The never-ending Sirius XM Radio (Nasdaq: SIRI) saga took an interesting turn this week, when the Wall Street Journal reported that satellite television specialist EchoStar (Nasdaq: SATS) is buying up rapidly maturing debt of the satellite radio provider.
Does EchoStar want to shove Sirius into bankruptcy, where it may have an active role in dictating Sirius' future? Does it want to swallow Sirius XM whole on friendly terms, and buying debt is just one way to bring Sirius XM to the negotiating table? Is EchoStar simply doing terrestrial radio a favor by infiltrating Sirius XM in an evil ploy to load it up with repetitive Top 40 music with annoying commercials?
Time will tell. In the meantime, the drama behind the scenes at Sirius XM is getting as exciting as some of the content on Sirius and XM (and that's a compliment, by the way).
Briefly in the news
And now let's take a quick look at some of the other stories that shaped our week.
- You know things are bad when even drug companies are kicking in with layoffs. Wasn't this a defensive sector? Well, GlaxoSmithKline (NYSE: GSK) is announcing that it's looking to save as much as $2.5 billion a year with its latest wave of cuts. Not to be outdone, Electronic Arts (Nasdaq: ERTS) and THQ (Nasdaq: THQI) also checked in with workforce reductions in the video game industry. Wake me up when the country's hiring again.
- Whatever happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas. Well, that's if it even gets to Sin City in the first place. Wells Fargo (NYSE: WFC) had to cancel an employee gathering in Las Vegas, as public outcry finds another TARP-recipient handing over its toys. Companies obviously shouldn't be squandering taxpayer money, but how does weakening morale strengthen a weakening company? I wish there was an answer.
Until next week, I remain,
Rick Munarriz
