ArsTechnica.com: As energy prices continue to increase, consumers are looking for ways to reduce their consumption of their major energy costs, including automobile fuel and household electricity. Enter Greenbox, a company that aims to help utilities and consumers get the best possible bang for their buck with a comprehensive set of cost-metering tools. Glenn Fleischmann reports: "The goal of the Greenbox system is to pair actual usage with utility pricing in an understandable way. The company's system handles all manner of electrical pricing, whether static, with a fixed rate for a month or for tiers of usage; dynamic, where the price can change at multiple points during a day based on demand in the spot-power market; or zoned, where different times of day have fixed rates to promote peak shaving, or offsetting use during periods of highest demand." With lower costs on the relatively fixed expense of electricity, businesses should be able to put their money to work elsewhere in their ventures for more expansion and increased profitability. Read Greenbox: saving power and cash in a flash for more shocking energy-savings.

Also from ArsTechnica.com comes news of the necessity for businesses to start looking at efficiency as the way to survive in a Darwinian environment, that is to say, one where only the fittest survive. Part of that fitness is to reduce costs as much as possible and once again, reviewing the details and focusing on ROI could bear a rich harvest of rewards. John Timmer reports from the EPA Climate Leaders meeting: "[S]peaker after speaker emphasized how well efficiency was working for their company on a financial basis. Perhaps the most compelling version of it came from Michael Mollnar of Cummins, which manufactures heavy equipment. Describing efficiency efforts, he said, 'it's almost embarrassing what some of these returns are, because we never looked at these things'—he then went on to name returns in the area of 300 percent for some projects. Referring to the frequent description of efficiency projects as 'low hanging fruit,' he described the inefficiencies at Cummins as, 'fruit that's sitting on the floor, that you're stepping on.'" To learn more about harvesting some of this windfall, be sure to read Financial crisis puts focus on efficiency, not green power.

infochachkie.com: "Uncle Saul" has a top-notch primer on the benefits of using debt to fund your startup activities that explains in exemplary fashion the ins-and-outs of this potentially tricky but very useful method. "Venture debt can also work to a company’s advantage in its early stages. Rather than seeking Angel or venture capital funds, a company might be well served to initially raise a convertible debt round. These debt funds can be used to prove the company’s business model, finish a prototype, close the first customers, etc. Achieving one or more of these key milestones will increase the company’s value, lower its risk profile and thus make it a more qualified candidate for equity funding. You can also reduce the dilutive impact on the founding shareholders by using venture debt to enhance your adVenture’s valuation prior to taking on equity funding." Who said debt was a bad, four-letter word when in fact, if properly handled, it could be the lifeline your company needs to get things rolling in short order! All the inside info can be found in Venture Debt - The Other Green Money.

Better Explained: For most uninitiated to the world of higher finance, leverage can be a confusing and confounding subject, but with a bit of clear writing to help explain the concept, Kalid Azad can help. From his topical post, Azad pulls back the clouds and reveals the power of this much-maligned tool:

• Leverage multiplies profits and losses: You can make a “regular” investment swing as wildly as you like by borrowing money.
• Return = leverage ratio * percent change: A meager 10x gearing ratio can double your money with a 10% gain, or wipe you out with a 10% loss. By the end of a crisis, some banks increased their leverage ratio to 30:1 — if prices fell even 3% they would be wiped out!
• Leverage appears everywhere: Companies have debt/equity ratios (how levered they are) and stock portfolios have beta (riskiness beyond the market average, which is increased by debt). Whenever you see debt or investment, look to see if it’s leveraged in some way.

Azad also presents some common-sense examples in layman's terms that should pad out his primer on how leverage works and why it can be used for both good, and bad, purposes. Read Understanding Debt, Risk and Leverage for the rest of the story.

PEHub: Connie Loizos has a piece on the shady securities trading by billionaire Mark Cuban that could get him in hot water with the authorities. "The SEC alleges that Cuban sold his 6% stake in Canadian-based Internet search company Mamma.com in 2004, after being told by management that it was going to announce a PIPE financing. According to the SEC, Cuban, who has called PIPE financings 'a huge red flag,' almost immediately called his broker and told him to sell his entire 6 percent stake in Mamma.com –  despite that the company’s announcement hadn’t yet been made public. That call saved Cuban more than $750,000, says the government. The day after Mamma.com went public with  its plans, shares in the company dropped by 9 percent." Could we see another Martha Stewart-esque celebrity court case complete with paparazzi and a tracking bracelet or is this just a mis-guided attempt to throw the book at a successful entrepreneur by some angry bureaucrat? Find out more in Mark Cuban in Serious Trouble: SEC Files Insider Trading Charges Against Him.