Chairman of US telecoms regulator backs T-Mobile, Sprint merger - Yahoo Finance

By David Shepardson and Diane Bartz

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Sprint Corp and T-Mobile US Inc has won the support of the chairman of the U.S. telecommunications regulator but will require a series of changes to their proposed $26 billion merger, including selling Sprint's Boost Mobile cell service.

Federal Communications Commission (FCC) Chairman Ajit Pai said on Monday he will recommend that the other four commissioners vote to approve the merger. A second member of the five-person FCC, Commissioner Brendan Carr, a Republican, also said he will vote to approve the deal.

Once an order is drafted, the full panel must vote to approve or reject the deal.

Sprint jumped 25.1% to $7.73 while T-Mobile was up 6% to $79.93.

The FCC will not formally vote on the merger on Monday but will first draft an order, two people briefed on the matter said. The Justice Department must also approve the deal.

In a filing with the FCC on Monday, the companies pledged to sell Boost Mobile, a prepaid wireless provider.

Altice USA, the fourth largest cable company, has urged the FCC to reject the deal because it was concerned the combined company could prevent it from offering phone service.

Altice has a Mobile Virtual Network Operator agreement with Sprint that would allow it to start offering mobile phone service later this year. The companies pledged they would not scrap the deal with Altice.

T-Mobile also promised that the new company would build a "world-leading 5G" network, the next generation of wireless service, to give rural Americans robust 5G broadband and enhance home broadband.

T-Mobile had said the companies were extending a deadline to complete their deal to July 29. The two are among just four national wireless carriers, with Verizon Communications and AT&T Inc leading the pack.

The FCC and Justice Department had been expected to make a decision in early June. They have been weighing a potential loss of competition, and subsequently higher prices for consumers, against the prospect of a more powerful No. 3 wireless carrier that can build a faster, better 5G network.

(Reporting by David Shepardson and Diane Bartz; Editing by Susan Heavey, Paul Simao and Jeffrey Benkoe)

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2019-05-20 13:58:00Z
CBMiSmh0dHBzOi8vZmluYW5jZS55YWhvby5jb20vbmV3cy9mY2Mtc3ByaW50LXQtbW9iaWxlLWFubm91bmNlLTEyMzE0NzUzNS5odG1s0gEA

FCC chairman backs T-Mobile, Sprint merger - CNBC

A T-Mobile and Sprint store sit side-by-side in a strip mall on April 30, 2018 in El Cerrito, California.

Getty Images

The chairman of the Federal Communications Commission says he plans to recommend the agency approve the $26.5 billion merger of wireless carriers T-Mobile US and Sprint, saying it'll speed up 5G deployment in the U.S.

FCC Chairman Ajit Pai also said Monday that the combination will help bring faster mobile broadband to rural Americans.

"Two of the FCC's top priorities are closing the digital divide in rural America and advancing United States leadership in 5G, the next generation of wireless connectivity. The commitments made today by T-Mobile and Sprint would substantially advance each of these critical objectives," he said in a statement.

Pai said the companies have committed to deploying a 5G network that would cover 97% of the U.S. population within three years of the closing of the merger and 99% of Americans within six years. In addition, 85% of rural Americans would be covered within three years and 90% covered within six years. T-Mobile and Sprint also guaranteed that 90% of Americans would have access to mobile broadband service at speeds of at least 100 Mbps and 99% would have access to speeds of at least 50 Mbps.

Pai said T-Mobile US Inc. and Sprint Corp. would suffer "serious consequences" if they don't meet their FCC commitments, including the possibility of having to pay billions to the Treasury Department.

Both the FCC and Justice Department must approve the deal. The companies argue that the combination will lead to better "5G" service, the next generation of wireless. They've also promised to create U.S. jobs and say they will compete with cable companies as well as Verizon and AT&T. Public-interest and labor groups have raised concerns about wireless price increases and job cuts.

The Obama administration rebuffed the companies' earlier effort to merge, as well as an attempted deal between AT&T and T-Mobile, on concerns that such deals would hurt competition in the wireless industry.

Shares of T-Mobile jumped nearly 7 percent in early trading, while Sprint's stock soared 27 percent.

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2019-05-20 13:44:18Z
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FCC Chairman will recommend Sprint, T-Mobile approval - Seeking Alpha

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FCC Chairman will recommend Sprint, T-Mobile approval  Seeking Alpha

Update: FCC Chairman Ajit Pai tells Bloomberg: "In light of the significant commitments made by T-Mobile and Sprint as well as the facts in the record to d.

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2019-05-20 12:46:00Z
CBMiWmh0dHBzOi8vc2Vla2luZ2FscGhhLmNvbS9uZXdzLzM0NjUyODctZmNjLWNoYWlybWFuLXdpbGwtcmVjb21tZW5kLXNwcmludC10LW1vYmlsZS1hcHByb3ZhbNIBXmh0dHBzOi8vc2Vla2luZ2FscGhhLmNvbS9hbXAvbmV3cy8zNDY1Mjg3LWZjYy1jaGFpcm1hbi13aWxsLXJlY29tbWVuZC1zcHJpbnQtdC1tb2JpbGUtYXBwcm92YWw

Stock futures drop on concerns over spiraling fallout of Huawei crackdown - Yahoo Finance

Traders work on the floor at the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York, U.S., May 16, 2019. REUTERS/Brendan McDermid

By Shreyashi Sanyal

(Reuters) - U.S. stock index futures fell on Monday, as fears over the impact on major technology companies from Washington's crackdown on China's Huawei Technologies added to concerns over worsening trade dispute between the world's two biggest economies.

Apple Inc's shares were down 2.4% premarket, while U.S. suppliers of Huawei including Qualcomm, Micron Technology and Broadcom Inc fell about 3%.

An HSBC warning that higher prices for Apple's products following the increases in China tariffs could have "dire consequences" on demand also pressured the iPhone maker's stock.

Huawei was officially added to a trade blacklist by the Trump administration on Thursday, escalating the already bitter trade war between the two parties, while China on Monday accused the United States of harboring "extravagant expectations" for a trade deal.

Alphabet Inc's Google has suspended some business with Huawei that requires the transfer of hardware, software and technical services, Reuters reported over the weekend.

Chipmakers including Intel Corp, Qualcomm, Xilinx Inc and Broadcom have told their employees they will not supply Huawei until further notice, Bloomberg reported on Sunday.

Shares of Alphabet, Facebook Inc and Microsoft Corp were all down 1.1%.

At 7:23 a.m. ET, Dow e-minis were down 121 points, or 0.47%. S&P 500 e-minis were down 16.25 points, or 0.57% and Nasdaq 100 e-minis were down 90.5 points, or 1.2%.

Heightening trade tensions pushed the S&P 500 and the Nasdaq to their second successive weekly declines on Friday, while the Dow Jones Industrial Average index capped a fourth straight week of losses, the longest such losing streak in three years.

Investors will also look for comments from a clutch of retailers reporting this week on the impact of the tariff war.

Home Depot, Nordstrom, Kohl's and Target are among retailers scheduled to report.

With 460 of S&P 500 companies having posted first-quarter results, 75.2% have topped analysts' profit expectations. Analysts now expect first-quarter earnings growth of 1.4%, a significant turnaround from the 2% loss expected on April 1, according to Refinitiv data.

Also on the radar is Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell's speech on "Assessing Risks to our Financial System" at an Atlanta Federal Reserve Bank conference at 7 p.m. ET (2300 GMT).

(Reporting by Shreyashi Sanyal in Bengaluru; Editing by Sriraj Kalluvila)

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2019-05-20 12:24:00Z
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Social Security Benefits Have Lost 33% of Their Buying Power Since 2000 - The Motley Fool

Millions of seniors collect Social Security in retirement, and for a large chunk, those benefits constitute the bulk of their income. Unfortunately, those who rely on Social Security too heavily risk struggling financially during their golden years, and new data from the nonpartisan Senior Citizens League is further driving home this point.

Social Security benefits have lost a whopping 33% of their buying power since 2000, according to a new report. And even though recipients saw a pretty generous cost-of-living adjustment, or COLA, in 2019, that boost was effectively negated by other rising expenses.

Food and medical costs -- things seniors tend to spend a large of their income on -- rose more so than other common expenses, leaving beneficiaries to bear the brunt. And despite the fact that the average monthly Social Security benefit rose by $39 this year, that increase wasn't enough to compensate for the fact that the overall cost of living is rising more rapidly.

IMAGE SOURCE: GETTY IMAGES.

The problem is compounded by the fact that many seniors don't have access to income outside of Social Security, and so when benefits fall short, recipients are apt to struggle to pay their bills. And while today's seniors can take steps to lower their living expenses, whether by downsizing, relocating, or other such relatively drastic measures, many are already at a point where they're just paying for basics and nothing more.

That said, it's not too late for workers with time between now and retirement to start saving independently for their golden years. This way, they're less likely to fall behind financially if Social Security continues to have a hard time keeping up.

Supplementing Social Security with savings

Many people mistakenly think that they can live on Social Security alone, and plenty of seniors try to do just that. Those benefits, however, are only designed to replace about 40% of the average worker's pre-retirement income, and most seniors need roughly double that amount to live comfortably. Saving independently is therefore the best way to bridge that gap.

Workers who start building a nest egg early enough in life can amass a nice amount of wealth by saving modest amounts over time, as the following table illustrates:

Age to Start Saving $300 a Month	Ending Balance by Age 67 (Assumes an 8% Average Annual Return):
27	$933,000
32	$620,000
37	$408,000
42	$263,000
47	$165,000

Data source: AUTHOR.

Note that these calculations assume an average annual 8% return, which is just below the stock market's historical average. Those with a savings window of 10 years or longer should load up on stocks when building their nest eggs, since that's enough time to ride out the market's downturns and come out ahead. Furthermore, that 8% well outpaces the general rate of inflation -- something Social Security has apparently failed to do. Furthermore, while parting with $300 a month over time isn't easy per se, it's also not impossible for average earners who are willing to keep their spending in check.

Many workers will argue that they don't need savings of their own, but rather, they'll just cut back on luxuries and live on Social Security in retirement. That plan, however, is a dangerous one, as evidenced by the millions of seniors today who are teetering dangerously close to the poverty line with no easy way of turning things around.

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https://www.fool.com/retirement/2019/05/20/social-security-benefits-have-lost-33-of-their-buy.aspx

2019-05-20 10:18:00Z
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Australian, Indian elections boost Asian shares, trade fears ease - Investing.com

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: A man looks at an electronic board showing the Nikkei stock index outside a brokerage in Tokyo

By Andrew Galbraith

SHANGHAI (Reuters) - Asian shares clawed back some of last week's losses as investors cheered apparent election wins for conservative incumbents in Australia and India, while broader global trade worries eased after Washington offered to lift some tariffs in North America.

MSCI's broadest index of Asia-Pacific shares outside Japan added 0.54%, reflecting modest gains in markets across the region after the broad index finished at its lowest since Jan. 24 on Friday, down 3% for the week.

However, the rally looks unlikely to extend to Europe. In early European trades, pan-region were down 0.21% at 3,393, German slipped 0.16% to 12,227, futures were 0.01% lower at 7,334.5, and France's lost 0.2% to 5,361.5.

Australian shares underpinned the firmer mood in the region, jumping 1.74% after the center-right Liberal National Coalition pulled off a shock win in federal elections, beating the center-left Labor party.

Elections also lifted markets in India. The benchmark BSE index rose 2.71% and the rupee strengthened after exit polls showed Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi is likely to return to power with an even bigger majority in parliament.

U.S. turned higher, rising 0.23% following losses on Wall Street on Friday.

"We've had such a volatile few days in terms of pronouncements and interpretations of what's going on with this potential trade war. And I think the news bites that we had over the weekend seem to indicate a softening of Trump's approach toward tariffs internationally," said Jim McCafferty, head of equity research, Asia ex-Japan at Nomura.

The U.S. announced on Friday that it would remove tariffs on Canadian steel and aluminum, prompting Canada's foreign minister to vow the quick ratification of a new North American trade agreement.

"I think people might take the view that perhaps a similar strategy might be applied to Asia," McCafferty said, referring to the lifting of tariffs.

The cautious optimism failed to lift Chinese blue chips, which fell 1%.

Japan's stock index added 0.24%, after data showed growth in the world's third-biggest economy unexpectedly accelerated in the first quarter.

Modest gains in Asia on Monday came even as financial markets remained on edge over the intensifying Sino-U.S. trade war, with the Trump administration last week adding Huawei Technologies Co Ltd to a trade blacklist.

The repercussions of that move were evident as Alphabet (NASDAQ:) Inc's Google suspended business with Huawei that requires the transfer of hardware, software and technical services except those publicly available via open source licensing.

Noting the festering trade war, Greg McKenna, strategist at McKenna Macro, said investors are currently "headline trading" given the continued uncertainty over Brexit and rising tensions between the United States and Iran.

"(It's) too soon to see the economic consequences of the battle escalating. And so belief can be suspended until that time," McKenna said in a note to clients.

OIL JUMPS

Rising tensions in the Middle East, which have supported oil prices, ratcheted up another notch on the weekend as Trump issued new threats, tweeting that a conflict with Iran would be the "official end" of that country.

But it was comments from Saudi Arabia's energy minister that had the most immediate effect on crude prices on Monday.

Saudi Energy Minister Khalid al-Falih said that there was consensus among the members of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to maintain production cuts to "gently" reduce inventories.

Both and jumped more than 1.3% on Monday, with West Texas Intermediate fetching $63.58 a barrel and Brent crude at $73.19 per barrel.

In currency markets, China's rebounded after touching its weakest against the dollar since November on Friday. It was last trading at 6.9390 per dollar.

In onshore trading on Friday, the yuan weakened past the psychologically important 6.9 per dollar level to end at its softest in 19 weeks. However, sources told Reuters the country's central bank is expected to use foreign exchange intervention and monetary policy tools to stop it weakening past the 7-per-dollar level in the near term.

The People's Bank of China said on Sunday that it would maintain basic stability of the yuan exchange rate within a "reasonable and balanced range."

The strengthened to 6.9125 per dollar on Monday.

The dollar added 0.08% against the yen to 110.16, while the euro eased to $1.1152. The , which tracks the greenback against a basket of six major rivals, was up a hair's breadth at 98.028.

The yield on benchmark rose to 2.4033% compared with a U.S. close of 2.393% on Friday, while the two-year yield touched 2.2146%, up from Friday's U.S. close of 2.202%.

Gold trimmed earlier gains on the modest revival in risk appetite, losing 0.1% to $1,275.91 per ounce.

(GRAPHIC: China's yuan strengthens - https://tmsnrt.rs/2We5yvU)

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2019-05-20 07:13:00Z
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Billionaire Robert F. Smith pledges to pay off debt for Morehouse College class of 2019 - Syracuse.com

Billionaire Robert F. Smith announced to a class of about 400 graduating seniors that he and his family plan to pay off the entire class’s student loans.

Smith is the CEO and chairman of Vista Equity Partners, a software and technology investment firm, and a philanthropist who spoke at the class of 2019 commencement Sunday morning. He also received an honorary degree from the school and had committed to a $1.5 million gift to the school that Morehouse College planned to use for scholarships and a new park, the school said in a statement.

The fourth-generation Coloradan grew up in a mostly black, middle-class neighborhood, according to his Facebook page, and he attended a school that had been recently integrated.

Smith was the commencement speaker at the University of Colorado Denver's graduation in 2017, the university where his father earned his doctorate 45 years prior. He talked about the "profound impact" the university had on his father and his family.

He spoke about his neighborhood in northeast Denver, across the street from City Park, and the experience as a child attending a newly desegregated school. He talked about the way the whole neighborhood came together to celebrate his father's achievement during the civil rights movement, and how much upbringing and community support contribute to future successes.

“They believed that our imperfect nation was becoming more perfect every day. And they believed that by conducting themselves and raising their families with integrity, they were contributing to that process of perfection in a very real way,” he said. “So we celebrated every sign that the barriers of inequality were collapsing that the doors of opportunity were opening.”

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2019-05-19 19:02:00Z
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