News Summary (S, VZ, T, AVP)

When Sprint S had launched the first ever 4G network, it had beat its rivals to the game. However, CEO Dan Hesse admitted that "we thought we would have more of a head start than we'll end up having." The manufacturer is running into rough weather as it can’t keep up with the demand for the HTC EVO. The phone is backordered with no estimated ship date. The shortage of Sprint’s maiden 4G phone is affecting sales and rival carriers, such as Verizon VZ and AT&T T, are moving closer to launching their own 4G networks. Over the past few weeks, S&P 500 stocks have been moving together in the same direction. This kind of trading in lock-step has not been seen since the crash of 1987. With the stocks tending to rise and fall together, some conservative, dividend-paying stocks are not performing as expected and certain riskier stocks are holding up better than anticipated. This tendency also reflects that investors are using broad-based strategies to trade in the equity market. Avon Products AVP has bought Silpada Designs for an initial payment of roughly $650 million in cash. Silpada Designs is a fast-growing direct seller of sterling silver jewelry. AVP will make an additional payment in 2015 if some earnings growth objectives are met. Read more from Benzinga's Markets.