News For SNE;TWX;NWS From The Last 14 Days Check below for free stories on SNE;TWX;NWS the last two weeks.
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November 27, 2009
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| 06:18 EDT |  | SNE |
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November 25, 2009
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| 08:11 EDT |  | TWX, NWS |
| theflyonthewall.com: | Magazine consortium to build online newsstand, NY Times reports | | A group of magazine companies are forming an online newsstand, sometimes referred to iTunes for magazines. The New York Times reports that an announcement could come as early as December and Time (TWX), Condé Nast, Hearst and Meredith (MDP) all intend to be equity partners in the new company, although the deals have not yet been signed. Reference Link :theflyonthewall.com |
| | 08:02 EDT |  | TWX |
| theflyonthewall.com: | Time Warner volatility low into spin-off of AOL | | Time Warner (TWX) and AOL (AOL.WI) announced December 9 will be the spin-off distribution date for AOL, Time Warner stockholders of record as of 5 PM on November 27, will receive one share of AOL common stock for every eleven shares of Time Warner common stock they hold. Time Warner December option implied volatility is at 29; January is at 31; verses its six-month average of 36, according to Track Data, suggesting decreasing price movement. :theflyonthewall.com |
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November 24, 2009
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| 12:22 EDT | | SNE |
| theflyonthewall.com: | Microsoft to build the largest social network connect to the TV, IEEE reports | | Microsoft's (MSFT) big plan is to build "the largest social network connected to the TV," a spokesperson said now that it's been a week since Xbox Live launched access to Facebook on its online service, IEEE reports. Xbox Live was already a thriving social hub, combining gameplay, community, and chat and now 2M players logged on to Facebook through their game consoles. Reference Link :theflyonthewall.com |
| | 09:01 EDT |  | NWS |
| | 07:03 EDT | | NWS |
| theflyonthewall.com: | Microsoft may offer different terms to publishers for Google delisting, FT says |
 Subscribe for More Information :theflyonthewall.com |
| | 06:38 EDT | | NWS |
| | 06:23 EDT | | NWS |
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November 23, 2009
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| 07:21 EDT | | NWS |
| theflyonthewall.com: | Microsoft unlikely to pay much to "rent" content , All Things Digital reports |
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| | 06:20 EDT | | NWS |
| theflyonthewall.com: | On The Fly: Periodicals Wrap-Up | | WALL STREET JOURNAL: Ken Lewis, the CEO of Bank of America (BAC) said he would consider postponing his retirement if directors need more time to find a sucessor or smooth the transition to the next CEO, the Wall Street Journal reported...BLOOMBERG: Nestle (NSRGY) is reportedly weighing a possible bid for Cadbury (CBY) to challenge a bid from Kraft (KFT), Bloomberg reported. Nestle may still decide against a bid and is currently reviewing its options with bankers. Hershey (HSY) and Ferrero are also evaluating options, but sources believe Ferrero is unlikely to proceed with an offer...FINANCIAL TIMES: The Financial Times reported that Hershey is likely to make a friendly bid for Cadbury if it can arrange the financing necessary for a takeover bid. If Cadbury receives a bid "at the right price," many believe the company will be more amenable to being owned by Hershey than Kraft...The Financial Times also reported that Microsoft (MSFT) has held discussions with News Corp (NWS) over a plan that would involve News Corp being paid to "de-index" its news Web sites from Google (GOOG)...DETROIT NEWS: Ford (F) plans on investing around $2.3B over the next five years improving factories and expanding production in Brazil, the Detroit News reported. :theflyonthewall.com |
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November 22, 2009
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| 19:20 EDT | | SNE |
| theflyonthewall.com: | Barron's says: 'it's time to play' in Activision Blizzard shares | | Activision Blizzard (ATVI), the world's No.1 videogame maker, has seen its shares dip since Barron's pointed out last August what an attractive investment they were, and despite the company's compelling outlook. Concerns about the strength of consumer spending in the teeth of a recession have weighed on Activision as sales of videogame equipment and software slump. That's despite steep price cuts on consoles by industry leaders Nintendo (NTDOY), Sony (SNE) and Microsoft (MSFT). Stock sales by Activision's CEO, Bobby Kotick, also have pressured the shares. On a positive note, exceeding the most optimistic expectations, the company's Call of Duty:Modern Warefare 2 game brought in a record $550M in worldwide sales, its first five days on the market. More noteworthy, perhaps, given Kotick's assertion that videogames will one day eclipse the film and television industries, Call of Duty sales are well above records set at the box office for some the the most popular movies ever. Bottom-line: Wall Street, it's time to play! Reference Link :theflyonthewall.com |
| | 19:19 EDT | | SNE |
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November 20, 2009
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| 13:19 EDT | | SNE |
| | 07:12 EDT | | NWS |
| theflyonthewall.com: | EU intensifies its investigation of S&P for alleged monopoly abuse, WSJ reports |
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November 19, 2009
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| 09:05 EDT | | NWS |
| theflyonthewall.com: | USA Video Interactive renews contract with Fox Home Entertainment | | USA Video Interactive (USVO) announced that based on the success of the customized deployment of its proprietary watermarking technology to Twentieth Century Fox Home Entertainment LLC (NWS) over the past year, the company has finalized negotiations to renew and expand the original contract between the two companies. :theflyonthewall.com |
| | 08:10 EDT | | TWX |
| theflyonthewall.com: | AOL plans to cut one-third of workforce, take charge | | On November 19, 2009, AOL Inc. informed its employees of proposed restructuring activities as part of its continuing cost reduction initiatives aimed at aligning the company’s organizational structure and costs with its strategy. The restructuring is conditioned upon the successful completion of the company’s previously announced spin-off from Time Warner (TWX), as well as the approval of the company’s new board that will begin service in connection with the spin-off. It is anticipated that, if approved, the restructuring will include the reduction of approximately a third of the company’s current employee base, which will be conducted on a voluntary and involuntary basis. The goal of the restructuring is to reduce ongoing annual operating costs by approximately $300M. If the Restructuring is approved, the company expects to incur restructuring charges of up to $200M, substantially all of which is expected to be incurred from the date of the spin-off through the first half of 2010. :theflyonthewall.com |
| | 07:43 EDT | | TWX |
| | 07:40 EDT | | TWX |
| | 07:38 EDT | | SNE |
| theflyonthewall.com: | Sony considers enterting storage battery business, Nikkei reports | | Sony (SNE) is considering entering the storage battery and automotive cell businesses, the Nikkei reports. The effort would be part of its strategy to bolster its lithium ion operations and strengthen its profit base. Sony would manufacture back-up batteries for businesses and households. Reference Link :theflyonthewall.com |
| | 07:36 EDT | | NWS |
| theflyonthewall.com: | MySpace acquires Imeem for nearly $10M, All Things Digital reports | | MySpace, a unit of News Corp (NWS), has acquired streaming music service Imeem. The company is said to be paying $1M, a fire sale price, and may pay $7M-$9M in earnouts for key employees like CEO Dalton Caldwell, sources say. Reference Link :theflyonthewall.com |
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November 18, 2009
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| 12:42 EDT | | SNE |
| theflyonthewall.com: | Sony Ericsson to shut North America headquarters in NC, News Observer reports |
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| | 12:16 EDT | | SNE |
| theflyonthewall.com: | Sony, Dell, Nvidia, Matrox sued over video graphics patents, Bloomberg reports |
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| | 11:04 EDT | | SNE |
| theflyonthewall.com: | Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions signs marketing deal with CBS Films | | Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions Group (SNE) has signed a three-year marketing and distribution deal with CBS Films (CBS), under which Sony Pictures will handle international theatrical distribution of CBS Films productions as well as service worldwide distribution of the unit's films in the home entertainment marketplace. CBS Films will handle domestic theatrical distribution of all titles and retains rights in a limited number of foreign territories. :theflyonthewall.com |
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November 17, 2009
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| 10:47 EDT | | NWS |
| | 08:54 EDT | | NWS |
| theflyonthewall.com: | NBC Launches all-in-one video player, VoIP and texting tool, paidContent says | | General Electric's (GE) NBC Universal launched an "everything-but-the-kitchen sink" app called the NBC Communicator, paidContent.org reports. The app is an all-in-one video player, VoIP and texting tool. The tool is designed to attract users and advertisers to full-length episodes directly on NBC.com, as opposed to video site Hulu, which is backed by the network along with News Corp (NWS), and ABC. The introduction of this all-in-one app is one way NBCU to at least try to provide some extra services to users and advertisers as the chill over online ad spending starts to thaw, says paidContent. Communicator app was developed by Itibiti Systems, and uses Microsoft (MSFT) Live Services for its messaging tools. The NBC.com Communicator is free to use and offers unlimited computer-to-computer voice calls and texting. Reference Link :theflyonthewall.com |
| | 08:05 EDT | | SNE |
| | 07:06 EDT | | TWX |
| | 06:42 EDT |  | TWX |
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November 16, 2009
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| 16:25 EDT | | TWX |
| | 14:13 EDT | | NWS |
| | 08:28 EDT | | SNE |
| theflyonthewall.com: | Sony CEO sees no rebound in consumer electronics, Reuters reports | | Sony (SNE) CEO Howard Stringer told Il Sore 24 Ore that he sees no sign of a recovery in the consumer electronics market, Reuters reports. Stringer said, "There hasn't been that turning point that many had hoped for. We are waiting for a signal that hasn't arrived." Reference Link :theflyonthewall.com |
| | 06:23 EDT | | TWX |
| theflyonthewall.com: | Virgin Media stalls channel sale to pursue alternative plan, U.K. Times says | | Virgin Media (VMED) has stalled its attempts to sell its GBP160M wholly-owned television channels as the cable company assesses whether it could raise more cash by pursuing an alternative plan, the U.K. Times reports. The company is considering whether to sell the channels — including Living, Bravo and Trouble — together with its GBP300M half-share in UKTV, its television joint venture with the BBC. Bundling the two together would help Virgin Media to generate more cash; otherwise, the stake in UKTV had been expected to be sold in parts to the BBC and Channel 4, both of which lack the resources for a highly priced bid. Virgin Media had narrowed down the bidders for its wholly-owned channels, grouped together under the VMTV tag, to three: Viacom (VIA), owner of MTV; Time Warner (TWX), the owner of CNN; and BSkyB, which is 39.1 per cent-owned by News Corporation, parent company of The Times.Reference Link :theflyonthewall.com |
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November 15, 2009
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| 18:27 EDT | | TWX |
| theflyonthewall.com: | The re-awakening IPO market has some investors skeptical, Barron's reports | | Initial public offerings, or IPO's, have revived of late. Despite a miserable performance through March, Renaissance Capital's global IPO index, boosted by strong Chinese returns, is up 44.5% this year, compared with 20.4% for the S&P's index. The IPO market may yet top 2008's volume, but many deals have been scaled back or postponed. No one wants to buy unseasoned new equity issues," says Hugh Evans, a portfolio manager for T. Rowe Price. The deals that have gotten done have tended to be from older, established companies with well-known brands, demonstrable earnings and some prospects for profit growth -- even if only from cost-cutting. About 40% of all IPOs this year have come from financial sponsors looking to raise equity for their portfolio companies, according to Dealogic. The concern is that buyout firms, which have suffered through their own period of miserable returns, are under pressure to raise as much money as possible, especially as their loans come due -- doing deals on their own terms, with very little regard to building value in the aftermarket. Another source of new supply comes from established companies via carve-outs. Although technology deals have lost much of their ability to generate headlines and huge aftermarket gains, they've been quietly staging a comeback, possibly a prelude to a more crowded offering calendar in 2010. So far this year there have been 12 tech-related deals. Last year there were just four tech IPOs. There's even a view that there's a shortage of underwriting capacity in the tech field since so many tech-oriented investment banks like Hambrecht & Quist and Robertson Stephens have disappeared. Barring some sort of financial catastrophe, most close observers of IPOs believe the market will continue to strengthen and broaden. Among the deals on investors' calendars are Time Warner's (TWX) spin-off of AOL and Cablevision's (CVC) sale of MSG. Of course, everyone would like to see Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn tap the public markets, though they have ample financing sources. There also could be a mini-boomlet of health-care issues once the issue of health-care reform in the U.S. is resolved. Also, finance-related offerings, especially real estate, dominate the list of the biggest coming offerings. Reference Link :theflyonthewall.com |
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November 13, 2009
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| 10:44 EDT | | NWS |
| | 07:40 EDT | | TWX |
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