Only in the US, where in mid December Congress is trying to pass a tax bill which gives more corporations money does the President comment on a deal that he says is not good. In November the Justice Department sued AT&T, in the tax bill, the President has said every taxpayer is getting a “great deal” which if you listen to anyone outside the White House you will find many differing viewpoints. As investors you invest in corporations and if they get to keep more of their money, that is a good thing for your investments. AT&T says the Justice Department lawsuit is a big over the top, because they do not own any cable companies so there is no threat to cable companies. All cell phone companies wish to induce you to become the carrier of choice and then add on features to increase your bill. One of the many methods to increase the features is offer exclusive programming and that is why they need the cable company.

Linking to dividend paying stocks, cell companies are companies to own because they have subscribers and most of them will be loyal, they will continue to pay their bills to the company. The company needs to continually update its ability to make it easy to use the system. The company makes more money off of data than voice, so it needs to have channels to keep you loyal. When you evaluate the companies you want to know about churn ratios or people moving in and out of the service. In a pro corporate environment it is unusual for the President to get involved, but it is an unusual Presidency. Often the senior executives have gone to the lawmakers and determined what do they have to put on the table to allow the deal to go through.

There are more questions than answers, till the next time – to raising questions.