| 2007 Subaru WRX TR Sedan Review
The Subaru WRX, the original rally car for the road, got the first major changes of its American-market career, for the 2006 model year. If the new-look nose restyling was the most apparent change, the most significant revisions were under the aluminum hood. The original 2.0-liter turbocharged and intercooled boxer four was replaced by the detuned version of the 2.5-liter STi engine used in the Forester XT. With 230 horsepower it would seem little different from the 2.0-liter engine's 227, but there was a significant increase in torque, from 217 to 235 lb-ft. To complement the improved power output, plus-one tires, 17- instead of 16-inch, wider and lower in profile, were fitted, and suspension, brake and airbag systems were upgraded. And the WRX lineup grew, with the introduction of two additional trim levels, the TR, for the sedan body style only, and the Limited for both the sedan and wagon.
Roy handling things well
You think Kevin McHale, who already had taken Mark Blount and Ricky Davis off the Celtics' hands, and later gave them legitimate title hopes by shipping them Kevin Garnett, wouldn't have done the same had the Celtics taken Randy Foye at No. 7? But before you go crazy, remember that the players acquired in the Telfair trade, in particular Theo Ratliff, were keys in getting Garnett, as was the dispatching of the amiable LaFrentz and his cumbersome contract. Roy, frankly, would look good in any uniform and he looks especially comfortable in the Trail Blazers' red and black. "Everything starts with Brandon," LaFrentz said of Roy, who deserves a spot on the Western Conference All-Star team for leading the Blazers to their surprising start. "So much of our offense goes through him, and is created by him, and he's a very responsible player.
Dollar - Doomed At 1.45?
The worst of the lot included housing starts which dropped more than 10% and jobless claims which swelled to 337K against 312K expected. The news pushed the Fed Funds futures to a 75% chance of a rate cut in October dragging the dollar to new lows. To add insult to injury the TICs data proved shockingly weak, printing at -$69 Billion versus $60 Billion projected. Many analysts noted that the vast majority of the outflow was in equities during the massive liquidation in August. With equity markets having recaptured and exceeded their record highs, the expectation for next month is that many of these negative capital flows will reverse. Although the prospect of an October rate hike is quite real, as we noted in our brief on Friday, "Chairman Bernanke must be aware that further monetary easing so soon after the 50bp cut in September, would immediately spur speculation of yet more cuts before the year end and could easily push the EURUSD to the 1.4500 figure within a matter of weeks, destabilizing an already woefully weak dollar." Next week the US calendar is relatively uneventful with yet more housing data and durable goods on the docket.
PSS purchases six new school buses
The Public School System has purchased six units of 66-passenger school buses from CNMI's Triple J Motors worth up to $457,000. According to federal programs advisor Tim Thornburgh, the six new buses are replacements for buses that have been in the fleet for over 10 years. The new buses were turned over to PSS yesterday morning at the American Memorial Park in the presence of PSS and Board of Education officials led by Education Commissioner David Borja, as well as PSS bus drivers.PSS has a total school bus fleet of 19 buses with 12 regular buses for Saipan and two small buses or vans with wheelchair access for special education students. "The buses transport 1,700 students from home to school and back home everyday," Thornburgh said. The five other buses or vans in the PSS fleet provide transportation services to the students on Tinian and Rota.
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