The Wall Street Journal reports that "The two sides continue to negotiate purchase terms, people familiar with the matter said, but a deal could be announced within days. A deal price couldn't immediately be learned."

Continue reading Dow Jones in Talks to Acquire SmartMoney: Why?

Dow Jones in Talks to Acquire SmartMoney: Why? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 24 Feb 2010 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Forbes laid off almost 20 people to save money. It is putting its online newsroom and print writers together. Yesterday, McGraw-Hill (NYSE: MGP), the publisher of BusinessWeek, cut several hundred people. US News, which used to have a strong business and personal finance section, is going from weekly to monthly to save money. There are rumors in the market that SmartMoney, a joint venture between Dow Jones and Hearst, is losing money.

The horrible thing about all of this and the layoffs at business sections of newspapers, is that the reporters who work the business and financial beats are writing their own obituaries. As they chronicle the demise of print media, the slowing of Internet advertising, and deepening recession, they have to go to work every day hoping that they will not find a pink slips on their desks.

What happens to these people?. They will not find jobs in the traditional media, but there is a model in the newspaper industry that may given them some hope. In many cities where dailies are struggling to survive and layoffs are plentiful, out-of-work writers are banding together to start websites to compete with the local press. Setting up these websites is cheap. The reporters already know their subjects as well as anyone else. They only need very modest ad revenue to do relatively well.

Business reporters may go the same route. Look for a lot of new, smaller financial websites to open staffed by laid off writers and watch them give the traditional press a run for its money

Douglas A. McIntyre is an editor at 24/7wallst.com.

The business press: The horror of writing your own obit originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 08 Jan 2009 10:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading SmartMoney says Wall Street ingores potentially attractive stocks

SmartMoney says Wall Street ingores potentially attractive stocks originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 15 May 2008 11:17:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

1. Misidentified priorities. Clipping coupons to save a nickel while paying 15-20% interest on your American Express (NYSE: AXP) card.
2. Overly-cautious investing. The government appreciates you hoarding those 20-year old U.S. savings bonds.
3. Misunderstanding risk; e,g., buying asteroid insurance instead of long-term care.
4. Procrastination. Putting off funding that 401K, for example.
5. Throwing good money after bad. Perhaps the U.S. government should consider this one!
6. Letting your ego guide your decisions, e.g., "Who are you to tell me I should sell my Enron!"
7. Following the crowd, e.g. "I gotta get me some WorldCom."

Continue reading Twelve money mistakes to avoid

Twelve money mistakes to avoid originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 16 Jul 2007 15:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

With the announcements this morning that Cerberus Capital Management LP, a $24 billion investment firm, will buy 80.1% of Chrysler for $7.4 billion, it's officially a trend that private equity is in the driver's seat. Cerberus already owns 51% of General Motors Corp. (NYSE: GM)'s GMAC -- the Finance unit -- and Ford Motor Co. (NYSE: F)'s founding family wants to sell out. Why does private equity find the automobile business so appealing?

There's an interesting side issue going on here: founding families are realizing that now is the time to sell. This topic is being covered in excruciating detail [subscription] with the proposed merger between News Corp. (NYSE: NWS) and Dow Jones & Company Inc. (NYSE: DJ).

Founding families have it great. They can clip million dollar annual coupons and spend their time riding motorcycles and playing tennis. But selling out means giving up on that lifestyle. So the willingness of founding families to sell spells trouble for public equity investors. Here's why:

Continue reading Why is private equity in the driver's seat?

Why is private equity in the driver's seat? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 14 May 2007 11:04:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Dow Jones (NYSE: DJ) implied volatility Flat prior to CNBC report of NWS bid.

• NWS makes $60 dollar bid for DJ according to CNBC's David Faber.
  
• DJ overall option implied volatility of 24 was near its 26-week average according to Track Data prior to DJ trading halt, suggesting non-directional risk before report.

New York Times (NYSE: NYT) volatility spikes on NWS interest in DJ reported by CNBC.

• NYT is recently up $1.82 to $25.21. NWS makes $60 dollar bid for DJ according to CNBC's David Faber.
  
• NYT May option implied volatility of 27 is above its 26-week average of 23 according to Track Data, suggesting larger price risk.

Option volume leaders today are: Apple Inc. (NASDAQ: AAPL), Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ: AMZN) and Dendreon Corp. (NASDAQ: DNDN).

Daily Option Update is provided by Stock Options Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com.

Option update 5-1-07: NYT volatility spikes following NWS interest in Dow Jones originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 01 May 2007 13:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Get rich quick: Learn how to fix your own car originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 02 Mar 2007 16:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

This story is more about saving than investing. If your net worth is less than $10,000, you need to save, save and save some more! Future articles will address larger sums.

I have been asked many times in person and in the comments section about how to get started as an investor. Since it is essential to have something to invest besides your time, two things above all are required: Educate yourself, and be thrifty in your spending habits.

Most people reading the AOL Money & Finance section probably have ten grand to invest. If you do not currently have $10,000 to invest you are in trouble and there is no time to waste.

First: Reduce spending on extras, even extras you think you need to live.

Continue reading Your first $10,000: Getting Started

Your first $10,000: Getting Started originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 20 Dec 2006 15:19:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The Power 30 is Smart Money's November 2006 cover story. It features Warren Buffett and touts the magazine's list of 30 people you could learn from. There is no doubt you could learn from many of these brilliant economic minds. However, Smart Money did not choose to do much more than simply identify them. There was almost nothing to learn unless you wanted to know what they were currently reading. This story would have been better placed in People magazine than Smart Money.

For example, Whitney Tilson, Founder, T2 Partners is listed as having a large following among value investors. They mention him starting his investment fund at age 32 and doubling his investors' money in just seven years. BIG DEAL, I say. They must be joking. No offense to Mr. Tilson, but the average market return is 10% so doubling your investment in seven years is basically an average showing -- minus his fees and subscription costs, it might even be worse than the average.

Here is my Power List -- six glaring omissions of people left off the list that I think matter much more than some that made the cut:

• Alan Abelson, lead editorial writer for Barron's who is quick to point out market fallacies with an astute and well-read high level of cogitation. He gives you something to think about every week.
• James Cramer, of the Street.com and NBC fame who has a following that long ago passed ten's of millions of readers, listeners, watchers and Wall Streeters. He may not always be right, but he is very influential.
• Bill Gates, of Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) fame, the wealthiest man in the world and largest philanthropist with his finger on the pulse of many worlds, I need not say more.
• Alan Greenspan may not be sitting on his Federal Reserve perch these days but when he speaks the world is listening. If he were to change his manner of expression to one of more specific and harsh tone you would not want to be holding the stock or bond he was trashing.
• Charlie Munger is a titan in the investment world and has had the ear of Warren Buffett for several decades. If Buffett is listening, you and I should be listening.
• Ken Heebner of the CGM Funds is one of those guys you would pay to have lunch with and has a track Record that makes some of the others seem like novices, for some real insights read this.

There are easily another fifty that deserve mention. Next time Smart Money, please give us some information we can use and not more lists. I get something valuable from every issue of Smart Money, but this story was not it.

Interested in reading more? Check out my other posts for Blogging Stocks here.

Sheldon Liber is the CEO of a small private investment company and the vice president for Design and Research of an Architecture & Planning firm.

30 to Learn From: Smart Money, Stupid Story originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 20 Nov 2006 08:41:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.