By Matthew Frankel, CFP; The Motley Fool ~ Oct 13, 2018
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services just announced the 2019 Medicare Part B premiums. You might not be surprised to learn that premiums are rising, but you might be pleasantly surprised to learn that they aren’t rising by very much.
With that in mind, here’s a quick guide to 2019 Medicare Part B premiums so you’ll know what you can expect to pay.
By Ashlea Ebeling; Forbes ~ Oct 11, 2018
The Social Security Administration announced today that more than 67 million recipients will get a 2.8% cost-of-living adjustment (COLA) in 2019. That means the average Social Security benefit for a retired worker will rise by $39 a month to $1,461 in 2019, while the average benefit for a retired couple will grow $67 a month to $2,448 .
Dallas Business Journal ~ Sep 28, 2018
AT&T’s John Stankey appreciates what Netflix and its subscription model has done – but don’t forget just how crucial advertising is.
The executive now leading the Time Warner business used his time on the main stage at the AT&T Business Summit to tout the importance of ads as he laid out some of his ideas for the future of the new business.
By Wendy Davis; Digital News Daily ~ Sep 27, 2018
Siding with AT&T, attorneys general in nine states are asking an appellate court to reject the Justice Department’s attempt to unwind the company’s recent $85 billion acquisition of Time Warner.
In court papers filed Wednesday, the attorneys general argue that U.S. District Court Judge Richard Leon correctly found that the merger will “produce many millions of dollars’ worth of benefits for consumers,” and will position AT&T to better compete with online video distributors like Netflix and Amazon.
From PR Newswire; Business Insider ~ Sep 26, 2018
DALLAS, Sept. 26, 2018 /PRNewswire/ — AT&T* is working to deploy SD-WAN in more than 28,000 locations around the world, making us the largest SD-WAN provider globally.1 We’re delivering on our vision to help businesses be more efficient, process more data, and run more applications than ever before.
Software-defined networks are accelerating business transformation and SD-WAN is the next big leap for enterprise networks. It helps companies move their workloads from one edge to another, and is part of the edge-to-edge glue that holds together devices, sensors, applications, clouds, and end-users.
By Linda A. Johnson & Nicky Forster; The Associated Press ~ Sep 24, 2018
NEW YORK (AP) — President Donald Trump made reducing drug prices a key promise during his election campaign, repeatedly accusing drugmakers of “getting away with murder.” At the end of May, he promised that drug companies would be announcing “massive” voluntary drug price cuts within two weeks.
That hasn’t happened, and an Associated Press analysis of brand-name prescription drug prices shows it’s been business as usual for drugmakers, with far more price hikes than cuts.
By Teresa Rivas; Barron’s ~ Sep 21, 2018
AT&T is rising on Friday, helped by an upgrade from UBS.
Where we were: AT&T has lagged this year, like other telecom stocks, although company-specific worries also weighed on the shares.
Where we’re headed: UBS argues that attractive valuation and improving wireless trends will boost the shares.
Shares of AT&T(T) have fallen more than 12% this year, but the worst looks like it’s past, argues UBS’s John Hodulik: He upgraded the shares to Buy from Neutral and raised his price target by $5, to $38.
By David Shepardson; Reuters ~ Sep 20, 2018
WASHINGTON (Reuters) – AT&T Inc (T.N) on Thursday asked a federal appeals court to reject the Justice Department’s challenge to its acquisition of Time Warner, saying the government had offered no basis for second guessing key conclusions of a ruling upholding the transaction.
The government is appealing U.S. Judge Richard Leon’s ruling in June that AT&T’s $85.4 billion acquisition of Time Warner could proceed. The government had said it would lead to higher prices for consumers and was illegal under antitrust law.
The City of Los Angeles and the telecom giant are in talks on a public-private partnership.
By Phil Goldstein; StateTech ~ Sep 18, 2018
The City of Los Angeles is in talks with AT&T to create a public-private partnership to launch smart city technology in the City of Angels, the company and the city said last week.
In a statement, they said the city will look to deploy Internet of Things technology and small cell wireless technology. The statement is vague about what the technologies will be used for. However, LA and AT&T say that they will look to make enhancements to traffic congestion, natural disaster preparedness and public safety services. Small cells can help bring increased wireless network capacity to first responders.
From Michael J. Kramer; Investopedia ~ Sep 14, 2018
(Note: The author of this fundamental analysis is a financial writer and portfolio manager.)
AT&T Inc. (T) has plunged by more than 22% from its high two years ago. But the telecom giant’s stock has staged a steady rebound in recent months and now is poised to rise 8% higher, based on technical analysis. That gain could push AT&T’s shares 17% higher than where they were in the last week of July, and may represent the beginning of a much longer-term advance for the stock.
