Fund Flows & Issuance: According to Wells Fargo, flows week to date were -$0.3 billion and year to date flows stand at $0.8 billion. New issuance for the week was $7.2 billion and year to date HY is at $8.6 billion.
(Food Business News) B&G Foods ready to make another Green Giant-size acquisition
- B&G doubled its corporate infrastructure with the Green Giant deal and “set ourselves to really continue an acquisition path in a big way,” said Bob Cantwell, chief executive officer and president
- “We still believe that the right answer for B&G is to get bigger managing smaller things. That really differentiates ourselves against everybody else, but certainly, be ready to buy more things like Green Giant of that size, $500-plus million, because we’re certainly capable of doing that.”
- “If there’s an acquisition out there that really fits B&G, we’re going to be ready. We’re ready for it today. We’d prefer a little time just to absorb everything we have, but we’re not going to lose out on an acquisition that’s an absolute fit for B&G today.”
(Washington Post) Trump vows ‘insurance for everybody’ in Obamacare replacement plan
- President-elect Donald Trump said in a weekend interview that he is nearing completion of a plan to replace President Obama’s signature health-care law with the goal of “insurance for everybody,” while also vowing to force drug companies to negotiate directly with the government on prices in Medicare and Medicaid
- In addition to his replacement plan for the ACA, also known as Obamacare, Trump said he will target pharmaceutical companies over drug prices. “They’re politically protected, but not anymore”
- “We’re going to have insurance for everybody,” Trump said. “There was a philosophy in some circles that if you can’t pay for it, you don’t get it. That’s not going to happen with us.” People covered under the law “can expect to have great health care
- Trump said his plan for replacing most aspects of Obama’s health-care law is all but finished. Although he was coy about its details — “lower numbers, much lower deductibles” — he said he is ready to unveil it alongside Ryan and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.)
- “It’s very much formulated down to the final strokes. We haven’t put it in quite yet but we’re going to be doing it soon,” Trump said. He noted that he is waiting for his nominee for secretary of health and human services, Rep. Tom Price (R-Ga.), to be confirmed
(Broadcasting & Cable) Spectrum Auction: TV’s New Exit Price Plummets to $10B
- That is a huge drop from the previous round and sounds like a number wireless operators might be able to love, or at least meet, so long as the average price in the top markets also meets the second prong for closing the auction successfully. It is a far cry from the $86 billion broadcaster asking price when the auction began, though that was for much more spectrum
- That $10 billion is how much the government will have to pay—actually it will be wireless companies if/when the auction finally closes for good—to move broadcasters off 84 MHz of spectrum so it can offer it to forward auction bidders for wireless broadband. That is down from the $43 billion broadcasters wanted for 108 MHz in stage 3 of the auction
(Bloomberg) IEA Sees Significant Gains in U.S. Shale Oil as Prices Rise
- Oil-price gains will trigger a “significant” increase in U.S. shale output as OPEC and other producers rein in supply, according to the head of the International Energy Agency
- “U.S. shale-oil production will definitely react strongly,” said Executive Director Fatih Birol. “At $50, $55, we’ve already seen a lot of activity,” Birol said. “U.S. oil production will continue to increase in significant terms.”
- The oil industry is becoming more cost-efficient and a “big chunk” of global output is now profitable at $50 to $55 a barrel, citing Brazil, Mexico and China as countries that will also boost production. There’ll be “lots more” supply in late 2017 or early 2018, he said
- Oil prices have risen about 20 percent since the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries reached a deal to curtail supply last year. The Nov. 30 agreement prompted a surge in activity in the U.S. — not an OPEC member — where oil and gas producers increased drilling the most since April 2014
(Business Wire) Mediacom Communications Makes Iowa First Gigabit State in the Nation
- Nearly 1 million households in the more than 300 Iowa communities passed by Mediacom’s fiber-rich digital network will be able to enjoy download speeds that are up to 40 times faster than the minimum broadband definition set by the Federal Communications Commission
- “In addition to enhancing speeds for residential and small business customers today, the Gigasphere platform we have deployed also lays the groundwork for offering multi-Gig services in the future,” said Mediacom’s Chief Technology Officer, JR Walden. “This next generation technology is an excellent complement to the Gigabit+ Fiber SolutionsTM that Mediacom Business has been offering local businesses in our markets for many years.”