Archive for Friday, September, 19, 2008

Credit Crunch Hits Sirius XM Hard…

Friday, September, 19, 2008 by Mel Phillips.

(Weekend Edition) 

This is not to suggest that Sirius XM is the only company hurt by the credit crisis because they’re not.  Thanks to Lehman Brothers, Merrill Lynch, AIG, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the Wall Street quake is still reverberating and affecting all of us - if not now, eventually.  Bloomberg, the media company not the mayor, reports that Sirius plans to refinance their debt soon and in the words of the Mel-Man: “at an interest rate far higher than we’d like to pay.”  And how high is that Mr. Karmazin?  Well it could be 14% or even higher according to Wall Street sources.  Sirius debt comes due in February.  They also have millions invested in bonds that are convertible into stock maturing at the same time…

Some companies that are in a similar crunch may use cash and existing credit lines to pay off their debt.  That would include Cablevision, Amgen, the largest biotech company and Qwest, the third-largest local phone company.  Other companies like Verizon, NextWave Wireless and DirecTV will try to raise the money.  According to Fitch Ratings, companies are trying to refinance a staggering $234.5 billion.  One year ago that debt was at $165.5 billion.  No need to do the math…

The amount of Sirius XM debt is unknown but when they purchased XM the transaction was for $2.76 billion in stock.  They have $300 million in bonds convertible into stock maturing at the same time in February that their debt comes due.   They will have to refinance the company.  Anyone have some spare change for Sirius XM? - at a high interest rate of course…

10 Timeline Memories:

  1. 1881] “Happy Trails”: Our 20th president, James A. Garfield dies of wounds received 11 weeks earlier at the hands of assassin, Charles Julius Guiteau. Garfield is succeeded by Chester A. Arthur…1973] Gram Parsons of the Byrds dies of a drug overdose at 26 (both happened on 9/19)…1973]  30-year old singer Jim Croce is killed in a small plane crash in Louisiana.  Croce was on his way to a concert in Sherman (TX) (9/20)… 
  2. 1938] What’s your name?: An unnamed category 3 hurricane slams into Long Island and southern New England and claims as many as 600 lives (9/21)…
  3. 1952] Premiered on this date: “The Jackie Gleason Show” which runs 18 years (9/20).  But first a word from our sponsor…1957] “Perry Mason“ starring Raymond Burr starts a run of 17 seasons (9/21)…1970] “The Mary Tyler Moore Show“ which airs for seven years (9/19)…1970] “Monday Night Football” with Howard Cosell, Keith Jackson who will be replaced by Frank Gifford and “Dandy” Don Meredith. The first game features a Cleveland win over the Jets 31-21 (9/21)…1984] “The Cosby Show“ for 8 seasons (9/20)…
  4. 1969] Sold to the highest bidder: Associated TV buys control of the Beatles publishing company Northern Songs for a couple of million dollars (9/20). What were the Beatles thinking???
  5. 1973] The Battle Of The Sexes: Billie Jean King (30) beats Bobby Riggs(55) in a grudge tennis match at the Houston Astrodome. King whipped Riggs in straight sets (9/20)…
  6. 1973] Confirmation day: Henry Kissinger is confirmed as Secretary of State by the Senate (9/21)…1981] The Senate confirms Sandra Day O’Connor as the first female justice of the Supreme Court (9/21)…
  7. 1976] From Jimmy with lust: Playboy releases the Jimmy Carter interview in which he’s quoted as saying “I’ve looked at a lot of women with lust. I’ve committed adultery in my heart many times.” Americans by the millions avoid the imagery (9/20)…
  8. 1998] What is “is”?: Bill Clinton is less ingenious than Jimmy Carter. This is the day that Bill answered a question about Monica Lewinsky with this question: “it depends on what the meaning of ‘is’ is?” It’s all part of his testimony about an affair with “that woman, Miss Lewinsky.” Unlike Carter -no pass for Clinton on his quote (9/21)…
  9. 2002] The fans get restless: Kansas City first-base coach Tom Gamboa is attacked during a game by a whacked-out father and son at Comiskey Park in Chicago. Was it the way Gamboa kept yelling “back” to runners at first base that did it? (9/19)…
  10. 2003] AO-What?: Time Warner drops the “AOL” from its name. The merged company becomes Time Warner Inc. The company started including ‘AOL’ in 2000 (9/19)…

Music Memories:

Commentary:

Time is running out for ordering tickets for the Massachusetts Broadcasters Hall Of Fame Second Annual Induction And Awards Ceremony And Luncheon at Noon Wednesday, September 24th at the Dedham Hilton Hotel Ballroom. For reservations (no walk-up) contact Lynne Osborn at 617.763.0109 or e-mail Lynne at lynne1203@yahoo.com . New HOF inductees include: Arnie Ginsburg, Larry Glick, Bill Buchanan, Jack Hynes, Norman Knight, Bob Lobel, Bill Putnam, Shelby Scott, Sarah-Ann Shaw and Don Thurston…

“Happy Birthday…happy birthday”:

(9/19) Jimmy Fallon (34), CNN’s Soledad O’Brien (42), Trisha Yearwood (44), Joan Lunden (58), Jeremy Irons (60), Twiggy (59), Freda Payne (63), Bill Medley (68), David McCallum (75), Adam (”Batman”) West (80), Baseball Hall of Famer Duke Snider (82) and James Lipton (82)…(9/20) Red Sox owner John W. Henry (59), Sophia Loren (74), Anne Meara (79), Joyce Brothers (80) and Gogi Grant (84)…(9/21) Nichole Richie (27), Ricki Lake (40), Faith Hill (41), Bill Murray (58), Stephen King (61), Eagles’ Don Felder (61), Henry Gibson (73), Leonard Cohen (74) and Larry Hagman (77)…

Timeline Countdown: 3 days until autumn in New York, 9 days until the end of the regular MLB season and 11 days until the playoffs…

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