Why AT&T, Verizon, and Frontier Stocks All Bounced Back on Wednesday
Is it over yet?
After 10 rough days of almost unabated selling, shares of telecom giant (NYSE: T) finally bounced back on Wednesday, posting a gain of 7.8% through 12:25 p.m. ET and erasing ... well, certain not all of the stock's recent declines, but at least its declines from the last couple of sessions. Fellow Ma Bell descendants Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ) and Frontier Communications Parent (NASDAQ: FYBR) -- both of which suffered alongside AT -- are bouncing back as well on Wednesday, up 5.3% and 24%, respectively.
The reason for all the selling: On July 9, The Wall Street Journal published the first in a multiday series of articles describing the environmental hazards posed by miles and miles (and miles) of lead-wrapped copper telephone lines that Ma Bell laid across America. The series described the potential for AT and Verizon in particular to suffer environmental lawsuits over the health effects caused by the deterioration of this lead sheathing, and its leaching into the soil and groundwater -- and also the potential costs of removing the lead-sheathed wires to mitigate the problem.
Source Fool.com
