A year in deals: bring your M&A-game

The telco industry’s dealmakers were out in force in 2016, as players sought greater scale or eyed opportunities in adjacent markets. With the year rapidly drawing to a close, it is time to look back at some of the industry’s biggest transactions, and what happened after pen was put to paper.

Air Force Cautions Trump Team on Defense Costs

The U.S. Air Force general in charge of the F-35 fighter jet program disputed President Elect Donald Trump’s contention that costs have run out of control, saying the days of price and schedule overruns in development of the new fighter jet largely ended in 2011. Air Force Lt.

Trump Passes 270 Electoral College Vote Count For Presidency

Donald Trump cleared the bar of 270 cast electoral college votes late Monday, putting him on track to become the nation’s 45th president. With 306 electoral college votes pledged in the Nov. 8 election, Trump surpassed the needed 270 votes to secure the presidency following votes cast in Texas, according to a tally by the Associated Press .

Time to Take a Second Look at Emerging Market Bond ETFs

Following Donald Trumps election day win, investors sold off emerging market assets and related exchange traded funds in a knee-jerk reaction to the President-elect’s protectionist rhetoric and strengthening U.S. dollar. With the dust settling, some investors are taking a second look at potentially oversold emerging market bonds.

This Bank Stock Is Getting Way Too Expensive

But the downside to such a sterling and well-deserved reputation is that shares of the Minneapolis-based bank have gotten to be expensive. U.S. Bancorp’s stock has gained nearly 17% since the beginning of November, with the presidential election serving as the catalyst.

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Claims examiner Penny Erney, who is undergoing chemotherapy, packs up her cubical at Office of Unemployment Compensation in Harrisburg, Pa., Monday, Dec. 19, 2016. Erney is one of about 500 workers at the state Department of Labor and Industry were … spending their last day on the job Monday, before being laid off because of a funding dispute between the Wolf Administration and Senate Republicans.

Mayor hails rejection of suit against Philadelphia soda tax

The mayor of Philadelphia is hailing a judge’s dismissal of a lawsuit aimed at blocking the soda tax set to take effect the city next month. Mayor Jim Kenney called Monday’s ruling a “victory for Philadelphians who have waited far too long for investment in their education system and in their neighborhoods.”

Interest rates on short-term Treasury bills mixed

Interest rates on short-term Treasury bills were mixed in Monday’s auction, with rates on three-month bills falling and rates on six-month bills ending unchanged. The Treasury Department auctioned $34 billion in three-month bills at a discount rate of 0.515 percent, down from 0.530 percent last week.

IMF Executive Board Backs Lagarde Despite Verdict Against Her

The executive board of the International Monetary Fund said Monday it had “full confidence” in IMF Managing Director Christine Lagarde despite a French court convicting her of negligence. “The executive board reaffirms its full confidence in the managing director’s ability to continue to effectively carry out her duties,” the IMF board said in a statement.

1 Dakota Access pipeline suit on hold during related dispute

A lawsuit from two Sioux tribes seeking suing to stop the Dakota Access oil pipeline was put on hold while a separate but related court battle over the project plays out. Dallas-based pipeline developer Energy Transfer Partners is asking U.S. District Judge James Boasberg in Washington, D.C., to rule that the company received proper permission from the Army in July to lay pipe under a Missouri River reservoir in North Dakota – the last remaining chunk of construction for the $3.8 billion project.

Net Neutrality Rule to Get Scrutiny From FCC Republicans – Soon’

Republicans poised to control the Federal Communications Commission next month said they’d revisit the net neutrality regulation “as soon as possible,” laying out plans to address a rule they’ve opposed and that Democrats support. The statement Monday from Commissioners Ajit Pai and Michael O’Rielly indicates that opponents of the rule such as top broadband providers AT&T Inc. and Comcast Corp. may not need to wait for Congress to grapple with the regulation that requires equal treatment of web traffic.

Italy Paves Way for a $21 Billion Rescue Plan for Ailing Banks

The Italian government cleared the way for the potential rescue of lenders, including Banca Monte dei Paschi di Siena SpA, by seeking permission from parliament to increase the nation’s public debt by as much as 20 billion euros . Monte dei Paschi Chief Executive Officer Marco Morelli is scampering to find investors to back a private 5 billion-euro capital increase, which also includes a share sale and a debt-for-equity swap.

Icahn to Sell Rail Lessor to Sumitomo in $2.8 Billion Deal

Icahn Enterprises, the investment firm controlled by billionaire Carl Icahn, agreed to sell American Railcar Leasing to Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. in a deal that values the business at $2.78 billion including debt. The cash transaction involves 29,000 rail cars and is expected to close in the second quarter of 2017, Icahn Enterprises said in a statement Monday.

FCC Adopts Real-Time Text (RTT) Services for Americans with Disabilities

CLEARWATER, Fla. – Dec. 19, 2016 – PRLog — FCC Adopts Real-Time Text Services for Americans with Disabilities The Federal Communications Commission on Dec 15th, 2016 ruled that phone companies replace the currently used text telephone communications to now support real-time text to provide better technology and more reliable telephone communications for Americans who are deaf, hard of hearing, Deaf-blind or those with a speech disability.

Women really are better doctors, study suggests

If male doctors were able to do as well as their female counterparts when treating elderly patients in the hospital, they could save 32,000 lives a year, according to a study of 1.5 million hospital visits. A month after patients were hospitalized, there was a small, but significant difference in the likelihood that they were still alive or had to be readmitted to the hospital depending on the gender of the doctor who cared for them, according to the study published in JAMA Internal Medicine .

Why Shares of Globalstar Inc. Rocketed Higher Today

The FCC is reportedly set to consider a new proposal from the company after a previous plan was shot down earlier this year. surged on Monday following news that the Federal Communications Commission has drafted a new proposed order in response to a revised proposal that Globalstar filed on Nov. 9. The stock was up 47% at 10:45 a.m. EST.

Disney Should Be ‘Heralded’: More Squawk From Jim Cramer

It is ‘very important’ that the story on Disney not be so attached to the success of ESPN, TheStreet’s Jim Cramer said. Shares of Walt Disney were climbing in early morning trading on Monday, after Bank of America/Merrill Lynch added the stock to its U.S.1 list, saying the company is primed to outperform in 2017.

Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.A) Gains Ahead of Dow Chemical Stock Conversion

The chemical giant plans to convert Berkshire Hathaway’s 3 million shares of preferred stock into common stock by year’s end. Shares of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway were up .44% to $247,500 in Monday morning trading as the market reacted to Dow Chemical’s Friday announcement that it will convert the conglomerate’s preferred stock stake in the company into common stock by the end of the year.

5 Lowest 7-Year ARM Mortgage Rates

Homebuyers can still snag the absolute lowest rates, especially if they don’t plan on staying in their first home for more seven years. U.S. mortgage rates have risen in the aftermath of the presidential election, as potential homeowners face higher monthly payments amid a stagnant economy with slow wage growth.

Which Companies Are Changing Direction

Below is a list of names for those charts we feel are showing technical characteristics of either bullish or bearish reversal patterns that occurred over the past week. Bullish reversals imply institutional accumulation and the potential for higher prices.

Mistry Resigns From Tata Companies Amid Fight With Scion

Ousted Tata Sons Ltd. Chairman Cyrus Mistry resigned as director of group companies as the units prepared to host shareholder meetings to remove him from the boards in a brawl for control of the $100 billion group. Mistry stepped down as a director in Tata Steel Ltd. and Indian Hotels Co., and as chairman of Tata Motors Ltd., the three companies said in stock exchange filings on Monday.

SCA Enters Wound Care With $2.9 Billion Deal Ahead of Spin

Svenska Cellulosa AB will acquire BSN Medical for 2.74 billion euros as the Swedish maker of Velvet tissues expands into wound care and orthopedics ahead of a planned split from forestry products. The purchase of the dressings-and-bandage maker from private equity firm EQT Partners AB, to be funded through debt, is expected to generate annual synergies of 30 million euros within three years, the Stockholm-based company said in a statement on Monday.

BlackBerry Opens Site to Shore Up Self-Driving Car Research

BlackBerry Ltd. and Canada are opening a research center for self-driving cars that raises the possibility of government backing for the former smartphone maker’s automotive software unit. Chief Executive Officer John Chen and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau announced the center at QNX’s headquarters near Ottawa, Ontario, where it will be based.

Iran Drops A380s in Airbus Plan as Jet Struggles for Deals

Airbus Group SE suffered a blow to its already troubled A380 program when Iran, which had previously suggested it would buy the double-decker planes, said it had dropped the model as part of a wider fleet upgrade. Iran reduced its order with Airbus to 100 planes in a contract that will no longer include A380s, Farhad Parvaresh, Iran Air’s chief executive officer, said in a press conference in Tehran.

OPEC Deal Makes Oil Investors Most Bullish Since Slump Began

Money managers boosted bets on rising West Texas Intermediate crude prices to the highest level since July 2014 after the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries and producers outside the group agreed to coordinate crude production cuts. Prices advanced to a 17-month high on Dec. 12 on speculation that the curbs will reduce the global inventory glut next year.

Tri-Cities Braces For Wintry Weekend

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