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The Department of Telecommunications’ (DoT) Wireless Planning and Coordination Wing has issued a notification to amend guidelines for liberalisation of spectrum in 800 MHz and 1800 MHz bands. The new guidelines will specifically be applicable for liberalisation of the spectrum in circles where auction determined price was not available.
The change to these guidelines was cleared by the Cabinet earlier this month, and as an interim measure, called for the most recently recommended reserve price by Trai to be taken as the provisional price for liberalisation of the said airwaves.
This move is likely to enable Reliance Communications to liberalise its spectrum holding in four telecom circles — Rajasthan, Kerala, Karnataka, and Tamil Nadu, where auction determined price is not available, for approximately Rs 1,300 crore.
Liberalised spectrum allows telecom service providers to use any technology to deliver mobile services like 3G and 4G. Besides, the companies will be able to share and trade the airwaves with other operators.
Source : http://indianexpress.com
Libellés :
Written by Pranav Mukul | Delhi |
Updated: April 23, 2016 11:57 am
Analysts believe that the move is expected to clear the path for Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) and Voice of Long Term Evolution (VoLTE) services, which the upcoming operator Reliance Jio Infocomm plans to offer on its countrywide 4G network.
“Earlier restrictions around interconnection between IP-based and CS (circuit switching) based networks would limit Reliance Jio (RJio) users to call users on other networks, and that’s why they were tying up with other operators to route the voice calls through their network. This move would now open doors for RJio users to call users on other networks and vice-versa,” said Rishi Tejpal, principal research analyst, Gartner.
VoIP technology is capable of transporting voice and data packets over the same network. Unlike circuit-switched networks, the service doesn’t require a dedicated connection for an entire call. Voice signals are converted to packets that are sent across the network and reassembled in the correct order when they reach their destination, Gartner has said.
“Interconnection between the networks of different licensees for carrying circuit-switched traffic … and for carrying IP-based traffic … shall be within the overall framework of interconnection regulations/directions/orders issued by the Trai (Telecom Regulatory Authority of India)/licensor from time to time,” the DoT’s Access Services Division said in a notification dated April 19.
Even as the move is expected to benefit operators wanting to offer VoLTE services that will help them decongest their networks in metro areas, Tejpal said that the adaptability of the technology will only depend on the development of device ecosystem that supports VoLTE.
“It is definitely an interesting move for operators, which are looking to offer IP-based voice services. As of now one limitation, which is there is the handset availability supporting VoLTE, and because of that Reliance Jio will also have to wait for some time as there are not so many handsets in the market, which support VoLTE,” Tejpal said.
However, the DoT’s move does not throw any light on the issue of interconnection charges for termination of an IP-based voice call. It is understood, though, that the government may soon approach sector regulator Telecom Regulatory Authority of India to recommend separate call termination charges for these services.
Source : http://indianexpress.com
Many taxpayers think that if they simply don't put something on their tax return, then the IRS will never know about it. But more often than not, there are mechanisms in place that alert the IRS to things that it needs to know about in order to calculate your proper tax liability. That's definitely the case when you leave your job and cash out an old 401(k) retirement account, because even if you don't tell the IRS anything about what you did with your 401(k), your old employer definitely will. Below, we'll take a closer look at how the IRS gets information and what you can do to avoid tax.
What your employer does when you cash out a 401(k)
The IRS knows that taxpayers won't always voluntarily comply with the tax laws, so whenever it can, it builds redundancy into the system. Most taxable income comes from employment, and so dual mechanisms that require both employers and employees to report income items make it far easier for the IRS to double-check on everyone involved and make sure it has complete information.
For retirement accounts, the IRS gets its information from the Form 1099-R that employers are required to complete. The form includes the total amount of money distributed to you, as well as the amount of the distribution that you'll need to include in your taxable income. Your employer also includes any money that it withholds from your distribution to go toward federal and state income tax, and you'll see other information that can be helpful in special circumstances that require additional work to determine what you'll need to report on your tax return.
Apart from the gross distribution and taxable amount boxes, the most important entry on Form 1099-R is the distribution code. If you take a distribution before you turn age 59 1/2, then your 1099-R will typically have code 1, which corresponds to an early distribution for which no known exception to the 10% penalty applies. For 401(k)s, if your employer knows that you have separated from service and are at least 55, then a penalty exception applies, and code 2 will be marked. For those who are 59 1/2 or older, you'll typically see code 7, which is used for a normal distribution.
The legal way to avoid tax
Because the taxable amount is on the 1099-R, you can't just leave your cashed-out 401(k) proceeds off your tax return. The IRS will know and you will trigger an audit or other IRS scrutiny if you don't include it.
However, there are a couple things you can do. If you haven't yet left work, simply don't cash out your 401(k). Either leave it at your employer or arrange to have it transferred directly to a rollover IRA or your new 401(k) account at your new job. That avoids taxation, and you won't even get a 1099-R.
Alternatively, if you already have the cash but it's still within 60 days since you got it, you can roll it over yourself into a new IRA. You'll get a 1099-R in this case, but you still won't owe tax as long as you meet the rollover rules.
If you cash in your 401(k), the IRS will know. So don't try to cheat your way out of paying tax. Instead, do the smart thing and keep your retirement money where it belongs.
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This article is part of The Motley Fool's Knowledge Center, which was created based on the collected wisdom of a fantastic community of investors. We'd love to hear your questions, thoughts, and opinions on the Knowledge Center in general or this page in particular. Your input will help us help the world invest, better! Email us at knowledgecenter@fool.com. Thanks -- and Fool on!
Source : http://www.fool.com
Image source: Halliburton.
In a surprise move, Halliburton (NYSE:HAL) pre-announced its first-quarter revenue in an operational update released after markets closed on Friday evening. Typically, when a company pre-announces results and does so on a Friday night, it's an ominous sign. However, in this case the numbers as a whole weren't as bad as expected, though they weren't all that great, either.
Originally, Halliburton had planned to release its first-quarter results on Monday morning. However, with an end-of-the-month deadline looming for its pending merger with Baker Hughes (NYSE:BHI), it decided to postpone the full earnings release and its first-quarter conference call until early May. It's a move that suggests that there is more news pending regarding that troubled deal.
Drilling down into the numbers
Halliburton said its first-quarter revenue was $4.2 billion, which was down 17% from last quarter. While that sounds awful, and it's not a great number by any means, it is a better result than was expected. Not only did the company's revenue decline outperform the global rig count, which was 21% lower sequentially, but it was also better than analysts' expectations of $4.14 billion.
The company's North American segment in particular was stronger than anticipated. Going into the quarter, Halliburton had expected that segment's revenue to decline as steeply as the U.S. rig count, which was down 27%. However, Halliburton's revenue in that segment was down just 17% from last quarter:
Segment | Q1 2016 Revenue | Q1 2015 Revenue | YOY Change | Q4 2015 Revenue | QOQ Change |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
North America | $1,794 | $3,542 | (49%) | $2,155 | (17%) |
Latin America | $541 | $949 | (43%) | $694 | (22%) |
Europe/Africa/CIS | $778 | $1,097 | (29%) | $962 | (19%) |
Middle East/Asia | $1,085 | $1,462 | (26%) | $1,271 | (15%) |
IN MILLIONS OF DOLLARS. DATA SOURCE: HALLIBURTON COMPANY.
However, the company did note that the segment lost $38 million, which was slightly worse than the "about breakeven" that it had been guiding to deliver. Speaking of earnings, Halliburton didn't pre-announce earnings results, other than the operating earnings of its geographic regions.
Turning to its other geographic segments, Halliburton reported weaker revenue results across the board. It had been guiding for "revenues to decline by a mid-teens percentage" in Latin America, but it delivered a 22% revenue decline. That was due to reduced activities in Mexico, Brazil, and Colombia, as well as the company's decision to begin curtailing its activity in Venezuela as a result of that country's financial woes. Meanwhile, Halliburton thought that revenue in the Eastern Hemisphere would "decline sequentially by a low-double-digit percentage," but it instead delivered a 15% decline in Middle East/Asia and a 19% decline in Europe/Africa/CIS. Driving this weaker result was a "sharp reduction in activity in the North Sea," as well as activity and pricing reductions in Asia Pacific.
What to expect next
Halliburton and Baker Hughes have until the end of this month to obtain regulatory approval for their merger. If that doesn't occur, either company could terminate the transaction or both parties could agree to once again extend the deadline to continue seeking approval. As it stands right now, this is a very tight time frame, especially given that the U.S. Department of Justice brought a civil suit to block the deal earlier this month. Either way, investors will know more about what both companies plan to do by May 3, which is when Halliburton now plans to hold a conference call to discuss its first-quarter results.
In addition to the uncertainty surrounding that transaction, there's still immense uncertainty about when the oil market will start to recover. Halliburton noted in its press release that "life has changed in the energy industry" and that many producers are just "fighting to maintain some value for their shareholders" at the moment. Further, the company warned that even when producers feel better about the oil market, they'll probably be cautious about ramping up activity levels, given the stress on their balance sheets. This situation could lead to a much slower recovery in drilling activity than Halliburton had been anticipating.
Investor takeaway
Halliburton surprised investors by pre-announcing some of its first-quarter results while postponing the full announcement and subsequent conference call until early next month so it can get past a key deadline for the Baker Hughes merger. What numbers it did provide investors were a mixed bag. On one hand, North American revenue wasn't quite as bad as expected, which led to a better-than-expected overall revenue number. On the other hand, the company's international operations were under a lot of pressure, and the company clearly faces a challenging oil market in 2016.
A secret billion-dollar stock opportunity
The world's biggest tech company forgot to show you something, but a few Wall Street analysts and the Fool didn't miss a beat: There's a small company that's powering their brand-new gadgets and the coming revolution in technology. And we think its stock price has nearly unlimited room to run for early in-the-know investors! To be one of them, just click here.
Matt DiLallo has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends Halliburton. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Buyback programs, when timed right, can supercharge a company's returns. By reducing the outstanding share count, they increase the portion of earnings that each remaining share of stock is entitled to.
In this clip from Industry Focus: Tech, Sean O'Reilly and Dylan Lewis talk about Microsoft's (NASDAQ:MSFT) beautifully executed buybacks during the 2000s, and how they accomplished everything a buyback should. The two look at the company's timing, exactly how it executed the share purchases, and the impact it had on the Redmond giant.
A full transcript follows the video.
A secret billion-dollar stock opportunity
The world's biggest tech company forgot to show you something, but a few Wall Street analysts and the Fool didn't miss a beat: There's a small company that's powering their brand-new gadgets and the coming revolution in technology. And we think its stock price has nearly unlimited room to run for early in-the-know investors! To be one of them, just click here.
This podcast was recorded on April 15, 2016.
Sean O'Reilly: Yeah, and actually, that's a great segue to the company that I wanted to highlight, which is Microsoft. They have arguably had a monopoly since the late '80s. (laughs) Like, 90% market share the entire time, of the PC market, probably higher. They didn't start paying out a dividend until 2003.
As I'm going to point out in a second here more in depth, they didn't really start buying back shares in earnest until the mid-2000s. They bought back a few, I think we looked earlier, it was like a couple hundred million dollars, in the '90s. And that was clearly just to take care of the dilution from all the options they were giving employees. They have a monopoly, they're generating billions of dollars in free cash flow, and they didn't even do what GoPro did until way later. I mean, that's just ...
Dylan Lewis: It's baffling.
Lewis: So, what else do you have, in terms of Microsoft's strengths in capital allocation?O'Reilly: So, bringing it around, what I wanted our listeners to know was, most of us probably know, Microsoft shares have kind of languished a little since the bubble popped in 2000. The stock was at huge multiples, and they didn't really go anywhere until very recently, until Ballmer stepped down and they got the new CEO, Nadella.
After the bubble popped, they bought back anywhere from 3 to 6.5 billion worth of shares in 2001 and 2005. The stock kept languishing, so they were like, "We're making more and more money every year." Profits went from $7 billion in 2001, they were $12 billion in 2005, they kept growing over $20 billion by the early 2010s. So, the business is doing fine this whole time, but the shares just aren't going anywhere. So, clearly, as responsible capital allocators, they're going to be like, "Maybe we should buy back some shares."
Lewis: Yeah, let's slice this pie a few less times.
O'Reilly: Exactly. That's what they started doing in 2005, in a big way. In 2005, they bought back $8 billion shares. In 2006, $19 billion. 2007, $27 billion, and all of this is after paying that $32 billion special dividend in 2003. It's really funny to see huge $2-3-4 --
Lewis: Boop!
O'Reilly: Yeah, it's like boom. $12 billion in 2008 and 2009, $11 billion in 2010, and this whole time, at the depths of the Great Recession, the year when Microsoft bought back $9 billion worth of shares, and the previous year they'd bought back $17 billion, the P/E on Microsoft got as low as 9. [These are] crazy awesome purchases that they are making. The stock went from the mid-teens, it touched bottom in 2009 at $15 per share. All those repurchases were made over the last 10 years, and now Microsoft is at $55. That is awesome!
Dylan Lewis has no position in any stocks mentioned. Sean O'Reilly has no position in any stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool owns shares of and recommends GoPro. The Motley Fool owns shares of Microsoft. Try any of our Foolish newsletter services free for 30 days. We Fools may not all hold the same opinions, but we all believe that considering a diverse range of insights makes us better investors. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.
Source : http://www.fool.com
When a company files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, it doesn't mean that it is going out of business (that's Chapter 7). Rather, Chapter 11 is used by companies that feel their operations can continue profitably but after a restructuring to get its debts under control.
In general, when a company files for Chapter 11 protection, its stock price plummets and a "Q" is added to its stock symbol to clearly indicate that the company is in bankruptcy proceedings. So, what happens to the company's stock when it exits bankruptcy protection?
Last in line
Unfortunately, in the event of a bankruptcy restructuring, common shareholders are last in line when it comes to claiming a company's assets.
One of the main objectives of a Chapter 11 reorganization is to take care of the company's creditors and restructure the debts in a way that the company can continue to operate. And these creditors get paid back in the order of the priority of their claims.
Secured creditors (usually banks) get paid back first, followed by unsecured creditors such as bondholders. If a company has preferred stockholders, they are next in the priority line after bondholders. Stockholders are the last in line, and generally only get anything if the rest of the creditors are repaid in full. And since the reason most companies use Chapter 11 protection in the first place is an inability to pay their debts, you can probably imagine that this doesn't happen too often.
What happens to the stock?
The short answer is that most of the time, the stock of a company in Chapter 11 becomes worthless and shareholders get completely wiped out. Purchasing stock of a bankrupt company for pennies per share and hoping to make a quick buck when the company restructures almost always turns out to be a bad idea.
The company may issue new shares upon emerging from bankruptcy, at which point the old shares are cancelled and become worthless. The new shares are often issued to its creditors in exchange for a reduction or forgiveness of the outstanding debt.
Now, the story doesn't always have a completely sad ending. There have been cases where existing shareholders receive something after the company emerges from bankruptcy -- usually a small portion of the newly created stock or a relatively small cash payment. However, it's not a good idea to count on it. It's rare and usually isn't much even when it happens. A study found that of the 41 publicly traded companies that went bankrupt in 2009 and 2010, shareholders of just four of them got any kind of return at all. The rest got wiped out completely.
In a nutshell, while bankruptcy doesn't have to be a complete death sentence for the investments of the company's common shareholders, that's usually the case.
The $15,978 Social Security bonus most retirees completely overlook
If you're like most Americans, you're a few years (or more) behind on your retirement savings. But a handful of little-known "Social Security secrets" could help ensure a boost in your retirement income. In fact, one MarketWatch reporter argues that if more Americans knew about this, the government would have to shell out an extra $10 billion annually. For example: one easy, 17-minute trick could pay you as much as $15,978 more... each year! Once you learn how to take advantage of all these loopholes, we think you could retire confidently with the peace of mind we're all after. Simply click here to discover how you can take advantage of these strategies.
This article is part of The Motley Fool's Knowledge Center, which was created based on the collected wisdom of a fantastic community of investors. We'd love to hear your questions, thoughts, and opinions on the Knowledge Center in general or this page in particular. Your input will help us help the world invest, better! Email us at knowledgecenter@fool.com. Thanks -- and Fool on!
Source : http://www.fool.com
April is National Poetry month and tech giant Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) appears to be feeling the spirit of the season.
Source: Apple.
Earlier this week, Apple posted the above poem to announce the dates for its upcoming World Wide Developers Conference (WWDC), one of the most-important events the company holds each year. Here's a quick preview of the products and topics expected to dominate the discussion at WWDC 2016, being held June 13-17.
iOS 10
It's a virtual lock that Apple will use the opening WWDC keynote presentation to debut updates to its mobile and desktop operating systems. Here's what the rumor mill is kicking about in terms of Apple's upcoming mobile software update.
Starting with the most plausible, it appears Apple will enable users to hide at least some of the default apps – game center, stocks, etc. – that the company has long locked into the home screen. One app store analytics company noticed an interesting bit of code Apple recently added to all App Store apps, which reads "isFirstPartyHideableApp." This would be convenient, but far from game-changing. However, given the public deployment of this new code, this rumor seems relatively bankable. Goodbye, game center.
Apple is also reportedly developing a new app to further its efforts to dominate our increasingly smart homes. Predictably dubbed "Home," the app will serve as the missing hub to connect disparate iOS-enabled devices in a single place. With smart appliances and other gadgets only likely to increase in number and importance in our homes in coming years, Apple's efforts to create a single unified space seems like a win for users and the company.
Additionally, Apple has reportedly been experimenting with a new voice mail-dictation service powered by Siri. The service, which is reportedly still being tested by Apple employees, would allow Siri to transcribe your voicemail messages and send you the transcript.
Siri would then send the transcript of her interaction with the caller as an email or iMessage to a user's iPhone. The feature's inclusion in iOS 10 reportedly hinges on Siri's translational accuracy. As you can imagine, there is no shortage of rumors regarding iOS 10's content, but these are a few that appear most often in reading on the subject.
Source: Apple
OS X Fuji
Like its mobile OS brethren, count on Apple debuting the newest version of its Mac software during the WWDC keynote. There hasn't been the same intensity to the speculation about OSX, but several potential features that I've seen discussed could still prove quite alluring.
Primary among them is Apple's likely move to bring Siri to the Mac. When plugging into a power charger, Mac users will reportedly be able to summon Apple's digital assistant using the traditional "Hey, Siri" invocation. It isn't clear if Apple has any desktop-specific improvements planned. Either way, this would represent only the latest step in the growing feature convergence between Apple's mobile and desktop platforms in recent years.
There's also some speculation that Apple plans to overhaul the Photos app, which the company emphasized over its legacy iPhoto product in last year's update. Details aren't exactly clear as to whether this purported upgrade would more likely impact the desktop, mobile, or both versions of Photos.
New Apple Watch
Like iOS and OSX, it seems safe to expect Apple to preview the latest version of its smartwatch software, WatchOS, at this year's WWDC. The question that has arisen in recent months is whether Apple's Watch update will also involve new hardware.
Source: Apple.
For those who don't recall, Apple launched the Apple Watch last April, but it used last year's WWDC keynote to preview its second-generation WatchOS 2 software. The timing in doing so seems favorable. A June launch window would allow for more than a year passing since the original Apple Watch shipped, which could help sooth some potential criticism from those irked by potential new hardware upgrades.
A June debut would also allow Apple to place a greater emphasis on the expected form factor update for the company's rainmaking iPhone lineup later this fall. Many expect Apple iPhone shipments to stall in coming quarters, which will put increased pressure on Apple to deliver something more than an incremental upgrade to its smartphone lineup.
We still have several months to go before we'll know firsthand what Apple has in store for its next marquee event. Expect to see the rumor mill rev into high gear in the intervening months ahead of Apple's June WWDC.
A secret billion-dollar stock opportunity
The world's biggest tech company forgot to show you something, but a few Wall Street analysts and the Fool didn't miss a beat: There's a small company that's powering their brand-new gadgets and the coming revolution in technology. And we think its stock price has nearly unlimited room to run for early in-the-know investors! To be one of them, just click here.
Source : http://www.fool.com