FCC inching ever closer to decision on XM-Sirius

After Federal Communications Commission Chairman Kevin Martin's announcement this week that the commission is indeed getting closer to making a decision on Sirius Satellite Radio's proposed acquisition of rival XM Satellite Radio Holdings, the stock prices of both companies climbed and everyone interested braced for, well, a little more waiting.

But because it's already been more than a year since the deal was announced, that prospect no longer seems terribly daunting. The principals are used to it. And, as the Motley Fool and others have observed, the delay may have worked in the merger's favor: the prospect of competition from Apple's reported plans to offer an "all you can eat" subscription service, and the availability of other services that allow consumers to access streaming music, should greatly diminish concerns that an XM-Sirius merger would be anticompetitive and enhance its chances for FCC approval.

But, of course, we'll have to wait and see.