CARSON, Calif., June 29 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ — With longer days, warmer temperatures, long holiday weekends and, for many, more leisure time, summer tends to bring out the fixer-upper and DIYer in all of us.  So, the team of expert mechanics at AutoMD.com (www.automd.com) has released a ranking of the “easiest car repair jobs you can (and should) do yourself” – designed to send even the most timid DFM’er (Do-it-for-Me!) under the hood to save money and time.

If the thought of replacing front brake pads, an air filter, or even a fuse, typically makes you hit the local mechanic (and your check book), AutoMD.com recommends that you put the brakes on that unnecessary spending and experiment with the ‘Top Five Easiest Repair Jobs’ using the website’s easy-to-follow, step-by-step ‘how to’ guides and videos. You might find them so easy you’ll want to do AutoMD.com’s ‘Next Five to Try’!

“These are jobs just about anyone can do, and not only will it save you money – nearly $200 if you complete all of our top five easiest jobs* – but, believe it or not, it can also save you time,” said AutoMD.com President Shane Evangelist.  ”Our experts estimate that most car owners can complete all five of the easiest jobs in less than an hour – far less time than taking your car into the shop or dealership for just one of them. Plus you have the benefit of feeling more empowered in the repair process.”

But, before you start fiddling with that transmission or water pump replacement, check out AutoMD.com’s list of ‘Top Five Jobs Best Left to the Experts!’

AutoMD.com’s Top Five Repair Jobs You Can (and Should) Do Yourself

Jobs are ranked by level of ‘easiness’. AutoMD.com provides How-to Guides for each of these jobs and recommends a review of the guide before embarking on each job.  Times are estimates, some jobs could take longer depending on the vehicle.

Click here for guide on How to Replace Wiper Blades

Click here for guide on How to Replace a Fuse

Click here for guide on How to Replace a Headlight Bulb

Click here for guide on How to Replace an Air Filter

Click here for guide on How to Change Engine Oil and Filter

Read the full release to learn more about AutoMD.com’s Top Five Jobs Best Left to the Experts!

AutoMD.com™ (www.automd.com), a wholly-owned subsidiary of US Auto Parts Network, Inc., (Nasdaq: PRTS – News), is the most comprehensive and unbiased free online automotive repair resource designed to empower car owners with the best way to repair their vehicles.

Add speed reading to the set of mad skills that rich robotic algos are now much better at than humans. The latest craze among the computerized trading community is using Johnny 5 to read through thousands of press releases in combination with some fuzzy logic and the 80/20 rule, to trade stocks pronto, even as plain vanilla Homo Sapiens are still stuck on footnote 1. The WSJ reports that: “Researchers have been working on an artificial-intelligence computer program designed to mimic the way an analyst uses financial news. In simulated trading, the program beat the S&P 500, and when combined with quantitative stock-picking techniques, it saw a return on trades of more than 20%.”

Unlike traditional number crunching methods to front run those armed with less than the latest SPARCs, this latest development will instead try to determine what the subtext of a given PR narrative is and trade it accordingly. It is unclear whether these programs are already in place, and whether they account for the almost universally wrong knee jerk reaction post any earnings and press release by public companies. We can’t wait for corporate counterespionage divisions to reverse engineer these algos, and determine just what keywords and phrases set off Buy programs, and flood their press releases which announce 100% misses to expectations, yet result in flash dashes and inexplicably push stock prices up a few million percent.

In other news, the market is now no longer about forecasting, predicting, and, generally, investing, but merely about being faster to front run / react / buy than your immediate competitor or computer.

Read the full article

Dean Parisian of Chippewa Partners

When we started this blog, our first entry was something called The 10 Commandments of IR. You can read it at http://www.genesisselect.com/the-10-commandments-of-ir/

Here’s a little more color on the first of our 10 Commandments, which reads:  “Make a commitment. If you are going to use the public’s money, commit yourself to engaging them in earnest.”

Seriously folks. I don’t want to get too biblical, but do unto others. If it was your money on the line, you’d want the chief executive to always be mindful of that fact.

I’m not telling you this because I think, morally, it’s the right thing to do. I’m telling you this because it’s good for your business. Here’s why: investors and analysts can spot your lack of regard for their capital or role in the process a mile away. And when they do, it’s game over. They will want little or nothing to do with your company. Hey it’s tough enough out there. Let’s not make it any harder.

If you feel anything less than indebted and committed to your shareholders, here’s the takeaway: take a deep breath and re-orient your thinking. Then sit down with your investors and start talking. And listening.

There’s no doubt that the water is murky down in the Gulf. And the situation seems to be getting worse. Perhaps one of the positive by-products for small cap stocks is an appreciation for new energy technologies.

Now, maybe, finally, there might be a realization among investors that big oil is, if not a dinosaur, then on it’s way to being one. After all, if you have to go five thousand feet below the surface of the ocean before you start drilling another three miles down to find oil, then it’s safe to say we’re running out of places to find crude.

This is a selling point for small cap stocks that are in the energy sector.  New ideas might come from Exxon, Chevron, Conoco, or god forbid, BP. But smart investors know that it’s a tiny company they never heard of that is likely to come up with some of the revolutionary technology we need. So, the water may be murky, but it’s also warm, and thus from an IR perspective, time to jump in.

It’s June . . . and we’re still watching basketball. Let’s face it, for most, seasons go on way too long. Except for one: Earnings season. It starts when Alcoa releases earnings about two weeks after the quarter end and is principally over 30 days later.

This is important for news for issuers because it means that the sell side has time to set up non-deal road shows and the buy side has time to attend them. Right now, we are in the off-season. As a result, if your IR schedule does not include getting out on the road between now and July 10, something is amiss. Time to look at those calendars, book those flights and get out there.

See you on the road – GS