Late Saturday morning, about a dozen of us left our daughter’s home in Potomac, Maryland, and drove the short distance to Swains Lock, one of the access points to the towpath of the Chesapeake and Ohio canal. From that rendezvous we all set out for a bracing walk along this old passageway frequented year-round by bikers, joggers, hikers, campers and day walkers. The 185-mile long C&O canal snakes along the Potomac River where it eventually flows through Washington, D.C.
We enjoyed the conviviality of an invigorating walk on that bright sunny day, observing the light blue of the sky and the steely gray of the river which contrasted dramatically against the earthy fall-brown of the leafy ground cover.
Our one-hour stroll was a welcome break in extended Thanksgiving festivities with families and friends. Even though we’ve all been living in the same sandbox for a couple of days, everyone is playing fair and enjoying good companionship, food, wine and family activities.
During that quiet one-hour towpath trek where the river cliffs rise steeply to the left on one side of the canal, and the river quietly meanders below on the right towards the nation’s capital, there was no physical indication that we were only about 12 miles from the nerve center of national politics. It seems that we had all implicitly decided to take a break from the hustle of the recent elections.
In that natural environment, there were too many other equally important topics.
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Wednesday, November 26, 2008
Forbes on Mark-to-Market
On Friday, November 21, Steve Forbes appeared on a TV show and was asked what could be done to fix some of the problems infecting the financial industry. He was especially emphatic on one point, stating that the mark-to-market rule instituted by FASB (the Financial Accounting Standards Board) be eliminated.
Mark-to-market, as its name implies, requires that all companies who hold financial instruments on their books adjust them on a quarterly basis to the price which those securities would fetch if sold in the open market. In the current environment, though, there is little if any liquidity for mortgage-backed securities; consequently, their pre-meltdown values have tanked. Even as these investments continue to be held on the balance sheet of a company, the FASB rule requires that they be written down to an if-sold value. This has resulted in huge paper losses and corresponding write-downs against reported quarterly earnings.
As Forbes pointed out, this can be devastating. For example, insurance companies purchase and hold financial assets in their investment portfolios for the long term, often until maturity when they are redeemed at full value. By adjusting the book value of these securities to an estimated if-sold market price on a quarterly basis, insurance companies can end up recording enormous book losses which have not, in fact, been incurred.
In a normal economic environment where quarterly bond market fluctuations are relatively minor, the mark-to-market rule may have made sense. But, in the maelstrom in which the U.S. and international economies seem to be navigating, Forbes stated that FASB should re-evaluate this accounting rule.
Yesterday’s events seem to have diminished that prospect: The Federal Reserve announced that it will buy $500 billion of mortgage-backed securities – the so-called ‘toxic assets’ held by banks and investment firms. No indication was given as to how prices would be set or publicly disclosed.
Thanks for checking in, and enjoy your Thanksgiving. Despite all of the turkeys in Washington, we still have immeasurable blessings for which to be thankful.
Mark-to-market, as its name implies, requires that all companies who hold financial instruments on their books adjust them on a quarterly basis to the price which those securities would fetch if sold in the open market. In the current environment, though, there is little if any liquidity for mortgage-backed securities; consequently, their pre-meltdown values have tanked. Even as these investments continue to be held on the balance sheet of a company, the FASB rule requires that they be written down to an if-sold value. This has resulted in huge paper losses and corresponding write-downs against reported quarterly earnings.
As Forbes pointed out, this can be devastating. For example, insurance companies purchase and hold financial assets in their investment portfolios for the long term, often until maturity when they are redeemed at full value. By adjusting the book value of these securities to an estimated if-sold market price on a quarterly basis, insurance companies can end up recording enormous book losses which have not, in fact, been incurred.
In a normal economic environment where quarterly bond market fluctuations are relatively minor, the mark-to-market rule may have made sense. But, in the maelstrom in which the U.S. and international economies seem to be navigating, Forbes stated that FASB should re-evaluate this accounting rule.
Yesterday’s events seem to have diminished that prospect: The Federal Reserve announced that it will buy $500 billion of mortgage-backed securities – the so-called ‘toxic assets’ held by banks and investment firms. No indication was given as to how prices would be set or publicly disclosed.
Thanks for checking in, and enjoy your Thanksgiving. Despite all of the turkeys in Washington, we still have immeasurable blessings for which to be thankful.
Sunday, November 23, 2008
The BlackBerry Takes Bridgewater by Storm
On Friday morning at 10:30 am, the customer line outside the Verizon Wireless store at the Bridgewater Commons Mall stretched to about 40 feet long, two to three people wide. The store was already open, and a Verizon employee was metering people in towards the counter where service people were already engaged in selling service plans for the newly announced BlackBerry Storm.
This cell phone is the first touch-screen BlackBerry, and it is Verizon’s answer to AT&T’s iPhone designed by Microsoft exclusively for AT&T Wireless. Both operate on a 3G network. It’s too early to tell how much Verizon will be able to temper AT&T’s head start with the IPhone, but the introduction of the new BlackBerry just before the holiday shopping rush should have an impact.
AT&T and Verizon’s service plans with these new devices are not inexpensive; both offer pricing that is either the same or close. It depends which service plan you choose. For example, the Verizon Family SharePlan will give you 700 minutes for the first two lines combined in an all-inclusive voice, unlimited text messaging, unlimited Mobile to Mobile, e-mail, data and video umbrella etc., for $119.99/month.
The comparable AT&T Wireless Family Talk plan seems to be pricier. According to my reading of the AT&T Wireless web site, 700 minutes with a two-line offering will cost you $129.99/month. But that does not include text messaging which is another $30 for unlimited messages, or 20¢ per message if no plan is selected.
AT&T provides Rollover minutes on voice; Verizon does not. Examine all plans carefully before you choose.
This cell phone is the first touch-screen BlackBerry, and it is Verizon’s answer to AT&T’s iPhone designed by Microsoft exclusively for AT&T Wireless. Both operate on a 3G network. It’s too early to tell how much Verizon will be able to temper AT&T’s head start with the IPhone, but the introduction of the new BlackBerry just before the holiday shopping rush should have an impact.
AT&T and Verizon’s service plans with these new devices are not inexpensive; both offer pricing that is either the same or close. It depends which service plan you choose. For example, the Verizon Family SharePlan will give you 700 minutes for the first two lines combined in an all-inclusive voice, unlimited text messaging, unlimited Mobile to Mobile, e-mail, data and video umbrella etc., for $119.99/month.
The comparable AT&T Wireless Family Talk plan seems to be pricier. According to my reading of the AT&T Wireless web site, 700 minutes with a two-line offering will cost you $129.99/month. But that does not include text messaging which is another $30 for unlimited messages, or 20¢ per message if no plan is selected.
AT&T provides Rollover minutes on voice; Verizon does not. Examine all plans carefully before you choose.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Sating your Hunger at the Mall
If you go shopping this weekend at Bridgewater’s regional mall, you will find several counter front eateries ready, willing, and able to satisfy your appetite. The Food Court on the third floor has been completely revamped, and at least two concessionaires will be delighted to see you lining up for their offerings.
Sbarro has returned to its traditional spot at the end on the right, desirous to fill you up with its wide variety of tasty pizzas. Saladworks, a new competitor, is eager to fill the needs of you health-conscious folks.
So far, these are the only ones I saw open for business, but there are more on the way. Charley’s Grilled Subs, Baja-B-Que, and Wendy’s have signs announcing their imminent arrival. Sarku Japan will have two spots. One is a sushi bar positioned at the head of the completely overhauled escalators leading to the upper level.
Don’t forget Gloria Jean’s Coffees which is only a stroll away near Macy’s third-floor entrance. The concessionaire who manages this place weathered the long shutdown of the Food Court, serving everyone with a cup of joe and his pleasant smile. The coffee there is very good, and you can even buy a pastry or bagel, take both back to the Food Court, sit down and enjoy them at the new tables. Why not give this guy some of your business? He deserves it.
Note: The foregoing comments are based on my observations only, without input from Mall management. They do not include a full account of the other businesses who will be taking up space in the Food Court.
Sbarro has returned to its traditional spot at the end on the right, desirous to fill you up with its wide variety of tasty pizzas. Saladworks, a new competitor, is eager to fill the needs of you health-conscious folks.
So far, these are the only ones I saw open for business, but there are more on the way. Charley’s Grilled Subs, Baja-B-Que, and Wendy’s have signs announcing their imminent arrival. Sarku Japan will have two spots. One is a sushi bar positioned at the head of the completely overhauled escalators leading to the upper level.
Don’t forget Gloria Jean’s Coffees which is only a stroll away near Macy’s third-floor entrance. The concessionaire who manages this place weathered the long shutdown of the Food Court, serving everyone with a cup of joe and his pleasant smile. The coffee there is very good, and you can even buy a pastry or bagel, take both back to the Food Court, sit down and enjoy them at the new tables. Why not give this guy some of your business? He deserves it.
Note: The foregoing comments are based on my observations only, without input from Mall management. They do not include a full account of the other businesses who will be taking up space in the Food Court.
Monday, November 17, 2008
Verizon’s Dreaded ‘Service Teams’
It happened quite suddenly and unexpectedly: One moment last week, I was enjoying an upgrade to my Verizon high speed Internet service; the next moment, kaput: nothing but digital silence. About an hour before the line disappeared, I received a call from a Verizon service person in Silver Springs, Maryland, advising me that my line was about to be cut.
She went on to explain that while implementing the upgrade, a technician had “accidentally pushed the wrong button in the central office” and that my line was about to crash. There was nothing she could do about it right then and there, she explained, because Verizon’s erroneous disconnect order had to go through before a second order to restore service could be processed. Not to worry, the Verizon lady assured me, the Internet service would be up and running again before the close of business on Friday.
The day before that conversation, another Verizon person in Westfield advised me that my upgraded service would be available the following day: Two separate assurances of service on two separate days, and I still have an “accidentally disconnected” Verizon Internet line.
But that’s not all! About a week before those episodes, I found myself in an endless loop of international 800 telephone service calls to Verizon because the Internet line was acting funky. It was erratically dropping its connection: The modem’s LED Internet light was toggling from a pulsating green to solid red or no light at all. Not good! That means constant line interruptions.
The latter is what prompted my initial calls to Verizon and what led to a decision to upgrade to higher speeds. Ugh! The take-away behind all this is: May the gods have mercy on you if you ever have to deal with Verizon service people.
ASSESSMENT: Verizon is plagued by an inability to coordinate its disparate service units. The people who control service in the central offices where the rubber meets the road have no effective tie-in with the service people who man the 800 lines. The latter are located worldwide: On this single service issue, I spoke with at least two persons in the Philippines, as well as others located there or elsewhere. The total number of calls which I made (I have profuse notes) is beyond the threshold of what is required to fix a still unresolved, mundane technical issue.
EXAMPLE: Sensing customer frustration, one service person at the end of an 800 line tried to reassure me: She “promised” that my Internet service would be up and running “within 12 hours.” That’s when I heard the rooster crow in the background, with the sinking feeling that I was being betrayed for the third time by a company whose representatives like to end calls by telling us how much Verizon values our business.
Saturday afternoon, the wisest Verizon person was the one who admitted, “I can’t tell you when your Internet service will be restored.” Around 1:30 pm, Monday, when I left my home office for the Bridgewater Library to post this entry, the Internet line was still buried somewhere in a technical graveyard.
She went on to explain that while implementing the upgrade, a technician had “accidentally pushed the wrong button in the central office” and that my line was about to crash. There was nothing she could do about it right then and there, she explained, because Verizon’s erroneous disconnect order had to go through before a second order to restore service could be processed. Not to worry, the Verizon lady assured me, the Internet service would be up and running again before the close of business on Friday.
The day before that conversation, another Verizon person in Westfield advised me that my upgraded service would be available the following day: Two separate assurances of service on two separate days, and I still have an “accidentally disconnected” Verizon Internet line.
But that’s not all! About a week before those episodes, I found myself in an endless loop of international 800 telephone service calls to Verizon because the Internet line was acting funky. It was erratically dropping its connection: The modem’s LED Internet light was toggling from a pulsating green to solid red or no light at all. Not good! That means constant line interruptions.
The latter is what prompted my initial calls to Verizon and what led to a decision to upgrade to higher speeds. Ugh! The take-away behind all this is: May the gods have mercy on you if you ever have to deal with Verizon service people.
ASSESSMENT: Verizon is plagued by an inability to coordinate its disparate service units. The people who control service in the central offices where the rubber meets the road have no effective tie-in with the service people who man the 800 lines. The latter are located worldwide: On this single service issue, I spoke with at least two persons in the Philippines, as well as others located there or elsewhere. The total number of calls which I made (I have profuse notes) is beyond the threshold of what is required to fix a still unresolved, mundane technical issue.
EXAMPLE: Sensing customer frustration, one service person at the end of an 800 line tried to reassure me: She “promised” that my Internet service would be up and running “within 12 hours.” That’s when I heard the rooster crow in the background, with the sinking feeling that I was being betrayed for the third time by a company whose representatives like to end calls by telling us how much Verizon values our business.
Saturday afternoon, the wisest Verizon person was the one who admitted, “I can’t tell you when your Internet service will be restored.” Around 1:30 pm, Monday, when I left my home office for the Bridgewater Library to post this entry, the Internet line was still buried somewhere in a technical graveyard.
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