For Immediate Release
Chicago, IL – January 14, 2010 – Zacks.com announces the list of stocks featured in the Analyst Blog. Every day the Zacks Equity Research analysts discuss the latest news and events impacting stocks and the financial markets. Stocks recently featured in the blog include: Deutsche Telekom (DT), France Telecom (FTE), Telefonica (TEF), Vodafone (VOD) and Big Lots Inc. (BIG).
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Here are highlights from Wednesday’s Analyst Blog:
Orange/T-Mobile Seeks Approval
European telecom giants Deutsche Telekom (DT) and France Telecom (FTE) have reportedly filed their appeals to the European Commission for approval of the proposed merger of their UK units in a 50-50 joint venture.
The European Commission will review the merger proposal and is expected to provide an initial ruling in February 2010. If eventually approved, Deutsche Telekom’s British subsidiary T-mobile UK will combine with France Telecom’s Orange UK in a historic merger (expected to conclude by mid 2010).
Moreover, the UK competition authorities are currently considering a potential investigation of the said merger as consumer groups are increasingly concerned about the impact of the deal on the competitive scenario in the UK mobile market.
The companies announced their merger plans in September 2009. In the proposed merger, Deutsche Telekom will contribute T-mobile UK including the unit’s 50% stake in the 3G wireless joint venture with Hutchison while France Telecom will also add its UK broadband Internet business besides the wireless operation.
The British mobile market is one of the fiercely competitive markets in Europe. Currently, Spanish telecom giant Telefonica’s (TEF) UK subsidiary O2 leads the market with an approximately 28% share. Vodafone (VOD) and France Telecom’s Orange are the second and third largest operators with 24.7% and 21.5% share, respectively. T-Mobile UK is the fourth largest operator with approximately 16.6 million subscribers and roughly 15% market share. However, the unit contends with declining profit and subscriber erosion.
Big Lots Raises Outlook
Big Lots Inc. (BIG) recently raised its fourth quarter 2009 guidance encouraged by better-than-expected sales results. By categories, electronics, furniture and hardlines experienced an improvement in demand.
The Columbus, Ohio based company Big Lots now expects quarterly comparable-store sales to increase in the range of 3.5% to 4.5%, up from 1.5% to 2.5% forecasted earlier. The shares of Big Lots rose 1.8% or 52 cents to close at $30.21 on Tuesday.
The company’s sagging comparable-store sales gained momentum in third-quarter 2009, when Big Lots saw its comps declining marginally by 0.2%, showing a substantial improvement from a decline of 2.4% posted in the second-quarter 2009.
The company also raised its fourth-quarter earnings guidance. Big Lots stated that it now sees quarterly earnings in the range of $1.19 to $1.24 per share, up from its earlier guidance of $1.09 to $1.14.
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