ckxe

Interesting little battle shaping up in the fast-food realm, and it isn't between restaurants -- it is within one. According to the Associated Press, Burger King (BKC) franchisees are suing the company over its recent $1 double cheeseburger promotion.

The reason for the lawsuit is that the franchisees are losing money on the deal because the company is setting maximum menu prices, which Burger King is not allowed to do. The National Franchise Association (NFA), which represents more than 80% of Burger King's U.S. franchise owners, says that the promotion is forcing restaurant owners to sell the quarter-pound burger at a 10-cent loss. One Burger King franchisee said that the burger in question typically costs franchisees $1.10.

Here's a stunning accomplishment. The Tesla Roadster set a record by traveling 313 miles on one electric charge. The new record was set at the 2009 Global Green Challenge in Australia.

The competition was over an 1,800 mile course. The Tesla Roadster reportedly had three miles worth of charge to spare. This was well above the average 244 miles per charge it mentions in its specs.

The winning driver was Simon Hackett, managing director of Australian national broadcasting company. He owns the only Tesla Roadster in Australia and now holds the world's record, having beaten the previous record of 241 miles set in April at Rallye Monte Carlo of Energies Alternatives.

Do you remember before computers churchgoers got up, got dressed and walked or drove to their local church for a live performance by Pastor XYZ, prayed as a congregation, received the Pastor's in person blessing and returned home?

With the advent of computers, the world has changed. People use computers to shop online, get their news, express their opinions and search the world for information about almost anything we can imagine.

Now churches are using the computer to provide church services with all of the components of a regular church service, expect for person to person interaction. These sites are interactive and even provide music as well as live pod casts.

First off, what is smart grid technology? Smart grid technology allows two-way communication between a home or business and the utility company.

Then you are probably wondering why is there so much interest in smart grid technology now? The key reason is that our electrical transmission system is outmoded and overloaded. Our present system will be unable to handle the increasing demand for electricity for much longer. Take the electric car. If thousands of these cars are on the road next year, we will need the electrical delivery system to power them.

The clean technology private equity momentum continues. In New York, a group of partners has launched NewWorld Capital Group, a private equity firm that will focus on mid-market investments in clean energy infrastructure companies in the United States and selectively in Europe.

The new fund will work closely with Ambienta, a European environmental assets private equity firm in Italy. Both said they plan to collaborate on finding and analyzing investment opportunities -- with NewWorld taking care of the United States and Ambienta addressing Europe.

There are certainly many advantages to getting a franchise. You receive leverage from higher marketing dollars, an existing platform that increases the speed to market, a brand, and helpful techniques and systems to improve success.

Great, huh? Well, as with any investment, there are risks. And, you need to get a sense of these before acquiring a franchise.

This means conducting an extensive due diligence. So, here are some tips:

Ray Kroc did not start McDonald's (NYSE: MCD). But he was the one that had the vision and energy to turn it into a global powerhouse.

Back in 1977, Kroc wrote a book about his story, called Grinding It Out: The Making of McDonald's. The title is appropriate. You see, he did not get involved in McDonald's until he was 52 (in 1954).

What I like about Kroc's book is that he has some simple advice for building a successful business. And, it's always a good idea to look at the fundamentals. So, here are some of the takeaways:

If you are among the millions of day traders out there, here is a device that could help you. Researcher Geert Christiaansen, working for the Dutch electronics firm and ABN AMRO, Philips, has a new gadget that will measure you stress level while you are day trading.

How does it work? Users wear a bracelet called the Emobracelet that senses stress and makes an accompanying light signal. The signal changes from yellow to red depending on the person's stress levels. The emotions being measured are fear and greed. These two emotions often color a person's judgment to make rational decisions. At this stage of development, a prototype of the device is being made.

In the hedge fund business, there are many who can post a few years of strong gains. But how many can beat the averages for three decades?

Well, it's a rare feat. And, it means you'll be a billionaire.

This has been the case with James Simons, who is the leader of Renaissance Technologies. However, according to a recent letter to investors, he plans to retire by the end of the year. He is 71 years old.

Over the past couple years, Simons has been loosening the reins at the firm, so as to provide for a smooth transition. Actually, in his place will be co-CEOs: Bob Mercer and Peter Brown.

One of the best ways for your business to get exposure and credibility is through public relations. Yet, hiring a PR firm can be expensive, easily running $5,000 to $10,000 per month.

Despite this, it's possible to do PR on your own. Keep in mind that a key to success is having an active and passionate founder or CEO who makes media relations a priority. This has been the case with many great leaders, such as Howard Schultz at Starbucks (NYSE: SBUX) and Marc Benioff at Salesforce.com (NYSE: CRM).

So, let's take a look at some of the steps you can take to improve your PR.

It was only three years ago that Aaron Patzer started Mint.com, a free web-based financial planning site. In his mid 20s, he encountered much skepticism. But, this was no problem for Aaron. He realized he could make a difference.

And he certainly did. This week, he sold Mint.com for a cool $170 million to Intuit (NASDAQ: INTU).

Actually, over the past few years, I've been able to have calls as well as meet with Aaron. He gave strong demos and was always passionate about his company (he would even demo his personal account, showing that he would "eat his own dog food"). Mint.com seemed like a mission for him.

Evan Williams has a knack for creating the "next big thing." Back in the late 1990s, he developed the prototype for blogging, which became Blogger.com. Williams sold it to Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) in 2004.

A few years later, Williams struck gold again: he started Twitter.

And, it looks like this one is going to be a mega blockbuster. According to a report in Techcrunch, it appears that Twitter is raising $50 million -- at a whopping $1 billion valuation. The company's last round came in February, at a valuation of $250 million.

Is it possible to run a business by giving away your stuff? It sounds counterintuitive. But hey, Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) gives away much of its offerings, right? I'm actually using Google Docs to write this column, for example.

True, Google is perhaps an exception (it certainly helps to have a huge user base and brand name). But it is worth exploring the concept. In fact, there is an excellent book on the topic -- Free: The Future of a Radical Price-- which came out recently.

In 1997, tech entrepreneur Greg Gianforte started a company in an extra bedroom in his house. It became known as RightNow Technologies (NASDAQ: RNOW), which now generates more than $100 million in annual revenues.

Recently, I had a chance to talk to Greg. I asked him: Is it a good time to start a business?

His answer was simple: It's always a good time to start a business.

Look at what the computer did for communication. We are now is the midst of a revolution in technology.

Now innovation moves to the auto industry. Electric and hybrid cars have the potential to take us off the "oil standard," at least in a major way. Imagine the money you would save if you were not held hostage to the oil cartel.

President Obama has granted $2.4 billion for research in the development of electric/hybrid cars. There will be 48 different projects in more than 20 states as part of the American Recovery Act.