Box Office Cooling Won’t Last Much Longer

The box office continued its cooling trend as the weekend was down 1.5% for the top 12 films according to BoxOfficeMojo.com. This marks the second consecutive down weekend following almost three months of positive comparisons. Year-to-date, the box office is now up 9.9%, well off its peak growth, but still a very good comparison that […]

Disney Scraps Hong Kong Park Expansion to Shift Focus to Shanghai?

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Disney (DIS) is putting expansion of its Hong Kong theme park on hold and laying off the employees involved in developing the expansion plans. The Hong Kong Park has been a disappointment almost from the day the gates opened. DIS owns it in partnership with the Hong Kong […]

Dollar Weakness is Bullish

My friend and fellow money manager, Scott Rothbort, noted on SeekingAlpha.com that euro strength is bullish. I think he is right. The euro is over $1.21 today, the highest since mid-February. The euro is also at a multi-month high vs. the yen. A chart of the euro/USD looks an awful lot like the S&P 500 […]

The Backdoor Way to Play DirecTV

In February, following release of DirecTV’s (DTV) 4Q08 results, I wrote several favorable comments about DTV on RealMoney.com. I followed up by publishing the following commentary which discusses Liberty Media Entertainment (LMDIA) as an attractive backdoor play to purchase DTV at a substantial discount. With SeekingAlpha.com publishing an article from Bullish Bankers discussing Liberty Media […]

Box Office Winning Streak Ends

For the first time since late December the weekend box office fell on a year-over-year basis. Weekend receipts for the top 12 films were $89.2 million according to BoxOfficeMojo.com, a drop of 15.8% from a year ago. The box office is still up 12% this year, a better than expected performance. Next week provides another […]

Why Would a Senior Google Exec Leave for AOL?

Time Warner (TWX) has hired one of Google’s most senior executives to run AOL. Tim Armstrong was a member of Google’s Operating Committee and President of Americas Operations. Armstrong also has a background in traditional media including developing internet properties at traditional media companies. Armstrong is undoubtedly totally loaded due to his 8 plus years […]

We’re Still Watching TV The Old-Fashioned Way

I have pointed out repeatedly that media stocks are suffering a two pronged assault from cyclical and secular challenges. Making matters worse is that the cyclical downturn in the economy might be accelerating secular trends. Investors certainly believe this as evidenced by the combination of falling near-term and long-term estimates and a drop in relative […]

Life at Apple Continues Sans Jobs

Bloomberg is reporting a March 17th event to provide a “sneak peak” at new iPhone software, version 3.0. The company introduced a new, next generation shuffle and is now updating iPhone software (the iPhone is all about software). This is being done with Steve Jobs nowhere to be seen and without a rollout at MacWorld. […]

Technology Risk at NII Holdings

Pali Research is out with a new report on NII Holdings (NIHD). They are reiterating their buy and establishing a $25 price target. The cut estimates further and moved below management guidance but attributed 90% of the reduction to further weakening in the Mexican Peso. In my recent update on NIHD, I explained that underlying […]

Time Warner is Watching Watchmen

The Weekend box office continued its year long win streak but for the second consecutive weekend there was a disappointment from a highly anticipated film. Led by Watchmen, the box office rose 12.7% according to BoxOfficeMojo.com. Every weekend since late December is positive and year-to-date total receipts for the North American box office are up […]