Tag Archives: Verizon Wireless

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Vodafone Group Expands International Presence

Leave a comment

By Sam Robson, The Motley Fool

Filed under:

LONDON — As the M&A rumors continue to swirl around Vodafone  , specifically its 45% stake in Verizon Wireless, the British telecom Goliath pushes on with expanding its international presence.

Yesterday, Vodafone announced that it has formed a consortium with China Mobile to bid for a mobile telecommunications license in Myanmar, formerly Burma, believed to be an important new market for the mobile industry.

The news follows the government in Myanmar doubling the number of mobile operators from two to four, and backing plans to encourage the country’s development of mobile infrastructure. The two new licenses will authorize the license holders to build, own and operate a mobile network on a nationwide basis for an initial term of 15 years.

Myanmar currently has a GDP growth rate of 5.5% per year, a comparatively young and highly literate population of around 60 million, and its and mobile phone penetration is currently below 10%, which is much lower than many emerging countries.

Elsewhere, Reuters reported that Vodafone is thought to be in talks with Deutsche Telekom in Germany over a wholesale deal “that would enable the British group to offer its German customers superfast broadband and a TV service,” according to “a person familiar with the situation.” 

Earlier this year, it had been thought that Vodafone was eyeing up a potential acquisition of Kabel Deutschland, with CEO Vittorio Colao saying “I’d like to provide pan-European unified services,” but making no mention of a specific company. 

A one-stop shop to include bundles of wireless, web, television, and phone service is a promising prospect to consumers, while a fixed-line offering in the country would strengthen Vodafone’s operations that are needed to connect its radio masts as well as handle the volumes of Internet data, as it currently has to rent capacity from its rivals’ fixed networks in continental Europe.

Both companies are yet to comment on the speculation.

If you are looking for alternative opportunities in the FTSE 100, this exclusive wealth report reviews five particularly attractive possibilities.

Indeed, all five blue chips offer a mix of robust prospects, illustrious histories, and dependable dividends, and have just been declared by The Motley Fool as “5 Shares You Can Retire On.” Simply click here for the report — it’s completely free!

The article Vodafone Group Expands International Presence originally appeared on Fool.com.


Sam Robson owns shares of Vodafone. The Motley Fool recommends Vodafone. The Motley Fool owns shares of China Mobile. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Copyright © 1995 – 2013 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

(function(c,a){window.mixpanel=a;var b,d,h,e;b=c.createElement(“script”);
b.type=”text/javascript”;b.async=!0;b.src=(“https:”===c.location.protocol?”https:”:”http:”)+
…read more

Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Frontier Sells Mohave Wireless Stake to Verizon Wireless

Leave a comment

By Eric Volkman, The Motley Fool

Filed under:

Frontier Communications has unloaded its stake in regional telecom service provider Mohave Wireless. The buyer is Verizon and Vodafone‘s Verizon Wireless. The financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

Frontier had held a one-third partnership interest in Mohave, in conjunction with Verizon Wireless. The latter is now sole owner of the company.

Mohave operates in northwest Arizona. Frontier quoted its EVP Revenue Development Melinda White as saying of the region that it “has grown steadily due to the popularity of Lake Havasu City as a resort, Bullhead City for gaming and Kingman as a business and retirement destination.”

The article Frontier Sells Mohave Wireless Stake to Verizon Wireless originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Eric Volkman has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Vodafone. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Copyright © 1995 – 2013 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

(function(c,a){window.mixpanel=a;var b,d,h,e;b=c.createElement(“script”);
b.type=”text/javascript”;b.async=!0;b.src=(“https:”===c.location.protocol?”https:”:”http:”)+
‘//cdn.mxpnl.com/libs/mixpanel-2.2.min.js’;d=c.getElementsByTagName(“script”)[0];
d.parentNode.insertBefore(b,d);a._i=[];a.init=function(b,c,f){function d(a,b){
var c=b.split(“.”);2==c.length&&(a=a[c[0]],b=c[1]);a[b]=function(){a.push([b].concat(
Array.prototype.slice.call(arguments,0)))}}var g=a;”undefined”!==typeof f?g=a[f]=[]:
f=”mixpanel”;g.people=g.people||[];h=[‘disable’,’track’,’track_pageview’,’track_links’,
‘track_forms’,’register’,’register_once’,’unregister’,’identify’,’alias’,’name_tag’,
‘set_config’,’people.set’,’people.increment’];for(e=0;e<h.length;e++)d(g,h[e]);
a._i.push([b,c,f])};a.__SV=1.2;})(document,window.mixpanel||[]);
mixpanel.init("9659875b92ba8fa639ba476aedbb73b9");

function addEvent(obj, evType, fn, useCapture){
if (obj.addEventListener){
obj.addEventListener(evType, fn, useCapture);
return true;
} else if (obj.attachEvent){
var r = obj.attachEvent("on"+evType, fn);
return r;
}
}

addEvent(window, "load", function(){new FoolVisualSciences();})
addEvent(window, "load", function(){new PickAd();})

var themeName = 'dailyfinance.com';
var _gaq = _gaq || [];
_gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-24928199-1']);
_gaq.push(['_trackPageview']);

(function () {

var ga = document.createElement('script');
ga.type = 'text/javascript';
ga.async = true;
ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js';

var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0];
s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s);
})();

Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

…read more

Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

The Only Place Amazon Can Go

Leave a comment

By Evan Niu, CFA, The Motley Fool

Filed under:

It’s nearly a certainty at this point that e-tail giant Amazon.com is preparing to launch a smartphone, which is now casually known as the “Kindle Phone.” This isn’t just unfounded speculation anymore; there’s plenty of evidence that such a device is en route.

CEO Jeff Bezos has all but confirmed his interest in pursuing a smartphone, saying the hardest part will be to remain differentiated and not simply be another “me, too” device. Over the past couple of years Amazon has also been slowing hiring smartphone talent in the form of former Microsoft Windows Phone execs.

Make no mistake: a Kindle Phone is coming. But where is it going?

Where in the world is Amazon’s content?
When it comes to geographical regions, Amazon’s content offerings are strongest in the U.S., with little to nothing in most other parts of the world. Amazon has been expanding recently, most notably and naturally with e-books, but its music, TV shows, movies, and apps availability is focused primarily in the U.S. with a pinch of European offerings.

Amazon will have to launch the Kindle Phone in the U.S. first, since it won’t seek hardware margins and will rely on its content catalog.

The process of elimination
Of the four primary carriers, chances are that Verizon Wireless and Sprint Nextel won’t be carrier partners since they operate CDMA networks. If Amazon wants to truly be disruptive, it will follow in Google‘s footsteps and try to sell its device unsubsidized, unlocked, and off contract. Unlocked smartphones are typically GSM models because they have easily swappable SIM cards, leaving just AT&T and T-Mobile.

Amazon already has deals with AT&T as the service provider for its cellular-equipped tablets, and Amazon even finagled some incredibly cheap data plans, albeit with small data allowances. However, AT&T has always been predominantly an Apple iPhone carrier — a trend that has intensified over the years.

Source: SEC filings and conference calls.

Last quarter, the iPhone comprised 84% of all smartphones activated on Ma Bell‘s network. Amazon might launch on AT&T, but there’s not a lot to go around outside of Apple’s flagship, especially since AT&T is deeply entrenched in the subsidy model that I’m assuming Amazon is trying to skirt.

Pick a carrier, not any carrier
That leaves the “Uncarrier” as the perfect candidate for Amazon to focus on. T-Mobile is shifting from subsidies to financing programs, while pitching more affordable service plans. At the end of 2012, the No. 4 carrier had 26.1 million banded customers (excluding wholesale and MVNO connections).

While T-Mobile has ditched subsidies, it’s also concentrating very heavily on beefing up its product portfolio. Not only is the carrier now finally getting the iPhone, but it’s also Google’s only official Nexus 4 carrier. T-Mobile will also carry the Samsung Galaxy S4, HTC One, and BlackBerry Z10. These are all devices that Amazon will compete with.

To its Amazon’s credit, T-Mobile’s device pricing is …read more

Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Why Vodafone Group Beats BT Group

Leave a comment

By Alan Oscroft, The Motley Fool

Filed under:

LONDON — Over the coming weeks, I’ll be taking a look at the biggest and best companies in the various FTSE 100 sectors. Today it’s telecoms, and that means just two big players — Vodafone  and BT Group  .

Here’s a quick summary of some fundamentals:

Vodafone

Year to March

EPS

P/E

Dividend

Yield

Cover

2008

12.56 pence

12

7.51 pence

5%

1.7 times

2009

17.17 pence

7.1

7.77 pence

6.3%

2.2 times

2010

16.11 pence

9.4

8.31 pence

5.5%

1.9 times

2011

16.75 pence

10.5

8.9 pence

5%

1.9 times

2012

14.91 pence

11.5

9.52 pence

5.5%

1.6 times

2013 (forecast)

15.18 pence

12.3

10.35 pence

5.5%

1.5 times

2014 (forecast)

16.50 pence

11.3

10.82 pence

5.8%

1.5 times

2015 (forecast)

17.52 pence

10.6

11.08 pence

5.9%

1.6 times

That steadily rising dividend is nice, and the consistently high yield suggests the share price has not kept pace with the true valuation of the company.

High dividends aren’t guaranteed, and a company might have to cut its payout if earnings are not sufficient. And to that end, it’s perhaps a little concerning that Vodafone’s dividend cover has fallen a little. But forecasts suggest it is stabilizing.

BT

Year to March

EPS

P/E

Dividend

Yield

Cover

2008

23.90 pence

9.1

15.8 pence

7.3%

1.5 times

2009

16.00 pence

4.9

6.50 pence

8.3%

2.5 times

2010

17.30 pence

7.2

6.90 pence

5.6%

2.5 times

2011

21.00 pence

8.8

7.40 pence

4%

2.8 times

2012

23.70 pence

9.6

8.30 pence

3.7%

2.9 times

2013 (forecast)

24.95 pence

11.2

9.43 pence

3.4%

2.6 times

2014 (forecast)

25.34 pence

11.0

10.67 pence

3.8%

2.4 times

2015 (forecast)

27.01 pence

10.3

12.09 pence

4.4%

2.2 times

BT has been recovering well since 2009, but though it is growing earnings quite nicely, dividend yields have been falling.

Which is best?
BT‘s third-quarter figures saw revenue fall by 6%, and some of that is because BT is mainly dependent on just one market — around three-quarters of its business is done in the U.K., where competition is strong and saturation levels are high.

Vodafone, on the other hand, gets only around 12% of its turnover from the U.K., has a good presence in the developing market of India, and holds a 45% stake in Verizon Wireless in the US.

About 10% of BT‘s turnover comes from Europe (excepting the U.K.), whereas Vodafone gets close to 60% of its revenue from the wider eurozone area. That greater international clout helps Vodafone in capturing multinational contracts — like the recent deal to supply Germany‘sThyssenKrupp, and a new partnership with Poland‘s Polkomtel.

Elephants
There are elephants in both these rooms. For BT, it’s that massive pension fund, which is going be a millstone round the company’s neck for decades — in fact, BT is often described as a pension fund manager that has an interest in phones on the side. The worst days of the deficit during the stock market slump are behind us — but what will happen in the next bear market when assets values fall again?

For Vodafone, we have the repeatedly raised and denied rumors of a merger or a takeover with or by some combination of Verizon Communications and AT&T — or maybe a buyout of its stake in Verizon Wireless.

The big difference is that if Vodafone’s elephant comes home to, erm, roost, it would almost certainly be at a nice price for shareholders.

Vodafone is my pick of the sector — and if you do your own research, you might agree.

Finally, if you’re looking for investments that should take you all the way to a comfortable retirement, I recommend the Fool’s special new report detailing five blue-chip …read more

Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Frontier Communications Sells Its Interest in Mohave Wireless to Verizon Wireless

Leave a comment

By Business Wirevia The Motley Fool

Filed under:

Frontier Communications Sells Its Interest in Mohave Wireless to Verizon Wireless

STAMFORD, Conn.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Frontier Communications Corporation (NAS: FTR) sold its one- third partnership interest in Mohave Cellular Limited Partnership (“Mohave Wireless“) to Verizon Wireless on April 1, 2013. Verizon Wireless now has 100 percent ownership of Mohave Wireless. Financial terms are not being disclosed.

“During the years in which Frontier was the General Partner, the investments in Mohave Wireless enabled the partnership to provide excellent cell coverage and service in northwest Arizona. Traffic – both voice and data, not to mention car, RV and truck – has grown steadily due to the popularity of Lake Havasu City as a resort, Bullhead City for gaming and Kingman as a business and retirement destination. I am proud that we delivered value year over year to all of the partners in this venture,” said Melinda White, Executive Vice President, Revenue Development for Frontier.

Ms. White added, “We are delighted to have the public opportunity to thank the employees of Mohave Wireless for all they did for their customers and the community. Their experience and dedication will be great assets to Verizon Wireless as it integrates Mohave Wireless. We also applaud Verizon Wireless for adding Mohave to their wireless network in the region.”

About Frontier Communications

Frontier Communications Corporation (NAS: FTR) , is an S&P 500 company and is included in the FORTUNE 500 list of America’s largest corporations. Frontier offers broadband, voice, satellite video, wireless Internet data access, entertainment services like TumTiki.com, data security solutions through Frontier Secure, bundled offerings and specialized bundles for residential customers, small businesses and home offices and advanced communications for medium and large businesses in 27 states. Frontier’s approximately 14,700 employees are based entirely in the United States. More information is available at www.frontier.com.

Frontier Communications
Luke Szymczak, 203-614-5044
luke.szymczak@ftr.com

KEYWORDS:   United States  North America  Arizona  Connecticut

INDUSTRY KEYWORDS:

The article Frontier Communications Sells Its Interest in Mohave Wireless to Verizon Wireless originally appeared on Fool.com.

Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe …read more

Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

These 3 Stocks Are Beating the Dow Today

Leave a comment

By Dan Dzombak, The Motley Fool

Filed under:

The Dow Jones Industrial Average is flat following a mixed unemployment claims report. As of 1:25 p.m. EDT the Dow is up six points to 14,557. The S&P 500 is up less than a point.

There was one U.S. economic release today.

Report

Period

Result

Previous

New unemployment claims

March 23 to March 30

385,000

357,000

Source: Department of Labor.

Following yesterday’s disappointing private-sector jobs report, all eyes were on today’s unemployment claims report. Seasonally adjusted unemployment claims came in at 385,000, which is 28,000 higher than last week and 35,000 above analyst expectations. The jump moved the four-week moving average up by 11,250 to 354,250.

US Initial Claims for Unemployment Insurance data by YCharts.

The jump may not be as bad as it appears. Economists from the Department of Labor seasonally adjust the numbers so that you can compare them across the year, taking into account seasonal fluctuations. For instance, extra workers hired before Christmas for the sales rush lower unemployment claims, so unemployment claims are adjusted upward to compensate. The end of March is a tough time to determine an appropriate adjustment, as some economists believe holidays and spring breaks cause the Department of Labor to seasonally adjust claims too much.

The actual number of unemployment claims, i.e., non-seasonally-adjusted unemployment claims, actually fell by 1,600 to 314,000. Investors thus see today’s number as a technical jump and not a real one and are thus overlooking the bad report. Tomorrow brings the much-anticipated jobs report for March. Analysts expect jobs growth of just 190,000 versus 236,000 in February.

Today’s Dow leader
Today’s Dow leader is AT&T , up 1.3%. Yesterday rumors surfaced, but were later denied, that AT&T and Verizon would team up to purchase Vodafone, with Verizon taking over Vodafone’s 45% stake in Verizon Wireless and AT&T getting the international operations of Vodafone. Today’s big news is the Facebook phone event, where analysts speculate the company will announce a “Facebook Phone.” AT&T and Verizon are loath to let another company create experiences between itself and people who use its network.

Second for the Dow today is Hewlett-Packard , up 1.3%. Yesterday HP plunged 5.2% after Goldman Sachs analyst Bill Shope downgraded the stock to sell. Shope believes that low sales will hurt prices and margins, that investors are overconfident in the turnaround of the business, and that the stock has run up too far. Today HP is gaining as some investors hope yesterday’s drop was a buying opportunity.

The massive wave of mobile computing has done much to unseat the major players in the PC market, including venerable technology names like Hewlett-Packard. However, HP is rapidly shifting its strategy under the leadership of CEO Meg Whitman. But does this make HP one of the least-appreciated turnaround stories on the market, or is this a minor detour on its road to irrelevance? The Motley Fool’s technology analyst details exactly …read more

Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Is Vodafone Group Worth 160 Pence or 240 Pence?

Leave a comment

By Tony Reading, The Motley Fool

Filed under:

LONDON — Though down from yesterday’s five-year high, Vodafone  shares are still buoyed by takeover speculation despite denials by Verizon Communications.

The rumor reported by the Financial Times‘ Alphaville blog put the bid price at 240 pence, a 40% premium to Vodafone’s recent price. Yet the shares were just at 160 pence in February, when the FTSE 100 had already banked most of this year’s gains.

How much of Vodafone’s share price is based on bid speculation, and what’s it really worth?

No full bid soon
Verizon has scotched any immediate prospects of a full bid. By stating it “did not currently have any intention to merge with or make an offer for Vodafone, whether alone or in conjunction with others,” it’s ruled such a deal out of play for at least six months.

But the FT‘s blog looked authoritative. It made repeated references to “usually reliable people” as its source, and taunted the newly created Financial Conduct Authority to force a statement from the companies. There is more cause for the FCA to investigate those usually reliable people: it creates a false market if some investors are privy to information others are not.

Logic
The rumored deal has logic. It envisages Verizon and rival AT&T joining forces to carve up Vodafone, with Verizon taking Vodafone’s 45% share in Verizon Wireless and AT&T the rest, so:

  • Verizon gets what it covets;
  • AT&T gets a network in Europe, which it wants;
  • Vodafone shareholders receive full value for the Verizon Wireless stake without a big tax bill;
  • and the premium is big enough to force the deal over management’s heads.

But it would be the biggest M&A deal ever. Financing it would be challenging and Vodafone’s management would fight. Merger talks between Verizon and Vodafone broke down last year over disagreements on leadership and location.

Vodafone’s weakness
Vodafone has two good businesses that are growing — its Verizon Wireless stake and emerging markets — and one poor one, Europe. Like-for-like revenues fell in Northern and Southern Europe last year, and Vodafone’s lack of a fixed-line infrastructure is a weakness, as it can’t sell fully bundled services.

With no control over Verizon Wireless, Vodafone’s strength is also a weakness. If things turned nasty, we could see a return to Verizon Wireless‘s “dividend strike.” With cash flow choked off, Vodafone’s own dividend — which underpins its attraction — would be compromised.

The strength of Verizon’s hand means Vodafone shareholders are unlikely to see the equivalent of a 240 pence valuation. That would be the top-dollar solution. Indeed, the three-way breakup talk might be a tactic to unsettle Vodafone’s management.

But it would be an embarrassing failure for Verizon’s CEO Lowell McAdam if he didn’t seal a deal this year. With estimates for Vodafone’s share of the joint venture in the ballpark of its own market cap, Vodafone could get a price that is well above its recent 160 pence, even after a $10 billion to $20 billion tax bill.

Juicy yield
So I’m happy to hold Vodafone at around 190 pence, …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

3 Cable Companies America Hates the Most and 1 You Love

Leave a comment

By Rich Smith, The Motley Fool

Filed under:

The results are in. After polling  its readers — habitual evaluators of the relative “goodness” of products — Consumer Reports announced this month which cable TV companies are the most hated in America, and which one actually might be worth a try.

Worst of the worst
I won’t keep you waiting for the results. Privately owned (and redundantly named) Mediacom Communications comes in at the very bottom of the list of 17 rated cable companies. It’s followed in short order by three publicly traded firms that were rated only marginally better in quality: Charter Communications , Time Warner Cable , and Comcast , ranked Nos. 16, 15, and 14, respectively.

All four of these cable companies get Consumer Reports‘ absolute worst rating for the “value” of the service they provide — a big black circle. (Indeed, Mediacom gets more fully blackened circles than anyone else, scoring unacceptably in five out of eight categories rated.) Of the three firms (barely) outscoring Mediacom, Charter and Time Warner avoid completely black marks on reliability, while Comcast actually scores a middle-of-the-road white circle for the dependability of its service.

Time Warner, meanwhile, can boast of at least the middling quality of its “cable guys” when they come to fix the cable. They probably get a lot of practice at fixing stuff, too. I mean, have you seen Time Warner‘s lousy dependability rating?

Charter, meanwhile, scores equally badly on both reliability and in-home customer support.

Is bigger better?
But what about the one company I said “actually might be worth a try”? Interestingly, according to Consumer Reports‘ findings, the best outfit in cable just might also be the biggest outfit in cell phones.

Topping the CR list for “cable” providers this year is a company that actually strings fiber-optics to the home — Verizon‘s FiOS service. According to CR readers, Verizon’s fiber-optic lines get top marks for reliability and picture and deliver decent audio, and the company offers customer service that’s only half-bad, to boot. And as I mentioned above, Verizon is also the country’s biggest cell phone provider, through its Verizon Wireless partnership with Vodafone. So if you’re a fan of “bundled” services, Verizon might be a good way to go.

Sometimes, bigger is better
Verizon’s stock doesn’t look like a half-bad value, either. Although possessed of an obscene-looking P/E, the company churns out a lot of cash from its business. “Doing well by doing a good job,” you might say. This gives the stock a price-to-free cash flow ratio of just 9.3 — which seems cheap relative to mid-6% growth estimates and a 4.2% dividend yield.

Meanwhile, the stock‘s occupying the bottom of Consumer Reports‘ list are a varied lot. Comcast, at a price-to-FCF ratio of 12.3, could actually turn out to be a better investment than the best cable provider if it lives up to expectations of a 17%-plus growth rate. Time Warner, also with strong free cash flow, looks slightly undervalued. Charter, unprofitable, but …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Poor Jobs Data Hurts Investors' Confidence

Leave a comment

By Matt Thalman, The Motley Fool

Filed under:

This morning payroll processor ADP reported an upward revision to its February payroll figures from 198,000 to 237,000. However, ADP also reported that private employers added only 158,000 jobs in March, which was well below the 200,000 most economists were expecting. The report has made market participants ever more anxious for Friday’s jobs report from the Department of Labor and triggered investors to take profits this afternoon.

As of 12:45 p.m. EDT the Dow Jones Industrial Average has lost 76 points, or 0.52%, while the S&P 500 and NASDAQ are performing worse, losing 0.8% each. But not all of the Dow’s losers today are a result of the ADP report.

The biggest Dow loser’s today are unfortunately the banks. Shares of Bank of America and JPMorgan Chase are both heading lower. B of A is down 3.3%, while JPMorgan has lost 2.2%. The Mortgage Bankers Association reported that weak refinancing last week caused a 4% decline in home loan applications. While the financial crisis was essentially a result of a massive amount of bad mortgage debt that ultimately led to the collapse of a number of financial institutions large and small, for better or worse mortgage loans have once again become a large part of the industry’s business. While this may be only a temporary slowdown in loan applications, investors should keep an eye on this data.

Shares of Verizon are down by 1.2% after the company denied that it would be partnering with AT&T to acquire Vodafone. Reports said Verizon and AT&T would purchase Vodafone for $245 billion and then split the company. Verizon would take Vodafone’s 45% stake in Verizon Wireless, and AT&T would receive Vodafone’s operations outside the U.S. While Verizon has denied these claims, the company said it would still consider buying Vodafone’s stake in the Verizon Wireless venture. As of this writing, shares of AT&T are down 0.6%.

While few may remember, today is an important date in Verizon’s history: Back in 2000 the company was officially born. To read the full story and learn how Vodafone played a role, click here.

More foolish insight
With big finance firms still trading at deep discounts to their historic norms, investors everywhere are wondering if this is the new normal or if finance stocks are a screaming buy today. The answer depends on the company, so to help you figure out whether JPMorgan is a buy today, I invite you to read our premium research report on the company today. Click here now for instant access!

var FoolAnalyticsData = FoolAnalyticsData || []; …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Two Major Mobile Milestones

Leave a comment

By Alex Planes, The Motley Fool

Filed under:

On this day in economic and business history…

Verizon began its existence — as a brand, if not a company — on April 3, 2000, when Bell Atlantic announced the name (and formalized the agreement) of its wireless partnership with Britain’s Vodafone . Simultaneously, the regional Baby Bell confirmed its adoption of the Verizon brand name for the combined company to be created from its pending merger with GTE, which at one time had been the largest independent American telecom during the Bell System era.

“Verizon” as brand was created as a portmanteau of “veritas,” Latin for truth, and “horizon,” with the new corporate identity meant to convey integrity and the possibilities of the future. Analysts weren’t quite so enamored of the morphological mash-up, though. Wireless industry analyst Tole Hart of Dataquest told CNET: “The brand name Bell Atlantic isn’t going to sell well elsewhere. But I think they could have come up with a better name.” Elliott Hamilton of Strategis Group took the long view, saying: “In the short term it might seem silly. But in the long term, ten years from now, everybody will just know Verizon. … It’s just like anything else; you have to get used to it.”

The Verizon Wireless brand was set to leapfrog all mobile-carrier competition on the market in 2000, with an estimated 23 million subscribers (following the Bell Atlantic and GTE merger), nearly double the subscribers of second-place AT&T Wireless. When Verizon itself assembled later that year, it quickly became one of the nation’s leading companies — which led, four years later, to its inclusion on the Dow Jones Industrial Average , as it replaced longtime component AT&T. The merger also gave Verizon majority control over its wireless joint venture, which initially included GTE‘s cellular operations as well.

In recent years AT&T has considerably narrowed the subscriber gap, and it boasted 99 million wireless subscribers to Verizon’s 106 million subscribers just more than decade after Verizon Wireless began operating. However, thanks to further telecom consolidation, AT&T’s revenue eventually surpassed Verizon’s by the end of the decade: The original Ma Bell reported $125 billion in revenue to Verizon’s $107 billion at the end of 2010.

The call that started it all
Verizon Wireless would never have come into existence without developments made at Motorola in the 1960s and 1970s, which culminated in the world’s first cellphone call on April 3, 1973. That day, 44 year-old Motorola executive Martin Cooper stepped out onto the streets of New York City with a bulky, brick-like cellular-phone prototype. His first call went through to AT&T’s Bell Labs, where he got in a bit of gloating to rival researcher Joel Engel for having won the mobile-phone race. After this one-upsmanship was over, Cooper decided to keep going. He recalled that morning in an interview 38 years later with London’s Daily Mail:

As I walked down …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Vodafone Group Reaches 5-Year High

Leave a comment

By Sam Robson, The Motley Fool

Filed under:

LONDON — Vodafone  continued its recent climb, rising 5.4% to reach 196.65 pence, off the back of further speculation surrounding Verizon Communications mulling its options regarding Vodafone’s shares in their joint venture, Verizon Wireless.

The move in share price comes following reports from the Financial Times Alphaville blog that Verizon and AT&T have been working on a “share break-up bid,” valuing Vodafone at 260 pence per share, around $245 billion. This would surpass AOL and Time Warner‘s $165 billion merger, and even Vodafone AirTouch’s acquisition of Mannesmann AG for $202.8 billion in 1999, the current record holder.

Vodafone’s shares had previously reached 191 pence in early August 2012, with today likely to end on a new five-year high. Following the recent rumors, the telecom company’s share price has climbed as the market appeared to have new-found hope for the stock. And on a price-to-earnings ratio of below 12 and a healthy yield forecast of 5.1%, well above the FTSE 100‘s average of around 3%-3.5%, it’s not hard to see why.

Rising over 46 pence to 6,458 pence at the time of writing, the news has helped push the FTSE 100 back toward its own five-year high of 6,533.99, reached on March 12.

If you already hold Vodafone shares and you’re looking for a stock on a similar yield, then you may wish to read this exclusive free in-depth report. The FTSE 100 company in question offers a 5.6% income, and might be worth 850 pence versus around 775 pence currently. Just click here to download the report — it’s absolutely free.

link

The article Vodafone Group Reaches 5-Year High originally appeared on Fool.com.



Sam Robson owns shares of Vodafone. The Motley Fool recommends Vodafone. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Copyright © 1995 – 2013 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

(function(c,a){window.mixpanel=a;var b,d,h,e;b=c.createElement(“script”);
b.type=”text/javascript”;b.async=!0;b.src=(“https:”===c.location.protocol?”https:”:”http:”)+
‘//cdn.mxpnl.com/libs/mixpanel-2.2.min.js’;d=c.getElementsByTagName(“script”)[0];
d.parentNode.insertBefore(b,d);a._i=[];a.init=function(b,c,f){function d(a,b){
var c=b.split(“.”);2==c.length&&(a=a[c[0]],b=c[1]);a[b]=function(){a.push([b].concat(
Array.prototype.slice.call(arguments,0)))}}var g=a;”undefined”!==typeof f?g=a[f]=[]:
f=”mixpanel”;g.people=g.people||[];h=[‘disable’,’track’,’track_pageview’,’track_links’,
‘track_forms’,’register’,’register_once’,’unregister’,’identify’,’alias’,’name_tag’,
‘set_config’,’people.set’,’people.increment’];for(e=0;e<h.length;e++)d(g,h[e]);
a._i.push([b,c,f])};a.__SV=1.2;})(document,window.mixpanel||[]);
mixpanel.init("9659875b92ba8fa639ba476aedbb73b9");

function addEvent(obj, evType, fn, useCapture){
if (obj.addEventListener){
obj.addEventListener(evType, fn, useCapture);
return true;
} else if (obj.attachEvent){
var r = obj.attachEvent("on"+evType, fn);
…read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Verizon, AT&amp;T to Make Joint Bid for Vodafone, Report Says

Leave a comment

By The Associated Press

Filed under: , , , ,

Carl Court/AFP/Getty Images

NEW YORK — Verizon and AT&T are looking at making a joint bid for Vodafone, the British cellphone company that owns 45 percent of Verizon Wireless, a report says.

New York-based Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) owns the 55 percent of Verizon Wireless that Vodafone Group PLC (VOD) doesn’t own, and has been openly interested for years in buying out Vodafone. But tax and pricing issues have gotten in the way.

According to the Financial Times, the joint bid would mean Verizon would get Vodafone’s stake in Verizon Wireless, while AT&T Inc. (T) would take over the rest of Vodafone, which has widespread international interests. It operates in Britain, Spain, Portugal, Italy, Greece and India, among other countries.

The newspaper cited “usually reliable people” that it didn’t further identify.

Sponsored Linksadsonar_placementId=1505951;adsonar_pid=1990767;adsonar_ps=-1;adsonar_zw=242;adsonar_zh=252;adsonar_jv=’ads.tw.adsonar.com’;

There has been speculation that AT&T is interested in international expansion, but few signals from the company that this is the case. Cross-border deals in telecommunications have few benefits.

What effect, if any, the deal would have on Verizon Wireless customers isn’t clear. With some 92.5 million subscribers, Verizon Wireless is the nation’s largest wireless-service provider. AT&T has about 70.5 million contract customers, making it second among U.S. carriers.

Verizon had no comment on the report. AT&T didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

The London-based newspaper put the value of the bid at $245 billion, which would make it the largest corporate deal ever.

Vodafone shares rose 65 cents, or 2.3 percent, to $28.99 in midday trading, after spiking as high as $29.95 in earlier U.S. trading. Shares of AT&T and Verizon were up about 1 percent, slightly more than market indexes.

—

DailyFinance staff contributed to this story.

Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

…read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Will Verizon and AT&amp;T Seal the Biggest M&amp;A Deal Ever?

Leave a comment

By Alex Dumortier, CFA, The Motley Fool

Filed under:

After falling back from their record high yesterday, stocks are back in black this morning, with the S&P 500 and the narrower, price-weighted Dow Jones Industrial Average up 0.6% and 0.57%, respectively, as of 10:05 a.m. EDT.

Pick up the ‘fone
According to the Financial Times‘ Alphaville blog, Dow components Verizon Communications and AT&T are together mulling the acquisition and subsequent breakup of Vodafone . According to the report, a potential offer would award Vodafone shares a 40% premium to their current price in a transaction with an enterprise value (i.e., equity value plus net debt) of $245 billion. That would surpass AOL‘s acquisition of Time Warner in 2000, so the possibility of such a deal is stirring up some excitement — nowhere more so than at Barclays. The bank is reportedly working on the deal, and a successful transaction of this size would be a huge fee bonanza.

Here’s the logic and mechanics behind the transaction:

  • Verizon buys back Vodafone’s 45% stake in Verizon Wireless. Verizon has made no secret that it seeks full control of the joint venture. For its part, Vodafone is not opposed to ceding the stake: In February, CEO Vittorio Colao told The Wall Street Journal he didn’t know whether the relationship would be the same in a year and that Vodafone has an open mind “on everything.” However, this could fairly describe the company’s stance on the joint venture since plans for a public offering collapsed in 2003.
  • AT&T takes the non-U.S. assets in a bid to become a global wireline provider and a more effective competitor against Verizon Wireless domestically.

For Verizon, this three-way structure might be the winning combination after merger talks with Vodafone reportedly got bogged down in December over the issues of leadership and domicile. Vodafone, meanwhile, would realize a premium for Verizon Wireless without the associated tax liability. For AT&T, empire-building is usually a good pretext for corporate mergers and acquisitions. Need we mention that the bankers will be pushing hard to see the deal through?

The vaunted cash piles of U.S. companies are said to be dry powder for M&A activity — but that would not be the case in this deal. Between them, Verizon and AT&T had more than $110 billion in net debt at the end of 2012. Sounds like more work for the bankers on the financing.

There is necessarily quite a bit of uncertainty on a deal of this size and complexity, but wilder things have happened (remember the RBS-Fortis-Banco Santander acquisition of ABN Amro in 2007?). The market seems to be taking it seriously: Vodafone shares are up 5.5% as of 10:20 a.m. EDT.

Get ahead of the curve
The amount of data we store every year is growing by a mind-boggling 60% annually. To make sense of this trend and pick out a winner, The Motley Fool has compiled a new report called “The Only Stock You Need to …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Dow to Rise as BGC Partners Soars on Nasdaq OMX Deal

Leave a comment

By Roland Head, The Motley Fool

Filed under:

LONDON — Stock index futures at 7 a.m. EDT indicate that the Dow Jones Industrial Average may open 0.39% higher this morning, while the S&P 500 may open up by 0.42%.

European stock markets rose strongly this morning when they reopened after a four-day holiday weekend. The FTSE 100 was one of the biggest risers, up 1.1% at 7:25 a.m. EDT, with telecom firm Vodafone topping the leaderboard with a 5.1% gain. Vodafone has been the subject of a number of recent rumors relating to the sale of its 45% stake in Verizon Wireless, but today’s gains were prompted by a more detailed report in the Financial Times suggesting that Verizon and AT&T could be preparing a 260 pence per-share breakup bid for the firm.

This morning’s European gains were achieved despite disappointing data showing that manufacturing contracted in all major EU economies in March, including Germany, where the Markit manufacturing PMI dropped from 50.3 to 49 last month. Eurozone unemployment hit a new record of 12% in March, leaving it 1.1% higher than one year ago. Spain admitted that it would need more time to hit its budget deficit reduction target, while in Cyprus, the country’s stock exchange reopened after a two-week closure, and the government said it would relax the capital controls that were put in place last week, allowing larger transfers of money to foreign accounts.

In the U.S., today’s economic reports include February’s factory orders, due at 10 a.m. EDT. Consensus forecasts suggest that factory orders rose by 3% in February after falling by 2% in January. The latest motor-vehicle sales figures are also expected through the day, and analysts are forecasting a decline in total sales from 15.4 million to 15.3 million.

It’s a quiet day for corporate earnings, but earlier this morning spice maker McCormick reported earnings per share of $0.57 on net sales of $934 million for the first quarter of its 2013 fiscal year. The firm also confirmed its 2013 outlook for 3% to 5% sales growth and full-year EPS of between $3.15 and $3.23. BGC Partners could be the day’s biggest mover — the company’s stock gained 40% in premarket trading after Nasdaq OMX agreed to buy BGC‘s bond-trading platform for $750 million in cash. Dow constituent Hewlett-Packard fell 3.4% in premarket trading after Goldman Sachs downgraded the company’s shares to “sell.”

Finally, let’s not forget that the Dow’s daily movements can add up to serious long-term gains. Indeed, Warren Buffett recently wrote, “The Dow advanced from 66 to 11,497 in the 20th Century, a staggering 17,320% increase that materialized despite four costly wars, a Great Depression and many recessions.” If you, like Buffett, are convinced of the long-term power of the Dow, you should read “5 Stocks to Retire On.” Your long-term wealth could be transformed, even in this uncertain economy. Simply click here now to download this free, no-obligation report.

The article Dow to Rise as BGC Partners Soars …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Verizon Kicks Off Wireless Technology Innovation Awards in Southeast Louisiana

Leave a comment

By Business Wirevia The Motley Fool

Filed under:

Verizon Kicks Off Wireless Technology Innovation Awards in Southeast Louisiana

Small and Mid-Sized Businesses to Compete for $10,000 Prize for Innovative Use of Wireless Technology

NEW ORLEANS–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Starting April 1, Verizon Wireless will begin accepting entries for its 2013 Wireless Technology Innovation Awards for small and mid-sized businesses located in Southeast Louisiana. The company invites businesses, non-profit groups and other organizations to showcase ways Verizon Wireless mobile technology solutions improve efficiency, save money and elevate customer satisfaction. Corporate sponsors for the awards program include Alcatel Lucent, Samsung, and Blackberry.

“Mobile technology is dramatically changing the ways small and mid-sized businesses operate,” said Krista Bourne, president – Houston/Gulf Coast Region, Verizon Wireless. “More than ever before, wireless technology can help businesses innovate, serve customers better, save time and cut costs. The Wireless Technology Innovation Awards highlight the creativity of our regional businesses and showcase the best practices that are making them more successful year over year.”

Judging Criteria

Participants should share initial business challenges and demonstrate how they creatively implemented Verizon Wireless solutions to solve problems with their business. Participants must topline the benefits of the solutions employed and explain how they have positively affected their business or organization.

One grand prize winner for organizations with up to 500 employees will earn a $10,000 cash award from Verizon Wireless and one runner up organization will earn a $5,000 cash award. The winning companies or organizations will be featured in a Verizon Wireless Technology Innovation Awards video, which will highlight each winner’s business, services and/or products and how they incorporated wireless technology into their business.

Verizon Wireless will accept entries for the Wireless Technology Innovation Awards April 1 through Aug. 31, 2013. Verizon Wireless executives and local business leaders will evaluate the entries and winners will be announced at the awards ceremony on Oct. 22 at The Roosevelt Hotel in New Orleans, La.

For more information on the contest, visit the official Wireless Technology Innovation Awards www.vzwinnovationawards.com.

About Verizon Wireless

Verizon Wireless operates the nation’s largest 4G LTE network and largest, most reliable 3G network. The company serves 98.2 million retail customers, including 92.5 million retail postpaid customers. Headquartered …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

5 FTSE 100 Shares You Should Have Bought in March

Leave a comment

By Alan Oscroft, The Motley Fool

Filed under:

LONDON — It’s easy to look back on the past month and pick the biggest risers. But it’s a bit harder to decide which ones might have further to go, especially when we’re looking at closely followed FTSE 100 shares.

But here’s my pick of five March winners which I think could still have further shareholder value yet to be realized:

Vodafone
How often do 92 billion pound giants enjoy double-digit growth in just a month? Vodafone Group  did during March, as its shares soared 20.5 pence (12.4%) to 186 pence. The shares had fallen during the tail-end of 2012, but they’re now up 20% since the start of the new year.

The recent rise is partly due to renewed speculation that Vodafone will sell off its 45% stake in Verizon Wireless and pay a large one-off special dividend. But even after the rise, there are still annual dividends of between 5% and 6% on the cards, with the shares on a forward price-to-earnings ratio of around 12 — there’s plenty of scope for further rewards there.

J Sainsbury
I came close to highlighting Wm. Morrison Supermarkets, whose shares recovered a healthy 5.5% over the month, but that was eclipsed by a more impressive 8.7% rise from J Sainsbury , taking its shares up 30 pence to 376 pence and setting a new 52-week record in the process.

A fourth-quarter trading update released on March 19 told us that total sales for the 10 weeks to 16 March were up 7.1%, with like-for-like sales up 4.2%. But have you missed out on the rise? Well, Sainsbury’s shares are still on a forward P/E of less than 13, lower than the FTSE 100 average, and there’s a 4.5% dividend forecast — the boat has not yet sailed.

AstraZeneca
For some time, investors have feared that the dependence of AstraZeneca  on the blockbuster drugs model could leave it vulnerable to the expiry of its patents and to increasing competition from generic drugs.

But on March 21, chief executive Pascal Soriot announced plans for the company to “return to growth” and “achieve scientific leadership”. There will be no deviation from AstraZeneca’s basic business model, though, with Soriot insisting: “Our vision is clear — to be a global biopharmaceutical company with a focused portfolio in core therapy areas, underpinned by distinctive science and a growing late-stage pipeline.”

The shares leapt on the news, gaining 253 pence (8.4%) over the month to reach 3,248 pence. It could be the start of something good.

BAE Systems
An engineer doing well? Yes, BAE Systems  shares picked up 29 pence during March for an 8% rise to 384 pence, which makes a gain of 42% since a June 2012 low of 270 pence. Since last summer, we’ve had a full-year dividend yield of 5.8%, and forecasts put the yield for this year at 5.2%. And that’s from shares which, though they have soared, are still on a forward P/E of only 9.

Now, there might be some people who don’t think …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Vehicle Diagnostics by Delphi now available at Verizon Wireless

Leave a comment

By Business Wirevia The Motley Fool

Filed under:

Vehicle Diagnostics by Delphi now available at Verizon Wireless

TROY, Mich.–(BUSINESS WIRE)– Together with Verizon Wireless, Delphi Automotive (NYS: DLPH) today released its Vehicle Diagnostics by Delphi product that provides a groundbreaking car-to-cloud/cloud-to-car connectivity service.

Unveiled at the 2013 International Consumer Electronics Show (CES), the product allows drivers to track, locate, access, secure and monitor their select vehicles over the Verizon Wireless network using their current smartphone, tablet or computer. The first-in-its-class product works in most vehicles sold in the United States from 1996 onward.

“For the first time, Vehicle Diagnostics by Delphi allows drivers the chance to experience unique telematics and location-based features without purchasing a new car,” said Jeff Owens, Delphi chief technology officer. “Offered together with Verizon Wireless, this product not only offers convenience and connectivity but also peace of mind. For example, drivers can use a smartphone, laptop or tablet as a key fob for their car when they are locked out – regardless of where they are.”

Named a finalist in the 2013 Edison Awards in the transportation category, the Delphi car connectivity service enables drivers to carry out any of the following features remotely:

  • Locate and access family cars without having to tag the vehicle’s original location
  • Monitor overall vehicle health status
  • Receive e-mail alerts for select driving and vehicle performance issues
  • Set up geo-fences and receive e-mail alerts for entry and exit
  • Summarize all trips from engine start to stop (date, times, distance, starting and ending locations)
  • Connect your smartphone to your car via Bluetooth for key fob commands

The system operates through a downloadable Delphi smartphone application, available for Android 2.2 and later and Apple iOS 5.0 and later devices, as well as a Delphi website that is compatible with Internet Explorer 7 and later-version, Google Chrome, Apple Safari and Firefox browsers. Data transmitted through the Delphi connectivity system remains secure and encrypted when sent over the Verizon Wireless network.

To learn if a vehicle is compatible with Vehicle Diagnostics by Delphi, please visit www.connectedcar.delphi.com.


About Delphi

…read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

How AT&amp;T and Verizon Made T-Mobile's iPhone a Reality

Leave a comment

By Evan Niu, CFA, The Motley Fool

Filed under:

In the wireless war over smartphone subscribers, Apple‘s iPhone has proven to be an invaluable weapon. AT&T‘s initial and risky bet to carry the device sight unseen paid off in spades, as Ma Bell started scooping up lucrative smartphone users en masse. Verizon Wireless took note and once it became an iPhone carrier, it promptly began to outpace its smaller rival in smartphone subscriber growth.

Yesterday, T-Mobile finally became an official iPhone carrier, making Apple’s device available on all four of the largest domestic wireless carriers. Before that, the iPhone and T-Mobile were kept apart due to technical spectrum incompatibilities that relegated the iPhone to 2G data speeds for unlocked device users.

Source: T-Mobile.

As it turns out, both AT&T and Verizon played a part in facilitating their smaller rival getting Apple’s flagship — at long last making the T-Mobile iPhone a reality.

Ma Bell’s consolation prize
It seems like just yesterday that AT&T failed in its attempt to acquire T-Mobile, but that was nearly two years ago at this point. It was a jaw-dropping $39 billion deal when it was initially announced in 2011, one that would be heavily scrutinized and eventually vetoed by regulators, since the No. 2 and No. 4 players in the industry joining forces to take down the No. 1 had important and potentially negative implications on the overall competitive landscape.

That’s a stark contrast to regulator stance on T-Mobile’s proposed merger with MetroPCS , which amounts to the No. 4 and No. 5 players pairing up to put more competitive heat on the top three. Regulatory bodies have chosen not to object and will forever hold their peace regarding the union, so long as shareholders nod in approval.

The consolation prize for the failed acquisition included a $3 billion breakup fee from AT&T, made payable to T-Mobile parent Deutsche Telekom, and a negligible roaming agreement, but more importantly the smaller carrier also received Advanced Wireless Service, or AWS, spectrum licenses in 128 markets from Ma Bell.

Big Red’s big red heart
Fast forward six months and T-Mobile would separately ink a spectrum agreement with Verizon, purchasing or exchanging additional AWS licenses in 218 markets throughout the country. That greatly benefited T-Mobile’s spectrum position by allowing the carrier create more contiguous blocks of spectrum and realign its airwave holdings in adjacent markets. That boosted T-Mobile’s data performance and throughput speeds in numerous key markets, and was all made possible by the swap with Verizon.

Naturally, Verizon didn’t agree to the swap out of the kindness of its big red heart. Big Red had been looking to purchase a 20 MHz block of AWS spectrum for $3.9 billion from a handful of cable companies and was getting mean looks from regulators. The AWS swap helped pave the way for Verizon’s larger deal, even if it helped beef up T-Mobile’s network in the process.

The net result of all of this was that …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

The Beginners' Portfolio: Vodafone and Tesco Are in the News

Leave a comment

By Alan Oscroft, The Motley Fool

Filed under:

LONDON — This article is the latest in a series that aims to help novice investors with the stock market. To enjoy past articles in the series, please visit our full archive.

What should you do when your portfolio is complete? One possibility is to just do nothing, and it’s a great option. But I like to keep an eye on the news, and think about whether it changes my mind on the buy/sell status of each holding.

So here’s a look at some of our shares that have been in the news recently:

Vodafone
One of the reasons I like Vodafone Group  , in addition to that juicy dividend yield of 5%-6%, is its international status, and that’s helped the company to some very nice new contracts.

After February’s deal to provide German giant ThyssenKrupp with mobile phone services, Vodafone went gone on to land a 10-year contract with the New Zealand police force early this month. And last week, a partnership was agreed with Poland’s Polkomtel to extend international services to the 14 million users of its “plus” brand.

Fresh reports, in The Sunday Times and other papers, have been surfacing over the potential sale of Vodafone’s 45% stake in Verizon Wireless to Verizon. I’m not sure about that, because I like the dividend that Vodafone gets from Verizon — but a sale could net shareholders a bumper special dividend. We’ll see, but at 183 pence, Vodafone remains a firm buy for me.

Tesco
I’m pretty happy with Tesco  as well, as the share price has responded well to the management’s turnaround strategy, reaching 376 pence today. Earlier this month, the U.K.’s biggest supermarket announced the purchase of the Giraffe restaurant chain, bagging 49 restaurants for a little under 49 million pounds.

Such diversification might upset some, but Tesco has prospered through innovation and has pretty much driven the evolution of supermarket shopping in the U.K. I think this is a good deal, and I reckon opening more of these family friendly restaurants in its bigger stores will help keep shoppers inside for longer. Tesco is certainly still a buy.

BP
In 2003, BP  invested $8 billion in its 50% share of the newly formed TNK-BP, and last week announced its attention to sell that stake to the Russian state oil company Rosneft. BP will get $12.5 billion for it, and will return the equivalent of the original $8 billion to shareholders.

BP has disposed of assets in order to raise the cash needed for its Gulf of Mexico disaster costs, and is still in negotiation regarding some claims that are possibly inflated or even faked. So, I think I’d have been happier for BP to hang on to the TNK-BP cash until all compensation claims are settled. But with today’s price of 459 pence putting the shares on a forward P/E of only 8 and with a 5% dividend yield expected, I’m still happy this is a buy.

Rio Tinto
The Rio Tinto  price fall, to 3,125 pence, has been …read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance

Business, Finance, Occupation & Industry

Verizon Hopes to Gobble Up Verizon Wireless

Leave a comment

By Travis Hoium, The Motley Fool

Filed under:

Verizon has made acquiring the 45% of Verizon Wireless it doesn’t already own a priority for 2013. But Vodafone won’t give it up for cheap. Erin Miller sat down with analyst Travis Hoium to discuss the options for both companies and the whopping price tag Verizon Wireless may carry. 

(Note: The audio is low so turn up your speakers!)

Profiting from our increasingly global economy can be as easy as investing in your own backyard. The Motley Fool’s free report, “3 American Companies Set to Dominate the World,” shows you how. Click here to get your free copy before it’s gone.

The article Verizon Hopes to Gobble Up Verizon Wireless originally appeared on Fool.com.

Fool contributor Travis Hoium has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool recommends Vodafone Group. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Copyright © 1995 – 2013 The Motley Fool, LLC. All rights reserved. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

(function(c,a){window.mixpanel=a;var b,d,h,e;b=c.createElement(“script”);
b.type=”text/javascript”;b.async=!0;b.src=(“https:”===c.location.protocol?”https:”:”http:”)+
‘//cdn.mxpnl.com/libs/mixpanel-2.2.min.js’;d=c.getElementsByTagName(“script”)[0];
d.parentNode.insertBefore(b,d);a._i=[];a.init=function(b,c,f){function d(a,b){
var c=b.split(“.”);2==c.length&&(a=a[c[0]],b=c[1]);a[b]=function(){a.push([b].concat(
Array.prototype.slice.call(arguments,0)))}}var g=a;”undefined”!==typeof f?g=a[f]=[]:
f=”mixpanel”;g.people=g.people||[];h=[‘disable’,’track’,’track_pageview’,’track_links’,
‘track_forms’,’register’,’register_once’,’unregister’,’identify’,’alias’,’name_tag’,
‘set_config’,’people.set’,’people.increment’];for(e=0;e<h.length;e++)d(g,h[e]);
a._i.push([b,c,f])};a.__SV=1.2;})(document,window.mixpanel||[]);
mixpanel.init("9659875b92ba8fa639ba476aedbb73b9");

function addEvent(obj, evType, fn, useCapture){
if (obj.addEventListener){
obj.addEventListener(evType, fn, useCapture);
return true;
} else if (obj.attachEvent){
var r = obj.attachEvent("on"+evType, fn);
return r;
}
}

addEvent(window, "load", function(){new FoolVisualSciences();})
addEvent(window, "load", function(){new PickAd();})

var themeName = 'dailyfinance.com';
var _gaq = _gaq || [];
_gaq.push(['_setAccount', 'UA-24928199-1']);
_gaq.push(['_trackPageview']);

(function () {

var ga = document.createElement('script');
ga.type = 'text/javascript';
ga.async = true;
ga.src = ('https:' == document.location.protocol ? 'https://ssl' : 'http://www') + '.google-analytics.com/ga.js';

var s = document.getElementsByTagName('script')[0];
s.parentNode.insertBefore(ga, s);
})();

Read | Permalink | Email this | Linking Blogs | Comments

…read more
Source: FULL ARTICLE at DailyFinance