An All-Electric Racing Series Without Tesla? How JPMorgan Saved America, and Happy Holidays From Car
Enjoy these Foolish reads over this holiday week to satisfy your interest in business, investing, and life. Fool on!
An all electric auto race without Tesla?
ESPN.com reports that Boston Celtics owner Wyc Grousbeck has invested $21 million into a new all electric auto racing circuit called Formula E. The concept is interesting on a number of fronts, but it seems we're still a few years away from a viable racing product:
But perhaps the most noticeable change is that the roar of the engine familiar to race fans of other circuits will be replaced by what Agag called a "futuristic noise" of about 80 decibels.
"We believe the sound is going to be one of our big assets," he said. "That level is high enough to deliver plenty of excitement but low enough to allow us to race in the center of cities all around the world. We think fans will love it."
The plan is for individual manufacturers to begin racing their own cars in the second year, "making possible a technology fight essential to motorsport competition," Agag said
The current format is for drivers to switch between two cars (instead of refueling -- a-hem -- recharging) with tires designed to last the entire race (no burning rubber, it seems). The elephant in the room though is that the engines, at least initially, will be uniform and supplied by McLaren. I'm taking a wait-and-see approach until there is some manufacturer competition, hopefully competition that includes Tesla Motors
J.P. Morgan, America's original lender of last resort
This interesting story from NPR tells how legendary financier J.P. Morgan (yes, that J.P. Morgan of JPMorgan Chase nearly single-handedly ended the Panic of 1907, and also laid the foundation for what would eventually become the Federal Reserve system.
At the time, the U.S. government had no way to deal with the panic. There was no institution that could step in to stop the run on healthy banks. So the job of stopping the panic fell to one man: J.P. Morgan (of JPMorgan fame).
He summoned dozens of the leading financiers in New York to his private library on Madison Avenue and essentially ordered them to contribute to a $25 million pool that would be used to backstop the system. Then he locked them in and made them stay there through the night, until they all agreed to his plan.
The plan worked -- it essentially ended the Panic of 1907.
And finally, happy holidays
A special happy holidays from the Carlyle Group...
Season's greetings!
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The article An All-Electric Racing Series Without Tesla? How JPMorgan Saved America, and Happy Holidays From Carlyle originally appeared on Fool.com.
Fool contributor Jay Jenkins has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Tesla Motors. The Motley Fool owns shares of JPMorgan Chase and Tesla Motors. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
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