T mobile v sprint

Verizon Communications Inc. closed the books on a critical quarter. The company named its next CEO, shut down its latest experiment in a string of failed mobile-video services, geared up for its rollout of 5G network service and watched with insouciance as its three closest rivals—AT&T Inc., T-Mobile US Inc. and Sprint Corp.—took bold steps on the merger front. All this is giving a clearer picture of what a future Verizon looks like in a world where telecommunications, media distribution and entertainment are converging and industry stalwarts try to ward off Netflix Inc., a cash-burning, debt-dependent business that’s somehow never been a bigger threat. Verizon is signaling that its focus will remain where it’s always been—on its network technology—rather than jumping on the deal bandwagon or going all-in on a content bet. That’s not for lack of trying.  Verizon said Tuesday that it took a $658 million … [Read more...] about Verizon Snubs Hollywood for Tech. Good Call.

People are worried about stock buybacks.One reason that people sometimes worry about stock buybacks is that they are supposedly a form of market manipulation: If a company buys its own stock, it’s probably because it wants the stock to go up, and that is arguably manipulative. People who dislike stock buybacks often make this argument. But people who like stock buybacks also seem to assume that they are a little manipulative, and so you often get articles where people worry that, without enough corporate buybacks, there’ll be no one to prop up the prices of stocks. And in fact the original understanding, way back in ancient financial history, was that corporate stock buybacks were probably illegal market manipulation, and so companies rarely did them. And then in 1982 the Securities and Exchange Commission came along with Rule 10b-18, which gives companies a “safe harbor” from manipulation liability if they follow its … [Read more...] about Companies Want Buybacks to Be Easier