SpaceX acquiring spectrum licenses

Elon Musk’s SpaceX has reached a deal worth about $17 billion with EchoStar for spectrum licenses that it will use to beef up its Starlink satellite network.

The deal for EchoStar’s AWS-4 and H-block spectrum licenses includes up to $8.5 billion in cash and up to $8.5 billion in SpaceX stock. SpaceX will make about $2 billion in cash interest payments on EchoStar debt through November 2027.

SpaceX and EchoStar will enter into a long-term commercial agreement that will allow EchoStar’s Boost Mobile subscribers to access SpaceX’s next generation Starlink Direct to Cell service.

Shares of EchoStar surged 19% Monday.

Last month AT&T said it will spend $23 billion to acquire wireless spectrum licenses from EchoStar, a significant expansion of its low- and midband coverage networks.

EchoStar said it anticipates the AT&T deal and the SpaceX transaction will resolve recent inquiries from the Federal Communications Commission about the rollout of 5G technology in the U.S.

The FCC had been calling for hearings on whether Echostar was properly using the spectrum that it is now selling and its efforts to make 5G more available to communities.

vote on Fed nominee set for Wednesday

White House economic adviser Stephen Miran’s nomination as a Federal Reserve governor has been scheduled for a Senate committee vote Wednesday, a move that could allow him to be confirmed by the full Senate before a pivotal September vote on cutting interest rates.

The Federal Open Market Committee meets on Sept. 16 and 17 and is already expected to cut interest rates for the first time since December on weakening job growth.

The Senate Banking Committee announced the timing of its vote on Miran’s nomination on its website.

Miran won over Republicans last week with a series of private and public assurances that he would support the independence of the central bank on monetary policy, rather than carry out the bidding of President Donald Trump.

Miran raised the hackles of Democrats when he told the committee he planned to take a temporary leave of absence from his current Trump administration role as chair of the White House Council of Economic Advisers, pending a decision by Trump on whether to nominate him to a long-term position at the central bank.

Miran has been nominated for a vacant seat on the Fed with a term that ends early next year.

Robinhood joining S&P 500

Online broker Robinhood Markets will join the S&P 500 index after riding the popularity of cryptocurrencies to profitability and an all-time high stock price.

The company is set to join the benchmark index on Sept. 22, along with mobile technology platform AppLovin and construction company Emcor Group.

Robinhood is having one of its best years since going public in 2021 after struggling early on. It closed below its IPO price of $38 on its first day of trading. The stock remained volatile over the next few years, finishing 2023 at $12.74 per share.

The stock has tripled in 2025 so far.

Compiled from AP and Bloomberg reports.