Law360, New York (October 17, 2013, 4:01 PM EDT) -- Global mergers and acquisitions activity during the first half of 2013 was down 8 percent from last year's tally, but recent developments have changed the outlook for the rest of the year, thanks to a pair of massive telecommunications deals. The largest transaction was Verizon Communications (VZ) agreeing to buy the stake in Verizon Wireless from joint venture partner Vodafone PLC, in a deal valued at an eye-popping $130 billion. The acquisition is the third-largest M&A deal of all time, and was followed by Microsoft (MSFT) announcing that it will acquire Nokia's phone division for nearly $7.2 billion. After a feeble start, the summer's activity has pushed global M&A activity across all sectors to $1.55 trillion so far in 2013, according to Thomson Reuters. That is a 1 percent increase over the same period in 2012. Global telecom M&A is now $231.6 billion, which is its highest YTD level since 2006. Other blockbuster deals are rumored or have since been announced....