FeedPosted Sep 22nd 2010 12:10PM by Elizabeth Harrow (RSS feed)
Filed under: Forecasts, Bad News, Newspapers, New York Times'A' (NYT), Options, Technical Analysis

The Old Grey Lady is ailing. Wednesday morning, New York Times Co. (
NYT) warned that its
third-quarter revenue will decline by a wider-than-expected margin, due to slower growth in digital advertising. Speaking at an investor conference in New York, CEO Janet Robinson explained that digital ad revenue is expected to rise about 14%, compared to its earlier forecast for growth in the mid-to-high teens.
As a result, the company expects to swallow a third-quarter operating loss of 5 cents to 7 cents per share. Excluding items,
earnings are expected to arrive at 3 cents to 5 cents per share, compared to Wall Street's
consensus estimate of 4 cents per share.
Continue reading New York Times Offers Bleak Q3 Guidance
Posted Apr 12th 2010 3:15PM by Brian White (RSS feed)
Filed under: Management, Newspapers, Google (GOOG)
Google (GOOG) has been the bain of the publishing industry -- both printed and electronic -- for years. Its Google Books project scans books by the hundreds in order to make the content accessible online and for free. Have a newspaper website? Google probably scans it daily to aggregate pieces of your content at Google News (again, for free). Google CEO Eric Schmidt, though, thinks that newspapers can follow the Google model and make money using their content online, and not hide everything behind a pay wall.
Continue reading Google CEO Schmidt: We See Profits in the Newspaper Industry Again
Posted Mar 29th 2010 4:30PM by Brent Archer (RSS feed)
Filed under: Major Movement, Bad News, Newspapers, Options, Technical Analysis

Regal Entertainment Group (
RGC) stock is trading lower today after
an article over the weekend in the Wall Street Journal (subscription required) criticized a move by some cinema chains to raise ticket prices. The analyst wrote that raising the price of 3D movies would likely backfire and might drive away cost-conscious families. If you think this stock won't be rising too far in the coming months, then it could be a good time to look at a bearish hedged play on RGC.
This morning, RGC opened at $17.87. So far today the stock has hit a high of $17.87 and a low of $17.11. As of 12:00, RGC is trading at $17.13, down $0.86 (-4.8%). The chart for RGC looks bullish.
Continue reading Regal Cinemas Dips on Ticket Pricing Concerns
Posted Feb 24th 2010 6:00PM by Joseph Lazzaro (RSS feed)
Filed under: Forecasts, Television, Newspapers, Internet, Media World

The internet, the enemy of print newspapers, is, conversely, the friend of television, at least initially in the digital age.
The phenomenon,
The New York Times (
NYT)
reported Wednesday, has to do with the promotional effect that the internet's social dimension has created for television. Specifically, the recent explosive growth and popularity of
Facebook (with an astounding 400 million users), has created a new, de-facto 'office water-cooler chat' for television.
Continue reading The Internet: Enemy of Newspapers, But the Friend of T.V. (So Far)
Posted Jan 11th 2010 12:30PM by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed)
Filed under: Newspapers, Ford Motor (F), New York Times'A' (NYT), Gannett Co (GCI), News Corp'B' (NWS)
The New York Times (NYT) reports today that newspapers dominate the news creation business.
This is an interesting twist -- instead of touting readers or paid circulation or ads or total revenue, it's talking about production. It's almost as if Ford (F) were to announce: "We make more cars than anyone else." Who the hell cares if they sell any, right? What's important is production, not sales! For the Times, and print media in general, it feels like yet another attempt to justify its existence and "prove" that it is more valuable than the more cost-effective and nimble online outlets.
Continue reading Most News Outlets Are Repetitive, New York Times Repeats
Posted Dec 12th 2009 4:10PM by Daleela Farina (RSS feed)
Filed under: Newspapers, Interviews, Columns, Books, Entrepreneurs
James Altucher is a financial journalist for The Wall Street Journal and founder of Stockpickr.com. His articles cover every angle of the market; he also stars in feature videos with other financial luminaries. He is the author of Trade Like a Hedge Fund, Trade Like Warren Buffett, SuperCa$h, and The Forever Portfolio.
He has taken a controversial path lately with numerous articles in the New York Post and Huffington Post. Some articles include: "Global Warming Is a Myth," "Should Insider Trading Be Made Legal?" "School of Hard Cash," "The Internet Is Dead (as an Investment)," and "5 Myths the Recession Taught Us."
Rumors of a new addition to the James Altucher library have entered the blogosphere, so I met with James to discuss a possible new book and the response from his recent aggressive views on finance and the stock market.
Continue reading You can profit from James Altucher's insanity
Posted Nov 23rd 2009 1:20PM by Brent Archer (RSS feed)
Filed under: Major Movement, Bad News, Newspapers, Magazines, Options, Technical Analysis

Valeant Pharmaceuticals (
VRX -
option chain) stock is trading lower today after
an article in Barron's (subscription required) over the weekend said the company could see trouble ahead if its experimental epilepsy drug, which is undergoing the regulatory review process, is not profitable enough to offset declining royalties from its hepatitis C treatment. If you think this stock won't be rising too far in the coming months, then it could be a good time to look at a bearish hedged play on VRX.
This morning, VRX opened at $32.15. So far today the stock has hit a high of $32.95 and a low of $31.88. As of 11:30, VRX is trading at $32.07, down $1.21 (-3.6%). The chart for VRX looks bullish.
Continue reading Valeant Pharma (VRX) falls on bearish Barron's coverage
Posted Nov 20th 2009 4:40PM by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed)
Filed under: Newspapers, New York Times'A' (NYT), Gannett Co (GCI), Media World
We've put three quarters behind us in 2009, and the most recent one was merely another miserable step downward for the beleaguered newspaper industry. Total ad revenue plummeted in the third quarter to $6.4 billion for the print jockeys, a decline of 28%. This info from the Newspaper Association of America drives home the notion that conditions will only worsen for the newspaper industry. So, if you're hoping those shares of New York Times Company (NYT), Gannett (GCI) and Washington Post Company (WPO), holding your breath will leave you little more than dizzy.
Of the total advertising revenue generated in the third quarter of 2009, $5.8 million came from print, the lowest quarterly amount this year. The $623 million in online advertising sold by America's newspapers was also 2009's worst. Both are down substantially from the same quarter in 2008, when the newspapers posted print ad revenue of $8.2 million and online ad revenue of $750 million, according to NAA data. At this time last year, we lamented year-over-year declines approaching 20%. Now, we have the same feelings as ad revenue drops approach 30%.
Continue reading Newspaper ad revenue of 28%, 8 quarters of double-digit drops
Posted Oct 30th 2009 4:40PM by Steven Mallas (RSS feed)
Filed under: Earnings Reports, Newspapers, New York Times'A' (NYT), Gannett Co (GCI), Media World
The Washington Post Company (NYSE: WPO) published data for the third quarter earlier today. Can't say I was mightily impressed by the numbers. Sure, there was a profit increase, but the top line wasn't exciting, and the newspaper division, as you might have expected, experienced a sharp decline in sales.
Net revenues rose 2%. Earnings per share came in at $1.81. That was sharply higher than the $1.08 per share recorded in the comparable period. Yet, I think you have to be careful in terms of reading too much positive spin into the growth rate.
Continue reading The Washington Post Company increases income, but shares sell off
Posted Oct 20th 2009 10:40AM by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed)
Filed under: Newspapers, New York Times'A' (NYT), Gannett Co (GCI), Media World
The folks in the news business are probably growing to hate Mondays. Gannett's (NYSE: GCI) profits are off by more than 50%, and the New York Times announced that it's chopping 100 jobs from the newsroom, along with an unspecified number elsewhere in the newspaper. Like Gannett, the New York Times cites declines in ad revenue as the reason for the decision. The company is hoping that employees will take voluntary buyouts where offered, but it is prepared to conduct a round of layoffs if necessary.
The newspaper, which is the flagship property of the New York Times Company (NYSE: NYT), cut 100 newsroom positions last year, mostly through voluntary buyouts, before a "relatively small" round of layoffs. This year's 100-job cut is approximately 8% of the newsroom, but the paper will still have the largest in the United States. Approximately 1,150 reporters and editors will remain. Already, 100 jobs have been slashed on the business side, leaving it now staffed at 1,850.
Continue reading New York Times to cut 100 newsroom positions
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