DISH Network (DISH) shares are down sharply this morning after the satellite TV company reported some disturbing subscriber data for Q2.

For the quarter, the company posted revenue of $2.91 billion, right in line with expectations, and profits of 75 cents a share, nicely above the Street consensus at 60 cents.

But the company also noted that it lost 25,000 net subscribers in the quarter. In a 10-Q filing with the SEC this morning, the company blamed the surprise drop in subscribers on “weak economic conditions, aggressive promotional offerings by our competition, the heavy marketing of HD service by our competition, the growth of fiber-based pay TV providers, signal theft and other forms of fraud, and operational inefficiencies at DISH Network.”

Read the rest of this post

No one has official said we’re in a recession. But consider this: Apple (AAPL) thinks the economy is “depressed.”

As Michelle Leder points out in her always-interesting Footnoted.org blog, Apple’s latest 10-Q, filed yesterday with the SEC, includes some new language about the economic risks the company faces.

The new filing says this (emphasis added):

The Company’s operations and performance depend significantly on worldwide economic conditions and their impact on levels of consumer spending, which have recently deteriorated significantly in many countries and regions, including without limitation the United States, and may remain depressed for the foreseeable future.

Read the rest of this post