Raley's, and Walgreens the very first day the produts launch. The starting lineup includes six drinks, three smoothies & three juices. They include: Strawberries Wild w/Energy Boost, Orange Dream Machine w/Immunity, Banana Berry w/Heart Healthy Boost; and, three Jamba Juicies named Orange Strawberry Banana w/Protein Boost, Mango Orange Peach w/Fiber Boost, Very Berry w/Calcium Boost. Now the magic touch here with the Jamba drinks are the boosts. I believe the secret ingredient here are the boosts. Anyone familiar with a Jamba Juice smoothie knows how they work and I think boosts will translate to these ready-to-make drinks nicely. I hate to compare, but the energy drink market is HUGE and profitable. Anyone who rode the wave at Hansens(HANS) knows what I'm talking about. The stock got a nice pop today on the announcement (12%) but I think we might finally see a gradual turnaround of this unloved stock. As investors start seeing the drinks and as announcements come out of distribution expansions we could have the next JSDA on our hands. I am going to pick up some more shares here even though I am way overweight and have lost a lot of money with JMBA. It is just one of those stocks that I have always believed in. The real test will be the drinks. I will come back and update once I have tried one. UPDATE: Somehow I left out a Starbucks reference. The business model is a lot like theirs. Starbucks's largest growth came when they began licensing out and selling coffee outside their store. Related Articles: Jamba Juice Explodes On Record Earnings, And Then Tanks (12 June, 2007) JMBA- All Time Lows, & Taking Me With It (15 August, 2007) JMBA- Cutting Back(21 August, 2007) 27 May 2008

	The End Of Oil, Buy DUG I have never been big on trading commodities. It seems like the price of them is intertwined with to many other various factors that I have yet to figure out. The one commodity that gets the most press and I hear about the most is the price of oil. As a regular watcher of CNBC it seems that they talk about the price of oil every 5 minutes. From what I have been hearing and from the way people are reacting it is my belief that the price of oil is topping out. The guys on FastMoney have even referred to the chart below as "going parabolic". Oil has had an unbelievable run this year doubling from $60 a barrel to a new high of roughly $135 last night. I am going to avoid the technical reasons all together and explain my three simple psychological reasons as to why we have had such a huge run up in oil. 1) Bush and his republican buddies are leaving the White House. I can't help but think about Bush's connections as a Texas oil man and all he is doing in the middle east and around the world with regards to oil. It is almost as if this is the last chance Bush and all his oil buddies have to reap the rewards of the high price of oil. 2) The Democrats are going to be pro alternative and renewable energy and from this point forward, oil will play a less important role in transportation. Demand is going to slow and supply/demand will no longer be an excuse for speculators to lean on. 3) This might be the last chance to rally oil for as long as we live. That's right. This might very well be the last run oil ever makes if we are able to convert the world to alternative energies. With this in mind, the only thing we can do at this point is try and call a top and get short oil. The most likely candidate for doing so is DUG, The ProShares UltraShort Oil & Gas Fund. This ETF shorts roughly 80 various oil and gas companies with half of the fund being made up of companies like ExxonMobil (XOM), Chevron (CVX), and ConocoPhillips (COP). The fund has seen explosive volume in recent days up roughly 400%. I am going to start building a position now, because once oil starts to drop, it is going to be a slippery slope. 22 May 2008

	Nissan Plugs In So yesterday (Sunday night... odd timing?) Nissan announced a huge investment of $115 million in NEC Corp. to start producing lithium ion batteries for their vehicles. I wonder what type of implications this has for Hybrid Technologies (HYBR.OB). I still havn't determined what (if any) patents HYBR has on lithium ion vehicles. "By 2012, Nissan plans to mass-market electric vehicles to consumers globally. It is also planning to make available on a wide scale zero-emission vehicles in Israel and Denmark in 2011." Related Posts: Investing In Hybrid Technologies 19 May 2008

	Investing In Hybrid Technologies I am the first person to admit that investing in penny stocks is shady business. One of these days I will write a full explanation of why I do it anyways. My most recent penny stock investment is in Hybrid Technologies(HYBR.OB) Hybrid Tech. makes lithium ion powered vehicles. Basically what that means is that they have found a way to power cars with the same technology that powers our cell phones and laptops. They have a full line of cars most of which take between 6-10 hours to charge and can be charged up to 1,500 times before needing replaced batteries. If you charge your car every single night (which isn't necessary), thats still over 4 years of battery life. The hype around this company is huge and they have a very aggressive PR company fueling the fire. Recently Popular Mechanics Magazine Experts reported that Hybrid Technologies has a real chance at winning the Xprize. Four years ago the stock was trading at about $100! Shares has been acting pretty crazy lately and took a giant hit recently after the company payed a large cash dividend (shaddyyy). After getting knocked down to $2 it is making a comaback on strong volume. It will be interesting to see how much this stock can recover from the big fall. I bought in at $4.65 on Monday 5/12/08 and already find myself up 23%. I am going to hang on and see if this is the penny stock that makes me rich =) 16 May 2008

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