Archive for April, 2011

Hey, They’re Plastering The Walls with Dollar Bills; Let’s Go!

April 28th, 2011

One hundred thousand $1 bills, to be exact
It was Andy Warhol who said “making money is art”. Now the German artist Hans-Peter Feldmann, who was awarded the $100,000 Hugo Boss Prize in November, doesn’t want art lovers to think about money, but art when they step into a large gallery of the Guggenheim Museum in New York and see a room covered floor to ceiling with 100,000 $1 bills.

Money and art
“I’m 70 years old, and I began making art in the ’50s,” Mr. Feldmann said in a telephone interview from his studio in Düsseldorf, Germany. “At that time there was no money in the art world. Money and art didn’t exist. So for me, $100,000 is very special, it’s incredible, really. And I would like to show the quantity of it.” Describing the installation as “a big statement,” Mr. Feldmann said “it would be a pity” if people think that the exhibition is crass or that he is thumbing his nose in some way at the prize or the money or the Guggenheim. “I am not at all against the museum. It’s great that they have agreed to do this; it is a bit out of the norm.”

The Hugo Boss Prize
The Hugo Boss Prize, established in 1996 by the Solomon R. Guggenheim Foundation and named for the German men’s wear company that sponsors it, is given every two years for significant achievement in contemporary art. The winner is awarded not only $100,000, but also an exhibition, which this year runs from May 20 through Nov. 2. Mr. Feldmann is the oldest artist to win the prize, which is generally given to emerging professionals. At the time of the announcement last year, the jury of art professionals defended its decision, saying that Mr. Feldmann epitomized the best of contemporary art right now.

No surprise
When Mr. Feldmann told the Guggenheim curators what he wanted to do, they were not entirely surprised. “We have a history of realizing artists’ visions no matter how extreme,” said Nancy Spector, the chief curator. “We looked at it from every angle to see if it was doable and defendable. It is in keeping with his work.”

Mounting the bills
Officials at the Guggenheim estimate that it will take a team of art handlers about 13 days to pin the used bills to the walls. “The gallery will become a totally immersive environment,” said an assistant curator who is organizing the exhibition. She added that it was particularly important to Mr. Feldmann that the dollar bills be used ones.

Pop art
Since the money is there for the taking, officials at the Guggenheim are planning to have extra guards on duty and security cameras keeping a close watch on visitors. “In the next room you find $10 million paintings, and nobody is stealing them,” Mr. Feldmann said. And although the intent may be different, even Mr. Feldmann acknowledged that his installation had its roots in the Pop Art of the 1960s and ’70s. One obvious image that comes to mind is Warhol’s 1962 silkscreen painting “200 One Dollar Bills,” which sold for $43.7 million at Sotheby’s two years ago.

Tags: Andy Warhol, Dollar bills, Guggenheim Museum, Hans-Peter Feldmann
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Will You Be CFL Or LED Lit Next Year?

April 27th, 2011

First you spend and then you save
On Jan. 27, 1880 Thomas Alva Edison earned a patent for another bright idea: the incandescent light bulb. This invention has faithfully lit homes worldwide for 131 years without any major changes. Now things are about to change. Are you ready for this?

The law
On Jan. 1, nationwide, a new federal law means the incandescent bulb will start disappearing from store shelves. Instead, an expanding line of alternative bulbs will be sold bearing new nutrition-like labels on their boxes. The labels will tout a bulb’s lumens, a measure of brightness, rather than its wattage, a measure of energy use. They will also estimate its yearly energy cost. “This allows consumers to look at the full price and buyers will need to look to lumens instead of watts for brightness.”

Why the change?
The reason for the switch is the inefficiency of Edison’s invention, which wastes 90% of its energy as heat rather than light. In 2007, the U.S. Congress passed the Energy Act, requiring light bulbs to use at least 25% less electricity for the amount of lumens, or light, produced. So, come January, manufacturers will have to produce the equivalent of a 100-watt bulb using 72 watts of power.

Savings
Although halogens, CFLs and LEDs cost more than the old-fashioned bulbs, the Department of Energy (DOE) says customers quickly recoup the price difference in energy savings. It says they save about $50 yearly by replacing 15 traditional incandescents in their homes. Once the standards are fully in effect in 2015, DOE estimates families nationwide will save nearly $6 billion a year and will help eliminate 30 million metric tons of carbon dioxide emissions annually, the equivalent of taking about 8 million cars off the road each year.

New labeling
The front of the labels will list energy cost and lumens, which can vary widely even for bulbs consuming the same amount of energy or wattage. The back will list the bulb’s expected life span, energy consumption and its “light appearance,” or color, which is measured on a temperature scale known as Kelvin (K). Lower Kelvin numbers mean the light is more yellow; higher Kelvin numbers mean it’s whiter or bluer.

Brighter
For kitchens and workspaces, where a brighter and whiter light is desired, look for bulbs marked 3,500 to 4,100K. For a cooler, bluish light akin to daylight, good for reading, look for bulbs with 5,000 to 6,500K.

Lighting options expand
With the bulb switch looming, the lighting market has exploded with new options.
Halogen incandescents are easier to find. Philips Lighting has begun selling EcoVantage ones at Home Depot that are dimmable, mercury-free and produce a traditional light. A two-pack of its 72-watt bulbs (replacing Edison’s 100-watt) retails for about $3. Each bulb, though, costs about $3.50 a year to operate, while the traditional incandescent costs $4.80, according to EPA. Shoppers can now buy dimmable CFLs, which typically come in a curly Q shape, and shatter-resistant EcoSmart ones to contain mercury if the glass breaks. A 60-watt equivalent retails at Home Depot for about $6 and the 100-watt version for $8.

Tags: CFL, Edison, Incandescent, LED, Light bulbs
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It’s Time to Lay in Stocks, Prices Are about to Rise

April 26th, 2011

Four-dollar gasoline is just a part of it.
You guessed it: On top of all the ongoing bad news we are about to be hit by price increases as companies pass along the higher costs of raw materials, transportation and other expenses. When prices at the pump rise and wages don’t, already strained budgets show the pain,” says Diane Swonk, chief economist at Mesirow Financial in Chicago. Let’s take a look at some areas where prices are rising. More hints of what’s in store are due as corporations report quarterly earnings over the next several weeks.

Airfares
Airlines have been raising ticket prices steadily to pass on the expense of higher fuel costs. Domestic round-trip fares were boosted a half dozen times this year by $4 to $10 each. Over the six months that ended in February, fares jumped 22%, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics’ index.

Chocolate
Hershey’s raised its wholesale prices nearly 10% in late March. Consumers may not feel the pinch until after the big Easter season, because many retailers will be able to make purchases at the old prices for about eight weeks.

Coffee
Coffee prices jumped 27% between December and March as companies passed along their record cost of unroasted beans. Starbucks boosted the prices it charges retailers for packaged coffee up to 12%. J. M. Smucker, which sells Folgers and Dunkin’ Donuts brands, has raised prices several times during the past year. Sara Lee, Kraft Foods and Green Mountain Coffee Roasters also have hiked prices.

Fast Food
McDonald’s, like many of its peers, is dealing with higher ingredient costs and expects to raise U.S. prices this year. Rival Wendy’s/Arby’s is expected to raise prices later this year because of what it says will be 15% higher beef costs.

Fruit and Vegetables
Even adjusting for seasonal factors, the cost of fruits and vegetables has risen 23% in three months, including bananas up 10% and potatoes up 39%.

Gasoline
$5 gas, anyone? Not yet, but it may be coming. Gasoline prices leaped 6% last month and have risen 28% in the past year. Consumers paid an average price of $3.81 a gallon nationwide on Friday, according to the travel group AAA.

Household Products
Diapers, soap, toilet paper, toothpaste, trash bags and many other everyday items all have been targeted for price hikes as companies from Kimberly-Clark to Procter & Gamble to Colgate-Palmolive respond to rising ingredient costs.

Juice
Tropicana, owned by PepsiCo, raised prices on some of its juices 4% to 8% to cope with higher costs due to cold weather damage of Florida citrus crops. That means shoppers are paying more for Tropicana and Dole fruit juices.

Packaged Foods
Rising prices for corn, wheat and many other ingredients, along with fuel, have led to higher prices for packaged goods. Safeway, Supervalu and other supermarkets are passing the higher costs along to customers.

Soft Drinks
Big beverage makers are hiking prices because of higher costs for packaging, ingredients and transportation. The price of carbonated drinks was up 14% from December to March.

Tires
U.S. tire prices climbed 6% in the six months ended in March. Cooper Tire & Rubber boosted prices 8% to 9% last month. At the time of the announcement the company said natural rubber prices had increased more than 75% in a matter of months.

Tags: coffee, Consumer prices, Food prices, Gas price, Price increases
Posted in Economy, Finance, Money, Personal / Internet | No Comments »

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