Call waiting: Sprint, the country’s third-largest cell phone company, says that it will buy out the portion of wireless network operator Clearwire that it doesn’t already own after raising its offer price to $2.2 billion. The deal would give Sprint control of a flailing affiliate, one it depends upon to provide high-speed “Sprint 4G” data services on some of its phones. The Associated Press has the full story here.
Peddling influence: Morgan Stanley, the lead underwriter for Facebook’s initial public offering, will pay a $5 million fine to Massachusetts to settle charges that its bankers improperly influenced its research analysts when the social media company went public in May. Morgan Stanley officials did not immediately comment on the fine. Reuters has the full story here.
Answer keys: For the first time, the Census Bureau is giving U.S. households a chance to respond to government surveys over the Internet, part of a bid to save money and boost sagging response rates. The new online option will supplement the traditional mail operation. It’s a major shift for the agency, which has relied almost exclusively on paper forms since 1970. Beginning this week, more than 3 million U.S. households will be asked to respond to the American Community Survey online. Households that don’t respond will receive paper surveys.
