FCC approves CPCC acquiring WTVI license

Federal regulators have approved the transfer of WTVI’s (Channel 42) broadcast license to Central Piedmont Community College, clearing the way for the college to take over Charlotte’s public TV station July 1.

According to a filing Monday at the Federal Communications Commission in Washington, the license will move from the Charlotte-Mecklenburg Public Broadcasting Authority to CPCC without opposition. CPCC spokesman Jeff Lowrance said Monday that the college is continuing to work on technical and is considering programming options for the summer and fall. Mark Washburn

Wall Street unfriends Facebook stock price

Facebook Inc. shares skidded on their second day of trading on Wall Street, falling below the initial public offering price of $38.

The stock plunged more than 13 percent at several points during the day, and closed at $34.03, off 10.99 percent from Friday’s close.

A number of analysts on Wall Street have criticized the stock’s performance, and blamed banks who advised Facebook for pricing the shares too high. There were also complaints that Facebook flooded the market by floating too many shares, and that insiders were cashing out.

The social networking juggernaut made its stock market premiere on Friday. Shares initially jumped to about $42 a share on the day of the IPO but wound up settling around their initial $38 price, disappointing investors who were hoping for a first-day pop.

Facebook’s premiere was also marred by glitches at the Nasdaq stock exchange, frustrating investors and traders.

Los Angeles Times

JPMorgan suspends stock repurchase plans

JPMorgan Chase is suspending plans to buy back its own stock, a little over a week after the bank posted a large trading loss.

The largest U.S. bank by assets disclosed the $2 billion trading loss on May 10. The loss from an ill-timed trade on so-called credit derivatives rattled investor confidence in JPMorgan Chase, leading to a 20 percent decline in the value of the stock since the disclosure, lopping off $30 billion of market value.

“It’s an embarrassment, it’s a black mark,” CEO Jamie Dimon said of the loss at a conference Monday organized by Deutsche Bank.

Dimon said JPMorgan will continue to pay its quarterly dividend of 30 cents a share. But it will suspend plans to buy back shares because the bank is preparing for new international regulations that force banks to hold more capital to prepare for economic downturns.

JPMorgan’s stock closed at $32.51 Monday.

The bank had bought a lot of stock back in 2011 at $36. Usually, the bank buys back the shares it issues for employee stock-based incentive awards.

AP

iPhone forecast pushes Apple, markets up

Apple – the world’s most valuable company, the innovator that revolutionized the cell phone – climbed nearly 6 percent on Monday, helping propel major U.S. stock indexes to gains after a solid week of losses. The Standard & Poor’s 500, where Apple accounts for 4 percent of the index, enjoyed its best day in nearly five weeks, rising 20.77 points. The Nasdaq composite index, where Apple accounts for an even heftier 12 percent, notched its biggest gain of the year, jumping 68.42 points.

Apple’s gain Monday of $30.90 to $561.28 came after several analysts said they expect the iPhone business to continue to do well.

AP

1