Sprint Nextel Posts $29.5 Billion Loss

Daniel R. Hesse, Sprint Nextel’s new chief executive, tells it like it is — but on Thursday, investors did not like what they heard.

Sprint’s stock slid more than 9 percent after the company announced a $29.45 billion fourth-quarter loss because of a huge write-down related in part to its merger with Nextel Communications. The company also said it was suspending the payment of its dividend and had borrowed $2.5 billion through a revolving credit facility.