Continue reading A salary cap in baseball?

A salary cap in baseball? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 20 Feb 2009 16:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The New York Times Co.

Continue reading New York Times has pension drama

New York Times has pension drama originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 29 Jan 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Things are bad at The New York Times (NYSE:NYT). Advertising revenue at the company's newspapers fell 21% in November. Even online sales were down. Since the internet is supposed to be the lifeboat of the industry, signs could not have been more troubling.

The media company has $400 million in debt due next year. It would like to mortgage its headquarters building, but the real estate market in New York City is not exactly robust.

The one asset NYT has that is worth some real cash is its piece of the Boston Red Sox and the television business built around the team. Why the firm did not sell it sooner is a mystery. It is hardly "core" to being a newspaper company.

According to The Wall Street Journal, the The New York Times Company owns 17.5% of New England Sports Ventures, which owns the team and its stadium.. The paper notes that "Barclays Capital estimates the Times Co.'s investment is worth about $166 million; analysts and sports bankers recently told Reuters the Times Co. could raise at least $200 million if it sold its stake."

The same analysis shows that the Boston Globe is worth a tiny $20 million. Two years ago, the number was put at over $500 million, but the paper is hemorrhaging money now.

The management at The New York Times could not have made worse mistakes and now the company's main asset, its flagship paper, is at risk of being sold in a liquidation. Why would the company keep assets like a baseball team and the second-rate internet company which it owns, About.com. Why would it hold onto small regional newspapers around the country?

The New York Times is running out of options. And, executives at the firm will be remembered as the people who destroyed it by acting too slowly in auctioning off pieces it should not have owned in the first place. Now many of those assets are worth close to nothing. Even a baseball team probably losses some of its value in a deep recession.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 24/7 Wall St.

The New York Times (NYT) ready to sell Boston Red Sox stake originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 25 Dec 2008 04:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Free tacos tomorrow! Taco Bell's World Series promo pays up originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 29 Oct 2007 14:10:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Warren Buffett bought a prominent Massachusetts furniture company -- Jordan's Furniture -- in 1999 for between $200 million and $300 million. At the beginning of the season, Jordan's announced it would reimburse the furniture purchases of anyone who bought sofas, dining tables, beds, and mattresses there between March 7 and April 16 if the Red Sox won the World Series this year.

According to the Boston Globe, Jordan's took almost 30,000 orders during the contest. One customer stands to get back $40,000. Jordan's covered this bet through an insurance policy. It would not disclose which company issued the policy, but it would not shock me if it was issued by Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE: BRK.A).

As a lifelong Boston Red Sox fan, I am absolutely thrilled that they are in the World Series for the second time in a few years. And last night's blowout victory against Colorado was a great way to start. Unfortunately, my years of being disappointed by the Red Sox are making me wary about whether they can keep pulling off wins.

Continue reading Warren Buffett shouldn't have bet against the Red Sox

Warren Buffett shouldn't have bet against the Red Sox originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 25 Oct 2007 15:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Carry trade hits troubled waters originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 20 Aug 2007 13:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

While the Boston Red Sox are leading the American League East by 8 games, the commodities fund managed by one of its owners is a big loser. In Hedge Funds -- Managed Futures: Changing Course: Becalmed No More [subscription required] Barron's notes that Red Sox principal owner John Henry's commodity fund is suffering a three year, 40% decline in value.

More specifically, On March 31, the John W. Henry & Co. Financial and Metals Portfolio was down almost 20% for 2007 and in the midst of a three-year, 40% slump that was the longest and one of the deepest in its 22-year history. The decline and resulting investor redemptions, cost the firm -- controlled by John W. Henry -- more than 80% of its assets, which now stand at $500 million.

But there is a bit of light at the end of this tunnel. In 2007's second quarter, the portfolio surged 25%. Ironically, Merrill Lynch & Co. (NYSE: MER) ended a long-term relationship with Henry in April and pulled its mostly retail investors' assets out of his fund -- almost exactly at the portfolio's lowest point.

So I'll keep rooting for the Red Sox to repeat their 2004 World Series win. As for Henry, I would not bet my money on his trading skills -- such managed futures funds have high costs, high risk, and heavy reliance on black-box trading systems. I like to sleep at night and don't know how Henry can pull that off.

Peter Cohan is president of Peter S. Cohan & Associates He also teaches management at Babson College and edits The Cohan Letter. He has no financial interest in the securities mentioned in this post.

Red Sox owner's futures fund is tanking originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sat, 28 Jul 2007 08:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

What lessons can investors learn from the return of Roger Clemens to the Yankees next week, possibly against the Boston Red Sox? Plenty.

Like great investors, great baseball executives know where to find value. On the face of it, spending lots of money on a 44-year-old pitcher seems like a poor investment. But this isn't just any player. Clemens has already won 348 games, along with seven Cy Young Awards, making him one of the best to ever play the game.

The Yankees are going to pay him an astounding $4.5 million per month for four months work. That works out to about $9,000 per pitch regardless whether they are balls or strikes. Sure is nice work if you can get it, but is Yankee owner George Steinbrenner going to get his money's worth from Clemens? They have to reach the postseason, period.

The Bronx Bombers faced a double-digit deficit to the Red Sox last weekend, before rebounding slightly. They've been forced to start a record seven rookies in the team's first 42 games, so adding Clemens surely will be a welcome injection for the decimated starting staff.

Continue reading Is Roger Clemens a good investment?

Is Roger Clemens a good investment? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 23 May 2007 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.