debt

As Washington D.C. bickers over whether to issue the country another credit card in the form of the U.S. debt ceiling, Forrester Research predicts that the outcome will affect technology spending.

In a blog post, Forrester analyst Andrew Bartels said Forrester was planning to project 7.4 percent growth in IT spending for 2011 and 10.4 percent in 2012.

However, the outcome of U.S. debt ceiling talks will swing those forecasts. After all, the feds are a big buyer of technology.

Bartels wrote:

Aunt Jill aka @JillonMoney from CBS's MoneyWatch.com is on the show today to explain the upcoming US debt ceiling deadline. With the zero-hour approaching next Tuesday, August 2, Jill eases our fears that the economy will collapse and offers helpful tips on what exactly to expect, and how to prepare for economic fallout.

Congressional leaders seem to be throwing everything but the kitchen sink into the debate over the budget and raising the debt ceiling. Now it looks like the incentive wireless spectrum auctions proposed by the Federal Communications Commission may end up as part of a package that is being hashed out by Republicans and Democrats in Washington, D.C.

On Monday, Senate Majority leader Harry Reid included the sale of wireless spectrum to mobile broadband providers in his proposed package of cuts and revenue-raisers. He said he expects the sale of wireless spectrum to generate $15 billion in revenue for the … Read more

Links from Wednesday's episode of Loaded:

Doodle-4-Google gets the search giant into more privacy trouble because of the possibility of storing children's Social Security numbers

iPad 2 might get a launch date as early as next week

Amazon Prime customers get Instant Streaming video with over 5,000 titles

China launches an official government search engine with Panguso

Mint.com gets new "Get Out of Debt" tools

Yahoo! Video gets rid of user-generated content, so download your uploads before March 14th

Tech, media, and telecom companies in emerging markets and those considered "digital innovators" are among the world's tops in providing value to their investors, according to a new study from the Boston Consulting Group.

Out today, the report "Swimming Against the Tide: How Technology, Media, and Telecommunications Companies Can Prosper in the New Economic Reality" found that seven of the top 10 telecom performers, five of the top 10 media performers, and four of the top 10 technology performers are in India, Taiwan, Mexico, China, and other emerging markets. But global companies tuned into the … Read more

As competition in the 4G wireless market heats up, Clearwire has finalized a deal to create more funding so it can continue building its nationwide 4G wireless network.

It also has released a new product.

The company said today it plans to sell more than $1.1 billion in a debt offering. The company has spent months negotiating and looking for ways to inject more money into the business. The company said last month that without new funding it might not be able to continue building its nationwide WiMax 4G wireless network.

Clearwire is majority owned by Sprint Nextel, the … Read more

IT spending is still expected to rise this year over 2009, but Gartner believes that European debt problems may put a damper on its previous expectations for growth.

The market researcher said Thursday it has trimmed its estimate for IT spending for 2010 to $3.35 trillion, a gain of 3.9 percent over last year's $3.23 trillion. That marks a lower forecast than the 5.3 percent rise Gartner projected in the first quarter. The company attributed the new outlook to the effects of the devaluation of the euro versus the U.S. dollar.

"The European … Read more

What's remarkable about auto dealers is that they're not merely untrustworthy, but many of them are rather untrusting.

It seems that some sell their cars equipped with Web-based vehicle immobilization systems, just in case the buyer begins to falter on his or her payments.

Imagine the scene, then, in Austin, Texas, when cars suddenly wouldn't start or their horns would blare nonstop for hours. Did anyone imagine that a mass vehicle-immobilization attack was in progress? Probably not. More likely they imagined that some attendees of SXSW had found yet another way to prove to the world just … Read more

Aunt Jill Schlesinger joins the show today to talk about the value of bagels. That's right, for the last two days, Wilson has started the show by munching down on his new brunch fave: an onion bagel with lox and vegetable cream cheese. She makes her recommendations for the best bagels in town, and you might be surprised to find out that she's in love with a bagel made by a Vietnamese guy. In the meanwhile, she tells Justin that given his meager investments of 16 cents in his IRA, he should just file the 1040EZ.

When we finally get into some questions, Jill spreads her financial love. First up was a question about whether you should pay down student loan debt first or shove cash under your pillow. Aunt Jill says the equation is simple. First, have about 6 to 12 months of living expenses saved up. Second, pay down your debt if the interest rate is higher on the debt than your savings, which more than likely is the case now.

Next, we had a question about whether to throw your money into a 401(k) account. One listener doesn't trust the market, but given his age, Jill says he should man up and put his money into the market. He has 40 years of work left and during that time the market is going to go up. There will be some downs, she says; however, she believes there will be more ups than downs. Jeff thinks at the rate Social Security is going, though, that he might have another 70 years left of working.

We got a lot more questions answered on this surprisingly educational episode of The 404. Just to keep it in the tech world, we asked Jill if there were any technology-related investments we should make. Jill points out that this is the ultimate "put all your eggs in one basket" for people who work in tech! Spread the risk! Wilson thinks that he should take all his money out of APPL right now.

As usual, we love having Jill on the show. If you have any more questions for her, be sure to add her on the Twitter at @jillonmoney. In the meantime, add The 404 at @the404, or the rest of the guys at @rhapsodyartist, @jeffbakalar, and @malusbrutus. Plus, you can check out her daily ramblings at CBS MoneyWatch. Call in and leave your Jill love at 1-866-404-CNET (2638). Tomorrow, we have the lovely Alison Rosen on the show to talk all manners inappropriate.

… Read more