HONG KONG, China — “What does that mean… in English?” That is the question I seem to get most these days. Short selling, credit debt swaps, bank holding companies — the business speak is coming fast and thick and it is putting fear into the heart of many journalists and non-journalists alike. Those of us working in CNN’s business units have never felt so popular — if you can call it that.

Understanding and explaining what is happening in the financial markets is our biggest challenge right now. Some of this stuff, like short selling, is familiar territory for financial journalists. But some of the jargon is unfamiliar to us also, and we are working hard to learn and to translate it in a clear way.

If there is anything that needs to be explained, please post your comments on this blog or email yourviews@cnn.com

I tell my CNN colleagues who feel overwhelmed that the financial instruments involved in this meltdown are so complex that many of the bankers involved don’t even understand them.

That might make them feel better — but then the same thought always sends me into a panic.

The branding was not subtle. Giant banners reading PokerStars.Net surrounded the competitors in this year’s Asia Pacific Poker Tour Macao event. I guess that is to be expected. Such online sites bring in much of the poker industry’s revenue. They also sponsor many of the tournaments and competitors.

Watch CNN’s Eunice Yoon on China’s gambling habits.

The appeal, according to some players, is that anyone can play online. No intimidating casino, no need to travel — poker from the comfort of your own home.

But you can use online poker as a stepping stone. The appropriately named Chris Moneymaker, one of the game’s biggest celebrities, won the 2003 World Series of Poker, and $2.5 million, after qualifying online.

From the players I saw in Macao, poker players pretty much run the gamut. Young and old, men and women. There was even one guy dressed as a joker.

So here come the questions. Do you play online poker? Would you play at the casino? Is there something about the Internet that boosts your confidence?

HONG KONG — For Yin Ho, fame was instantaneous.

The first in line, Ho was mobbed Friday by the hordes of press covering the launch of the iPhone 3G here in Hong Kong. And he was enjoying the glory, posing with an enormous grin for the camera, first with a sample phone, then with his own precious handset.

Hong Kong did not have the queues of Japan or the United States. Carrier Hutchison Telecom had an online lottery to pick the first 500 customers to receive the iPhone. More than 60,000 applied. New iPhones were also given to select friends and loyal customers of the company.  

Officially, the new iPhone 3G is the first to be released in Hong Kong. In reality, the original iPhone is everywhere, brought over from the United States or Western Europe and unlocked to run on networks other than Apple’s approved service providers. Many of the customers in line for the new phone on Friday proudly showed me their original models. The taxi driver who took us to the launch this morning even had one on his dash.

Critics might complain about the new iPhone’s price plans, battery life or features that don’t measure up against existing phones on the market in Asia. For the die-hard iPhone fans online this morning in Hong Kong, none of that mattered. They wanted the new phone, for status, for the new features, for its style. And they wanted to tell all their friends they had it first.