Hubdub’s Hot Predictions this week, as decided by Hubdub users and staff, are selected based on their newsworthiness for the week. These stories are bound to be big news this week - and we have forecasts on how they’re likely to turn out.

World

On Sunday Tehran was relatively quiet compared to the past weeks street violence, but with fresh calls from the opposition for reforms and a new election it’s doubtful we’ve seen the worst of it. Despite the spirit of protesters, Hubdub forecasts there’s only a 16% chance Ahmadinejad is disempowered.

Will President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad be disempowered or resign?

Politics
The battle for universal health care is heating up and any chances of a well behaved and restrained fight are quickly diminishing. How likely is that we’ll get the damn thing this year? Hubdub says we’ve only got a 48% chance.

Will the U.S. enact a comprehensive health care plan in 2009?

Entertainment

After Indiana Jone’s last adventure involving aliens, the thought of another Lucas and Spielberg pillaging of a classic doesn’t have me too enthusiastic. Better yet it’s 96% likely the next Indiana Jones doesn’t have Harrison Ford in it.

Will there be a fifth Indiana Jones film starring Harrison Ford?

Business
Is Steve Job’s return to Apple imminent? Well, judging from predictions on Hubdub and the latest news the answers yes!

Will Steve Jobs return to be Apple’s CEO in 2009?

Sport

The oldest and most prestigious tennis tournament in the world has had some of the most exciting matches, including last year’s instant classic with Nadal and Federer. Although Nadal is skipping Wimbledon, it’s no less exciting. Currently Roger Federer is the frontrunner with a 44% chance of wining Wimbledon.

Who will win the 2009 Men’s Wimbledon?

Trading percentages given are at time of posting and may not match up with markets after the fact due to Hubdub users forecasting on said markets.

Hubdub Top 5 apple, barack obama, cancer, federer, harrison ford, health care, indiana jones, iran, iranian elections, mahmoud Ahmadinejad, nadal, protests, steve jobs, universal health care, Wimbledon

Hubdub’s Hot Predictions this week, as decided by Hubdub users and staff, are selected based on their newsworthiness for the week. These stories are bound to be big news this week - and we have forecasts on how they’re likely to turn out.

Politics
Finally Obama’s health care plan is taking shape, and with that significant opposition on both sides of the aisle. After all everyone loves government spending until they find out they’re footing the bill. This weeks gallup poll will be a good measure of how well Obama is selling the country on a new health care plan. Hubdub forecasts a low sixties approval rating.

What will President Obama’s approval rating be on Thursday June 18th, 2009?

Business
Gas prices are going up day by day and summer has just begun. How high does Hubdub forecast them to go? At least as high as $2.95 is 21% likely and higher than $3.00 is 32% likely.

How high will gas prices go this summer in the US?

World
Events in Iran have taken a turn for the worst since Friday, protests, repression and they even shutdown Twitter! Now thankfully the Iranian Guardian Council has been asked to investigate the elections, although Hubdub doesn’t think it will do any good. There’s only a 16% chance the Council cancels the election results.

Will the Iranian Guardian Council follow Mousavi’s appeal and cancel the election result?

Sports
The US Open is in Bethpage, Long Island this week and Hubdub has the markets to cover this golfing extravaganza. There’s so many players in the tournament that you’ll have to forecast by your player of choices last name.

Who will win the 2009 U.S. Open Championship?

Entertainment
Susan Boyle’s still popular although her 15 minutes are probably fading. Is she still popular enough to sing at the White House though? Don’t bet on it, there’s an 84% chance she doesn’t sing there within the next two weeks.

Will Susan Boyle Sing at the White House?

Trading percentages given are at time of posting and may not match up with markets after the fact due to Hubdub users forecasting on said markets.

Uncategorized barack obama, elections, elections iranian guardian council, gas prices, health care, iran, iranian elections, mousavi, susan boyle, us open golf, white house

Hubdub’s Hot Predictions this week, as decided by Hubdub users and staff, are selected based on their newsworthiness for the week. These stories are bound to be big news this week - and we have forecasts on how they’re likely to turn out.

World

The doomsday clock probably moved up another notch this week with North Korea flexing its military might. First a nuclear detonation, then missile tests and now the world awaits more irrational action. More missile tests between June 1 - June 7 have a 48% chance of occurring, and a new war in Asia has a 36% chance.

When will North Korea launch their next missile?

Sports
The NBA final is now underway, it’s a best of seven series, and as of now Hubdubbers only slightly favor the LA Lakers over the Orlando Magic.

NBA Finals, LA Lakers - Orlando Magic, series outcome?

The NHL playoffs are also underway this week. The final is between the Detroit Red Wings and the Pittsburgh Penguins and the Red Wings are certainly the front runners to win the best of seven series.

Stanley Cup Final, Detroit Red Wings - Pittsburgh Penguins, series outcome?

Science
The Atlantic hurricane season officially begins this week and the initial outlook calls for a 50% chance of a normal season, a 25% chance of an above-normal season and a 25% chance of a below-normal season. Hubdub forecasts that in June and July there’s a equal 32% probability that we have either no storms or only one.

How many hurricanes will there be in the Atlantic in June and July?

Politics
Barack Obama’s Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor has evoked some criticism from the right, from questions of her sexuality to her views on abortion, but for now she seems to have weathered the storm. Abortion being the sticky issue it is, Sonia Sotomayor has a 69% chance of not specifying whether she is or isn’t pro-choice.

Will Justice Sotomayor describe herself as pro-choice?

Trading percentages given are at time of posting and may not match up with markets after the fact due to Hubdub users forecasting on said markets.

Hubdub Top 5 barack obama, detroit red wings, hurricane season, la lakers, los angeles lakers, national basketball association, national hockey league, nba, nhl, north korea, nuclear tests, orlando magic, pittsburgh penguins, playoffs, Sonia Sotomayor, south korea, supreme court, war

Hubdub’s Hot Predictions this week, as decided by Hubdub users and staff, are selected based on their newsworthiness for the week. These stories are bound to be big news this week - and we have forecasts on how they’re likely to turn out.

Politics
Nancy Pelosi the speaker of the house has been in a bit of trouble these past few weeks. First she didn’t know anything about torture, and then she kind of knew a bit about torture. For now the controversy has subsided, and Nancy’s chances of remaining speaker throughout 2009 are at 81%.

Will Nancy Pelosi remain Speaker of the United States House of Representatives through 2009?

World
There’s been a lot of apologizing since Barack Obama came to office. There’s nothing wrong with saying sorry for past mistakes, but at some point we’ve got to focus on the future.

In How Many countries will President Obama Apologize On his Next Overseas Trip?

Business
With GM restructuring under way, the ways of old are slowly disappearing. GM already axed the Pontiac brand, local car dealers are shutting down, and now rumors of a possible axing of the Saturn brand are in the wind. Saturn seems somewhat safe though, it has a 43% chance of being sold or becoming independent and a 36% chance of being axed.

What will happen to Saturn in 2009?

Entertainment
The two major SciFi films for May are Star Trek and Terminator: Salvation. With Star Trek already out and raking in the cash, now it’s Terminator’s turn. In it’s opening week Hubdub forecasts the movie is likely to make over $101 million.

Will Terminator Salvation earn at least $101 million in the Domestic box office during its 1st week?

Sport
In sport this week the major NBA playoff series is between the #1 seed LA Lakers (65-17) and the #2 seed Denver Nuggets (54-28). The Lakers seem the front runners for the match up this week, being the #1 seed.

NBA Playoffs, LA Lakers - Denver Nuggets, series outcome?

Trading percentages given are at time of posting and may not match up with markets after the fact due to Hubdub users forecasting on said markets.

Uncategorized apologize, barack obama, congress, denver nuggets, domestic box office, egypt, financial crisis, General Motors, GM, house of represenatives, la lakers, movies, Nancy Pelosi, national basketball association, nba, overseas, playoffs, Pontiac, Saturn, speaker of the house, star trek, terminator, terminator: salvation, torture

Hubdub’s Hot Predictions this week, as decided by Hubdub users and staff, are selected based on their newsworthiness for the week. These stories are bound to be big news this week - and we have forecasts on how they’re likely to turn out.

Science
As if the economic meltdown wasn’t enough, now we have swine flu. The outbreak started in Mexico but in a matter of days cases in places as far away as New Zealand have popped up. The Center for Disease Control and World Health Organization haven’t yet referred to the outbreak as a pandemic, but before 2010 the chances of swine flu developing into a pandemic are a worrying 23%.

Will the Mexican/U.S. swine flu (A/H1N1) grow into a pandemic in 2009 as feared?

Entertainment
Sean Hannity is on the record saying he’d be water boarded for charity. Therefore Keith Olbermann’s offer to give $1,000 per second to charity for as long as Hannity stays under seems fair. The question is will Hannity chicken out?

How much will Keith Olbermann pay Hannity for the waterboard treatment?

It’s TV show culling time again! Although some entertainment pundits have doubts about Chuck returning for another season, Hubdubbers seem to categorically agree with Deadline Hollywood Daily forecasting Chuck has a 71% chance of renewal.

Bubble shows: Will Chuck be renewed?

Politics
This week President Barack Obama has his third prime time press conference, with so many issues on his plate though mentions of Obama’s former rival John McCain seem unlikely.

Primetime Press Conference 4/29: Will John McCains name be mentioned specifically.

Sports

“The fastest Two Minutes in Sports,” better known as the Kentucky Derby is this week and Hubdub has forecasts on which horse is most likely to win. Pioneer of the Nile with a 29% chance is the front runner followed by I Want Revenge and Quality Road with 25% and 18% chances of winning respectively.

Who will win this years Kentucky Derby?

Trading percentages given are at time of posting and may not match up with markets after the fact due to Hubdub users forecasting on said markets.

Hubdub Top 5 barack obama, Center for Disease Control, charity, Chuck, H1N1, horse racing, john mccain, Keith Olbermann, Kentucky Derby, mexico, mexico city, outbreak, pandemic, primetime press conference, renewal, Sean Hannity, swine flu, The fastest Two Minutes in Sports, united states, water board, water boarding, World Health Organization

Hubdub’s Hot Predictions this week, as decided by Hubdub users and staff, are selected based on their newsworthiness for the week. These stories are bound to be big news this week - and we have forecasts on how they’re likely to turn out.

World
Roxana Saberi the Iranian-American journalist convicted in Iran of espionage has launched an appeal in a last ditch effort to get out of an 8 year sentence handed down last week. Although the trial and conviction are seen as a farce by many in the West, Hubdubbers doubt Saberi’s appeal will work, only giving it a 36% chance of success.

Will journalist Roxana Saberi’s appeal of spying on Iran succeed?

Politics
Cuba has been dominating the news these past few weeks, but how can we measure a softening in Cuban-American relations? One thing observers and the Obama administration are looking at is whether Cuba will release any political prisoners. Hubdub forecasts by July 1st there’s a 66% chance no political prisoners have yet been released.

Will Cuba release any political prisoners before July 1st 2009?

Business
At the start of the auto bailout a merger between Italian Fiat and American Chrysler looked like a no-brainer. Recent problems with debt though have left the prospects of a merger in murky waters. Now there’s only a 50% chance the merger goes through before the start of June.

Will Chrysler and Fiat enter into any type of merger prior to June?

Sports
The NBA playoffs have arrived, and next week in the first round the Atlanta Hawks and Miami Heat face off. In the seven game series Miami currently has the highest chances of pulling off a win, but the margins are very, very close!

NBA Playoffs, Atlanta Hawks - Miami Heat, series outcome?

Entertainment

In May flurries of Blockbuster movies start hitting theaters. Unfortunately my hopes that the new Star Trek would crush any competition seem to have been dashed. Hubdub gives X-Men Origins: Wolverine a 68% chance of having the highest grossing open weekend. Honestly Spock is so much more of a money maker than Wolverine…

Which movie will own the highest opening gross during its first weekend release in May 2009?

Trading percentages given are at time of posting and may not match up with markets after the fact due to Hubdub users forecasting on said markets.

Uncategorized america, Atlanta Hawks, barack obama, chrysler, cuba, espionage, fiat, iran, merger, Miami Heat, national basketball association, nba, nba playoffs, political prisoners, Roxana Saberi, summer blockbusters, united states, X-Men Origins: Wolverine

Hubdub’s Hot Predictions this week, as decided by Hubdub users and staff, are selected based on their newsworthiness for the week. These stories are bound to be big news this week - and we have forecasts on how they’re likely to turn out.

Politics
With the recent forcing out of GM´s CEO Richard Wagoner by the Obama administration, users on Hubdub have begun asking who´s next? The banks haven´t been behaving well, so how about ousting a Bank of America CEO? Hubdubbers give the chance of that happening 51%.

Will Obama force any Bank CEO’s to resign before June 1, 2009?

Entertainment
Many want the source of the new Wolverine X-Men movie internet leak arrested and convicted, but that doesn´t mean it´s going to happen. First they´ll likely have to identify exactly who leaked the movie, and the chance of that happening in the next 3 weeks is only 44%.

Will the source of the Wolverine leak be found this month?

World
Even with some new found European love for America following Barack Obama´s visit, old habits die hard. Spanish judge Balthazar Garzon, famous for arresting Chilean Dictator Pinochet now has a new target, the Bush administration. Six officials are under investigation, including Alberto Gonzalez and Hubdub forecasts at least two will be ordered arrested by Garzon.

Which of the following Bush officials will be ordered arrested by a Spanish Judge?

Sports
The 2009 Masters is around the corner. Who will be the champion this year? Hubdub forecasts Tiger Woods, Steve Stricker or Stewart Cink have a 38% chance of wearing the green jacket this Sunday when the competition ends.

Who will be the 2009 Masters Champion?

Business
Is a new gas prices spike in our near, near future? Although some analysts are predicting a new surge in oil prices, for the immediate future Hubdub  sees only a moderate rise in prices. Forecasting it´s most likely by April 12th the national average for a gallon of regular unleaded will be $2.050 - $2.074.

What will be the AAA average price for regular unleaded gasoline in the US on Sunday, April 12th?

Trading percentages given are at time of posting and may not match up with markets after the fact due to Hubdub users forecasting on said markets.

Uncategorized 2009 masters, arrest warrant, Balthazar Garzon, bank of america, barack obama, CEO, europe, gas prices, GM, golf, leak internet, oil prices, price spike, resign, spain, Wolverine, x-men

Hubdub’s Hot Predictions this week, as decided by Hubdub users and staff, are selected based on their newsworthiness for the week. These stories are bound to be big news this week - and we have forecasts on how they’re likely to turn out.

Politics
At Hubdub we do like predicting the outcomes of polls. So it’s no surprise that a market on the Real Clear Politics Polling Average for Obama’s approval rating is getting some action. The outcome of the G20 Summit this week is sure to affect Obama’s polling numbers, currently at 61%. Hubdub forecasts by weeks end Obama’s RCP polling is over 60.5%

RCP Poll Average: President Obama Job Approval - O/U 60.5% on Saturday, April 4th?

World
North Korea always loves being the center of attention, and now they plan to launch a ballistic missile loaded with a communications satellite, but is it actually a communications satellite? Japan has doubts and has threatened to shoot it down. According to Hubdub a Japanese shoot down is unlikely, with only a 8% chance it happens.

Will Japan shoot down North Korea’s missile?

Business
The US unemployment rate for February was 8.1%, the highest since 1983. The upwards trend isn’t forecast to stop anytime soon either. For March Hubdubbers predict the US unemployment rate will certainly trump 8.1%. How bad will it be? The most likely rate for March is 8.5%.

What will the US unemployment rate be for March 2009?

Sports
We’re finally down to the final four of March Madness this week. The most anticipated game is going to be the University of Connecticut Huskies (31-4) going up against the Michigan State Spartans (29-6). From the Hubdub market it certainly looks as if the Huskies are the front runners, with a 66% chance of defeating the Spartans.

Final Four - #1 UConn vs #2 Michigan State. Who will win?

Technology

The Conficker worm is set to get a major update on April 1st. The virus has infected thousands upon thousands of corporate networks all over the world, but it hasn’t yet been activated. Whatever happens on April fools day, the designer or designers of the Conficker worm are being hunted. Will they ever get caught? For 2009 it seems unlikely.

When will the creator of the Conficker Worm be caught?

Trading percentages given are at time of posting and may not match up with markets after the fact due to Hubdub users forecasting on said markets.

Uncategorized approval rating, april fools day, ballistic missile, barack obama, Conficker, Conficker worm, economic recovery, financial crisis, forecast, g20, hacker, hubdub, japan, job approval, march, March Madness, Michigan State Spartans, missile, north korea, predict, Prediction, rate, rcp, real clear politics, recession, shoot down, unemployment, united states, University of Connecticut Huskies, virus

Hubdub’s Hot Predictions this week, as decided by Hubdub users and staff, are selected based on their newsworthiness for the week. These stories are bound to be big news this week - and we have forecasts on how they’re likely to turn out.

Politics
Tim Geithner has been getting  a unfair rap for his desperate attempts to fix our ailing economy. I mean he is kind of running a one man show at the Treasury department. Undoubtedly this week he’ll be used again as a political punching bag, but will the complaints and criticisms lead to anything? Hubdubbers doubt it giving Geithner only a 20% chance of leaving his post by 2010.

Will Tim Geithner depart as Secretary of the Treasury before midnight on 31 Dec 2009?

President Obama has a primetime press conference this week to reiterate his plans for the federal budget this year. It won’t all be numbers and graphs though, with Hubdub forecasting President Obama will talk about his NCAA Basketball picks during the press conference.

President Obama Primetime Press Conf. 3/24/09: Will he be asked about his NCAA Basketball picks?

Business
The Dow’s been having some pretty good days these past few weeks. So much so that before March 31st Hubdubbers predict there’s a 56% chance that the Dow closes above 7500.

Dow - Up or down ? Which comes first, 6500 or 7500?

Sports
The NCAAB tournament continues this week, and one of the major games to watch will be when Oklahoma state goes against Syracuse on Friday. The game is bound to be close but right now Oklahoma has edged up against Syracuse, with a 52% chance of winning on Friday.

NCAAB Tournament - #2 Oklahoma vs #3 Syracuse. Who will win?

Entertainment

This week American Idol heads to Detroit where contestants will compete in the category of Motown music. Who’s likely to get the least support? Hubdub forecasts Michael Sarver has the highest chance of getting the fewest votes this week.

Who will have the fewest votes on American Idol this week?

Trading percentages given are at time of posting and may not match up with markets after the fact due to Hubdub users forecasting on said markets.

Hubdub Top 5 american idol, barack obama, basketball, djia, dow, dow jones industrial average, economy, financial crisis, hubdub, March Madness, michael sarver, ncaa, NCAAB, Oklahoma, president obama, primetime press conference, secretary of the treasury, Syracuse, Tim Geithner, tournament, treasury department

Hubdub’s Hot Predictions this week, as decided by Hubdub users and staff, are selected based on their newsworthiness for the week. These stories are bound to be big news this week - and we have forecasts on how they’re likely to turn out.

Sports

March Madness is upon us my friends and life is good! So far Hubdub isn’t forecasting any of the known teams will be crowned winner in two weeks time. Although so far it seems North Carolina is the second likeliest front runner. If you haven’t done so already check out Hubdub’s March Madness Predict-A-Thon for more NCAA forecasts.

Which Team will Win the NCAA Championship?

Politics
Some of our esteemed Supreme Court Justices are getting a bit old, and with Barack Obama now in the White House it’s likely a more liberal leaning justice will be appointed soon. The question though is which justice will step down first? Hubdub forecasts the most likely candidate for resignation is David Souter with a 55% chance of stepping down.

Who will be the first Supreme Court Justice replaced?

World News
With wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, it’s easy to forget sometimes that those countries aren’t the only possible threats to American security. A fact made clear this March when Chinese ships harassed an American naval ship in the South China Sea. Both sides don’t want an escalation of tensions, and thankfully Hubdubbers agree giving only a 29% chance of similar tensions within the next two weeks.

Will China further harass any US Navy ships operating in international waters?

Business
It seems our ailing economy is getting better number these days. Out of the woods? No, better than before? Yes. For now Hubdub forecasts there’s a 51% probability the Dow Jones Industrial Averages in 2009 will be within the 6000 to 6999.99 range.

What will be the lowest close for the DJIA in 2009?

Entertainment
American Idol Season 8 is heating up and with a final listing of 10 possible winners, we can finally start predicting who’s gonna grab first place this year. In the lead this week, Adam Lambert (43%) and in second place Danny Gokey (27%). We’ve got 7 more weeks though, so don’t put your eggs all in one basket just yet.

Who will win American Idol Season 8?

Trading percentages given are at time of posting and may not match up with markets after the fact due to Hubdub users forecasting on said markets.

Hubdub Top 5 2009, adam lambert, american idol, barack obama, basketball, conflict, danny gokey, david souter, djia, dow jones industrial, harass, March Madness, navy China, ncaa, north carolina, politics, ruth bader ginsberg, south china sea, sports, supreme court, supreme court justices, us navy, war