Kerry on the O'Reilly Factor

This sure seemed like a civil exchange between the two men. I didn't see it but there were no lines that said or or something like that. I agree with this Kerry line as well.

KERRY: I believe the American people have been sold short by the United States Congress with respect to the energy future of our country. Yes. And it is regrettable, because millions of jobs have been lost. Our security has been put at risk.

The United States' technological lead in those areas has been set back. Our health has been set back. The environment has been set back. The overall security interests of our nation have not been well served.

This is where Dems and Repubs need to find common ground. The Dems can take the environment side of things and the Repubs can take the security side. The Dems can rail on about how it is destroying wildlife, polluting things, global warming, etc. And the Repubs can rail on about the Oil Sheikh, Iran using oil to fund nukes, Hugo Chavez etc. Then they can meet in the middle and week us off oil.

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FED Raises Rates to 5.25

Hmm, very bullish sentiment that they may pause in raising rates in their next meeting.

In the statement explaining the decision, Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke and his colleagues said that "the extent and timing of any additional firming that may be needed to address these risks will depend on the evolution of the outlook for both inflation and economic growth, as implied by incoming information."

Again numbers like the PPI and the CPI are going to have an even greater chance of moving the market. More then forecast GDP growth might hurt the numbers as well. That expected pause sure helped financials. XLF is up 2% today.

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Gaza Situation Escalates

It looks like the Israelis are really starting the crack down on Hamas and are escalating things.

In a clear warning to Syrian President Bashar Assad, Israeli airplanes flew over his seaside home near the Mediterranean port city of Latakia in northwestern Syria, military officials confirmed, citing the "direct link" between his government and Hamas. Israeli television reports said four planes were involved in the low-altitude flight, and that Assad was there at the time.

Now that is pretty nuts the Israeli Air Force decided to just rattle the windows a little bit and put the fear of Allah into Bashar. Now that is a show fo strength. Also Hamas animals killed off the settler that they grabbed.

Adding to the tension, a Palestinian militant group said it killed an 18-year-old Jewish settler kidnapped in the West Bank. Israeli security officials said Eliahu Asheri's body was found buried near Ramallah. They said he was shot in the head, apparently soon after he was abducted on Sunday.

I still think that the longer this drags on the better chance Gilad Shalit is going to suffer the same fate and this poor kid. Just a shot in the head and buried in some lonely Gaza neighborhood and the killers are going to slip away into Egypt.

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Burger King Coverage Initiated

Hmm some good things and some bad from the roundup of people that are starting coverage on this stock. I agree with this Morgan Stanley guy:

Morgan Stanley analyst Mark Wiltamuth also initiated with an "Overweight" rating, noting that the company's valuation is below its competitors such as McDonald's Corp. and Yum Brands Inc., "yet it offers higher operating earnings and EPS growth and we see prospects for sales and earnings upside surprises from the value menu launch," he wrote.

It is currently the number 2 fast food chain in the midst of a turnaround and it is valued below the number 3 and 4 chains. As a value investor you have to like how the company is undervalued even though it has better growth prospects then some of the other stocks in its industry. They seem to have hardly dipped into the international market as well. This Lehman guy agrees with me:

Lehman Brothers analyst Jeffrey A. Bernstein also thinks investors should seek out Burger King shares, initiating the stock at "Overweight" with $20 price target.

"We believe the Burger King U.S. business has been reinvigorated with a host of new products and initiatives, leading to improved sales and profitability metrics, benefiting from a well defined roadmap developed by their peers," he wrote in a report Tuesday. Bernstein added that outside of the U.S. and Canada, there are "significant" unit growth opportunities for the company.

Some of their new products are crappy though. The Tendercrisp Bacon Cheddar Ranch was freakishly large and I was forced to eat it with a knife and fork. I'm looking to try the Extreme Spicy Tendercrisp with the jalepeneos. I want to gauge the spiciness level of it.

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Here is a Pic of Gilad Shalit

He looks like a nice enough kid. Lets hope he gets out of this mess all in one piece.

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Israeli Planes Strike Gaza Bridges

It looks like they are laying the groundwork by knocking out bridges that will seperate the Gaza strip.

The Israeli military said in a statement that the object of the attacks on the bridges late Tuesday and early Wednesday was "to impair the ability of the terrorists to transfer the kidnapped soldier." Knocking down the bridges would cut Gaza in two, Palestinian security officials said.

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Israel On the Move in Gaza

It looks like the Israeli army is about to roll tanks in Gaza over their kidnapped soldier.

Palestinian security forces said Israeli tanks were on the move near the Israeli village of Nahal Oz, a main Israeli staging area just outside Gaza, but they had not yet entered the territory.

Are they planning on a full scale invasion of Gaza? As soon as the tanks enter these terrorists are going to cut this soldier's head off. I guess they weighted the risks when they set out or they are banking on simply recovering his corpse.

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Cell Phones Excite Brain Cells

Hmm this is an interesting study about how cell phones affect your brain.

Dr. Paolo Rossini of Fatebenefratelli hospital in Milan and colleagues used Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation or TMS to check brain function while people used these phones.

They had 15 young male volunteers use a GSM 900 cell phone for 45 minutes. In 12 of the 15, the cells in the motor cortex adjacent to the cell phone showed excitability during phone use but returned to normal within an hour.

The cortex is the outside layer of the brain and the motor cortex is known as the "excitable area" because magnetic stimulation has been shown to cause a muscle twitch.

Hmm I wonder what effects this excitability has? I wonder if you excite the left brain you will become more creative or the right brain gets excited you can think better. So depending on what side you use the cell phone on you get either a boost of creativity or cognition. Or maybe that excitability is what causes brain cancer in some cell phone users. I think more study is in order to see if these things are safe over the long haul.

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