AT&T To Acquire EchoStar?
As a DISH subscriber, I am not too sure I am happy with this news.
AT&T Inc (T.N) is trying to put together a bid for EchoStar Communications Corp (DISH.O) before the end of the year, whetted by the satellite operator’s recent stock dip, according to Barron’s financial newspaper.
Shares of the second-largest U.S. satellite television operator fell 24 percent in one month, Barron’s said in its November 19 edition, which may make reaching an agreement on a share purchase price easier.
In the past, AT&T has supposedly offered $65 a share and EchoStar has demanded $75 a share, Barron’s said.
At Friday close, EchoStar’s stock was at $39.83 on the Nasdaq, up 32 cents on the day.
Citing a person familiar with the company, Barron’s said AT&T would like to get a deal done quickly because it wants an agreement in place before the next presidential election, when any victory for the Democrats, antitrust experts believe, would probably mean increased scrutiny of mergers and acquisitions.
In the past, I never had a good experience with AT&T. I wonder if the new AT&T is better? If not, I may find myself checking out DirecTV in a year or so.
Sphere: Related ContentKen Lay’s Widow Fights To Keep Money
It amazes me that there is any doubt in anyone’s mind about Ken Lay’s guilt in this case.
On the other hand though, if his convictions were vacated upon his death, does the government really have the right to seize the “proceeds of the fraud” that he was technically not convicted of committing?
A judge says the federal government can proceed with its attempt to seize nearly $13 million from the estate of former Enron Corp. founder Kenneth Lay.
U.S. District Judge Ewing Werlein rejected a request from Lay’s widow to halt the government’s bid for the money, which prosecutors claim were “proceeds of the fraud proven in the criminal case against Lay.”
Kenneth Lay had been convicted in May 2006 of 10 counts of fraud, conspiracy and lying to banks in two separate cases. A judge ruled last fall that Lay’s death of heart disease in July 2006 vacated his convictions because Lay couldn’t challenge them.
But Werlein wrote in his ruling Wednesday that prosecutors had “ample allegations” of criminal activity tied to the cash and property to pursue their civil forfeiture case.
Linda Lay, wife of the former Enron head, will continue to fight the attempts to seize the assets, which include the family condominium valued at $6 million, said Samuel Buffone, her attorney.
The government will have to prove his guilt again at a civil forfeiture trial, but the burden of proof is lower than in a criminal case.
Interesting, that’s for sure. There is no doubt Ken Lay did the things he was convicted of, but this seems like a huge technical loophole to me. If his convictions were vacated by the court upon his death, then any monetary fines and “proceeds” should automatically be vacated too, shouldn’t they?
No, I am not taking Ken Lay’s side, but rather pointing out the fact that the government is trying to seize funds from his estate when there has technically not been a conviction. What happens when they seize your home and your assets because of the “proceeds” of your activities, whether or not you were ever brought to trial and/or convicted?
Sure, they are pursuing it through a civil forfeiture trial, but the whole thing reeks if you ask me. His convictions never should have been vacated.
La-Z-Boy Posts Loss, Furniture To Blame?
It could be the housing market, or it could be the fact that La-Z-Boy furniture just isn’t what it used to be.
My mom bought two La-Z-Boy recliners and a sleeper sofa over a decade ago. She just moved across country and that furniture is still in excellent condition, they are comfortable, and they are great.
We purchased a sofa, a couple recliners and another chair from them about 5 years ago, and the sofa is on it’s last legs, springs are popping in it, one of the chairs is more uncomfortable than sitting on a concrete pad, one recliner broke ages ago, and we are seriously contemplating if we want to spend money at La-Z-Boy ever again. We spent almost $4,000 on that furniture, why would I toss more money down that hole?
Furniture maker and retailer La-Z-Boy Inc (LZB.N) reported a quarterly loss on Tuesday and the company said it would not meet its fiscal 2008 outlook, hurt by a depressed housing market and disappointing sales.
The company cited continued weak overall demand for furniture and said it was delaying plans for new stores in southeastern Florida due to the depressed housing market there.
A net loss in the fiscal second quarter came to $9.9 million, or 19 cents per share, on charges related to write-downs, restructuring and discontinued operations, compared with a year-ago profit of $1.95 million, or 4 cents per share .
And don’t even get me started on their delivery staff. Maybe this loss will force them to finally look at the big picture and realize they are making crappy furniture.
Sphere: Related ContentCountrywide Deserves A Larger Drop
Honestly, I am surprised Countrywide is still in the game. I guess being the largest mortgage lender in the country has buffered them a bit as the subprime market goes belly up.
Countrywide Financial Corp (CFC.N) on Tuesday said October mortgage loan volume fell 48 percent from a year earlier, but credit quality has begun to stabilize as the largest U.S. mortgage lender curtails riskier home loans.
The company also said it ended October with 52,775 employees, down 2,077 from September and 8,092 from August. Countrywide plans to eliminate up to 12,000 jobs by December as it focuses on making smaller, safer — and fewer — loans.
Countrywide said it lost $1.2 billion in the third quarter, but expects to be profitable this quarter and in 2008, despite a projected 30 percent drop next year in U.S. mortgage volume.
One thing I do know about Countrywide, they are NOT working with some people stuck in those loans.
This I know for a fact. My mom has tried to work get Countrywide to help her, to no avail, over the course of the previous 8 months. She even sent them a certified letter and they refused to sign for it, which means they don’t even care what she had to tell them.
Great way to work with people.
GM Posts Record Loss
Losses eight times larger than average Wall Street forecasts, and we still depend on those same analysts when it comes to the stock market, economy and other important stuff?
General Motors Corp (GM.N) posted its largest quarterly net loss on Wednesday, reflecting a $39-billion charge related to unclaimed tax credits and a loss at its former finance subsidiary GMAC.
The largest U.S. automaker posted a third-quarter net loss of $39 billion, or $68.85 per share, compared with a loss of $147 million, or 26 cents per share a year earlier.
Excluding one-time items, GM reported a net loss of $1.6 billion, or $2.80 per share. The loss on that basis was about eight times larger than the average Wall Street forecast.
Imagine how things would be if those analysts decided to mess with our heads. I can’t imagine losing $39 billion. I get sick when I can’t find the $20 I had on me the night before.
Sphere: Related ContentUAW Convinced Ford To Keep Plants
It’s amazing what the UAW can accomplish through “negotiations”.
Ford Motor Co (F.N) agreed to keep three U.S. plants open and delay closing another two as part of a tentative four-year contract with the United Auto Workers unanimously endorsed by union officials on Monday.
The endorsement sets the stage for a ratification vote by some 58,000 UAW-represented Ford workers expected to conclude by next Monday without the kind of deep-seated division that marked debate over the union’s earlier deal with Chrysler LLC.
Under the tentative deal, Ford pulled back from a plan to close six U.S. facilities that it had not yet identified, sparing three U.S. assembly plants from closure.
I guess the UAW got a little skittish after Chysler announced they were cutting jobs and scrapping models right after their contract was ratified. I wonder if Ford will just close different plants, or cut jobs at them, like Chrysler? It wouldn’t surprise me.
Most Oil Company Earnings Lower This Quarter
Ouch. Their net income dropped from $5.01 billion to $3.72 billion. How ever will they survive with only $3.72 billion in net income?
Chevron Corp’s (CVX.N) third-quarter earnings fell more than 25 percent, missing analyst estimates on sharply lower profits from gasoline production.
Margins to produce gasoline and other refined products plummeted during the quarter as prices for the fuel did not keep pace with surging crude oil prices, dragging down earnings across the industry.
Exxon Mobil Corp (XOM.N), BP Plc (BP.L), Royal Dutch Shell Plc (RDSa.L), and ConocoPhillips (COP.N) all posted lower third-quarter earnings despite the sky-high oil prices.
Chevron, the No. 2 U.S. oil company, said on Friday its net income dropped to $3.72 billion, or $1.75 a share, from $5.01 billion, or $2.29 a share, a year earlier.
Excluding about $400 million of one-time items, it posted earnings of about $1.94 a share, coming in behind the average analyst estimate of $2.07 a share.
Revenue in the quarter rose to $55.17 billion from $54.21 billion.
Maybe, just maybe, if they weren’t gouging the customers so bad before the price of oil went through the roof, they wouldn’t be crying about the lower earnings now.
Sphere: Related ContentFifty Straight Months Of Job Growth
Just two days ago, analysts were remarking about how bad our economy is (once again), because of the market tanking over 300 points.
But now, things are looking bright again because the economy added double the number of jobs that those same analysts had predicted.
Employers added twice as many new jobs to their ranks than expected in October, an encouraging sign that the nation’s employment climate is not cracking under the stress of a deepening housing slump.
The Labor Department reported Friday that the nation’s payrolls grew by a net 166,000, the most in five months. The unemployment rate didn’t budge at 4.7 percent, a figure considered low by historical standards.
Job gains were logged at schools, hospitals, bars and restaurants, hotels and motels, temporary-help firms, legal services, accounting and bookkeeping companies, the government and other places.
We’ve had 50 straight months of uninterrupted job growth, which sure doesn’t sound like a “bad economy” to me. Then again, no one has sneezed today.
Someone Sneezes. Dow Drops 370 Points.
Oh boy, here we go again, all doom and gloom about the economy…
Wall Street plunged Thursday, pulling the Dow Jones industrial average down more than 360 points as investors found themselves confronted by two uncomfortable prospects: an end to interest rate cuts and a slowing economy.
Mindful of a warning from the Federal Reserve Wednesday about inflation, the market nervously watched the price of oil, which passed $96 a barrel overnight for the first time before dipping on profit- taking. The Fed, which cut interest rates a quarter point, said in a statement that inflation remained a concern, and oil’s ascent to another record raised the possibility not only that the Fed might stop cutting rates, but that it might even consider raising them if inflation accelerates.
Meanwhile, Wall Street also had to contend with concerns about a slowing economy. A report from the Commerce Department indicated consumers scaled back their spending in September as worries mounted about a worsening housing market and further credit market turmoil. And a trade group reported that manufacturing in the U.S. grew in October at the weakest pace since March.
We all knew oil was going to hit $100 a barrel soon enough, so why are they all bent out of shape about that now? It’s not like they didn’t know it was coming. And what about the slowdown of the economy? Haven’t they noticed that the economy always slows down in the fall?
Today was just another example of hype affecting the economy rather than true economic factors. You’ll see. The market will rally in a day or two and no one will mention today’s drop or even reference it when that happens.
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