I often spend a little time over at Blogmaverick.com, where Mark Cuban recently sought to give the world of blogging a little of his insightful perspective. It seems that Mr. Cuban finds little to respect in the world of blogging, or at least in the world of slipshod ,cookie-cutter blogging. Though I found Mark's blog entry a trifle difficult to read, which is quite unusual coming from him, I nonetheless agree with most of the body of his post. I especially agree with his assertion that just because a blog is backed by the name of a well-known media organization does not in itself render that blog worthy of special notice.
Mark Cuban wrote, "...newspapers having 'bloggers' is easily one of the many bad decisions that newspapers have made over the past 10 years." If newspapers are going in a wrong direction by producing blogs, perhaps they need to reinstall the title reporter and drop the title blogger to give a different perspective to the reader. If newspapers are using the term blog simply as a culture hook, then they have it all wrong and they're just selling their reporters short. I believe that I'm in agreement with Mark Cuban when I say that true reporters should be releasing content within some format other than blogs. Blogging is what I do, and I'll be the first to tell you that I'm no reporter. The titles are absolutelynot interchangeable, though they may sometimes be used correctly in tandem.
The ridiculous story published by the New York times yesterday regarding John McCain's encounters with a Washington lobbyist offered little to it's readers or the voting American public. It was a waste of time on talk shows and the broader media coverage it received shows how petty election politics can be.
Every official in Washington is constantly being bombarded by thousands of lobbyist's all the time and someone in McCains position (and Obama's and Clinton's) get no relief. If his wife is not griping when he gets closer to some then others and they happen to be attractive too, we have nothing to say about it, unless it crosses some legal or ethical boundary.
McCain was unhappy. I was unhappy and most pundits I listened to thought as much of the story as I did. However, I might have handled it with some good humor. McCain should have issued a press release with pictures of the top 100 best looking lobbyists (male and female) that he has met with over the past five years. Let them run that in the New Yorks Times. Now that would spark huge readership.
Sheldon Liber is the CEO of a small private investment company and the principal for design and research at an architecture & planning firm. He writes the columns Chasing Value and Serious Money.
Ever since the New York Times broke the story about John McCain's close relationship with lobbyist Vicki Iseman, howls of outrage have been heard from one end of the right wing media world to the other. Outstanding Americans including Rush Limbaugh have accused the gray lady of publishing a partisan hatchet job on the Arizona senator who until this moment had been their public enemy no. 2 behind the mainstream media.
But lost in the hoopla is the fact that the central theme of the story that aides were worried about McCain's relationship with Iseman during the 2000 campaign has been proven. In fact, other news organizations, including the Washington Post , were able to match the story. In fact, the Post is reporting today that McCain has some cozy relationship with other lobbyists even though he bad-mouths the profession all of the time. Both McCain and Iseman deny they had an affair or that she received any preferential treatment from the senator. Nonetheless, some former McCain aides were clearly worried about the lobbyist.
When the New York Times recently broke a story that Eli Lilly & Co. (NYSE: LLY) was in confidential settlement talks with the federal government, the drugmaker was furious over the leak believing government officials were behind it. The company was probably enraged when it learned that one of its own lawyers accidentally sent a memo to a Times reporter about the settlement talks over whether it had improperly marketed Zyprexa.
"One of its outside lawyers at Philadelphia-based Pepper Hamilton had mistakenly emailed confidential information on the talks to Times reporter Alex Berenson instead of Bradford Berenson, her co-counsel at Sidley Austin," according to Portfolio.com. "With the negotiations over alleged marketing improprieties reaching a mind-boggling sum of $1 billion, Eli Lilly had every reason to want to keep the talks under wraps. It was paying the two fancy law firms a small fortune to negotiate deftly and quietly."
Pepper Hamilton was no doubt mortified but the Indianapolis-based drugmaker told the magazine that it would continue to retain the firm. Odds are good that there will be an adjustment or two to Lilly's hefty legal bill.
This goes to show you that even the most sophisticated technology can't save people from their own thoughtless mistakes.
The New York Times Co. (NYSE: NYT) and General Electric (NYSE: GE)'s CNBC have agreed to share each other's content, a move designed to counter the synergies that the $5 billion acquisition of Dow Jones brought to Rupert Murdoch's News Corp (NYSE: NWS) empire.
Under the terms of the agreement, Times articles will be posted on CNBC's website while the cable channel's video will be on the newspaper's website, according to a story in the New York Times. Though content-sharing agreements are as common as mud, this one is worth watching because it's so high profile.
It wouldn't surprise me if the Times and CNBC eventually did joint projects, particularly time-consuming investigative stories. Also, expect the Times op-ed columnists such as Frank Rich and Paul Krugman to make more appearances on CNBC shows, no doubt much to the horror of Larry Kudlow.
Though Fox Business Network could get better ratings shouting the news over bullhorn in the middle of Manhattan, CNBC can't afford to take the fledging network for granted. After all, Murdoch now has at his disposal some of the best business journalists in the world who could whip his CNBC competitor into shape,.
NOTE: I've done freelance writing for The New York Times.
According to the Wall Street Journal's (subscription required) "Heard on the Street" column, content firms such as Akamai Technologies (NASDAQ: AKAM) and Limelight Networks (NASDAQ: LLNW) are getting hammered, and there appears to be no letup in sight because while online traffic is up 60% a year over the last few years, those firm's shares are expensive and, says S&P's Scott Kessler, "There's plenty more room for [Akamai and Limelight] to fall."
TiVo (NASDAQ: TIVO) is looking at a new revenue source -- being paid to give out market research to advertisers, reported the Wall Street Journal. The company plans to announce today that it will add demographic data, including age, income, marital status and ethnicity, about its viewers.
The Financial Times (subscription required) reported that Ford (NYSE: F) is likely to have to pay any buyer of its Jaguar and Land Rover units because of a $2B pension deficit, according to people close to the situation.
OTHER PAPERS:
The New York Times reported that Con Edison (NYSE: ED) was fined $18M for service disruptions in 2006, including the nine-day blackout in western Queens, NY.
The Associated Press reported that Baidu (NASDAQ: BIDU) is considering listing on the Hong Kong and mainland China stock markets, according to the company's CEO.
If AT&T (NYSE: T) were to acquire EchoStar Communications (NASDAQ: DISH) or DirectTV Group (NYSE: DTV), it's estimated that it would cost between $30B and $40B, and that should concern investors, according to the Wall Street Journal's (subscription required) "Heard on the Street" column.
Verizon Communications (NYSE: VZ) is signing up tens of thousands of new subscribers tor it FiOs high speed TV and Internet service, that uses fiber optics, according to the Wall Street Journal, and the push is threatening the cable industry.
Google (NASDAQ: GOOG) is expected to announce a partnership today with the Nielsen company for measuring how many people are viewing TV ads on a second-by-second basis, reported the New York Times.
Carlos Ghosn, head of Nissan Motor Co (NASDAQ: NSANY) and Renault, continues to be interested in a partnership with a U.S. automaker, but says he 's not now speaking with anyone, reported the Associated Press.
According to antitrust attorneys, a possible merger with a Big Pharma company may result in Biogen Idec (NASDAQ: BIIB) having to divest some overlapping assets or licensing deals in order for the deal to get approval from the Federal Trade Commission, reported the Financial Times "MergerMarket" blog.
The Financial Times reported that Gilat Satellite Networks (NASDAQ: GILT) is working with UBS to evaluate "several strategic and private equity buyers" in buying Gilat, which could get over $500M in a sale, according to people familiar with the matter. Bids for the company are due by the end of the week, said the sources.
OTHER PAPERS:
The New York Times reported that Chinese investment bank Citic Securities is planning to invest $1B in Bear Stearns Companies (NYSE: BSC), according to sources.
The New York Times reported that the head of the Federal Trade Commission, or FTC, has rejected numerous requests to open an investigation into Intel Corporation (NASDAQ: INTC) for anticompetitive conduct, according to inside sources.
The Guardian reported that world oil production peaked last year, and production will fall by half as soon as 2030, according to a report by Germany-based organization Energy Watch Group.
The U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs has decided to sharply limit the use of GlaxoSmithKline's (NYSE: GSK) once-popular drug for Type 2 diabetes, Avandia. The decision is likely to further reduce revenue from Avandia, whose sales have dropped in the U.S. by an estimated 60% in the last five months, reported the New York Times.
Goldman Sachs Group (NYSE: GS) said it would pay $172M for a majority stake in Indian metal castings maker Sigma Electricals and its affiliated companies, reported the Business Standard.
A molecular diagnostic test for HPV developed by Digene, which is now part of Qiagen (NASDAQ: QGEN), has been found to be almost 40% more accurate than traditional cytology in identifying women with advanced cervical disease, according to a report published today in The New England Journal of Medicine.
Under pressure to improve results, AMR Corporation (NYSE: AMR), the parent of American Airlines, will prepay $545M in aircraft debt in the fourth quarter, cutting its annual interest expense by $25M, reported the Wall Street Journal.
AT&T (NYSE: T) and India's Mahindra Telecommunications Private LTD have jointly applied for a unified access service license in India to provide wireless service, according to the Wall Street Journal.
OTHER PAPERS:
The New York Times reported that the tentative contract between General Motors Corporation (NYSE: GM) and the United Auto Workers union would allow GM to close two plants, and possibly shut down several other facilities, according to a copy of the agreement posted on the Internet.
WEBSITES:
According to the BetaNews Web site, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ: MSFT) will reportedly hold an event today to launch the second generation of its Zune music players.
Google Inc's (NASDAQ: GOOG) AdSense system that now reportedly allows people in Malaysia to make payments through Western Union Company (NYSE: WU) could become a "quasi bank," according to Bear Stearns analyst Robert Peck, reported CNet.com.
In December, Siemens AG (NYSE: SI) disclosed questionable transactions in its telecom and power generation businesses totaling about $600M. Now that figure is estimated to be about four times that, according to the Wall Street Journal.
Microsoft Corporation's (NASDAQ: MSFT) new video game Halo 3 has generated about $170M in sales on the first day, according to the Wall Street Journal, setting a new record in the games industry.
Hedge fund Citadel Investment has disclosed it now owns 2.6M shares of Zale Corporation (NYSE: ZLC) for a 5.3 % stake in the company, or more than three times Citadel's position when it was last disclosed on June 30, reported Barron's Online's "Inside Scoop" column.
The Financial Times reported that Google Inc (NASDAQ: GOOG) is planning to expand it's staff by 33%, with most of the hiring in Europe.
OTHER PAPERS:
A U.S. senator is asking Medtronic Inc (NYSE: MDT) to explain payments the company has allegedly made to doctors, reported the New York Times.
WEBSITES:
According to multiple sources, IndyMac Bancorp (NYSE: IMB) has started downsizing its mortgage operations by offering voluntary severance packages to an undisclosed number of employees, reported TheTruthAboutMortgage.com.
Bear Stearns (NYSE: BSC) is recently up $9.76 to $124.16. The NY Times is reporting Warren Buffett & others are looking at a stake in BSC. BAC call option volume of 27,438 contracts compares to put volume of 29,491 contracts. BSC October option implied volatility of 44 is near its 26-week average of 43 according to Track Data, suggesting flat price movement.
Merrill Lynch (NYSE: MER) is recently down $2.04 to $70.08. Goldman Sachs-(NYSE:GS) says "MER appears to be caught in the cross hairs of a number of headwinds in the quarter -- leveraged loan losses, mark to market losses on their CDO exposure, and deteriorating mortgage fundamentals." MER call option volume of 21,310 contracts compares to put volume of 20,870 contracts. MER October option implied volatility of 41 is above its 26-week average of 30 according to Track Data, suggesting larger risk.
Daily options Update is provided by Stock Specialist Paul Foster of theflyonthewall.com.
Cisco Systems Inc (NASDAQ: CSCO) and Haier Group, China's largest manufacturer of appliances, have agreed to work together on home networking in China and international markets, according to the Wall Street Journal.
India's Wipro Limited (NYSE: WIT) has received a five year, $130M contract from British utility Thames Water to provide integrated IT services, reported the Economic Times.
Countrywide Financial Corporation (NYSE: CFC), seeking more deposits to finance mortgage lending, plans to double its number of branch offices offering certificates of deposit and money-market accounts, the Wall Street Journal reported.
Barron's Online's "Inside Scoop" column reported that two Gap Inc (NYSE: GPS) insiders -- former Gap CFO Byron Pollitt Jr and Gap founder Donald Fisher -- have sold shares in the company this month; Pollitt sold his remaining stake of about $9.4M, while Fisher sold shares worth $24.9M.
Time Warner Inc (NYSE: TWX) is "taking a hard look" at spinning off its cable channel business, said the company's CEO, Dick Parsons, reported the Financial Times.
OTHER PAPERS:
The New York Times reported that major American retailers, including Target Corporation (NYSE: TGT), have found more lead-contaminated children's products in their inventories, but have not yet notified the public, according to documents released by Congressional investigators.
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Bear Stearns
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