The boobs who watch Comedy Central and MTV on Time Warner Cable (NYSE: TWC) will not have their viewing pleasure interrupted. Viacom (NYSE: VIA), the parent of the two content networks, has come to a financial deal with TWC to keep the programming on the air. Viacom wanted more money for having its shows on the cable system. It looks like it got that additional cash.

According to The Wall Street Journal, "Viacom had publicly threatened to pull its networks off Time Warner Cable's system on New Year's Eve in a bid to win higher payments from the cable giant in its negotiation over carriage fees."

Both parties can claim that they walked away with something good. Viacom gets more money for its programming. TWC keeps shows that are appealing to its paid subscribers. That means that what TIme Warner customers pay for the service over time will probably go up to offset the higher fees to Viacom, but not more than a dollar or two a month.

It is too bad that the programming was not taken down. People in front of their TVs, sitting in lounge chairs six or seven hours a day, might have been forced to get up and exercise or volunteer to help the poor. Instead they get the intellectual benefit of watching Beyonce and Britney Spears.

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 247wallst.com.

Time Warner Cable and Viacom cut a programming deal originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 01 Jan 2009 14:29:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Reports that Britney Spears was in a minor accident over the weekend with her Mercedes is another in a long line of mishaps for the pop star. Why this qualifies as news is beyond me, and it's my feeling that Britney should just be left alone. The media have succeeded in driving her into a virtual nervous breakdown, for what? To sell a few more papers, or attract a few more viewers. Should the media be in the business of ruining people?

According to the AP report: "Spears was in stop-and-go traffic when her car struck a 2006 Nissan in front of her that had stopped. The Nissan then pushed forward into another vehicle. No damage was noted to any of the vehicles."

The one winner in this latest Spears' episode may be Daimler AG (NYSE:DAI), maker of the famed Mercedes. As with most automakers the company has been struggling, and sales have been sagging. There is no question that they could use the free PR. After all, Britney drives the car, and it escaped the crash without a dent.

Despite recent troubles, investors looking for a contrarian play may want to take a look at Daimler. Their new strategy of trying to gain market share in Russia and in China to help offset US weakness, seems to be a smart move. With a growing upper middle class in both of these countries, the need to own a Mercedes will be strong, as it will be perceived as a status symbol.

Maybe the media can start focusing on global wealth creation, and leave Britney alone.

Aaron Katsman is the lead Portfolio Manager and Managing Director of America Israel Investment Associates, LLC. and Senior Editor of IsraelNewsletter.com. DISCLOSURE: Writer's fund has no position in any stock mentioned, as of 4/14/08.

Will Britney's crash sell more cars for Daimler? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 14 Apr 2008 16:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The New York Times reports that despite a fortune ranging from $50 million to $125 million, the battle for mentally unstable Britney Spears's money is raging. She's a shrewd business person -- generating cash from royalties, concerts, clothing, perfume, corporate promotions and real estate.

But she's also spending a lot of that money. She takes in $720,000 a month but mainly from royalties, but earns "only" $13,000 a month from investments. Her spending includes $102,000 a month for entertainment, gifts and vacation and $16,000 for clothes. Yet court documents reveal that members of Britney's household have been paying for her medicine, food, and other day-to-day needs.

While Britney makes some money from her albums -- she received a $4 million advance on her latest Blackout -- the real money is in concerts and the clothing and other items sold there. Her five major tours have sold some $140 million in tickets but her take -- after deducting costs for arena rentals, equipment, crew and all those backup dancers -- is much smaller. The real money is made from the sale of T-shirts, key chains, dolls and other Britney-branded goods.

Continue reading Battling for Britney's bucks

Battling for Britney's bucks originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 25 Feb 2008 13:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Renowned equity analyst Perez Hilton has apparently discovered the real reason investors sold off shares of Starbucks Corp. (NASDAQ: SBUX) today. No, it has nothing to do with the weak jobs report, as you may have been thinking.

Maybe its because Wall Street traders are worried about how Britney Spears' hospitalization will will effect sales. The former teen princess is nearly always seen with a latte in hand and, unless Starbucks delivers to the hospital, sales in the LA area could plummet!

But there may be a contrarian play on this news: Starbucks locations in the LA area are less likely to be overrun by Spears and her posse, driving away other customers, and efficiency and sales per square foot could soar!

And the company will have to pay lower insurance premiums because the risk of baristas being attacked with umbrellas is significantly lowered by Ms. Spears' hospitalization.

Britney Spears hospitalization sends Starbucks shares tumbling originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 04 Jan 2008 20:53:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Why Jamie Lynne Spears' pregnancy matters to investors

Why Jamie Lynne Spears' pregnancy matters to investors originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 19 Dec 2007 05:11:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Yahoo!'s most searched term: Britney Spears originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 05 Dec 2007 14:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

A change in chart rule puts Eagles on top of Billboard originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 07 Nov 2007 19:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Britney Spears set to top charts in Eagles potential absence originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 01 Nov 2007 16:31:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading Top 10 reasons for the market's decline: Bernanke, Britney & you

Top 10 reasons for the market's decline: Bernanke, Britney & you originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 01 Nov 2007 13:08:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

It seems as though no one can resist the temptation of the Britney Spears-bashing bandwagon: not even the most-revered financial newspaper in the world. Attacks from the tabloids and the likes of Perez Hilton have been relentless for years, but The Wall Street Journal's review (subscription required) of her new album is fairly scathing. Here are some of the high (low?) points:

A phalanx of producers and backing vocalists exert more of an influence on a disc that's not quite a mess but only occasionally rises above a muddle... as a vocalist, Ms. Spears sounds weary, snide and at times disconnected. On some songs, her voice seems grafted to the material as if an afterthought... At the bottom register, her voice is a throaty bleat... With "Blackout," Ms. Spears fails to deliver a recording that will re-establish her as a dominant pop star rather than a 25-year-old woman who seems bent on self-destruction...

The Journal doesn't seem to have anything positive to say about Spears, and the good things it does say about the album refer mainly to the production and background vocalists.

But all of this raises an interesting question: why is The Wall Street Journal reviewing a Britney Spears album anyway? Is that really her demographic? With the exception of Alan Greenspan, how man Journal readers will even consider buying her new album?

But then again, the financial press has a well-deserved reputation for calling stock sells precisely at their bottoms. So perhaps Britney's career is ready to rebound.

Britney Spears gets slammed ... by The Wall Street Journal originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 26 Oct 2007 16:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Forbes list of celebrity faces: Britney Spears no longer sells tabloids originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 03 Oct 2007 17:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Britney Spears

Britney Spears in Playboy, Vanessa Hudgens nude: How naked stars earn money -- even when they're not originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 21 Sep 2007 18:52:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

For those of you who missed it, I envy you. After watching MTV's Video Music Awards last night, my friend summed it up well: "OMG, Britney sucked HXC!" That's pretty much all there is to be said. Britney looked out shape, bored, arguably intoxicated, and just... messy. If you haven't seen it yet, you can watch it here.

Given that Britney was the most exciting thing from this year's VMA's (not including Sarah Silverman's skewering of the former pop princess), I can only imagine what the Nielsen chart for the awards looked like. High ratings when Britney began her performance followed by a sharp drop-off as people with children and stomachs changed the channel, and then an Enron-like descent after she was done.

This may be a blessing, though, for Viacom Inc. (NYSE: VIA), parent of MTV, because people finally are talking about the VMAs which lost thier relevance sometime during the Clinton Administration.

But the nice thing about watching Britney self-destruct is that she's not a major talent. It's not like Billie Holiday, or even Amy Winehouse, where we can watch the dysfunctional descent and say: "What a shame. So much talent and she's throwing it all away". No. With Britney, all we can do is laugh, and maybe feel a little bit sorry for her children... and any other children who happened to be watching.

It's hard to imagine why Britney even bothered: She was stumbling around on stage and barely danced at all. Did she really think the headlines would be anything other than what they were? Here's a sampling:

Spears bombs...

Spears' MTV comeback a big letdown

Spears disappoints in MTV comeback.

Britney Spears disaster: a dead career bounce

And of course Perez Hilton, who put it this way:

So it may finally be time to declare Britney's career completely over. I would say Novastar Financial (NYSE: NFI) is a better bet here.

Britney Spears bombs at MTV's VMAs: Time to dump her? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 10 Sep 2007 16:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Her Majesty Britney: will Spears be Prince William's newest love? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 16 Apr 2007 16:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

This post is part of our Battle of the Brands feature. Let us know which brand you prefer, and watch out for more Battle of the Brands posts.

Some people drink Pepsi, some people drink Coke,
The wacky morning DJ says democracy's a joke.
-- Cake, Comfort Eagle

Unless you are a rare RC Cola drinker, your carbonated beverage decision in the supermarket comes down to the two heavyweights: the flagship products from the Coca-Cola Company (NYSE: KO) and PepsiCo Inc (NYSE: PEP). But the battle between these brands spans much further than the supermarket shelves. From which brand restaurants stock, to what countries each operates in, this rivalry is all-encompassing and global. But instead of a list of countries or restaurant chains, lets take a deeper look at the actual products.

Cola and Beyond

We don't have space to list, nor would you have time to read, every different variant of Coca-Cola and Pepsi, which would force me to include failed ideas such as Crystal Pepsi. Suffice it to say, you won't find many original ideas here, and when a successful idea comes from either company, an imitator just as quickly appears from the other. Coke/Pepsi, Diet Coke/Diet Pepsi, Cherry Coke/Wild Cherry Pepsi, Coke with Lime/Pepsi Lime, Coke Zero/Pepsi One, Coca-Cola Blak/Pepsi Cappuccino. Had enough yet? Because that was just a list of comparable colas. Both companies also make lemon-lime sodas, orange sodas, and other similar carbonated and noncarbonated beverages. So then what differentiates them? Certainly not their product arsenal, but taste and marketing.

Continue reading Coke vs. Pepsi: Battle of the Brands

Coke vs. Pepsi: Battle of the Brands originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 10 Apr 2007 16:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Apparently the latest rung on Britney Spears' downward spiral of destruction is flavored with Merchandise 7x. According to an "insider" at the erstwhile pop princess' rehabilitation center, Britney is coping with her myriad of issues by gulping down 24 cans of Coca-Cola (NYSE:KO) per day. One can only imagine what effect the syrupy goodness and caffeine (delicious in moderation, but a can an hour? inarguably excessive) is having on poor Brit, who is already reportedly battling postpartum depression, addictions, and general humiliation and shame.

Of course I immediately thought of Spears' infectious "Joy of Pepsi" commercials (which I downloaded in MP3 form six years ago, thank you very much). I wonder if PepsiCo (NYSE:PEP) views this new development as a betrayal, or a slight relief?

Beth Gaston Moon is an analyst at Schaeffer's Investment Research.

Britney fiending for Coca-Cola originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 15 Mar 2007 13:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

If we didn't need reminding, this morning's news from China and Afghanistan re-alerts us to how sudden turbulence from afar can smack financial markets.

The Shanghai Composite Index tumbled 8.8% today on fears of new Chinese government austerity measures. And other Asian markets slumped in harmony. Meanwhile, the Dow opened down 134 points and the NASDAQ fell 45.

But that's not all. This morning also featured a failed assassination attempt on Vice President Cheney in Afghanistan. And US saber rattling against Iran raises the possibility that the price of oil could hit $125 a barrel in the event of a US air strike on Iran. The reason is that Iran could blockade the 20-mile wide Straits of Hormuz through which 40% of the world's oil exports must flow in order to reach the market.

Meanwhile a weak durable goods orders report is reinforcing fears stoked by former Fed Chair Alan Greenspan that a recession is in the cards for the US economy. With Fannie Mae (NYSE: FNM) announcing this morning that it will tighten its subprime mortgage standards, the hissing sound of a deflating housing bubble just ramped up its decibel level.

No wonder Americans would rather bury their heads in news of Anna Nicole Smith and Britney Spears. And for frightened investors, the best refuge may be money market funds and gold.

Peter Cohan is President of Peter S. Cohan & Associates, a management consulting and venture capital firm, He also teaches management at Babson College and edits The Cohan Letter. He has no financial interest in Fannie Mae.

With Asian typhoon slamming the market, give me more Britney news originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 27 Feb 2007 10:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

This WSJ article, which forecasts how cheap chic will stay chic and trendy, is definitely good news for savvy and fashion conscious consumers, like me.

Target Corp. (NYSE:TGT) revolutionized its discount warehouse image with a trendy advertising campaign, and more importantly, added the Isaac Mizrahi line of affordable designer apparel for women, sold exclusively at Target stores. And so the love affair began ...

Now Vera Wang will be adding her own line of thrifty chic to the Kohl's Corp. (NYSE:KSS) stores, and Gwen Stefani will be expanding her L.A.M.B. line to include fragrances to be sold by Coty Inc.

Vera Wang, who currently is unparalleled when it comes to wedding-gown lines, will be offering her chic dress designs for Kohl's customers at a mere $69. I cannot imagine this line line not selling, and well at that. Gwen Stefani, who is intensely popular with tweens, teenagers, and hipsters, has had a Midas touch effect on everything from pop music to culture and clothes. Her fragrance will surely outdo the sales of Britney Spears' "Curious" or Danielle Steel's "Danielle," both trademark Elizabeth Arden (NASDAQ:RDEN) products.

Continue reading Target and Kohl's 'cheap chic' brings couture to all

Target and Kohl's 'cheap chic' brings couture to all originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 05 Jan 2007 10:44:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

This post is written as part of AOL Money & Finance's Best & Worst 2006. If you think that Britney Spears makes too much money, cast your vote.

Poor Britney Spears, picked on for her parenting gaffes and apparent lack of social graces. But award-winning pop singer and dancer Spears has sold more than 70 million albums worldwide, making her one of the most successful female artists ever.

Born in Mississippi, she rose to prominence as a member of the New Mickey Mouse Club, such hit songs as "Oops, I Did It Again," and for her very successful Pepsi commercials, which reportedly earned her more than $7 million. In 2003 Forbes called her the most powerful celebrity in the world. Antics such as appearing nude on magazine covers, appearing seemingly nude in public performances, and her infamous kiss with Madonna during the 2005 MTV Music Video Awards have brought her criticism from the parents of her legions of preteen fans, many of whom look to her as a role model; Spears has denied being a role model.

In early 2004 she was very briefly married to a childhood friend, and then married dancer Kevin Federline later that year. Spears and Federline had two children before Spears filed for divorce in late 2006. Despite her break to have a family, the Britney Spears brand continued to prosper, with a highly popular perfume, Curious, released in 2004, which reportedly made about $100 million. A Britney Spears best-of album was also released in 2004, and a comeback album is reportedly planned for release in 2007.

Best & Worst: Britney Spears, will we still keep paying for her to Do It Again? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 12 Dec 2006 18:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Across the Weblogs, Inc. network a brand-new blog has opened (welcome to the excellent StyleDash!), and I was searching its pages for nuggets that might affect stocks we cover. I think we can all agree (for instance) that Wal-Mart: not stylish (no matter what the very à la mode Anne Metz says, I won't believe it). GE? Nice commercials, but not stylish. Apple? Hella stylish. eBay? Jury's out.

And as we're ticking off the companies that are oft-featured here on BloggingStocks, the biggest question that sprung to mind: how does Starbucks Corporation (NYSE:SBUX) rate on style factor? As someone who mercurially flits from independent, locally-owned, ultra-hip coffee shop to Starbucks and back again, sometimes in a single day, I'm brilliantly positioned to say: not high. Styledash's Nic Lloyd couldn't agree more.

He says, "I was tired of Starbucks and other chain coffees -- tired of the taste and the price." He finds something better, an Ethiopian coffee called Dancing Goats. It's not that much different from the Ethiopian pours I've raved for myself. Let's face it, Starbucks, fashionistas have long since left your faux Euro tables and turned to more fabulous barstools, where the coffee tastes of orchids, wild blueberries and vanilla ... not burnt beans.

After all, the most famous customer of Starbucks today? Britney Spears. I needn't (I think you'll agree) say more.

Starbucks: you're just not stylish any more originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 13 Sep 2006 23:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.