By Elizabeth O’Brien; MarketWatch ~ May 21, 2014

Many investors recognize the importance of a diversified portfolio. And with good reason—a balanced investment mix can help ensure you don’t outlive your money in
retirement. But fewer see the importance of diversifying an equally important
asset: your social portfolio.

Just as it would be foolish to pour your entire savings into an individual stock, it’d be unwise to bank your retirement on a single activity or just one person, said John T.
Cacioppo, a professor of psychology at the University of Chicago and the
director of the university’s Center for Cognitive & Social Neuroscience. “We think about financial protection in retirement, but we think very little about social resilience after retirement,” Cacioppo said.

By Ryan Nakashima; The Associated Press ~ May 19, 2014

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Ready to bundle your mobile phone and TV bills together? That is one of the changes customers can expect if AT&T Inc.’s proposed $48.5 billion acquisition of DirecTV is approved by regulators.

Here’s a quick look at the consumer impact of the deal, based on information provided by the companies:

Q. How will my bill change?

A. For the time being, not at all. The deal is subject to government approval in both the U.S. and Latin America. Until the transaction is approved, the companies will operate separately. AT&T and DirecTV expect to close the deal within 12 months.

After that, however, the companies say a single bill for mobile phone, Internet service and TV can be offered in certain areas.

By Julian Hattem; The Hill ~ May 19, 2014

DirecTV, the No. 1 U.S. satellite TV operator, said on Sunday it has agreed to sell itself to AT&T for $48.5 billion, in the second mega-deal to shake up the U.S. television landscape this year. AT&T said it is…

The House Judiciary Committee will hold a hearing to explore the pros and cons of AT&T’s $48.5 billion plan to buy DirecTV.

The panel announced the plans late on Sunday evening. The inquiry is likely to mirror oversight of the planned $45 billion merger between Comcast and Time Warner Cable.

The Associated Press ~ May 18, 2014

DALLAS (AP) — AT&T Inc. on Sunday agreed to buy satellite TV provider DirecTV for $48.5 billion, or $95 per share, a move that gives telecommunications company a larger base of video subscribers and increases its ability to compete against rivals.

AT&T currently offers a high-speed Internet plan in a bundle with DirecTV television service. The acquisition would help it further reap the benefits of that alliance. AT&T could also use the deal to improve its Internet service by pushing its existing U-verse TV subscribers into DirecTV’s video-over-satellite service, freeing up bandwidth on its telecommunications network.

By Nancy Mann Jackson; Yahoo Finance ~ May 17, 2014

Everyone makes mistakes with money. We don’t save enough, or we spend too much on something frivolous. We sell shares in a stock too soon or not soon enough. “But there are also financial concerns that are unique to different stages of life,” says Joel Ohman, CFP and founder of InsuranceProviders.com. Avoiding them as you go along can save you a lot of stress (and money!) both now and in your next stage of life.

As you maneuver through life’s ups and downs, here are the slipups to watch out for in each decade.

By Robert Powell; MarketWatch ~ May 17, 2014

What worries you most about retirement? Well, if you’re like most retirees and pre-retirees maintaining the value of your savings and having your investments keep pace with inflation concern you most, according to a new survey published by the Society of Actuaries.

And having enough money to pay for health care and long-term care rounds out the top three concerns, according to the 32-page 2013 Risks and Process of Retirement Survey Report — Understanding and Managing the Risks of Retirement .

By Dan Jones; Light Reading ~ May 16, 2014

AT&T is plunging deeper into the world of software-defined networking with plans to develop its own controller for network bandwidth allocation and other services this year.

At an “Innovation Showcase” in New York City Friday, Marian Croak, AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) SVP of Domain 2.0 architecture and advanced services development, revealed that the operator is working on a “controller” to manage network functions and services as Ma Bell moves to run its network on “low-cost hardware” with the functionality abstracted into software. (See AT&T Spotlights Early SDN Efforts.)

By Ricardo Alonso-Zaldivar; The Associated Press ~ May 15, 2014

WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration has given the go-ahead for insurers and employers to use a new cost-control strategy that puts a hard dollar limit on what health plans pay for some expensive procedures, such as knee and hip replacements.

Some experts worry that such a move would surprise patients who pick more expensive hospitals. The cost difference would leave them with big medical bills that they’d have to pay themselves.

By Sarah Reedy; Light Reading ~ May 15, 2014

As expected, AT&T will launch its first voice-over-LTE (VoLTE) markets on May 23. (See AT&T to Gain 4G Voice May 23?)

The carrier confirmed on Thursday that it will introduce high-definition VoLTE in selected areas of Illinois, Indiana, Minnesota, and Wisconsin next week. At launch, the HD VoLTE service will be only enabled on the Samsung Galaxy S4 Mini, but AT&T Inc. (NYSE: T) says more VoLTE-enabled devices are to come.

AT&T marks the third VoLTE announcement this week, and the first launch date confirmed by a Tier 1 operator in the US. Japan’s NTT DoCoMo Inc. (NYSE: DCM) said it would turn on its 4G voice service in late June, and Hong Kong’s HKT Ltd. also announced its VoLTE launch with Huawei Technologies Co. Ltd. enabling seamless handover 4G to 3G and between voice and video calls. (See NTT DoCoMo to Launch VoLTE Service.)

Federal regulators decline to cap amount of spectrum wireless giants can buy
By Allan Holmes; The Center for Public Integrity ~ May 15, 2014

The Federal Communications Commission handed Verizon Communications Inc. and AT&T Inc. a victory Thursday when it agreed on a plan to auction valuable radio signals next year that will allow the two giant carriers to bid on most of the frequencies expected to be up for sale.

The agency was under pressure by consumer groups and smaller wireless carriers such as T-Mobile Inc. and Sprint Corp. to cap the amount of spectrum the wireless giants could buy so as to ensure competition in the industry.

The commissioners voted 3-2 along party lines to reserve just part of the airwaves being auctioned for small wireless carriers, rather than establishing a hard cap on how much spectrum Verizon and AT&T can purchase.