The Five Dumbest Things on Wall Street This Week

5. From Sirius to Eternity

Sirius (SIRI Quote) and XM (XMSR Quote) keep crooning the same old tune.

The satellite radio broadcasters are trying to persuade skeptical regulators to sign off on their $3.6 billion merger of equals. The companies insist the all-stock transaction will benefit investors and consumers alike, though not everyone agrees.

Critics led by the National Association of Broadcasters have been deriding the merger plan since it was revealed in February. Last month, the NAB said 72 members of the House of Representatives had signed a letter stating their opposition.

"On its face," read June's NAB letter, which was sent to agencies including the Federal Communications Commission and the FTC, "we believe that sanctioning the marriage of the only competitors in the satellite radio market would create a monopoly which would be devastating to consumers."

Sirius and XM say that's nonsense, but Wall Street is clearly worried the deal will be rejected. Shares of the two companies have fallen more than 15% since the merger was announced.

So XM and Sirius have launched a publicity barrage of their own. Sirius chief Mel Karmazin said Tuesday that Sirius and XM have logged "3,500 favorable comments from individuals and 20 prestigious organizations and businesses."

Prestigious is certainly one way of describing these outfits. Backers listed in recent Sirius-XM press releases include Women Involved in Farm Economics, Americans for Tax Reform and the American Trucking Association.

If that doesn't exactly sound like a groundswell of popular support, consider the case of another recently cited Sirius-XM supporter: Frank Sinatra Enterprises.

The song company may not pull much weight in Washington, given that it's a Sirius business partner. Sinatra Enterprises signed on in February to launch a channel dedicated to Ol' Blue Eyes.

Then again, maybe Karmazin is simply looking for inspiration. It's pretty clear what Sinatra would have said if his big merger got shot down in Washington.

I did it my way.

Dumb-o-Meter score: 80. Regrets? Karmazin may soon have a few.