Despite Possible Sale Upside in Tribune is Limited

Yesterday, Tribune (TRB) gave up about 25% of its gains since announcing a settlement with the Chandler Family and creation of a committee of independent directors to look at shareholder enhancement opportunities. Supposedly everything is on the table, including the spilt up or outright sale of the company. Investors expecting a big payday due to […]

Zune Not A Near-Term Threat To iPods

Apple Computer (AAPL) shares have continued to rise following the introduction of Microsoft’s Zune music player. Apple has benefitted from growing recognition of the company’s outstanind momentum in Mac sales, excitement over the previewed iTV device, and the introduction of updated iPods for the holiday selling season. Additionally, the Zune has been met with a […]

What’s Going On With Yahoo!?

Yahoo! (YHOO) guides down and its shares trade off 12%. On the same day, Viacom (VIA, VIA.b), Time Warner (TWX), Disney (DIS) and CBS (CBS) all trade higher. Yahoo! says that advertising in economically sensitive industries including automotive and finance showed a sudden weakening. These two advertising categories are important for traditional media companies. At […]

Debating Growth and Value

Last week on Real Money, there was a debate on the growth vs. value question. It began when my colleague, Ed Stavetski asked, “As the economy slows and earnings growth tails off, does one want to own value or growth?” Ed asked the question after reviewing year-to-date returns for the Russell growth and value indices […]

Dow Jones Lowers Third Quarter Guidance

Following a strong second-quarter earnings report and guidance that was deemed by many observers, including myself, as conservative, Dow Jones (DJ) shares rallied from $33 to $37. The rally stalled and reversed around Labor Day. Last Tuesday we learned why. DJ lowered its third-quarter earnings guidance to 8 cents-11 cents from a previous target in […]

Central European Media Enterprises: Analyst Meeting Goes Well and Affirms Near-Term and Long-Term Upside

I spent last Thursday at the annual analyst meeting for Central European Media Enterprises (CETV). The news was good as CETV slightly raised EBITDA guidance due to more rapid than expected improvement at TV Nova in the Czech Republic. Results at this station are the most critical aspect of the CETV story for the next […]

Time Warner Selling Some Magazines

Time Warner (TWX) announced the details of its plan to slim down its magazine division. The company will sell 18 smaller titles in a deal expected to raise $300 million, according to an article in today’s Wall Street Journal. The big titles, including Time, Sports Illustrated and People, are staying put. The article quotes Anne […]

NY Times Selling Its TV Stations

New York Times (NYT) announced that it is selling its TV station group. The group contains nine stations that management says will produce $43 million in earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) in 2006. Recent transactions in TV have been around 13x EBITDA, potentially creating proceeds of $560 million. In the past, management […]

Sears Ups Share Buyback

Sears Holding (SHLD) announced that it is increasing its share repurchase authorization by $500 million. About $118 million remains on the prior $1.5 billion authorization. So far, the company has repurchased 11 million shares at an average price of $126.14. As of August 29, the company had 154 million shares outstanding. At current prices, the […]

Is Eddie Lampert Using Sears To Make A Run At Home Depot?

Tuesday’s rumor has it that Eddie Lampert is putting Sears Holding (SHLD) cash to work buying Home Depot (HD) shares. SHLD traded up on the news, and the stock has now recovered pretty much all the losses immediately post earnings. Those losses were due to either fears that (1) the share buyback would slow and […]