AT&T Inc. (t) said it plans to boost capital spending by $1 billion, and pay out more than $200 million in employee bonuses, once the tax bill approved by Congress is signed into law. The telecom company for the bonuses, it will pay a $1,000 special bonus to more than 200,000 employees in the U.S., all who are union-represented, non-management and front-line managers. The company said if President Donald Trump signs the bill before Christmas, the bonuses will be paid over the holidays. “This tax reform will drive economic growth and create good-paying jobs,” said Chief Executive Randall Stephenson. AT&T is currently battling with antitrust regulators over its proposed merger with Time Warner Inc. (twx) as the Trump administration has sued to block the deal. AT&T’s stock rallied 1.3% in afternoon trade. It has dropped 9.4% year to date, while the S&P 500 (spx) has climbed 19.8%.
I’m just going to leave this here.