Verizon: We’re Still Buying Alltel

Verizon Communications Inc. (VZ) shares were down in early morning trading Monday as speculation hit the company that it might not be able to go through with its planned Alltel Corp. acquisition.

On Friday, a Fitch Ratings analyst released a note questioning Verizon’s ability to fund the $28.1 billion deal. The impetus for that fear, of course, was the worsening credit market.

And at this point, with Wall Street maintaining its predictable unpredictability, it’s anyone’s guess whether the merger – which would allow Verizon to leapfrog AT&T Inc. (T) as the country’s largest service provider – really will happen.