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Posted
Sep 22 2009, 10:26 AM
by
Kim Peterson
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
 My sister wanted to get Apple's iPhone, but the service was so bad in Tucson, Ariz., that she decided against it. And Cnet's Elinor Mills writes that iPhone calls from her San
Francisco apartment are dropping or are garbled.
While the iPhone itself draws raves from adoring fans, AT&T's (T) wireless service leaves much to be desired for some. Mills says her iPhone service is so bad it's often easier to have a Web video conference than make a simple voice call. She called AT&T to ask why, and was told that maybe the thickness of her walls or the network demand were to blame. AT&T insisted the issue was not newsworthy. And presto: That's the fastest way to make sure a reporter treats something as newsworthy. Bing: How people deal with iPhone dropped calls
Mills' story seems to be touching a nerve,
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Posted
May 21 2008, 10:33 AM
by
Kim Peterson
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
Sprint Nextel has a problem keeping customers happy, according to the latest numbers from the American Customer Satisfaction Index. Sprint's numbers are so bad, in fact, that the index's founder wonders how the company can even stay afloat. "Business is unsustainable in a competitive marketplace when customer satisfaction scores are as low as Sprint Nextel's," said the founder, Claes Fornell. Sprint's satisfaction level dropped 8% from last year to 56 on the 100-point index. Verizon scored the best in the industry, at 72. Commenters on this blog regularly slam AT&T for its service, but the company's cell phone division gained 4% to score a 71. You can see the full customer satisfaction index here.
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Posted
Jan 09 2008, 12:57 PM
by
Kim Peterson
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
A fairly obvious consequence of a troubled economy: People can't pay their bills. And AT&T shares are suffering as a result. The company said Tuesday it had to disconnect more broadband and landline phone customers for not paying their bills. AT&T stock got punished in the market, dropping 9.5% on the news. Shares were down slightly today to $38.96.
In an interesting sign of the times, AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson said the wireless side of the business was still OK. When the economy goes soft, people dump their landline phones first and hold on to their cell phones as long as possible, he said. In the old days, as News.com points out, people would never think about disconnecting their landline phone.
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Posted
Jun 30 2008, 04:50 AM
by
Douglas McIntyre
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
Investors chase high dividend stocks with stable earnings when they are concerned about where to put their money. Which dividends appear safest?
We looked for stocks with dividend yields north of 4.5% (above 10-year T-Note) as the cut-off and those who are expected to see earnings remain ample to maintain the numbers. We had to eliminate everything tied to financial stocks in this climate as many dividends there are trimmed. We also had to eliminate anything tied to high volatility and anything tied to auto's. We screened many others, but here are seven stocks with dividends that we think will either stay the same or grow in the coming year.
24/7 Wall St. created a list of defensive stocks for 2008, and this is an update:
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Posted
Mar 11 2008, 01:26 PM
by
Kim Peterson
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
What a horrible day for Sprint shares. The stock hit a 20-year-low today. That's right, shares dipped to $5.55, the lowest level since July 1988. The stock price rebounded and closed at $6.17, down 8% from yesterday.
I can't find much reason for the tankage today, other than an analyst note from the Stanford Group lowering 2008 estimates to 23 cents per share from 43 cents. The analyst reviewed Sprint's last 10-K and thinks that Sprint's costs are going to go up. Last week, a Goldman Sachs analyst warned investors to "stay away from the stock." Looks like people are taking his advice. There's some piling on here in the analyst crowd, and I can't say it's unwarranted. But Wall Street's wildly varying expectations suggest a general cluelessness about where Sprint is headed. Analysts on average peg Sprint's 2008 profit at 21 cents a share. But the range of predictions goes from a 20 cent per-share loss to a profit of 87 cents.
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Posted
Nov 28 2007, 05:10 AM
by
Kim Peterson
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
Verizon scored big PR points yesterday by announcing that customers will be able to use any device on its wireless network. What's more, you'll be able to download any application to those devices. Investors didn't seem too impressed by the news: the company's share price barely moved and closed at $41.46.
The announcement sounds revolutionary, but there are some huge red flags to note. First, the "any apps, any device" mentioned in Verizon's press release is a joke. That's because Verizon's network works with phones that use CDMA technologies. Apple's iPhone and a lot of other devices run on different technologies, and it's unlikely they can be tweaked for CDMA.
Another big question: Phone carriers heavily discount cell phones (in many cases giving them away) and make up the loss in monthly service fees. If you're going to buy your own phone and bring it over to Verizon's network, you won't get that discount. Will people pay hundreds of dollars for a phone just to use Verizon? Will manufacturers see such value in this that they start making CDMA phones specifically for Verizon's network?
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Posted
Jun 18 2009, 11:42 AM
by
Catherine Holahan
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
If you complain -- loudly -- Steve Jobs and friends will listen.
In response to online tirades from existing Apple iPhone owners, iPhone service provider AT&T changed its upgrade policy today to allow more users to buy new phones at introductory prices. IPhone 3G owners who would be eligible to upgrade in July, August or September can now purchase the recently released iPhone 3G S for the same $199 price as new customers. The new upgrade policy takes effect today, Thursday, June 18.
"We've been listening to our customers. And since many of our iPhone 3G customers are early adopters and literally weeks shy of being upgrade eligible due to iPhone 3G S launching 11 months after iPhone 3G, we're extending the window of upgrade eligibility for a limited time," said AT&T in a statement on the corporate Web site.
IPhone owners have lobbied for the change since Apple unveiled the latest version of the phone on June 8. The new 16GB iPhone 3G S is faster, has longer battery life and more storage than the earlier Apple 3G (no S). It is also about $200 cheaper, with a price tag of $199 instead of $399. Apple is now offering the older 8GB iPhone 3G for just $99.
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Posted
Feb 12 2008, 06:53 AM
by
Douglas McIntyre
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
Firestone. American Motors. Texaco. Pan Am. Worldcom. These large American companies were once at the top of their industries. Pan Am was the leading global airline for decades. All are gone: Some were sold off, others went bankrupt. Who could have predicted it?
There are several iconic U.S. companies that may well not exist at the end of 2008. Some may not even make it halfway through the year. Not all will go out of business. Some may simply be auctioned off in pieces. Others may be bought. These companies will not exist in their current forms as they are known to their shareholders and consumers now.
When a company ceases to exist as an independent entity, it is not necessarily bad for shareholders. Some may be worth more in parts. Often a bust-up or merger is what brings owners the most money. Here are the big ones that probably won't make it. (A more detailed assessment is available at 24/7 Wall St.)
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Posted
Dec 31 2008, 06:00 AM
by
Andrew Horowitz
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
If you have not had the opportunity to work with the MSN Money Stock Screener, you should. It provides for a great ways to find investment ideas that could, after some research, turn up winners. The first component of the research process for The Disciplined Investor's QuantaFundaTechna approach uses screens to focus on purely quantitative measures to find stocks that meet a variety of conditions.
A simple example of a screen that has been relatively successful over time is known as The Dogs of the Dow. The group of 10 stocks is now set for 2009. Here is the list:
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Posted
Aug 31 2009, 04:04 AM
by
Douglas McIntyre
Rating:
Money Blog: Top Stocks Blog - MSN Money
There are two ways to look at the economic relationship between Apple (AAPL) and AT&T (T), and both may be accurate. AT&T says it has signed up 10 million iPhone owners for its long-term calling and data plans. Many of those customers have come from other cellular providers. AT&T is thus adding new, and perhaps profitable, business.
On the other hand, AT&T pays Apple an estimated $400 a phone. AT&T probably has to hold onto its iPhone customers for the full two years of their subscription plan to make a lot of money.
The Wall Street Journal recently pointed out that AT&T has other smartphones that it does not have to pay handset companies like Samsung and Nokia (NOK) as much as $400 to acquire.
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