After 16 months of speculation, controversy and red tape, it looks like the proposed merger of satellite radio giants XM and Sirius is finally hitting the final stages of negotiations. Kevin Martin, head of the FCC, gave his blessing to the merger, which caused the prices of stocks of Sirius and XM to skyrocket before Wall St. opened on Monday. After the DoJ ruled that the merger met antitrust regulations in March, the FCC was the final roadblock, and could formally approve this merger as early as this week. While one company ruling satellite radio may hurt the industry over time, in the short run, expect lots of new perks and hype now that the industry is not held up by merger negotiations. [Reuters via The Daily Swarm]