Wednesday, October 20, 2004

Alcatel and SBC Alcatel wins $1.7 billion SBC contract. SBC Communications taps the French telecom equipment maker to upgrade its network with fiber-optic technology. [CNET News.com] 10:29:58 PM

Mediaburn and the Subject of 'Frame Dragging' Experiments Claim to See Einstein's "Frame Dragging" [Scientific American] 10:22:12 PM

Banking Consolidation Pressures Build in Italy Banking consolidation pressures build in Italy European financial groups are putting pressure on Italy to loosen up rules on bank mergers and acquisitions. According to a Financial Times article ("Groups call on Italy to ease rules on banks", 10/6/2004), the target is restrictive rules on foreign ownership of banks in Italy. It's a test case in the power of the EU to open borders to cross-ownership and runs against Italy's determined protectionism and encouragement of small business. EU banking commissions are working to limit the amount to which any country can protect ownership of its businesses. Among the large European banks who want to expand their Italian operations are Spain's top two banks, SCH (Santander Central Hispano) and BBVA (Banco Bilbao Vizcaya Argentaria), and the Netherlands ABN AMRO. According to the article, "ABN Amro sees Italy as a potential second European home market after the Netherlands." All three of these banks have minority stakes in Italian banks, but have been blocked by the Italian Government from gaining control of any banks. The head of the bank of Italy claims he wants to allow for more consolidation inside Italy (something that is happening slowly) before the borders are opened up for international mergers. It's a matter of time. New EU accounting rules will force weaker Italian banks to recapitalize, and the source of money is likely to come from other EU countries. National banking control is one of the last gasps for economic sovereignty in the EU, and that is under enormous pressure. This year's most spectacular cross-border move in Europe was SCH's move to buy Abbey National Bank in the UK. As US and Japanese banks get bigger, the pressure is on for European banks to expand, both worldwide and within the EU. [Oligopoly Watch] 10:12:12 PM

sky sky. johndan posted a photo: By (johndan). [johndan's Photos] 9:49:10 PM

Synchrotron Produces Brilliant Rays Flipping on the light switch of millions of suns [The Globe And Mail: National] 9:34:43 PM

Vacation and Vaccination Vancouver holds flu shot clinic for desperate Americans [The Globe And Mail: National] 9:25:16 PM

Ben Tucker, Quick Clip at John Kerry Rally in PA OpenPodcast.org Segment #21 [OpenPodcast.org] 9:15:08 PM

Congrats Boston!. Congratulations, Boston! And thank you so much for toasting the Yankees! [Jim Grisanzio] 9:06:03 PM

The Acoustic Storm's 6th Anniversary Show Each week, a different artist is spotlighted in "The Eye of The Acoustic Storm." Hourly segments of "The Eye" feature the artist's music along with bio information and sound bites. He was born David Robert Jones, but changed his name to David Bowie so as not to be confused with Davey Jones of the Monkees. Known as the "Thin White Duke," David Bowie recovered from heart surgery in June, 2004 and continues to work on new projects. Bowie will be featured in The Eye this weekend (10/23-24) on The Acoustic Storm's 6th anniversary show. Acoustic Storm radio affiliates around the country - includes live streaming. 7:13:06 PM

Mapo2ma Map o' World. o2ma posted a photo: By (o2ma). [o2ma's Photos] 6:05:09 PM