US probes pipe bombs sent to Trump foes Obama, Clinton, CNN

NEW YORK/MOSINEE - US authorities pressed ahead Thursday with an all-out probe into who was behind pipe bombs sent to former President Barack Obama, former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, other top Democrats, and CNN, all of them hate figures for supporters of President Donald Trump.

Trump critics accused him of encouraging violence just days before a bitterly divided America votes November 6 in midterm elections.

Trump reacted to the rapid fire spate of bomb alerts by first calling for unity, but then reverting to attacking the media and its "endless hostility."

CNN is known for its often critical coverage of the Trump administration and has constantly provoked the ire of the president, who succeeded Obama and defeated Clinton in 2016.

The spree began Monday with a device at the New York home of billionaire liberal donor George Soros. "So far the devices have been what appear to be pipe bombs," said FBI agent Bryan Paarmann.

"Whether it's one person or a network, not really sure at this point," New York police chief James O'Neill told CNN, saying he expected those responsible to be identified and arrested within the next few days.

At least seven suspicious packages were sent in New York, Washington and Florida, including to prominent African American Democrats, Obama's attorney general Eric Holder and Maxine Waters, a California lawmaker.

Late Wednesday, police in Los Angeles said another suspicious package had been found at a mail facility, also addressed to Waters. Bomb disposal experts rendered it safe, authorities said. 

The packages were sent in manila envelopes with bubble wrap, marked with computer-printed address labels. Each listed Debbie Wasserman Schultz, former chairwoman of the Democratic National Committee, as the sender.

The return address included misspellings of Wasserman Schultz's last name, the Miami Herald and other news outlets reported.

A photo of the device sent to CNN showed it to be a short length of pipe wrapped in black tape, with wires sticking out of either end.

From the White House, Trump initially appealed for unity, saying "acts of political violence" have "no place in the United States."

"Those engaged in the political arena must stop treating political opponents as being morally defective," he later told a campaign rally in Wisconsin, before switching his criticism back to the media.


'FALSE ATTACKS AND STORIES'

"The media also has a responsibility to set a civil tone and stop the endless hostility and constant negative and often times false attacks and stories," he added. "They've got to stop."

#MAGABomber trended as users flooded Twitter with accusations that Trump had incited the attempted attacks and highlighting the toxic remarks he has leveled against the targets in the past.

Liberal and left-wing critics accuse his rhetoric-laden "Make America Great Again" presidency of emboldening right-wing extremists. He has endorsed the body-slamming of a reporter and denounces critical press.

"There is a total and complete lack of understanding at the White House about the seriousness of their continued attacks on the media," said CNN president Jeff Zucker.

"Words matter. Thus far, they have shown no comprehension of that."

CNN evacuated its New York bureau after the pipe bomb was found in the mailroom together with an envelope containing white powder. A bomb squad secured the device, police said.

The packaging was addressed care of CNN to former CIA director John Brennan, who has appeared on the channel as a guest and is perhaps Trump's toughest critic from the national security community.

The Secret Service intercepted the package addressed to Clinton at the home she shares with her husband, former president Bill Clinton, north of Manhattan on Tuesday, and a second package addressed to Obama's Washington home on Wednesday.

There has been no claim of responsibility and no one was yet known to have been arrested.

Top Democrat lawmakers Nancy Pelosi and Chuck Schumer accused Trump of condoning "physical violence and dividing Americans."

 'EFFORT TO TERRORIZE'

"It's a time of deep divisions, and we have to do everything we can to bring our country together," said Clinton, who has remained an outspoken political force despite her stunning loss to Trump in 2016.

In New York, Mayor Bill de Blasio condemned "an effort to terrorize," saying an "atmosphere of hatred is contributing to the choices people are making." 

The Secret Service said the packages were "identified during routine mail screening procedures" and that neither Clinton or Obama were ever at risk of receiving them.

Republican lawmakers followed the White House in issuing condemnations, just over a year after a shooter angry about Trump shot four people at a congressional baseball practice near Washington.

"Violence and terror have no place in our politics or anywhere else," tweeted senior Republican lawmaker Steve Scalise, who was seriously injured at the baseball practice in June 2017.

The top Republican lawmaker, Mitch McConnell, slammed "attempted acts of domestic terrorism."

Soros, the target of the first device, has long been a hate figure for right-wing groups and lives in Bedford, New York, not far from the Clintons.

The 88-year-old is one of the world's richest men and supported Clinton in 2016. He has been accused by nationalists of sponsoring protests and seeking to push a liberal, multicultural agenda.

Trump has accused Soros of paying demonstrators opposed to Brett Kavanaugh, whose nomination to the Supreme Court was almost derailed after he was accused of attempted rape as a teenager.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

Mega merger frenzy evokes 1999 tech boom... and its aftermath?

LONDON -- By some measures, the global merger and acquisition frenzy has never been greater, fueled by "TMT" mega deals that are drawing comparisons with the late 1990s boom and spectacular bust.

This is understandably unnerving many investors, given how mature the economic cycle and equity bull markets are right now. The US economic expansion is the second longest since World War II, and Wall Street is only 3 months away from its longest bull run ever.

Two mega deals in the US tech, media and telecom space this month worth a combined $150 billion have brought back memories of investors partying like it's 1999. AT&T completed its $85 billion acquisition of Time Warner, and Comcast has offered to buy Twenty-First Century Fox's entertainment and international assets for $65 billion.

AT&T and Comcast are taking on $350 billion of debt between them to finance their deals, making them the two most indebted non-financial, private-sector companies in the world. Just as the U.S. interest rate hiking cycle is in full swing.

The records for economic expansion and market bull run are the 10-year periods ending March 2000, when the Nasdaq bubble started to deflate, and March 2001, the onset of the subsequent recession. There are signs we may be entering similar territory now.

Reuters data show that M&A mega deals this year, up to and including June 15, totaled $1.22 trillion, up 64 percent on the same period last year. They comprised a record 76 deals.

More significantly, that's 52.7 percent of $2.32 trillion total M&A, a new record share for the year to date, and on course to beat the previous calendar year record of 49.5 percent at the height of the tech boom in 1999.

It's a similar picture in the tech, media and telecom (TMT) sector, where mega deals so far this year stand at $401 billion, or nearly two-thirds of the TMT total. That's on track to beat the previous record of 59.2 percent in 1999.

Mega deals are defined as a deal valued at $5 billion or more.

One the one hand, a surge of mega M&A at the tail end of the cycle is to be expected. Companies can't sustain the growth rates of previous years, so executives look to grow by acquisition to keep shareholders happy.

But therein lie the pitfalls, as companies take on greater debt and risk. And some executives simply get sucked in by the whole boom: bigger is better, the good times will go on forever, and this time really is different.

The RBS-led $98 billion takeover of ABN Amro in 2007, Mannesmann's $202 billion takeover of Vodafone in 1999 and Time Warner's $181 billion tie-up with America Online in 2000 are all classic examples of executive hubris, chutzpah and ultimately, folly.

That does not apply to all mega deals, of course, far less the thousands of smaller transactions that are carried out on a more routine basis. But investors looking for warning signs and comparisons with the late '90s don't have far to look.

The Nasdaq continues to boom while the rest of Wall Street is showing signs of burnout. The tech-heavy benchmark is up 12 percent this year, the S&P 500 is up 3 percent and the Dow is flat. The S&P 500 and Dow have failed to revisit their January peaks, but the Nasdaq has made nine record highs since, the last of which was last week.

According to Bank of America Merrill Lynch's monthly survey of global fund managers, the most crowded trade in June was "long FAANG + BAT" for the fifth month in a row. It's the most crowded of any trade since December 2015, BAML said.

The acronyms 'FAANG + BAT' refer to the US tech giants Facebook, Apple, Amazon, Netflix and Google, plus the Chinese firms Baidu, Alibaba and Tencent.

The market cap of the five FAANG stocks currently stands at $3.915 trillion. That's more than the valuation of the entire UK stock market, which today stands at $3.38 trillion.

The US tech sector now has a market cap of $6.6 trillion, according to BAML. That's big enough on its own, but even more staggering in a global context: China's tech sector market cap is $738 billion, Europe's is $533 billion and Japan's is $452 billion.

Parallels with 1999? Maybe. But as some analysts note, total returns on Wall Street today are much lower than they were 20 years ago, valuations still aren't as high, and speculation isn't as intense. The tech industry today is much more mature than it was back then, too.

The mega deal frenzy underway now, however, is more than enough reason for caution.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

AT&T closes $85 billion deal for Time Warner

WASHINGTON -- AT&T Inc, the No. 2 wireless carrier, on Thursday closed its $85 billion deal to acquire media company Time Warner Inc after US antitrust regulators indicated they would not seek a delay.

The deal, first announced in October 2016, was opposed by President Donald Trump. AT&T was sued by the Justice Department, but won approval from a judge to move forward with the deal on Tuesday following a six-week trial.

The Justice Department still has 60 days to appeal the decision by US District Judge Richard Leon, even though the deal has closed.

Leon of the US District Court for the District of Columbia ruled on Tuesday that the deal to marry AT&T's wireless and satellite businesses with Time Warner's movies and television shows was legal under antitrust law. The Justice Department had argued the deal would harm consumers.

US President Donald Trump, a frequent critic of Time Warner's CNN coverage, denounced the deal when it was announced in October 2016.

In its lawsuit aimed at stopping the deal, filed in November 2017, the Justice Department said that AT&T's ownership of both DirecTV and Time Warner, especially its Turner subsidiary, would give AT&T unfair leverage against rival pay TV providers that relied on content like CNN and HBO's "Game of Thrones."

The AT&T ruling is expected to trigger a wave of mergers in the media sector, which has been upended by companies like Netflix Inc and Alphabet Inc's Google.

The first to come was Comcast Corp's $65 billion bid on Wednesday for the entertainment assets of Twenty-First Century Fox Inc.

AT&T had been worried about closing its deal ahead of a June 21 deadline if the government won a stay pending an appeal. Any stay could take the deal beyond a June 21 deadline for completing the merger, which could allow Time Warner to walk away or renegotiate the proposed transaction with AT&T.

The government may have a difficult time winning on appeal because of the way Judge Leon wrote his opinion, four antitrust experts said.

"I don't think this would be overturned. It is so rooted in the facts that I would be surprised if an appellate court overturned such a fact-laden opinion," said Michael Carrier, who teaches law at Rutgers.

In a scathing opinion, Leon found little to support the government's arguments that the deal would harm consumers, calling the evidence for one argument against the deal "gossamer thin" and another "poppycock."

The merger, including debt, would be the fourth largest deal ever attempted in the global telecom, media and entertainment space, according to Thomson Reuters data. It would also be the 12th largest deal in any sector, the data showed.

source: news.abs-cbn.com

AT&T to buy Time Warner for $85 billion, create telecom-media giant

NEW YORK - AT&T Inc (T.N) said on Saturday it agreed to buy Time Warner Inc (TWX.N) for $85.4 billion, the boldest move yet by a telecommunications company to acquire content to stream over its high-speed network to attract a growing number of online viewers.

The biggest deal in the world this year will, if approved by regulators, give AT&T control of cable TV channels HBO and CNN, film studio Warner Bros and other coveted media assets. The tie-up will likely face intense scrutiny by U.S. antitrust enforcers worried that AT&T might try to limit distribution of Time Warner material.

AT&T will pay $107.50 per Time Warner share, in a combination of cash and stock, worth $85.4 billion overall, according to a company statement. AT&T said it expected to close the deal by the end of 2017.

Dallas-based AT&T said it and Time Warner were determining which Federal Communications Commission licenses, if any, would be transferred to AT&T in the deal.

Several U.S. lawmakers were already worried about cable company Comcast Corp's (CMCSA.O) $30 billion acquisition of NBCUniversal, creating an industry behemoth. They argued for close regulatory scrutiny of the AT&T deal.

U.S. Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump, who has complained about media coverage of his campaign, said at a rally on Saturday he would block any AT&T-Time Warner deal if he wins the Nov. 8 election.

"It's too much concentration of power in the hands of too few," said Trump.

Representatives of his Democratic rival, Hillary Clinton, did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

CONTENT PLUS DELIVERY

AT&T, whose main wireless phone and broadband service business is showing signs of slowing, has already made moves to turn itself into a media powerhouse. It bought satellite TV provider DirecTV last year for $48.5 billion.

It had about 142 million North American wireless subscribers as of June 30, and about 38 million video subscribers through DirecTV and its U-verse service.

New York-based Time Warner is a major force in movies, TV and video games. Its assets include the HBO, CNN, TBS and TNT networks as well as the Warner Bros film studio, producer of the “Batman” and “Harry Potter” film franchises. The company also owns a 10 percent stake in video streaming site Hulu. The HBO network alone has more than 130 million subscribers.

The deal is the latest in the consolidation of the telecom and media sectors, coming on the heels of AT&T's purchase of NBCUniversal. AT&T's wireless rival Verizon Communications Inc (VZ.N) is in the process of buying internet company Yahoo Inc (YHOO.O) for about $4.8 billion.

Time Warner Chief Executive Officer Jeff Bewkes rejected an $80 billion offer from Twenty-First Century Fox Inc (FOXA.O) in 2014.

5G IS COMING
Owning more content gives cable and telecom companies bargaining leverage with other content companies as customers demand smaller, hand-picked cable offerings or switch to watching online. New mobile technology including next-generation 5G networks could make a content tie-up especially attractive for wireless providers.

"We think 5G mobile is coming, we think 5G mobile is an epic game-changer," Rich Tullo, director of research at Albert Fried & Co, said in a research note, adding that mobile providers would be in position to disrupt traditional pay-TV services.

A previous Time Warner blockbuster deal, its 2000 merger with AOL, is now considered one of the most ill-advised corporate marriages on record.

(Additional reporting by David Shepardson, Liana Baker, Malathi Nayak and Diane Bartz; Writing by Bill Rigby; Editing by David Gregorio)

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com

Facebook set to steal more TV ad dollars as video views soar

Watch out, Time Warner. It's not just Netflix and Hulu you have to worry about.

Along with Facebook's strong financial results released on Wednesday was a number that should send a chill through the cable and broadcasting industry.

The social network - whose shares rose 5 percent to hit a record high of $109.44 on Thursday - said its video views surged to 8 billion per day in the third quarter, from just 1 billion a year earlier, highlighting a rising threat to TV ad revenue.

The growth in video views presents the most significant near-term opportunity for Facebook as the company looks to grab a bigger slice of the TV advertising market, analysts said.

Cable companies in particular face an increasing threat to revenue as consumers switch to online streaming services such as Netflix and Hulu - a trend known as "cord-cutting".

"We think (Facebook) looks well positioned to capture an increasing portion of TV ad budgets as markets migrate toward data-driven, highly targeted online video ad campaigns," Jefferies analyst Brian Pitz said in a client note.

The online video ad market is likely to be worth about $17 billion a year by 2017 in the United States alone, Pitz said.

Time Warner Inc, the owner of cable channels TNT, TBS Cartoon Network, said on Wednesday that ratings for its key U.S. entertainment networks had dropped more than expected, which will result in a fall in ad revenue next year.

Walt Disney Co. owner of cable sports network ESPN, as well as broadcaster ABC, offered a gloomy outlook for its cable business in August.

Disney reports results later on Thursday.

"Video ad dollars will be the next big budget to shift online and FB is well positioned as one of the top properties to benefit," Susquehanna Financial analyst Shyam Patil said.

Atlantic Equities analyst James Cordwell said that about 50 percent of all media consumption was now online, but only 17 percent of non-search ad budgets were spent online.

"So, the opportunity for Facebook is to drive that 17 percent up to 50 percent, which would represent a $150 billion incremental advertising spend shifting from offline platform to online platforms," he said. "And the only place that can come from in meaningful volumes is TV."

ACTIVE USERS SURGE

In a bid to capture TV ad dollars, Facebook has launched several tools to target brand advertisers, including a way for marketers to plan, buy and measure Facebook video ads using target rating points (TRPs) - a metric similar to one used to sell TV ads.

"As the company further integrates TRP buying into the mix, it seems clear that advertisers continue to shift more incremental dollars to FB and we would expect further growth from video to continue," Barclays analyst Paul Vogel wrote.

Facebook said in September it had 2.5 million active advertisers, a 25 percent jump from February.

The potential viewership is huge.

Facebook - now valued at over $300 billion - said on Wednesday it now had 1.55 billion monthly active users, up 14 percent from a year earlier.

About 90 percent were mobile users. Daily active users exceeded 1 billion for the first time in the third quarter.

Buoyed by a surge in mobile users and advertising, Facebook's revenue jumped to $4.50 billion in the third quarter from $3.20 billion a year earlier. Analysts on average had expected revenue of $4.37 billion.

Excluding items, the company earned 57 cents per share, beating the average estimate of 52 cents.

At least 23 brokerages raised price targets on Facebook's stock, to as much as $155. The median price target is $125, according to Thomson Reuters data.

Facebook's shares were trading at $109.13 before the bell.

Of 52 analysts covering the stock, 48 have a "buy" or higher rating, three have a "hold" and only one has a "sell".

source: www.abs-cbnnews.com