Dividend.com: Sprint Nextel Disconnected

BCE $41 Billion Takeover Is Officially Dead

BCE(BCE Quote) will not be acquired by the Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, Providence Equity Partners LLC, Madison Dearborn Partners LLC and Merrill Lynch Global Private Equity.

A KPMG study, which concluded the company would likely not remain solvent after a purchase, was the main cause for the deal to be terminated. The fear was that the company's assets would possibly not be able to cover its liabilities after the deal closed.

The stock has been basically now cut in half since the news of the deal getting shaky leaked out. We had removed shares of BCE from our "Recommended" list back on Sept. 17, when the stock traded at $34.58. We would simply avoid the shares at this point, with no hope of a deal now being the case.

BCE is not recommended at this time, holding a Dividend.com Rating of 3.4 out of 5 stars.

Costco Reported Flat Profit Growth This Quarter

Costco(COST Quote) just reported a profit of $262.5 million, or 60 cents per share, for the fiscal first quarter ended Nov. 23, compared to $262 million, or 59 cents per share, a year earlier.

Despite consumers seeking discounted prices, warehouse clubs like Costco have not been immune during this recent downturn. Sales rose a tepid 4% to $16.04 billion. With 550 warehouses worldwide, the company's earnings were hurt by roughly 3 cents per share by the stronger U.S. dollar.

We had removed shares of COST from our "Recommended" list back on Sept. 22, when the stock traded at $66.09. The company has a dividend yield of 1.08%, based on last night's closing stock price of $53.69. Keep an eye on the recent 52-week low price range of $43-$44 a share. If this fails to hold, the company may re-test 2002 lows of $28 a share. We would look elsewhere for better investment opportunities.