Continue reading The logical buyer for Merrill's Bloomberg stake is Mike Bloomberg

The logical buyer for Merrill's Bloomberg stake is Mike Bloomberg originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 07 Jul 2008 15:18:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

I didn't think Get Smart was going to come in at number one, but that's exactly what happened, according to Boxofficemojo. The film, distributed by Time Warner (NYSE: TWX), took in an estimated $39 million at domestic theaters. The film, quite frankly, looks horrible, and I don't get the fascination people have with Steve Carell's supposed "comedic talents." I don't really find him funny. Doesn't matter, though, because moviegoers have crowned Carell king of the box-office weekend whether I like it or not.

I'm actually more concerned with the race for second place between Marvel's (NYSE: MVL) The Incredible Hulk and DreamWorks Animation's (NYSE: DWA) Kung Fu Panda. Both are estimated as of this writing to have booked a little more than $21 million in ticket sales. I'm concerned about this because I own shares of Marvel, and I'm disappointed in the movie's box-office performance. As of now, the new Hulk has about $96 million in terms of total gross. The fact that it hasn't scored over $100 million by now, coupled with it experiencing a 60% drop for this weekend compared to its debut weekend, leaves me less than satisfied.

Viacom's (NYSE: VIA) The Love Guru bombed. Looks like you can't always count on stars to deliver the important opening-weekend audience. Are people getting sick of Mike Myers? (Jonathan Berr wondered the same thing.) He was only able to conjure up about $14 million for Viacom shareholders, bringing his film to a fourth-place debut. That's embarrassing for Myers, but unlike Steve Carell, he is genuinely funny (although maybe not so much in this particular film, it seems). News Corp.'s (NYSE: NWS) M. Night Shyamalan movie The Happening grossed around $10 million and came in fifth.

Continue reading Although Steve Carell isn't funny, 'Get Smart' was number one

Although Steve Carell isn't funny, 'Get Smart' was number one originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Mon, 23 Jun 2008 10:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Recently, Jonathan Berr took a look at CBS (NYSE: CBS) and its latest quarterly results. One of the things I found most interesting about the earnings release was the fact that CBS's dividend reputation is very much intact -- management raised the quarterly payout by 8% to $0.27 per share. It can certainly afford to do this as free cash flow was up 25% in the last quarter, and the amount was more than adequate for the dividend. CBS has been pretty good about increasing the payments, but I happened to come across a headline at CNBC that talked about Jim Cramer's concerns about CBS -- he basically would rather the media company focus on growth instead of income.

His point is a good one, and well-taken -- after all, growth is pretty darn exciting. But I think CBS management has been great at sharing the spoils with its stockholders, and I always think it's a neat thing when a media stock yields a decent amount. CBS currently yields 4.5% based on Monday's closing price -- that's a lot bigger than the yields offered by Time Warner (NYSE: TWX) and Disney (NYSE: DIS). Yes, it's a cliché, but shareholders are getting paid to wait, and that's awesome if you intend to hold the stock for a long time. As a Disney shareholder, I can tell you that CBS's yield makes me envious!

I think CBS will turn out to be more than just an income play though. I'm confident the company will grow the price of its stock over time. Granted, major networks aren't what they used to be in this world of cable television, but the landscape continues to change with new digital distribution models popping up all the time, and networks like CBS are looking to participate wherever it makes sense to do so. Considering CBS's ability to generate cash and its willingness to share, I have a feeling capital appreciation will eventually follow the dividend boosts.

Disclosure: I own shares in Disney; positions can change at any time.

Is CBS just an income play? originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 06 May 2008 13:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

This game is perfect for someone like me who doesn't exercise as much as he should, which in my case means hardly ever. The Wii Fit, which will be available May 19, also will be useful for parents trying to get their children to exercise more. "Wii Fit is all about breaking the definition of video-gaming, about something that keeps you and your family fit and engaged," said Reggie Fils-Aime, president of Nintendo's U.S. division, in an interview with The Wall Street Journal.

Continue reading The Wii Fit will be a huge hit

The Wii Fit will be a huge hit originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Wed, 20 Feb 2008 14:12:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

The reported tiff between CNBC's Money Honey Maria Bartiromo and upstart Erin Burnett, whom the New York Post dubbed the "Street Sweetie,'' is mana from heaven for News Corp. (NYSE: NWS) Chief Executive Rupert Murdoch.

His Post gets a juicy chick fight to write about -- although the General Electric Co. (NYSE: GE) cable channel denies there is a fight -- and it makes a rival to his yet-to-be launched Fox Business Channel look foolish as a bonus. Plus, it gives Fox a good excuse to try and lure either one of them away from CNBC. Interesting how corporate synergies work in today's media world.

Mind you, I have no idea whether Bartiromo and Burnett hate each other or not. Usually, Page Six is pretty truthy in the Stephen Colbert sense of the word. You have to think that someone close to Bartiromo or Burnett -- perhaps the person who looks back at them in the mirror -- is spilling their guts to the Post. Yes, the media world is just like high school.

Bartiromo has long been a subject of the gossip pages. I urged CNBC to fire Bartiromo earlier this year after her relationship with ousted Citigroup Inc. (NYSE: C) executive Todd Thompson brought derision on the network. Since then, she's indicated that she's more interested in being a TV star than a journalist. Burnett, whose path I crossed when I was at Bloomberg News, is gaining the good kind of publicity. In fact, Broadcasting and Cable called her CNBC's "secret weapon."

But there's an extra dimension to this tabloid battle that's worth considering.

There are many media conspiracy theorists who argue that Rupert Murdoch will tabloid up the Wall Street Journal once he gets a hold of Dow Jones & Co. (NYSE: DJ). I think that these fears are overblown. Murdoch won't use the Journal to settle scores with his enemies and heap praise on his friends. Why should he when the Post does that so well?

Media World: Rupert Murdoch will win the Bartiromo-Burnett battle originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Fri, 27 Jul 2007 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

Continue reading No surprise here ... May another tough month for housing starts

No surprise here ... May another tough month for housing starts originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Tue, 19 Jun 2007 14:50:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

BloggingStock.com's Jonathan Berr had a good piece on the implications of Sarbanes-Oxley (SOX). This is a federal law that Congress rushed into effect after the implosions of Enron and WorldCom. Basically, SOX has imposed some tough regulations on public companies in terms of disclosures and internal controls.

However, SOX can be difficult for small companies and some critics think that the U.S. IPO market has, as a result, been stunted. In fact, some U.S. companies are listing their shares in more favorable markets, such as the AIM market in London.

Well, there may be some change. Today, the Nasdaq announced that it has hired former Senator Michael Oxley as its non-executive vice chairman. No doubt, he will be a great advisor, but he may also help the financial industry push for adjustments in SOX.

It's likely to take time, but Nasdaq's move is definitely savvy.

Tom Taulli is the author of various books, including the Complete M&A Handbook and the EDGAR-Online Guide to Decoding Financial Statements.

Nasdaq gets some Oxley moxie originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Thu, 15 Mar 2007 15:03:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

I received a torrent of comments to my recent blog post: American Idol: Are Indian call centers skewing the vote? and some of the responses had me rolling with laughter. I'm sure my perspective will not be shared by all, but shared it will be. Among all opinions there was consensus that contestant Sanjaya has outlasted his level of talent. My colleague Jonathan Berr had a different view when he posted Vote for the Worst is messing with American Idol, not Indian call centers. Still others thought Sanjaya was still on the show because he was an anti-judges vote, or young and cute, or even gay... a gay vote?

Having read everyone's thinking on the subject, which was one of my motivations for writing the story, I think it is all of the above. I hope that the "Vote for the Worst" does not have a major impact on the eventual outcome. Consider that the show has created opportunities for young talent to gain an audience, while entertaining millions with something better than infomercials and melodramas about doom and destruction.

The funniest comment of the week goes to VM who thought to critique my commentary with humor and succeeded. Thanks VM:

I own 25 call centers in India, and all my staff is just sitting idle during the American Idol. It is the great Indian Idle during American Idol.

So I have asked them to download the American Idol video -- as it is available on Bit Torrent as soon as it is aired -- there are lots of fans in India who download the show immediately, and get Sanjaya's number and start voting for him. For every vote, I reward with a point, and with every 100 points, they get a pay grade increase. So -- American Idol contestants, contact me if you want to win -- I can hook you up.

Continue reading Sunday Funnies: American Idol - Indian Idle

Sunday Funnies: American Idol - Indian Idle originally appeared on BloggingStocks on Sun, 11 Mar 2007 13:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.