Nature Note:A Bluebird is Singing

Yesterday was hot and humid,but this morning I went out to prepare for mowing and the contrast was remarkable.Canadian high pressure had moved in overnight.The cool,clear weather will make my chore a lot more pleasant.Unfortunately,this will not last very long.Such days will be scarce here until autumn.A bluebird is singing about this blessing of a day.

SAP Sets Goal

German technology firm SAP has set a lofty goal for itself.According to co-CEO Leo Apotheker,SAP wants to basically double its value by 2010.In 2009,they will talk about what happens after 2010.Mr.Apotheker is looking forward to being sole CEO of the company.As for his being a businessman rather than a tech guy,he says that he is the head of a team.It really doesn't matter that he's not a tech guy.SAP has one of the best teams in the industry.As a global team,Mr.Apotheker thinks they can make great things happen.

India's New Stock Exchange

The NSE is India's New Stock Exchange.CEO Ravi Narain notes that the country's economic reforms of the 1980s and 90s are now bearing fruit.The NSE takes its benchmarks from the much older SENSEX,but builds positions in the Nifty Fifty stocks.Goldman Sachs(GS) and NYSE Euronext(NYX) have bought stakes in the NSE.Finance crosses international boundaries very quickly now.The NSE goes where its customers go,being all electronic,Mr.Narain said.Its stocks have been down this year,but not as much as China's.

Nature Note:Scarlet Tanager

I hadn't been in the mountains for a few years;I've just driven by.Finally I set a morning aside to go back up.A scarlet tanager greeted me there,a male with subtropical red plumage and a conversational song.He breeds from Southeast Canada to the East-Central U.S.,in mature pine and oak forests.This bird had spent the winter from Colombia to Bolivia.He's another international bird,a binder of nations to each other,a healer of many hearts.

Russian Firm Buys Steel Plant

OAO SeverStal,Russia's largest steelmaker,has closed on the Sparrows Point steel plant in Baltimore,Maryland.Arcelor Mittal(MT) was required to sell the plant in order to get court approval for the merger of Arcelor and Mittal Steel in 2006.SeverStal paid 810 million U.S. for Sparrows Point.The sale was handled by Joseph G. Krauss,a divestiture trustee appointed by the U.S. court.

Nature Note:Change of Seed

I recently changed back to mixed bird seed after several years of providing black oil sunflower.The price of bos has gone up sharply recently.I found a high quality mix at the farm store for a good price,so I hope they keep selling it .Chipmunks and rabbits eat my bird seed as well.It is really wildlife seed.All my wild pets are welcome to eat it.So far,there have been no complaints.

Boeing Reports

Boeing(BA) says its 787 Dreamliner is moving right along on plan.They remain highly confident,and believe the U.S. General Accounting Office will be favorable in its review of an Air Force decision to award a tanker contract to Northrop Grumman/EADS.First quarter sales were up 3% and operating margins were up 7.2%.For 2009,sales are projected to be up 7% and operating margins up 10.5%.Over 80% of Boeing's backlog is from outside the U.S.-especially from China and India.There are almost 900 orders for the 787-more than for any plane in Boeing's past.

Nature Note:Rainforest Protected

For the past two years,the Nature Conservancy and its public and private partners have put up 120 million dollars Canadian to conserve British Columbia's Great Bear Rainforest.The money will fund conservation-management programs and sustainable business activity.Land-use agreements will protect 5 million acres from logging,while more than 19 million acres will be enrolled in Ecosystem Based Management-the largest attempt to implement this strategy that preserves both land and aboriginal cultures,as well as industry and small business.The rainforest is on the mainland coast of BC,growing more than 250 miles north to Alaska.