FCC Chair Ajit Pai gave his agency’s stamp of approval to the pending $26 billion T-Mobile/Sprint merger on Monday, helping move the deal towards completion based on pledges from the companies to develop “a robust 5G network and sell off Boost Mobile, a Sprint-owned service produce that sells prepaid services” – NYTimes and WSJ and Bloomberg
Still, the FCC’s approval doesn’t appear to be enough to some important antitrust voices at the DOJ, at least for now – Bloomberg
More reaction to Google’s decision to drop Huawei based on White House concerns over the Chinese company’s access to American technology, including some analysis likening it to the iron curtain falling in this trade & tech cold war between the US and China [and a potential temporary reprieve] – NYTimes and Bloomberg
Wall Street had some thoughts about the reaction, too – NYTimes and WSJ and Bloomberg and MarketWatch
Ford’s latest move to cut its workforce as part of a two-year effort to grow leaner will see it “shrink its salaried ranks by 7,000 people, or 10 percent, with the sharpest cuts at higher ranks.” The automaker expects the layoffs to save the company $600 million annually – NYTimes and WSJ and Bloomberg and MarketWatch
The Journal has reviewed 5-years-worth of SEC enforcement fines (so we don’t have to) and found that the agency managed to collect just “55% of the $20 billion in enforcement fines set through settlements or court judgments,” down by 5% from its collection rate over the prior 5-year period – WSJ
It’s looking like Zuck may have a growing problem on his hands, as proxy advisory firm ISS has “joined a growing chorus of voices urging Facebook shareholders to vote next week” to block the company CEO from serving on the board “in the wake of a series of bruising privacy and data misuse scandals” – Law360
Nike and Adidas are the latest global companies to take a very public stance against the White House’s latest round of levied and proposed tariffs – Bloomberg
SDNY Judge Lorna Schofield dismissed RBS, Societe Generale, UBS and other foreign banks from a proposed class action centered on alleged manipulation of the forex market, finding that the court “lacked jurisdiction over the foreign banks” – Law360
The SEC has again delayed a decision on a Bitcoin ETF, “disappointing virtual-currency fans who have been speculating that the regulator would soon green-light the proposal by Cboe Global Markets Inc.” Bitcoin had been up as much as 17% ahead of the news – Bloomberg
A quick update on the status of SOFR, the Fed’s preferred benchmark replacement for Libor. In short, it’s a slow go – WSJ
Some interesting thoughts on the power of being scarce, a rarity in this time of all access, all the time – NYTimes
