SpareFoot, an online listing of self-storage units, has raised an extra $1.5 million to complete its second round of funding — and it’s destined to save hours and hours of drama for college students everywhere as the semester comes to a close.

The most popular search on that site is “college summer storage” — not that it should come as any kind of surprise.

I wish I knew about this site when I was at the University of North Carolina. Users type in their location and can quickly find nearby self-storage companies that have storage units available. The sites are sorted by price and indicate whether the storage companies are offering any kind of deal. Users can view photos of each storage site and reserve the unit through the site.

Looking for cheap storage spots, sometimes for just a few weeks at a time, was one of the most infuriating and expensive parts of the dead spot between semesters. It was even worse being an out-of-state student without a whole lot of support and no open garage space sitting around during my first year.

There’s a huge amount of competition for storage space as the semester comes to an end. I would have personally saved at least a few hours — and a bit of drama — if I’d had access to a list of storage locations in the area that had open units.

SpareFoot was part of Capital Factory’s startup incubation program in 2009, which included mentorship and $20,000 in funding. The latest round is an extension of its second round of funding. The company raised $2 million in June last year. That brings the company’s full second round of funding to $3.5 million. The company was founded in 2008 and is based in Austin, Texas. It’s backed by Floodgate and Silverton Partners.

Tags: college dorms, college storage, online marketplace, storage

Companies: SpareFoot

Article courtesy of VentureBeat » deals

When a group of Duke University lacrosse students were wrongfully accused of sexually assaulting a stripper a few years back, did you watch from the sidelines, wracking your brain as to how you could somehow get in on the action? You probably didn’t want to be one of the main players but when the story came up in conversation you didn’t want to comment as simply someone who’d read about it. A bit role was all you needed- just enough to speak authoritatively, like an insider, and/or to assure a mention in the closing credits of some sort of made for TV movie. If you’re taxpaying citizen of the United States, today’s your lucky day.

American International Group Inc. has resolved a lawsuit filed by Duke University over expenses tied to the school’s dispute with lacrosse team members falsely accused of sexually assaulting a stripper.

The university and the unit of New York-based AIG that sold insurance coverage to Duke “agree to the dismissal” of the claims, according to a joint filing yesterday in U.S. District Court in Durham, North Carolina. The court document didn’t disclose terms of the settlement. The school was seeking reimbursement of costs from confidential settlements with three members of the team who were exonerated after they were accused of rape by a woman invited to a 2006 party. AIG, the bailed-out life and property-casualty insurer, had offered $5 million to Duke, Joseph O’Neil, a lawyer for the insurer, said in December 2008.

Duke had demanded reimbursement for costs tied to lawsuits by players and another by the team’s former coach over the school’s role in investigating the accusation, according to the November 2008 complaint. The athletes said Duke remained silent during the probe even though the university had evidence they were innocent.

Bailing this company out has finally paid off!

AIG Resolves Duke University’s Lacrosse-Stripper Scandal [BusinessWeek via BusinessInsider]

Article courtesy of Dealbreaker

BofA Doubles Writedown for Credit-Card Unit to $20.3 Billion (Bloomberg)
“This is another sign that the quality of the bank’s consumer-credit book is weaker than what they previously indicated,” said Tony Plath, a finance professor at the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. “It’s a huge number, and the way they’re disclosing it erodes the bank’s credibility. Why are we waiting until 2011 to do an impairment charge for two years ago?”

Saudi Oil Minister: “We Will Protect Supply” (CNBC)
“The market knows that Saudi has a good chunky excess capacity and a record of using it when needed,” Prince Abdulaziz bin Salman Al Saud said in an interview. “There is no qualms, what needs to prevail is no shortage of supply,” said the prince, who is hosting a meeting of ministers from the world’s major oil producers.

IEA Chief: $100 Oil ‘Very, Very Bad’ for Economy (Reuters)
“That is our concern, regardless of the margins of disruption, if the $100 per barrel of oil is continued in 2011, the burden of oil to the global economy is as bad as 2008,” Nobuo Tanaka, the Executive Director of the International Energy Agency said.

Italy Exchange Halted for `Technical Issues’ After Plunge (Bloomberg)
Trading on the Italian exchange remained halted because of “technical issues” after the benchmark FTSE MIB Index fell the most in eight months yesterday on concern Libya’s unrest may affect Italian companies. Borsa Italiana SpA, owned by London Stock Exchange Group Plc, said in a statement on its website that “restoring operations” are underway after stocks failed to open and the futures market was halted at 12:10 p.m. All markets are suspended, the Milan bourse said in a separate statement.

US Arrests Credit Suisse Banker In Tax Probe (FT)
Christos Bagios was arrested about two weeks ago on entering the US and is in transit to a detention centre in southern Florida, according to the Bureau of Prisons’ website and people familiar with the matter. In December, Renzo Gadola, the first UBS banker to be charged since the settlement, admitted to conspiring to help wealthy US clients evade paying taxes. Mr Gadola worked at UBS from 1995 to 2008.

FDIC May Sue Former WaMu Execs (WSJ)
The FDIC has discussed damages of $1 billion in relation to the potential Washington Mutual lawsuit, says a person familiar with the matter. The person said a decision against former executives of WaMu, the largest institution to be seized by regulators during the financial crisis, could be made within the next 30 days. It is unclear which former WaMu executives would be charged.

Moody’s Cuts Japan’s Outlook (WSJ)
Moody’s sent a warning to Japan’s political leadership Tuesday, announcing that it was cutting the outlook on the nation’s Aa2 bond rating to negative from stable, citing the political gridlock that is dimming chances for action soon to rein in the nation’s ballooning debt load.

Thin Mint melee lands Naples woman in jail (ABC)
A Naples woman was arrested Sunday after deputies say she attacked her roommate over a box of Thin Mint Girl Scout cookies. Hersha Howard was charged with Aggravated Battery with a Deadly Weapon. Howard’s roommate, Jasmin Wanke, told deputies she was asleep when Howard burst into her bedroom and accused her of eating the cookies…The women began to argue, then Howard reportedly jumped on top of Wanke and struck her in the face. The two continued to fight until Wanke’s husband separated them. When Wanke walked out of the bedroom, Howard grabbed a pair of scissors and began chasing and threatening Wanke, the report said. As women ran down the stairs, Howard reportedly dropped the scissors, picked up a board and struck Wanke.

BHP To Buy Chesapeake Shale Assets (WSJ)
BHP Billiton Ltd. said Monday it is acquiring Chesapeake Energy Corp.’s Fayetteville shale gas holdings in Arkansas and some pipeline assets in a deal totaling about $4.75 billion in cash.

New Zealand’s Currency Tumbles After Christchurch Earthquake (Bloomberg)
The so-called kiwi slid versus all 16 of its major counterparts as buildings around the city were damaged by the temblor, which followed a quake in September that was the worst in 80 years.

With ‘Testosterone Zones,’ Muscled Commando, Dr. Pepper Looks to Avoid Earlier Marketing Missteps by Pepsi Max, Coke Zero (AA)
Dr Pepper Ten was created for 25- to 34-year-old men who prefer regular Dr Pepper but want fewer calories. And its inclusion of 10 calories, rather than zero like its competitors, allowed it to deliver a flavor closer to the regular version, Mr. Fleming says…A mobile “Man Cave” will also travel to each of six test markets, including Denver and Colorado Springs, Colo.; Des Moines, Iowa; Kansas City, Mo.; and San Antonio and Austin, Texas. The branded trailer will set up in “testosterone zones” such as ball fields or car shows and give men a place to watch TV and play video games

Article courtesy of Dealbreaker

Here’s are the essentials:

* He attends the University of Western Ontario

* His passions/goals: “I want to obtain my CFA, and open my own long/short hedge fund. I want to create wealth for people, not necessarily rich people, but for middle class people. I love trading, its one of the few things that I have had a consistent interest for 32% of my life on this planet. Whether its intraday swings, or a swing trade over the course of a few months, I enjoy it.”

* He figures: “I’ll need to find a job in the finance industry and work in that industry for 4 years. After that I’ll be able to write my CFA exams and hopefully obtain the designation.”

* His question: “How needed is a Undergrad degree? If you had an applicant with a CFA and no undergrad is that frown’d upon? ”

To Drop Out Or Not To Drop Out [BV via BI]

Article courtesy of Dealbreaker

Today’s funding announcements include sites that help users find a place to live at home and on vacation:

Wanderfly brings in $1M to simplify vacation planning: The travel recommendation site has raised a funding round led by Charles River Ventures to help users plan and book vacations. The site, currently in beta, makes destination suggestions after users answer a series of questions about budget, interests and timing. The New York-based startup has already partnered with Hotels.com and is in the process of partnering with members-only vacation site Jetsetter.

RentJuice grabs $6.3M for rental property tools: The San Francisco-based startup has raised a new round of funding from Highland Capital Partners and Tim Draper of Draper Fisher Jurvetson for its real estate management platform, according to a filing with the SEC. The company’s service, currently available in Chicago, Miami, Boston and New York City, connects property managers, brokers and renters online to streamline the process of advertising, lease paperwork and rentals.

Nicira Networks raises $26M for enterprise network virtualization: The Palo Alto, Calif.-based company, founded by researchers at Stanford University and the University of California, has raised $26M of an expected $47M in third round funding, according to a filing with the SEC. New investors in the company, which develops software to transition data centers to the cloud, include Lightspeed Venture Partners and NEA.

Offermobi gets $1M to deliver mobile ads: The mobile marketing network has raised a first funding round led by ARC Angel Fund for its performance-based ad campaigns. Launched in April 2010, the New York-based startup has generated more than 3M clicks per month from mobile users for actions like lead generation and connecting to a call center.

Companies: ARC Angel Fund, Charles River Ventures, Draper Fisher Jurvetson, Highland Capital Partners, Lightspeed Venture Partners, NEA, Nicira Networks, Offermobi, RentJuice, Wanderfly

People: Tim Draper

Article courtesy of VentureBeat » deals

Perennially successful tech investor Sequoia Capital is once again setting its sights on Silicon Valley, having raised at least $1.3 billion for a new fund that will zero in on up-and-coming startups, according to a filing released today by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.

Sequoia, a storied venture-capital firm that has invested in white-hot tech companies from AdMob to Apple, Cisco, Google, YouTube and a host of others, will call the new fund Sequoia Capital 2010.

It most recently poured $27.5 million into Square, the mobile payments startup founded by Twitter creator Jack Dorsey, on Jan. 10. That funding valued Square at $240 million overall.

The firm has said in the past that any new fund would focus primarily on early and growth stage companies located in the U.S. and China.

Thus far, Sequoia Capital 2010 has secured more than $1.35 billion in capital commitments since last March, Fortune reported today.

The University of Michigan Regents, which invests with Sequoia, described the VCs’ plans for the fund in a memo released last July:

“In the U.S., venture investments will be primarily in new technology companies formed in the western part of the country, particularly California’s Silicon Valley. The China investments will focus on companies positioned to benefit from China’s growing economy and increasing number of consumers and are expected to be in the financial services, consumer services, technology, and healthcare, and internet sectors.”

A Sequoia representative did not immediately respond to queries about the new fund.

It’s not clear if Sequoia will ultimately take in more than the $1.35 billion sum raised so far — but given recent figures on how venture capital is roaring back in Silicon Valley, not to mention Sequoia’s track record and reputation, it seems like it could easily pull in more.

Companies: Sequoia Capital, Square

People: Jack Dorsey

Article courtesy of VentureBeat » deals

$$$ Morgan Stanley Mezzanine Fund Raises Nearly $1 Billion [WSJ]

$$$ Paul Krugman Is Happy There Are People Richer Than He Is Because It’s Easier to Judge Them Without Looking Hypocritical [DI]

$$$ Whitney to Banks: Forget Dividends, Do Acquisitions [CNBC]

$$$ Did Nouriel Roubini Inflate His Apartment’s Square Footage? [Curbed]

$$$ “Soon after they were asked to develop a dance work based on the mathematical theory of differential cohomology, choreographers Kyla Barkin and Aaron Selisson found themselves sitting in a lecture at Stony Brook University trying to understand the theory. Jim Simons, the mathematician and hedge fund billionaire who helped establish the Simons Center for Geometry and Physics at Stony Brook, told Barkin, 36, and Selisson, 30, they would need at least four years of school to fully understand the theory. But the two dancers left the lecture with a clearer picture in their minds.” [TV via BI]

$$$ Things to avoid doing on the commute [ATL]

$$$ Pimco’s Gross Clashes With Whitney Over Muni-Bond Outlook [Bloomberg]

Article courtesy of Dealbreaker

Goldman Opens Up To Mollify Its Critics (WSJ)
In a 63-page report set to be released Tuesday, Goldman says that for the first time in its 142-year-history, it will start disclosing how much revenue comes from the firm’s own trading and investing, according to a copy of the report reviewed by The Wall Street Journal. The reporting change will begin with Goldman’s fourth-quarter results later this month…Other changes include procedures to make sure the firm doesn’t take advantage of clients, even accidentally. Thousands of Goldman clients will be put into a “matrix” that defines each client’s level of “sophistication.” That process will determine which types of transactions are most “suitable” for the client. Those wanting to breach those limits will need special approval from Goldman.

Morgan Stanley Model Gets Little Respect as Gorman Defies Slide (Bloomberg)
Morgan Stanley, which reports fourth-quarter results next week, lagged behind Goldman Sachs Group Inc.. and JPMorgan Chase & Co. in fixed-income trading in the first nine months, the second year it has done so. The New York-based firm, the sixth- largest U.S. bank by assets with more than 62,000 employees, backed off its profit-margin goals for the brokerage in July, blaming the May 6 market crash that briefly wiped out $862 billion in equity market value for scaring away retail investors.

Get Ready For 8-12 More Inches (NYP)
Everybody flip out: Two powerful storms bearing down on the city will join forces tonight to dump up to a foot of snow here, forecasters say. The miserable mix of snow and 35-mph wind gusts will be gone by tomorrow night — but don’t expect much melting until daytime highs go above 32 degrees over the weekend.

Big Snow Returns To Big Apple, Elsewhere (Metropolis)
Here’s something else to look forward to during the wee hours on Wednesday morning: the possible return of the thundersnow! A super intense jetstream roaring high above our rooftops at more than 150 mph could give this storm just enough energy to create some lightning

Harbinger Investment Officer To Launch Own Hedge Fund (WSJ)
Lawrence M. Clark Jr., who resigned Friday, was a senior analyst who reported directly to Harbinger founder Philip Falcone and had been a Harbinger partner since 2005. He joined Harbinger in 2002. “This is the right time for me. I’m very comfortable with taking on the risk. This is entirely about what’s right for me and reflects in no way on Phil or Harbinger,” Mr. Clark said in an interview Monday afternoon.

Short the Rumor Pays 14% on Takeovers That Don’t Happen (Bloomberg)
Electronic news services, brokerages and newspapers reported at least 1,875 rumors about potential buyouts of 717 companies between 2005 and 2010, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. A total of 104, or 14.5 percent, were acquired, the data show. While stocks that were the subject of takeover speculation initially jumped 2.9 percent, betting on declines yielded average profits of 1.2 percent in the next month, an annualized gain of 14 percent.

Portugal: We Don’t Need Aid (WSJ)
Portugal “won’t ask for any financial help because it’s not necessary,” Prime Minister Socrates told reporters. He noted that Portugal has the means to deal with its own problems, citing its better-than-expected progress in reducing its budget deficit and higher-than-expected economic growth.

Cave Drops Hints To Earliest Glass Of Red (NYT)
Scientists have reported finding the oldest known winemaking operation, about 6,100 years old, complete with a vat for fermenting, a press, storage jars, a clay bowl and a drinking cup made from an animal horn.

Greek Minister: Crisis Is ‘Systemic’ For Europe (CNBC)
Greek Finance Minister George Papanconstantinou sought to reassure investors over the country’s debt burden on Tuesday, saying spreads between Greek and German bonds were high because of broader market turbulence rather than a real threat of default.

Could The Federal Reserve Become Insolvent? (Reuters)
Varadarajan Chari, an economics professor at the University of Minnesota and a consultant to the Minneapolis Fed, says that at some point during its exit from easy monetary policies, the Fed actually may go broke – at least on paper. “The most obvious exit strategy is, when inflation starts to pick up, to stop and reverse asset purchases,” he said. “That’s likely to include requiring the Fed in an accounting sense to see a significant accounting loss.”

Judges Berate Lawyers In Foreclosures (NYT)
In numerous opinions, judges have accused lawyers of processing shoddy or even fabricated paperwork in foreclosure actions when representing the banks. Judge Arthur M. Schack of New York State Supreme Court in Brooklyn has taken aim at an upstate lawyer, Steven J. Baum, referring to one filing as “incredible, outrageous, ludicrous and disingenuous.”

Article courtesy of Dealbreaker

NeuroSky, which makes toys and entertainment products that use its brainwave-scanning technology, is revealing today that its technology is being used in an  “brainwave athletic trainer.” BrainAthlete, which is on the market in Japan and arrives in the U.S. early next year, measures an athlete’s state of mind so he or she can figure out the ideal way to prepare for a big sporting event.

The trainer is meant to track an athlete’s level of concentration, helping them find their “zone,” or the state of mind where they can best perform a sport. The product, which will be built and sold by Japan’s B-Bridge International, shows that NeuroSky’s MindSet technology — which has been tested in working products in the toy industry — continues to inspire product makers looking for an innovative new user interface.

The trainer application taps NeuroSky’s ability to detect your brain waves. NeuroSky’s electrodes detect brainwave activity and interpret whether you are upset, attentive, meditative, or relaxed. Those inputs can then be translated into computer controls for toys such as Mattel’s MindFlex toy, where you can make a ball rise if you are concentrating.

Uncle Milton’s Star Wars Force Trainer also uses NeuroSky’s MindSet. With that product, you can make a ball rise inside a tube, without touching it, if you concentrate long enough. The MindFlex and Star Wars toys have sold well, and now NeuroSky is moving on to a new product with partner B-Bridge, which is based in Tokyo.

The NeuroSky MindSet probes are built into a standard golf visor. Three non-invasive contacts in the headband monitor the electroencephalogram (EEG) electrical activity from the brain to determine the athlete’s mental state. So an athlete can now correlate the brainwave activity with his or her actual performance during a workout. Then the athlete can analyze the results instantly.

It could prove useful in sports such as golf, where the ability to concentrate is closely linked to how well you play. There are 28.8 million American golfers. Debra Crews, a professor of psychology at Arizona State University, has studied the brainwaves of golfers for a decade. She sees a correlation between mental state and performance accuracy. The problem is that it isn’t easy to get EEG machinery on a golf course. NeuroSky’s portable MindSet technology, coupled with B-Bridge’s visor, fits the bill.

Stanley Yang, CEO of NeuroSky in San Jose, Calif., said the company has been researching mental sports performance for five years. For four years, it has been working with the U.S. Olympic archery team. The product began shipping in Japan on Dec. 1 for 40,000 yen, or $476. It will be available in the first quarter of 2011 in the U.S.

NeuroSky was founded in 2004 and has 40 employees. Rivals include Emotiv, but no one has offered a portable EEG-monitoring system for athletes. NeuroSky has raised $18.6 million in three rounds of funding, including an $11.8 million round in June. Investors include Taiwan Global Biofund, W.R. Hambrecht managing partner Lee Ting, and Taicom Capital.

Tags: Brain Athlete

Companies: B-Bridge, Neurosky

People: Hiro Masumoto, Stanley Yang

Article courtesy of VentureBeat » deals

No one would have guessed that Jack Weyland was destined to be an investor. As a college dropout, Weyland was forced to settle for a job as a truck driver. But as luck would have it, Weyland had a knack for picking biotech and health care stocks. Using a laptop and a wireless Internet card, he used his off time (during mandatory rest stops) to research the stock market.

Matthew Schifrin, the author of “The Warren Buffetts Next Door,” said that Weyland has slowly transformed himself into an expert on biotech stocks using a number of Web resources.

“On Marketocracy.com, his average annual return (as of the time I wrote my book) was about 36% on average per year, investing in biotech stocks mostly,” Schifrin told Benzinga during a recent interview. “When you start asking him specifics about drugs and pharmaceuticals and biotechs, he has this amazing ability to recall financial detail, and detail about drugs and FDA trials. He’s become an outstanding investor.”

Schifrin, who serves as the Vice President and Investment Editor at Forbes, interviewed several Average Joe investors before narrowing his list down to the 10 best.

“There’s a guy, Kai Petainen,” Schifrin said. “He’s a computer lab manager at the University of Michigan’s business school. I call him the Sorcerer’s Apprentice because Kai soaked in what the professors at the school were talking about for years.”
Petainen dedicated his spare time to researching academic theories. This allowed him to create his own formula for quantitative investing.

“He has screens for stocks based on certain quantitative properties,” Schifrin continued. “He’s become an outstanding investor. He’s created nine portfolios on Marketocracy.com and I believe all but one of them has far outpaced its benchmark.”

What does Wall Street think of their success? “One of the people I wrote about in my book was offered a money management job at a major asset manager,” Schifrin revealed.

From Truck Stops To Wall Street [Benzinga]

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The New Tax Plan: What It Means for You

Article courtesy of Dealbreaker