This Week In Finance

Despite many individuals taking time off to be with their family and friends during the holiday season, the markets still were open last week.  Here's a brief review of the highlights in the financial realm:

1. AT&T elected not to purchase German-based telecommunications company T-Mobile.  The initial plan was to purchase T-Mobile for $39 billion,  but the acquisition was scrapped after resistance from regulators and rivals.  The proposed deal would have made AT&T the world's largest wireless service provider.  AT&T now must pay a $4 billion breakup fee to Deutsche Telekom, T-Mobile's parent company. 

2. Internet corporation Yahoo! is considering selling its ownership positions in Asian subsidiaries.  Yahoo's combined stake in Chinese e-commerce firm Alibaba and Yahoo Japan is valued at $17-18 billion.  Despite being a recognized company, Yahoo! has struggled to compete with tech giants Google, Facebook, and Microsoft.  In October 2007, the company's stock price was $33.63, but it has hovered around $16 for most of 2011, even dropping as low as $11.74 in August.

 

3. A digital media focused company called Wrapports agreed to purchase The Chicago Sun-Times from Sun Times Media Holdings.  The Sun-Times is Chicago's second-largest newspaper according to the Audit Bureau of Circulations.  Wrapports issued a statement indicating the transaction will take place before the end of the 2011. 

4. Stock prices of several banks plummeted in a down week of trading.  Bank of America's shares fell below $5 for the first time since March 2009. 








5. Saudi Arabian prince Aiwaleed bin Talal has bought $300 million of Twitter stock, adding to his estimated assets of $21 billion.  The move is a curious one considering that Twitter has been instrumental in organizing protests across the Arab world.  His investment represents a 3.5% stake in company.  

6.  The Federal Reserve stated that the largest US banks and financial institutions should carry more cash to protect themselves against recessions and crises.  The proposed legislation will affect banks with over $50 billion in assets.  The rules will be even tougher on institutions with assets that exceed $500 billion.