Financial-reform glossary

Economist – In order to facilitate understanding of the changes that are on the table, we’ve put together a glossary of financial-reform nomenclature, which we’ll be updating throughout the process.

• Capital requirements (and countercyclicality)
• Clearinghouses
• Collateralised debt obligation (CDO)
• Counterparty
• Credit default swap (CDS)
• Derivatives
• Leverage
• Liquidity requirements
• Macroprudential regulation
• Mortgage-backed security (MBS)
• Resolution fund
• Securitisation
• Shadow banking system
• Systemic risk
• “Too big to fail”

more> http://tinyurl.com/2btoykl

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A successful all-nighter

Economist – The bill is certainly sweeping in scope. It creates a new consumer-protection bureau, within the Federal Reserve, with powers to write rules for—and ban—financial products. It gives the government the power to break up any failing financial firm, not just banks, and pushes more of the clean-up costs onto surviving competitors, rather than the taxpayer. Those who securitise assets will have to retain more of the risk. Credit-rating agencies will be more exposed to legal challenge for their mistakes, and less able to cosy up to debt issuers. Under the so-called Volcker rule, banks will face limits on their proprietary trading and investment in hedge funds and private equity. Derivatives markets will no longer be left to do their own thing. more> http://tinyurl.com/25o2vcw

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My magical AT&T experience

By Victor Agreda, Jr. – I called the AT&T customer service number (that’s 611 on your iPhone) and within 15 minutes they not only upgraded me to unlimited going forward, but they adjusted my previous overages into a less painful range. Kudos to AT&T! They even allowed us to upgrade ahead of the normal schedule, which I greatly appreciate. more> http://bwbx.io/Nmw1

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Questions without Notice – Broadband

All Senate debates on 22 Jun 2010 – [Australia] Stephen Conroy (Victoria, Australian Labor Party, Deputy Leader of the Government in the Senate) – the agreement that has been reached between Telstra and NBN Co. will be remembered as the moment the Australian government and the industry joined together to revolutionise the telecommunications sector in this country. The agreement, once finalised, will mean that Telstra will be involved in the NBN build. It will mean that the build is more efficient, cheaper and quicker, with less use of overhead cable. The agreement will also provide a greater level of certainty for all players in the industry on the pathway forward towards a genuinely competitive telecommunications sector. more> http://bwbx.io/zfk5

As AT&T Gears Up Social Media Customer Service Efforts, A Look at Its Facebook Activity

By Sara Inés Calderón – In the face of the launch of iPhone 4 and unrelenting customer dissatisfaction AT&T has set aside resources to focus more on its customers on social media. This discontent is registered by an average of at least  10,000 mentions of AT&T on social sites each day, the company told AdAge this week.

It would seem that AT&T’s most logical move is to improve service. To that end, AdAge reported that AT&T has plans to invest $18-19 billion to improve its networks. more> http://bwbx.io/NaKG

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