Sprint Corp.’s (S) Chairman Masayoshi Son met separately with Berkshire Hathaway’s (BRK.A) Warren Buffett and cable and media tycoon John Malone, possibly concerning an investment in the telecom company, according to the Wall Street Journal, sending the stock jumping 4.3% to $8.55 by Friday’s close.
Though the details of the meeting have not been disclosed, the Journal reported that there is a possibility that Berkshire could invest as much as $10 billion in a potential transaction concerning the company.
Son, who owns 80% of Sprint, has been active in merger talks for the money-losing company in recent months, including a public courtship of mobile rival T-Mobile U.S. Inc. (TMUS).
More issues for food makers: As if food makers such as Kraft Heinz (KHC) and grocery retailers like Kroger (KR) and Walmart (WMT) didn’t have enough issues on their plate thanks to Amazon’s (AMZN) advances.
A significant demographic headwind could add further pressure on the packaged food and grocery store sectors in the years ahead, according to Wolfe Research analyst Scott Mnushkin. The U.S. government reported recently that the fertility rate in the U.S. (births per 1,000 women) hit a record low of 62.0 in 2016, with the number of births down about 1% from the prior year. With births declining and immigration slowing, population growth in the U.S. has stalled.
For the aforementioned sectors, Mnushkin points out, it’s critical households are formed in order for demand to materialize. The fact that’s not happening at a decent clip is troublesome.
