Economist Mickey Levy has a very positive perception of the current U.S. economy and where it’s headed, as GD is up 3% this year, although it’s slated to decline in 2019. He adds that the bull market will continue to be slower and there is no recession ahead.
Southwest Airlines Co (NYSE:LUV) is in hot water over a flight fiasco, while AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) and Twitter Inc (NYSE:TWTR) are facing major changes moving forward.
Here’s what you should know:
AT&T Inc. (T)
AT&T is on its way to begin one of the largest merger trials in U.S. history.
The company has been trying to make a merger with Time Warner Inc (NYSE:TWX) happen, but the government stands in the way of such a move, which could have a massive effect on the market and regulators.
The U.S. Department of Justice launched a lawsuit designed to block the carrier’s merger with Time Warner, which is worth $85 billion. The trial is slated to begin Monday and is sure to send ripples across the media industry.
There are rumors that the lawsuit may have been tainted by President Donald Trump, who may or may not have influenced the decision to block the merger as a form of retaliation against Time Warner-owned CNN over the network’s allegedly biased coverage.
The Justice Department will make the argument that combining AT&T’s control over distribution channels with Time Warner’s far-reaching content (HBO and TNT, among others), will allow the joint company to squeeze out competitors and raise prices for consumers.
AT&T argues that the deal is necessary in order to remain competitive in an industry that has seen tech giants overtake online content. The carrier adds that the move would not make the industry any less competitive.
T stock is down 4.8% year-to-date.
Southwest Airlines Co (LUV)
Southwest Airlines is in trouble over an incident that took place on one of its flights over the weekend.
The airline is facing plenty of backlash on social media after a video was posted online, showing a father and his young daughter being removed from a flight on Wednesday. The clip went viral.
The video of the incident was recorded by Alexis Armstrong, a fellow passenger on flight 1683 from Chicago to Atlanta. The video revealed a female flight attendant telling her to stop videotaping.
The video has already garnered more than 8,000 shares and over 1.1 million views. Armstrong wrote in the video that Southwest Airlines “kicked a man off the plane with his 2-year-old daughter because she was afraid and not sitting in her own seat.”
The child eventually sat down, but the father and his daughter were still kicked off the plane because “the decision had been made,” according to the flight attendant.
LUV shares have declined 7% YTD.
Twitter Inc (TWTR)
Twitter announced that it will ban cryptocurrency ads from its platform.
The social media site said that it will implement the ban for several kinds of cryptocurrency products and projects, and the policy is slated to go into effect in two weeks, according to Sky News.
The move will result in the ban of initial coin offerings, token sales, while cryptocurrency exchange ads may also be banned. The decision may have been made over a number of cryptocurrency scams happening on the site.
TWTR stock has soared 48.2% in 2018.
As of this writing, Karl Utermohlen did not hold a position in any of the aforementioned securities.
