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FeedPosted 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 Nov 20th 2009 1:40PM by Sheldon Liber (RSS feed)
Filed under: Rumors, Market matters, Bank of America (BAC), Charles Schwab Corp (SCHW), TD AmeriTrade Holding (AMTD), Options, Wells Fargo (WFC), Chasing Value, E*TRADE (ETFC)

Look before you leap! All year long rumors have been swirling around that E*TRADE (
ETFC) was on the auction block being prepared for an acquisition by a bigger fish interested in its customers and superior trading platform. I have not used E-TRADE so I do not have first hand experience. However, this has been acknowledged broadly and I have received very positive comments from regular users when I have written about it.
The leading suitor seems to be TD AmeriTrade Holding (
AMTD), with Charles Schwab Corp (
SCHW) mentioned as perhaps having similar but less conspicuous interest. For Schwab it may be as much about keeping E-TRADE out of a competitors hands as chasing the business.
Continue reading Chasing Value: E-Trade, a word of caution
Posted Nov 20th 2009 10:30AM by Beth Gaston Moon (RSS feed)
Filed under: Deals, Television, Walt Disney (DIS), CBS Corp 'B' (CBS)
Oprah Winfrey, arguably the most powerful woman in entertainment (if not the world in general), is preparing to pack her luxurious bags. She's announced that in 2011, after a quarter-century of favorite things and heartfelt interviews, "The Oprah Winfrey Show" will be no more. The last program is scheduled for Sept. 9, 2011. One can only imagine who might be her guests.
In syndication across the country, Oprah's eponymous program is the top-rated U.S. daytime show (take that, Days of Our Lives!), with an average viewership of 7.1 million this year.
While not entirely unexpected, the news is likely a bit of a blow to CBS Corporation (CBS), as its CBS Television Distribution arm syndicates the program. Additionally, Walt Disney (DIS) might feel the sting of an Oprah departure as Disney-owned ABC is the primary network that airs the show. And will it impact O, Oprah's monthly magazine published by the Heart Corporation? To say nothing of all of the manic women in the audience who long for a chance at one of Oprah's favorite things.
Continue reading Oprah to pull the plug in 2011
Posted Nov 20th 2009 10:00AM by Mark Fightmaster (RSS feed)
Filed under: Management, Employees, Goldman Sachs Group (GS)

According to
The Wall Street Journal, some of Goldman Sachs's (
GS) largest shareholders are petitioning the company to
lower the size of its bonus pool. These shareholders feel that GS should be passing along more of its earnings to investors. According to "people familiar with the situation," these investors hold "tens of millions" of GS shares and are complaining in private conversations at GS's annual analyst meetings.
With GS raking in record net income and compensation, the shareholders believe that the benefits should be shared among them rather than in compensation and benefit for the employees. The shareholders are also concerned about a minute change in the firm's financial statements regarding how the company counts the number of employees.
Continue reading Goldman Sachs shareholders want less bonuses, more of the profit
Posted Nov 20th 2009 9:30AM by Jim Cramer (RSS feed)
Filed under: Google (GOOG), Apple Inc (AAPL), Dell (DELL), Hewlett-Packard (HPQ), Market matters, Limited Brands (LTD), Cramer on BloggingStocks, Technology
TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says traders who focus on the negative will pounce on this poor report. Thanks for nothing, Dell (
DELL) (
Cramer's Take)! Given that this market seems to care less about the good like NetApp (
NTAP) (
Cramer's Take), Ross Stores (
ROST) (
Cramer's Take) or Limited (
LTD) (
Cramer's Take) and is focused on the bad, like the semi-downgrade from Bank of America Merrill Lynch, I am sure that Dell will be viewed as part and parcel with the downgrade.
I can't stand Dell. I actually slam it in Getting Back to Even, taking a chance that it would get its act together and make me look bad on the very quarter the book is released. Looks like that was a lot of worry for nothing.
Continue reading Cramer on BloggingStocks: Dell feeds the bears
Posted Nov 20th 2009 7:50AM by Melly Alazraki (RSS feed)
Filed under: Before the bell, International markets, Dell (DELL), Market matters, Economic data, Commodities, Oil

U.S. stock futures fell Friday morning, indicating continued weakness in the stock market. Dell's worse-than-expected earnings reported late Thursday are putting pressure on equities as a whole and technology shares in particular. Investors may be moving toward safer securities in the absence of confidence in the strength of the sector, which has already stumbled the last couple of days.
On Thursday, stocks fell across the board: the Dow industrials were down 0.9%, the S&P 500 declined 1.3% and the Nasdaq composite skidded 1.7%, following an analyst downgrade of semiconductors. This put further pressure on a sector that was already reeling from earnings the day before. Economic reports didn't help to increase investors' confidence Thursday.
Continue reading Before the bell: Futures lower on Dell's earnings, ECB move
Posted Nov 19th 2009 8:15AM by Jim Cramer (RSS feed)
Filed under: Analyst reports, Analyst upgrades and downgrades, Dell (DELL), Intel (INTC), Market matters, Texas Instruments (TXN), Limited Brands (LTD), Honeywell Intl (HON), United Technologies (UTX), Cramer on BloggingStocks
TheStreet.com's Jim Cramer says the world's economies are getting too strong to obey these downgrades of Intel and TI. When Wall Street starts looking at tech companies as they would industrials -- as they should be scrutinized -- then we will not get downgrades like Bank of America/Merrill's takedowns of Intel (
INTC) (
Cramer's Take) and Texas Instruments (
TXN) (
Cramer's Take).
The essence of these two downgrades is the looming inventory correction that everyone has feared from $14 a share onward for Intel and $18 for Texas Instruments at the start of the summer. At every step I have heard of this coming breakdown, the double ordering and the decline in demand as one analyst after another has warned us of the apocalypse around the corner.
Continue reading Cramer on BloggingStocks: Dismiss the latest tech downgrades
Posted Nov 18th 2009 3:00PM by Beth Gaston Moon (RSS feed)
Filed under: Consumer experience, Kellogg Co (K)

Leggo my Eggo. No, seriously! There's a shortage on the familiar brand of frozen waffles, spurred by problems at Kellogg (
K) bakeries in Atlanta and Rossville, Tennessee. The former plant saw flooding last month and had to halt production, while the Tennessee location needs extensive repairs, which has shut down several lines for the time being.
There will be a shortage of the baked good through 2010, according to reports from the cereal giant. Other Eggo-branded products, such as syrup, pancakes, and other breakfast items, will be impacted as well.
Continue reading Stop the presses: There's a waffle shortage!
Posted Nov 18th 2009 11:00AM by Mark Fightmaster (RSS feed)
Filed under: Employees, Politics, Recession
Although some members of his administration don't hold Fox News in too high of regard, President Barack Obama did sit down with the news outlet to discuss the economy. In the interview, President Obama offered what some are calling his "sternest warning" about containing deficits. President Obama believes that a further compilation of government debt could lead to a double-dip recession.
The president believes that his administration faces a "delicate balance of trying to boost the economy and spur job creation," but the administration has to set the economy on "a path toward long-term deficit reduction." He noted that it is important "to recognize ... that at some point, people could lose confidence in the U.S. economy in a way that could actually lead to a double-dip recession."
Continue reading President Obama cautions against double-dip recession
Posted Nov 18th 2009 10:20AM by Tom Johansmeyer (RSS feed)
Filed under: Internet, Google (GOOG), Microsoft (MSFT), Yahoo! (YHOO), Apple Inc (AAPL), Technology
Once upon a time, Mac users could brag they were much safer from malicious electronic attacks. After all, in the days before Google (GOOG), when Microsoft (MSFT) was the only uber-player in town, Windows was the perpetual malware target. Phishers, however, aren't discriminating; they're just looking for an account to plunge. So, both Apple (AAPL) and Microsoft users are threatened. Virus writers do tend to focus on the Windows operating system, which owns 90% of the OS market, but phishers are platform independent.
Phishing involves attempts to get a user to reveal information about their accounts. Once the soon-to-be victim clicks that link or fills out a form, the "transaction" is complete -- no operating system interaction necessary. As a result, there really isn't any advantage to using a Mac over a PC.
Continue reading Apple's Macs aren't safe from phishing attacks
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