---------------------------------------------------------------------- Message-ID: <20171206154435.GA26917@telecom.csail.mit.edu> Date: Wed, 6 Dec 2017 10:44:35 -0500 From: Bill Horne <bill@horneQRM.net> Subject: CenturyLink: A Cigar Butt To Buy By Rui Ma, CFA Summary * CenturyLink is a loser this year, thus is likely oversold by institutional investors for a tax deduction. * The dividend yield is at 15% and its financials supports its current dividend schedule. * The market value of the stock is at a 40% discount compared to its peers. * The COO and soon-to-be CEO, Jeff Storey, would likely make this business a turnaround. CenturyLink's (CTL) business before its Level 3 acquisition had been in bad shape. The steady decline of revenue, adjusted EBITDA and the number of subscribers makes it obvious that the company struggles to keep its customers. Based on dozens of YouTube videos made by their users complaining about their customer services, the problems seem to be mainly in the company operation and management. https://seekingalpha.com/article/4130006-centurylink-cigar-butt-buy -- Bill Horne (Remove QRM from my email address to write to me directly) ------------------------------ Message-ID: <20171206163323.GA27029@telecom.csail.mit.edu> Date: Wed, 6 Dec 2017 11:33:23 -0500 From: Bill Horne <bill@horneQRM.net> Subject: CenturyLink Accused of Giving Workers Bad 401(k) Investment By Jacklyn Wille A new lawsuit claims CenturyLink Inc. offered its workers a poorly managed and underperforming stock fund in their 401(k) plan that caused them to lose out on retirement savings. The proposed class action, filed Nov. 30 in a Colorado federal court, challenges a customized fund in CenturyLink's 401(k) plan that invests in the stock of large U.S. companies. The fund's design was seriously flawed because it used five different active fund managers with the same mandate, the lawsuit says. This caused the fund - which allegedly was the only large-cap stock investment in the plan - to consistently underperform its benchmark by 2 percentage points or more each year since 2012, according to the lawsuit. https://www.bna.com/centurylink-accused-giving-n73014472691/ -- Bill Horne (Remove QRM from my email address to write to me directly) ------------------------------ Message-ID: <20171206162923.GA26943@telecom.csail.mit.edu> Date: Wed, 6 Dec 2017 11:29:23 -0500 From: Bill Horne <bill@horneQRM.net> Subject: CenturyLink From The Perspective Of A Preferred And Bond Investor: Update By Norman Roberts Summary * CTL over the past year has continued to lose value as it has for the past five years. * Although not as severely, its Notes I reported about in January also have lost value. * Consequently, are they a reasonable (or even and a good) buy at their current prices? If so, which is the best buy? This review updates my last look at CenturyLink (CTL) as I reported it in my January 18, 2017, article, "CenturyLink: A View From The Perspective Of A Preferred And Bond Investor." <https://seekingalpha.com/article/4035523-centurylink-view-perspective-preferred-bond-investor> In that article, I concluded: * CenturyLink has not performed well over the past five years. * However, I don't believe this large-cap company faces any potential existential threat. * Therefore, if you are comfortable with the effective yields CTL's notes offer they might be a reasonably safe long-term investment. Let's see how the commons of CTL have performed over the past year since I wrote the previous article. Because of the greater volume of common shares traded as opposed to the limited liquidity of most preferreds, I find the commons to be a better indicator of a company's overall performance. https://seekingalpha.com/article/4129758-centurylink-perspective-preferred-bond-investor-update -- Bill Horne (Remove QRM from my email address to write to me directly) ------------------------------ Message-ID: <20171206170328.GA27147@telecom.csail.mit.edu> Date: Wed, 6 Dec 2017 12:03:28 -0500 From: Bill Horne <bill@horneQRM.net> Subject: AT&T warns of scam affecting customers BRYAN, Tex. (KBTX) - AT&T is warning its customers in the 979 area code about a scam hitting the Brazos Valley. Company representative Austin Higginbotham called News 3 to spread the word of this scam, which he said happens often but is peaking in the 979 area code this week. Higginbotham said your mobile phone will receive a call from what appears be a local number, possibly even your exact number. If you answer, Higginbotham warns that a scammer posing as an AT&T employee will ask you to verify personal information about your account. http://www.kbtx.com/content/news/ATT-warns-of-scam-affecting-customers-462157373.html -- Bill Horne (Remove QRM from my email address to write to me directly) ------------------------------ ********************************************* End of telecom Digest Thu, 07 Dec 2017