Nothing Merry Or Happy For Sirius…

Thursday, December, 25, 2008 by Mel Phillips.

(Christmas Edition) 

Mel Karmazin will not be having a Merry Christmas or Happy Hanukah this year, not with his company hanging by its fingernails.  Sirius XM Radio plans to issue 108.1 million shares of common stock in exchange for convertible notes, all part of the company’s efforts to reduce debt.  Convertible cars with Sirius XM radios would be far more valuable in that swap.  Facing about $1 billion in loan repayments in 2009, Sirius XM has $193.6 million in convertible bonds maturing in February.  Last week, shareholders approved a reverse stock split and voted to boost the number of authorized shares to 8 billion from 4.5 billion.  Meanwhile Sirius is worth 12 cents a share.  For those keeping track, Sirius stock was fallen 96% this year.  How low can you go without closing shop???

That reverse split ranges from 1-for-10 shares to as much as 1-for-50 shares and may lift the stock price above $1.  It would also avoid delisting from the Nasdaq Stock Market.  One thing the reverse split can also do is give Sirius the means to meet some of that almost $1 billion in loan repayments due next year…

Sirius XM stock has traded below $1 since September 10th on concern that Chief Executive Mel Karmazin won’t be able to manage the debt and meet growth projections…

This all reminds me of a job offer I once received with a low salary but a chance for lots of shares in the company in lieu of money.  I turned it down.  I figured that the owner of the company could have sold some of his stock and put it into a better salary for me… 

10 Timeline Memories:

1. 1932] Debuted on this date: Radio City Music Hall opens to the public (12/27)…1947] “Howdy Doody” debuts on NBC-TV hosted by Buffalo Bob Smith (12/27)…1948] “The Perry Como Show” debuts (12/25)…1973] “The Exorcist” starring Linda Blair opens (12/26).  Are you ready for the pea soup spew?…1990] “Godfather III” premieres (12/25)…
2. 1946] “Happy Trails“: W.C. Fields dies at 66 from a stomach hemorrhage (12/25). Contrary to popular belief, his headstone makes no reference to Philadelphia. It simply has his name and dates of birth and death…1972] Harry S. Truman, our 33rd president dies in Kansas City from lung congestion caused by pneumonia at 88 (12/26)…1974] Jack Benny passes away from pancreatic cancer at 80 (12/26)…1977] Charles Chaplin dies in his sleep at 88 (12/25)…1983] Dennis Wilson, the only real surfer in the Beach Boys, drowns while swimming near his boat at Marina del Rey (CA) (12/28). Dennis was 39…1989] Former Yankees manager Billy Martin is killed in a pickup truck crash in Fenton (NY) at 61 (12/25)…1995] Curtis Mayfield dies at 57 from diabetes after being paralyzed when a light stand fell on him some years earlier (12/26)…1995] Dean Martin dies from respiratory failure at 78 (12/25)…1996] 6-year old beauty queen JonBenet Ramsey is found beaten and strangled in the basement of her family’s home in Boulder (CO) (12/26)…2006] Former President Gerald R. Ford dies from arteriosclerosis at 93 (12/26)…2007] A suicide gunman shoots former Prime Minister of Pakistan, Benazir Bhutto, killing her. He then blows himself up, killing at least 22 others (12/27)…
3. 1947] Let it Snow, let it snow, let it snow: A major snowstorm dumps 25.8″ of snow on New York City in 16 hours. 80 die in the northeast as a result of the storm (12/26)…
4. 1956] Curtains: After 5 years on TV, the final “Ding Dong School” hosted by Miss Francis (Horwich) airs on NBC-TV (12/28)…1968] “The Breakfast Club” with Don McNeill signs off for the last time on ABC Radio after a run of 35 years (12/27)…1992] Legendary New York City play-by-play man, Marty Glickman retires at 75 (12/26)…
5. 1958] Frozen in sports history: The Baltimore Colts beat the Giants 23-17 at 8:15 into overtime on a frozen Yankee Stadium field to win the NFL Championship in a thriller (12/28). Many call this the greatest NFL game of all-time.  Here’s the radio call…
6. 1982] Computer games: A computer is the Time Magazine Man of The Year. It’s the first time a non-human receives the honors (12/26).  Mi-Sex salutes computer games…
7. 1993] Wedding Bells and respect: Rodney Dangerfield finally gets some respect and a wife. At 72 he marries Joan Child, 41 (12/26). The marriage will last until Rodney’s death in 2004…
8. 2001] Talibanned: U.S. officials announce that Taliban and Al-Qaeda prisoners will be held at the U.S. Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay (12/27)…
9. 2004] Deadly storm: A tsunami triggered by a powerful earthquake beneath the Indian Ocean leaves more than 216,000 dead or missing in Southeastern Asia (12/26)…
10. 2007] Hold that tiger: In the San Francisco Zoo, a tiger escapes from its enclosure and attacks three visitors, killing one of the men and mauling two others (12/25)…

Music Memories:

• 1958] The Big Beat live: Alan Freed’s “Christmas Rock ‘n Roll Spectacular” starring Frankie Avalon, Chuck Berry, Eddie Cochran, the Everly Brothers, the Moonglows, Johnnie Ray & Jackie Wilson is at the Loew’s State Theater in Manhattan (12/25).  In this clip featuring doo wop music, every Freed show program is shown…
• 1961] Recorded on this date: “She Cried” - Jay (Traynor) & the Americans (12/26)…
• 1963] Released on this date: “I Want To Hold Your Hand” - Beatles (12/26)…1975] “December, 1963 (Oh, What A Night)” - Four Seasons, without Frankie Valli singing lead (12/27)…
• 2006] Musical ‘Happy Trails’: James Brown dies from congestive heart failure resulting from complications of pneumonia. “The Godfather of Soul” was 73 (12/25)…

“Happy Birthday…happy birthday”:

(12/25) Dido (37), Rickey Henderson (50), Annie Lennox (54), Karl Rove (58), Sissy Spacek (58), Barbara Mandrell (60), Jimmy Buffet (62) and Tony Martin (96)…(12/26) Chris Daughtry (29), Carlton Fisk (61), John Walsh (63), Paul Power (64), Phil Spector (68), Abdul “Duke” Fakir (73)…(12/27) Arthur (’Scud Stud’) Kent (55), Tovah Feldshuh (56), Mick Jones of Foreigner (64), Cokie Roberts (65), John Amos (69) and legendary Sun Records musician Scotty Moore (77)…(12/28) David Archuleta (18), Sienna Miller (27), John Legend (30), Seth Meyers (35), Ray Bourque (48), Denzel Washington (54), Alex Chilton (58), Edgar Winter (62), Dame Maggie Smith (74), Johnny Otis (87) and Lou Jacobi (95)…

Timeline Countdown: Happy Chanukah, Merry Christmas, 6 nights until New Year’s Eve and 9 days until the NFL Wild Card Playoffs

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