Archive for August, 2009

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Nadal: To Sleeve or Not to Sleeve

Friday, August 28th, 2009

2009.05.30 Roland Garros Rafael Nadal-04.JPG CC CinewattEnding the week on a lighter note, courtesy of Harper’s Magazine: a look at the debate surrounding tennis star Rafael Nadal’s new wardrobe. Not that there’s much to debate – a Nike sponsorship is what it is – but everyone needs to have their say:

“It took me such a long time to like Rafa. He was too colorful, too shirtless, too tan, too apache. Now that I’ve gotten to like him, Nike presents me with the black socks. Well, I’m not going to get used to that! I cross my arms and refuse to look at him. You lost me, Nike.”

As of August 28, Rafa is still sleeved.

Posted in Spain | Comment »

Failing Guaranty Bank sold to Spanish BBVA

Thursday, August 27th, 2009

Torre BBVA en Madrid CC Pavlemadrid commonsHere’s one way to fast-track your expansion into the US market: buy a failed bank. On Friday, Guaranty Bank of Texas was seized by Federal regulators and sold to BBVA Compass, the US subsidiary of Spain’s Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria.

While the US has seen several banks fail in 2009 (81 as of this writing), BBVA’s involvement makes this a landmark liquidation. The last time an overseas bank received federal assistance in a failed bank deal was 1991, when the Bank of Ireland bought $1.8 billion worth of deposits from four New Hampshire banks. The BBVA takeover is worth over $12 billion.

What can we take away from this? Given the current economic downtown, there’s a lot of money in play for private sector companies who are willing to split some of the recovery burden with the US government. And while preference is generally given to US companies, foreign companies can compete alongside them, provided they can make the case that their winning the bid will be a net positive for the US economy. Despite the feds absorbing significant losses from Guaranty’s failure, the end result was a far softer landing thanks to BBVA’s involvement.

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Posted in Finance | Comment »

US Government to release $1.2 B in electronic medical record funding

Friday, August 21st, 2009

Even with Congress in the middle of its annual summer recess, healthcare news continues to come out of Washington. Vice President Joe Biden announced yesterday that, effective October 1, $1.2 billion in stimulus funds will become available for the implementation of electronic medical records in hospitals and clinics across the US. “Implementation” can include anything from upgrading old systems to creating regional networks and training providers on the new technology. Companies in the medical tech sector take note – this portion of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act should create plenty of funding opportunities across the board.

Posted in Healthcare | Comment »

Open Letter to The Economist

Friday, August 14th, 2009

Thank you for bringing to the attention of your readers the dire need in Spain to open up its economy and social mindset to its entrepreneurial population. While you state unfairly that Spaniards are “risk averse” (an over-statement), there is indeed a need for governments, universities and businesses to come together and make funds and grants available (and not through “small credit”–a seeming cop-out that only hits the surface and has zero impact) to our brilliant entrepreneurs who want to launch in Spain and internationalize, in particular in the US. We are a company specializing in bringing Spanish high-tech and green-tec companies into the US market; daily we see the brilliant businesses, ideas, and products Spaniards are producing but daily we see the lack of understanding of the importance in investing in these companies by the “Spanish system” in general and lack of easily accessible and understandable funds to help support them. Many Chambers of Commerce in specific regions are coming around, however, and quickly. It’s due time that Spain as the 8th largest economy in the world recognized its entrepreneurs and made a concerted effort to support them as a priority in order to boost the Spanish economy and create thought-leaders in this country that can and will have an impact throughout the world.

Jennifer Aquino
CEO, StepOne Ventures
Madrid, Spain and Silicon Valley

Posted in Editorial | Comment »

Pennsylvania announces $20M of investments in energy projects

Wednesday, August 12th, 2009

Pennsylvania Governor Edward Rendell recently announced $20.7 million of investments in 25 energy projects. These projects will produce or save 2.2 billion kilowatt hours of electricity over their lifetimes, or 110 million kilowatt hours per year. Targeted technologies include solar, geothermal, wind, carbon capture, and biodigesters.

Pennsylvania Energy Development Authority (PEDA) awarded $20.7 million in grants, including $10 million from the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act. This public funding leverages another $120 million in private matching funds for a total investment of $140.7 million.

Posted in Cleantech | Comment »

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