What we’re reading (12/5)
“The Bigger Airlines Get, The Worse They Become” (New York Times). “If there’s one lesson we’ve learned from the recent history of the airline industry, it’s this: The bigger airlines get, the worse they become. The prices get higher, the seats smaller, the service ever snarkier. The mergers over the past 15 years that produced the “big three” of United Airlines, Delta Air Lines and American Airlines (eliminating Continental, Northwest and US Airways) — which, along with Southwest Airlines, now dominate the market — have not done Americans any favors. We’ve ended up with airlines that offer less for more and have become better than ever at getting bailouts from Congress. That’s the context in which JetBlue Airways is now seeking to buy Spirit Airlines, the nation’s largest ultra-low-cost airline.”
“Smaller Airlines Seek Mergers To Compete With Industry Giants” (New York Times). “The dominant position of the big four airlines featured prominently in JetBlue’s defense arguments in a federal antitrust case brought by the Justice Department against its acquisition of Spirit. In his closing arguments on Tuesday, Ryan Shores a lawyer for JetBlue, said that smaller airlines ‘need the network breadth to be able to compete with the larger airlines.’”
“Crypto Trading On Robinhood Surges 75% Amid Bitcoin Hype While Stock Activity Goes Flat” (Business Insider). “Crypto notional trading volumes jumped roughly 75% in November from October's levels, the company said Monday. Meanwhile, equity and options contracts trading roughly remained the same.”
“Box’s Stock Drops 11% On Tepid Revenue Forecast” (MarketWatch). “Box posted fiscal third-quarter net income of $10.7 million, or 4 cents a share, compared with net income of $9.9 million, or 3 cents a share, in the year-ago quarter. Adjusted earnings were 36 cents a share. Revenue increased 5% to $261.5 million from $249.5 million a year ago. Analysts surveyed by FactSet had expected on average net income of 38 cents a share on revenue of $262 million.”
“Supreme Court Wary Of Remaking Income Tax” (Wall Street Journal). “The Supreme Court looked unlikely to impose strict new limits on Congress’s power to tax income, with some conservative and liberal justices alike signaling wariness about upending long-settled principles of the federal tax code. Tuesday’s arguments involved a relatively small payment required by a one-time charge under the 2017 tax overhaul. Challengers are seeking a ruling limiting income that can be taxed to money “realized” by taxpayers—that is, cash they receive or in some fashion control, as opposed to a mere increase in the value of their holdings.”
