Wednesday Morning Links, News, And Views -- Part II -- More Evidence Of Global Warming -- Economy At "Stall Speed" And Not Responding -- One Million Fewer People Will Get Employer-Health Insurance In 2013 -- Best Laptop For College-Bound Student: MacBook Air

Evidence of more global warming, I guess:

Wisconsin Energy beats by $0.06, beats on revs: Reports Q2 (Jun) earnings of $0.52 per share, $0.06 better than the Capital IQ Consensus Estimate of $0.46; revenues rose 7.2% year/year to $1.01 bln vs the $0.96 bln consensus.

Strong natural gas sales during a cooler than normal spring and the impact of the company's share repurchase program were positive factors contributing to our solid results for this year's second quarter," said Gale Klappa, chairman, president and chief executive officer. "A cool June, however, significantly reduced demand for air conditioning across the region," Klappa added. "By comparison, June temperatures last year were much warmer than normal."

And that wasn't a "one-off." Here at the WSJ's "Heard on the Street":

It just isn't a great summer for natural-gas bulls. For starters, it isn't hot enough. This week is typically among the hottest of the year, but forecasts suggest it will be 18% cooler than normal in the U.S., according to analysts at Tudor, Pickering, Holt & Co.

WSJ Links

Walter Mossberg compares Google's new Chromecast with Apple TV.  Bottom line:

If you're an all-Apple household with $99 to spare, AirPlay and Apple TV work great. But, if you want a less costly solution that works with all your devices across platforms, and can wait while Google gradually gets more apps to adopt it, Chromecast is a winner.

What's the best laptop for a college-bound student? Q&A from Walter Mossberg:

Based on your criteria, I'd recommend, without hesitation, the latest edition of Apple's MacBook Air, which is light, sturdy, thin, fast and gets over 10 hours of battery life on a single charge.

Maybe no recession, but certainly at stall speed. 

Here is the stuff of nightmares: You are piloting a plane that is losing altitude and not responding.

As the Federal Reserve concludes a two-day meeting Wednesday, it may be presented with fresh data hinting at such a calamity for the U.S. economy. First-class passengers like Mr. Stock Market appear blithely unaware as they enjoy a complimentary beverage. Those crammed in coach are starting to feel some bumps.

The economy isn't in a recession, but it will probably remain near what economists call "stall speed" following Wednesday's report on second-quarter gross domestic product. Economists polled by Dow Jones Newswires see annualized growth of just 0.9%—tied for the second-lowest level of the expansion.

That follows growth of 1.8% and 0.4% in the previous two quarters. Growth below 2% for multiple quarters is thought to heighten the risk of recession.

President O'Bama offers deal on corporate tax. Beware young, angry men bearing gifts. If it's all that great of a deal, it should have been offered five years ago.

Smart College, Kentucky, reaps $250 million donation; one of the largest in US higher-education history:

Tiny Centre College in rural Danville, Ky., said Tuesday it received a gift believed to be worth $250 million in stock from the A. Eugene Brockman Charitable Trust, one of the largest gifts in U.S. higher-education history.

The gift, which consists entirely of stock in closely held Universal Computer Systems Holding Inc., likely breaks the record for gift-giving to liberal-arts colleges, according to a list maintained by the Chronicle of Higher Education. It tops a $200 million gift given to Claremont McKenna College in 2007. It also follows Michael Bloomberg's $350 million donation to Johns Hopkins University, making the Centre College gift the second-highest overall in 2012 and 2013. Among all donations since 1967, Mr. Bloomberg's ranks as No. 11 and the Brockman Trust's ranks as No. 19, according to the Chronicle.

Centre College officials said the money paves the way for 40 full-ride scholarships each year starting in 2014 for students majoring in science and economics. In just a few years, a significant share of the student body at the school, which will have a total enrollment of nearly 1,400 students this fall, will be Brockman Scholars. Tuition, room and board at Centre is $45,100 for the 2013-14 academic year.

With the US deficit at $16 trillion, the $12 billion cost incurred by delaying the employer-mandate is peanuts.

The Obama administration's move to delay a mandate on businesses to provide health coverage will mean $12 billion in lost tax revenue and additional costs, according to the Congressional Budget Office.

The nonpartisan CBO said one million fewer people will get employer coverage in 2014 as a result of the postponement, and half of those will turn to new government health-insurance exchanges or Medicaid for coverage.

Earlier this month, the Treasury Department said it was delaying for one year the enforcement of penalties that could be charged to employers with 50 or more people for not providing adequate health insurance in 2014. The department also delayed various reporting requirements.

Op-ed: Detroit as a business cluster. Reading the op-ed, I couldn't stop thinking Bakken, business cluster, opportunities.

Op-ed: the stock market beats GDP as economic bellwether. The initial quarterly numbers are usually wrong—and they're poor predictors of future economic growth. [Right on cue: as noted by the writer, the initial GDP for last month was revised downward to 1.1%; today's initial GDP is pegged at 1.7%. By the way, the government recently changed the way it calculated GDP, providing a bit of lift due to definitional changes.]