Worth It or Not:Inside the Verizon-AOL Deal

Telecom titan Verizon Communications is buying media platform company AOL for 4.4 billion dollars in an all-cash deal expected to close this summer,pending regulatory approval.
AOL has once again become a digital trailblazer,and we are excited at the prospect of charting a new course together in the digitally connected world,said Verizon Chairman and CEO Lowell McAdams.AOL's advertising mode aligns with this approach and the advertisng platform provide a key tool for us o develop future revenue streams.*
AOL CEO Tim Armstrong and other leadership will stay on the job when AOL becomes a Verizon subsidiary.Mr.Armstrong described the combined company as deeply growth oriented and aimed directly at the platform shift that video and mobile are offering the world-today and 20 years from now.*
Verizon will get:
1.AOL's 2.2 million subscriber dial-up Internet business;
2.publications The Huffington Post;Engadget;and TechCrunch;
3.One,the automated cross-media ad-buying platform;
4.the video ad platform Adap.tv;and
5.the HuffPost Live streaming video network.
Verizon is acquiring AOL with the strategy of building the biggest media platform in the world,Armstrong said.Verizon will propel AOL and comes to the table with over 100 million mobile consumers,content deals with the likes of the NFL,and a meaningful strategy in mobile video.AOL will oversee AOL,s current assets plus additional assets from Verizon that are targeted at the mobile and video media space.The deal will give our content businesses more distribution and it will give our advertisers more distribution and mobile-first features.The deal will add scale and it will add a mobile lens to everything we do inside our content,ads and video strategy.*
AOL has over 30,000 business partners;while Verizon,born of the 2002 merger of telecom heavyweights Bell Atlantic and GTE,is the largest US wireless communications service provider.The name "Verizon" is derived from "veritas," the Latin word for "truth," and "horizon." Verizon had 125.3 million wireless service customers as of September 2014,along with residential and small business services customers that are provided with phone service,Internet access and TV via copper wire or fiber optic cable.It is in the process of transitioning wireline customers to its more economical FiOS fiber optic cable.*
Verizon stock has a 4.43% dividend yield.*
Verizon Communications Inc (VZ),AOL Inc (AOL)

Investing Today:Meandering Through Malaise

We're in a malaise right now,said Tobias Levkovich,Chief  U.S. Equity Strategist at Citigroup.I think that turns in the next 12-18 months.The children of the baby boomers start to save for retirement next year.It's bigger.People are using the U.S. equity market as a safe haven.
The mood on Wall Street is pretty miserable.There's worry about layoffs and compensation.Is this the place for their future?
You've got to do more and more stocks.I think good times will be here 5-10 years out.Telecom has good dividend yields and supplies much-needed mobile services.It will get its pricing power back,Mr.Levkovich predicted.
Christian Thwaites of Sentinel Investments,who was a Baker Scholar at Harvard Business School,likes Toronto Dominion Bank.It's fantastically strong,with a strong deposit franchise in the Northeast and nothing to do with Europe,Mr.Thwaites observed.
Toronto Dominion Bank(TD),iShares Dow Jones U.S. Telecommunications Sector Index Fund(IYZ),iShares S&P Global Telecommunications Sector Index Fund(IXP)

Should You Buy Apple Stock

There's a question as to whether Apple is still innovative enough.Daniel Ernst of Hudson Square Research says Apple is growing revenues 60%,with a 2% dividend yield.It's probably the fastest growing company in technology today.The recent Apple announcements show an improvement in their ecosystem.They significantly raised the bar for their competitors.Now Apple's Siri  feature,the digital assistant and knowledge navigator built into the iPhone 4S,can find information that's not on the web,which Google can't.Apple is also updating the Macintosh computer line.
Investors are fixated on the next big thing,but these things tend to run in cycles,Mr.Ernst points out.Hudson Square has a 700 dollar price target on Apple,with a buy recommendation.
Hudson Square Research serves institutional clients with fundamental equity research,assessing valuation,risk and opportunity.Based in New York,they focus on the technology,media,telecom and consumer sectors.The company was founded in 2004.
Apple(AAPL)

Research in Motion Isn't Dead

With the ascent of the Apple iPad,many have abandoned Research in Motion as hopelessly behind in the telecom space.We've seen a total catharsis of the stock,says analyst Kevin Smithen of the Macquarie Group.The sentiment has never been worse.Yet its international business grew 68% year over year and has never been healthier.
The Chinese,Asian and European markets are largely prepaid.RIM is more competitive in those markets.Foreign carriers do not have the spectrum the U.S. does.
We're frankly perplexed at the valuation at a multiple typically reserved for companies that are highly leveraged and cyclical at the trough of the cycle.We rate the stock as an outperform.
We're not optimistic about their hope for the U.S. consumer business,but our 12 month price target for the stock is 40.00.They have tremendous Blackberry momentum in Indonesia and Thailand.We think it's the product of choice in those areas,Mr.Smithen noted.
Macquarie Group,Ltd. is a full service financial firm operating in 28 countries.It cites its expertise,performance and growth as strong points for its global clientele and investors.The Australia-based company has 320 billion dollars U.S. under management.
Research in Motion(RIMM),Apple(AAPL),Macquarie Group,Ltd.(MQG)