Auto Industry Taking HUGE First Step to Recovery

I am responding to this article: GM to add or keep 4,000 jobs in US.
The article's title pretty much shapes this conversation. GM will be adding (or simply keeping) a lot of jobs here in the US.

That news sounds GREAT. Is this because the company is doing better? I want to take a closer look at this.

My 16 Predictions for 2011 (and Beyond)

Happy New Year!

I know that this picture doesn't have anything to do with investing, but I think it's a cute picture. I have a soft spot for things that make me smile.

You didn't click to hear me explain my picture, you want to know my predictions (maybe not MY predictions but just predictions in general).

So without making you wait any longer, here are MY predictions for 2011 and beyond:

The Baidu (BIDU) Bounce--One Time Deal or a Glimpse of Chinese Way of Doing Buisness?

Wow! A week ago, I never heard of Baidu (BIDU).

Many of you have, but for those who are not familiar with this company, it is sort of the Google (GOOG) of China. Baidu provides Internet searches using Chinese characters, which removes the need to know English--pretty big if you live in China and don't know English.

I heard there are a couple of people who live in China--say 1 billion or so. So there isn't any market, is there? Nah!

I'm learning about Baidu, still, but the Google-like connection gives it some intrigue.

You know what else makes it intriguing? Today, it jumped from $620/share or so to OVER $700. In fact, earlier this morning, it reached as high as $718/share.

What caused THAT?