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24 Jun 2010 11:14

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U.S.: Financial reform bill is nearing the finish line. WHOO!

  • DERIVATIVES! DERIVATIVES! DERIVATIVES! DERIVATIVES! We’re so pumped to see financial reform finally pass between the House and Senate that “DERIVATIVES!” is kinda like a battle cry for us. Or not. But Christopher Dodd gets his name on the broadest rewrite of financial law since the 1930s, and the deal-brokering has if nothing else, made the bill palatable to some on both sides of the aisle. Congress has given themselves a deadline of today, so some stuff may end up on the cutting-room floor, but it would still be a big victory. Right? Right? DERIVATIVES! source

21 Jun 2010 20:51

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Biz: Financial reform bill: Debit card fee hataz have a reason to be happy

  • Remember the financial bill? Oh yeah, that thing. One of the many feathers in Obama’s cap. Well, the bill, which has already passed the Senate, needed some changes to pass muster with the house. The biggest one for consumers and small businesses? The insanely high fees on debit card transactions, which were responsible for big profits for card companies at the cost of small businesses. Well – great news! – after a little work, the House finally struck a tentative deal on this issue. There are lots of other things to still hash out, though, including the biggie for investors (and people who don’t want to see their financial system fall apart) – regulating derivatives. source

10 Jan 2010 01:02

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U.S.: Obama and congress almost completely in sync in 2009

  • 96.7% of bills passed went Obama’s way source

06 Jan 2010 10:12

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Biz: Cable TV is going to eat up larger amounts of your money over time

  • $75 average cost of digital cable for subscribers each month
  • 5% average increase in cable prices each painful, depressing year
  • $95 the expected average cost of digital cable in five years; blech source

11 Dec 2009 15:01

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11 Oct 2009 01:08

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U.S.: California legislature again deadlocked, this time over water

  • 704 bills have been clogged by a massive water bill source

23 Jul 2009 09:47

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Biz, Tech: AT&T’s customer base is huge thanks to the iPhone, but it costs ’em

  • +3.5 million number of new 3G customers the wireless company got last quarter thanks to the iPhone – and 1.5 million new overall customers
  • -15% profits decline in profits thanks to the high cost of subsidizing the phones – a cost they will get back, eventually, thanks to those giant bills source
 

07 Jul 2009 12:21

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Biz: Another sign the economy sucks: People can’t pay off credit

  • 6.6% of all card debt is delinquent; that’s a record source

19 May 2009 21:37

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Biz, U.S.: The Senate puts their foot down when it comes to credit cards

  • 90-5 the Senate vote for credit card regulation. Whoa. source

29 Apr 2009 09:33

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U.S.: 100 days: Love him or hate him, Obama gets stuff done

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