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Today’s Best Market Rumors (1/21/2010)

247wallst — Thu, 21 Jan 2010 13:45:25 +0000

Updated throughout the day.

AIG (NYSE:AIG) owes many ex-employees retention bonuses (Reuters)

Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) is trying to cut deals to provide book and newspaper content on its new tablet. (NYTimes)

Live Nation (NYSE:LYV) may sell some assets to close a deal to buy TicketMaster (NASDAQ:TKTM) (NYPost)

Douglas A. McIntyre

Posted in Rumors Tagged: AAPL, AIG, LYV, TKTM

Media Digest (10/16/2009) Reuters, WSJ, NYTimes, FT, Bloomberg

247wallst — Fri, 16 Oct 2009 08:04:06 +0000

Reuters: Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) and IBM (NYSE:IBM) posted strong results.

Reuters: Bank of America’s (NYSE:BAC) Lewis will skip 2009 pay.

Reuters: Japan Airlines says bankruptcy is an option to solving its problems.

Reuters: Soros says US economy will drag on world growth.

Reuters: A Congressional committee approved rules for over-the-counter derivatives.

Reuters: Wasserstein’s death will result in a $186 million payment for restricted stock.

Reuters: Goldman Sachs (NYSE:GS) will devote a smaller part of revenue to compensation to help quiet critics.

Reuters: The Fed’s Fisher said rates would stay low and inflation is not a risk.

WSJ: Wal-Mart (NYSE:WMT) will push Amazon’s (NASDAQ:AMZN) book initiative by offering $10 online deals.

WSJ: The US is resisting a merger between Live Nation (NYSE:LYV) and TicketMaster (NASDAQ:TKTM)

WSJ: The loss widened at Sony Ericsson (NYSE:SNE) (NASDAQ:ERIC)

WSJ: Construction may rebound in 2010.

WSJ: The Consumer Product Safety Commission will ask China to pay for some of the repairs to home using drywall made in the country.

WSJ: AMD (NYSE:AMD) posted a small-than-expected loss and Nokia (NYSE:NOK) results were hit by write-offs.

WSJ: China will probably not support sanctions on Iran.

WSJ: AIG (NYSE:AIG) will post a loss on the sale of its Taiwan unit.

WSJ: Profits at Schwab (NASDAQ:SCHW) fell.

WSJ: Profit margin that measures interest income on a bank’s assets was bad at Citigroup (NYSE:C).

WSJ: Gap (NYSE:GPS) will open a store in China.

NYT: Airlines are increasing fares for holiday travel.

NYT: Some analysts do not see the improvement in earnings at IBM and Google as a sign of a tech turnaround.

NYT: Federal jobs programs are missing many states that need them most.

NYT: Ad revenue at McClatchy (NYSE:MNI) declined.

FT: The Treasury stopped short of saying China manipulates its currency

Bloomberg: LBOs are making a comeback cutting financing costs for Blackstone (NYSE:BX).

Douglas A. McIntyre

Posted in Press Digest Tagged: AIG, AMD, AMZN, BAC, BX, CPS, ERIC, GOOG, GS, IBM, LYV, MNI, NOK, SCHW, SNE, TKTM, WMT

Today’s Best Market Rumors (10/9/2009)

247wallst — Fri, 09 Oct 2009 13:19:35 +0000

Updated throughout the day.

Updated 2:00 PM EST: American Superconductor Corporation (NASDAQ: AMSC) has traded higher all day and some are noting takeover chatter on this one. We have yet to see anything credible, but this is up close to 4% at $32.60.

Updated 11:57 AM EST McGraw-Hill (NYSE:MHP) may be close to selling BusinessWeek and would only keep the brand and website. All editor staff members would be let go. (WWD)

Updated 11.47 AM EST Riverbed (NASDAQ:RVBD) may be a takeover target for Juniper (NASDAQ:JNPR) (Barron’s )

Updated 11.44 AM EST GE (NYSE:GE) and Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) are still in talks about NBCU with a target for a decision in three weeks. (CNBC)

Update 11:00… Sequenom Inc. (NASDAQ: SQNM) is up another 9% today at $3.64. The trader chat is that management and employees may have had no wrongdoing in the botched test data. This is also not the first day of this, and we are not prepared to pan it or endorse it as it seems too soon.

Real estate developer Young Woo stands to make millions off his purchase of the AIG (NSYE:AIG) building (TheDeal)

The FDIC is questioning the results of a review of the Citigroup (NYSE:C) management team. (WSJ)

Chinese firm Sichuan Tengzhong could buy Hummer from GM as early as today (MarketWatch)

Vivendi will sell its 20% of NBCU, probably to GE (NYSE:GE) (The Street)

Sales of the Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) iPhone and iPod are causing global flash memory shortages. (AppleInsider)

Charges against two former Bear Stearns executives could hurt JPMorgan’s (NYSE:JPM) bottom line (Fortune)

IRS workers may have had a role in questionable refunds. (Forbes)

The US may start an antitrust probe into the Live Nation (LYV) merger with TicketMaster (TKTM) (DealBook)

Douglas A. McIntyre

Posted in General, Rumors Tagged: AIG, C, CMCSA, GE, JPM, LYV, SQNM, TKTM

Media Digest 10/8/2009 Reuters, WSJ, NYTimes, FT, Bloomberg

247wallst — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 07:59:57 +0000

Reuters: GM says most of its cost cutting is done and its sales chief left.

Reuters: Spot gold hit a record above $1,050.

Reuters: The Senate healthcare bill weighs in at $829 billion.

Reuters: Dell (NASDAQ:DELL) plans its first smartphone to be launched with AT&T (NYSE:T) using the Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) Android OS

Reuters: Alcoa (NYSE:AA) had a surprise quarterly profit.

Reuters: ECB will hold rates and cautioned on the recovery.

Reuters: The Justice Department opened an IBM (NYSE:IBM) antitrust probe.

Reuters: BlackRock (NYSE:BLK) is competing for a role in rating risk.

Reuters: “Dark pools” of capital are outpacing regulation according to experts.

Reuters: As bonds improve Wall St. is hiring some fixed income people back.

Reuters: Starbucks (NASDAQ:SBUX) sued an executive who left for Dunkin’ Donuts.

WSJ: Consumer credit outstanding dropped 12% in August, a trend that could hurt the recovery.

WSJ: The UK is blocking to stop the TicketMaster (NASDAQ:TKTM) buyout of Live Nation (NYSE:LYV).

WSJ: Retail vacancies hit 20-year highs.

WSJ: The management at Citigroup (NYSE:C) got good reviews from an outside consulting firm.

WSJ: The FCC is eying airwave growth for the cellular industry.

WSJ: The EU says it can settle the Microsoft (NASDAQ:MSFT) antitrust case by year end.

WSJ: Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) will submit an amended digital book pact.

WSJ: Qualcomm (NASDAQ:QCOM) unveiled a pocket TV player.

WSJ: HSBC (NYSE:HBC) is interested in buying certain RBC assets.

WSJ: Regulators are worried that laws regulating over the counter derivatives are too lax.

WSJ: Banks will probably report shrinking earnings and higher loan losses for last quarter.

WSJ: An offering of $20 billion in 10-year Treasuries did well.

WSJ: The new Skype (NASDAQ:EBAY) application for the Apple (NASDAQ:AAPL) could hurt AT&T (NYSE:T) wireless income.

WSJ: Ford (NYSE:F) is stepping up its ad campaign.

NYT: A large shareholder wants Bank of America (NYSE:BAC) to replace its CEO with an outsider.

FT; Obama is under pressure on the falling dollar.

Bloomberg: Earnings estimates for Deutsche Bank (NYSE:DB) and Credit Suisse (NYSE:CS) were raised by Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS).

Douglas A. McIntyre

Posted in Press Digest Tagged: AA, AAPL, BAC, BLK, C, CS, DB, DELL, EBAY, F, GOOG, HBC, IBM, LYV, MS, MSFT, QCOM, SBUX, T, TKTM

Top Analyst Upgrades (ADPI, EXP, GE, GSM, IHG, ERIC, PMT, RHT, TKTM, VMW)

247wallst — Tue, 08 Sep 2009 12:09:17 +0000

These are some of the top early morning analyst upgrades and positive research calls we have seen from Wall Street early this Tuesday morning:

American Dental (ADPI) Started as Outperform at Robert W. Baird.
Eagle Materials (EXP) Raised to Neutral at JPMorgan.
General Electric (GE) raised to Overweight at JPMorgan.
Globe Specialty Metals (GSM) Started as Buy at Jefferies & Co.
Intercontinental Hotels Group (IHG) Raised to Outperform at Credit Suisse.
LM Ericsson (ERIC) Raised to Hold from Sell at Deutsche Bank.
PennyMac Mortgage (PMT) STarted as Buy at Deutsche Bank.
Red Hat (RHT) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.
Ticketmaster (TKTM) Raised to Overweight at Thomas Weisel.
VMware (VMW) Raised to Buy at Goldman Sachs.

JON C. OGG

Posted in Analyst Calls Tagged: ADPI, ERIC, EXP, GE, GSM, IHG, PMT, RHT, TKTM, VMW

MySpace Gobbles iLike for Music (NWS, TKTM)

247wallst — Wed, 19 Aug 2009 19:44:29 +0000

News Corp. (NASDAQ: NWS), via the MySpace unit, has announced that it is acquiring a social music discovery service called iLike. Financial terms were not disclosed, but iLike’s co-founders and twin brothers Ali and Hadi Partovi and Chief Technology Officer Nat Brown will remain with the company. iLike was founded in 2006 and has become one of the more popular widgets on social sites.

The company even has a widget on Facebook and has a music download offering as well. If you go to the site, iLike says “join over 50 million music lovers across Facebook, Bebo, Orkut, hi5, and Google.” The press release notes that this is the largest music application across all social networks with 55 million total users and 1.5 billion monthly impressions.

Whether or not the company will get to keep its widget app on MySpace’s rivals through time is yet to be seen.

We saw a figure of $20 million over at AllThingsDigital this week as the purchase price, but that figure has not been confirmed. Our data shows that Ticketmaster Entertainment, Inc. (NASDAQ: TKTM) also took a 25% stake in iLike via a prior investment.

JON C. OGG
August 19, 2009

Posted in Entertainment, Internet, Media, Mergers and Buy Outs Tagged: NWS, TKTM

Media Digest 10/23/2008 Reuters, WSJ, NYTimes, FT, Bloomberg

247wallst — Thu, 23 Oct 2008 03:01:23 +0000

According to Reuters, former Citigroup (C) CEO Sandy Weill may start a fund to invest in distressed financial companies.

Reuters writes that Amazon (AMZN) turned in a weak forecast hurting its stock.

Reuters reports that weak economic data in Japan lead to more recession fears

Reuters reports that GM (GM) and Chrysler may have few options if their merger talks fail.

Reuters reports that banks in China are posting slower growth and more problem loans.

Reuters writes that Baidu’s (BIDU) net was up 91%, helped by the Olympics.

Reuters reports that results from Travelers (TRV) pleased investors while Allstate (ALL) posted a loss.

Reuters reports that oil companies are taking a cautious approach to 2009 as prices fall.

Reuters reports that Pulte (PHM) reported a narrower loss but said the housing market was getting worse.

The Wall Street Journal reports that the administration is working on a $40 billion bill to help homeowners facing foreclosure.

The Wall Street Journal reports that some Bain Capital investments have lost a significant part of their values.

The Wall Street Journal writes that Sumner Redstone said he would not sell CBS (CBS) or Viacom (VIA).

The Wall Street Journal reports that the net at Boeing (BA) was hurt by its striking machinists’ union.

The Wall Street Journal reports that CEOs of 175 large companies have seen their net worths fall a total of over $42 billion.

The Wall Street Journal writes that credit card losses will get worse next year.

The Wall Street Journal reported that layoffs rose sharply in September.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Credit Suisse (CS) results swung to a loss.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Calpers may have to tap California public employers to cover heavy losses.

The Wall Street Journal reports that lower oil prices may help companies in the industry negotiate drilling rights in foreign countries.

The Wall Street Journal reports that the Cerberus bet on auto companies is proving costly.

The Wall Street Journal reports that AIG (AIG) has agreed to freeze executive payouts.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Goldman Sachs (GS) will cut 10% of its jobs.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Microsoft (MSFT) is sending software to China the will affect the PCs of pirates.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Samsung has reached a deal with NetFlix (NFLX) that will allow for delivery of high-def films over the internet.

The Wall Street Journal reports that the CEO of Moody’s (MCO) said the firm’s profit push might hurt the quality of its earnings.

The Wall Street Journal reports that crude hit a 16-month low.

The Wall Street Journal report that TicketMaster (TKTM) will buy artist-management company Front Line

The Wall Street Journal reports that restaurant companies Ponderosa and Bonanza filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

The Wall Street Journal report that Merck (MRK) will cut jobs after posting losses.

The Wall Street Journal reports that EMC’s (EMC) data storage business sales slowed.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Comcast (CMCSA) will increase broadband speeds to better compete with phone companies.

The New York Times reports that hedge funds are facing an unprecedented shakeout.

The New York Times reports that Sony (SNE) cut its profit forecasts.

The New York Times reports that Bush called a 20-nation summit on the economy.

The New York Times reports that OPEC met with the president of Russia but got no promises on oil supplies.

The New York Times reports that some members of Congress want the government bailout to help people get car loans.

The FT reports that the capital injection from the Treasury may increase consolidation among banks.

Bloomberg writes that the Fed may lower rates to 1% and increase its holdings of mortgage bonds to lower costs for homebuyers.

Douglas A. McIntyre

Posted in Press Digest Tagged: AIG, ALL, AMZN, BA, BIDU, C, CBS, CMCSA, CS, EMC, GM, GS, MCO, MRK, MSFT, NFLX, SNE, TKTM, TVL, VIA

IAC/Interactive’s Do or Die Date Has Come (IACI, IACID, HSNI, IILG, TKTM, TREE)

247wallst — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 07:31:31 +0000

Today marks the break-up for IAC/Interactive, which trades asunder the IACI and IACID tickers after the August 11, 2008 record date. IAC/Interactive is going to begin trading on a post-split basis to reflect the break-up today. The company’s spin-off symbols are as follows:

"HSNI" for HSN, the Home Shopping Network. This unit also owns andoperates the Cornerstone Brands portfolio of catalogs and relatedwebsites, including Frontgate, Ballard Designs, Garnet Hill,Smith+Noble, The Territory Ahead, TravelSmith and Improvements, as wellas a limited number of retail stores.
"IILG" for Interval Leisure Group, its travel and vacation network group of more than 2,400 resorts in 75 countries.
"TKTM" for Ticketmaster, its live event ticketing and marketing operation spin-off.
"TREE" for Tree.com, its lending and real estate business spin-off withunits such as LendingTree.com, RealEstate.com, REALTORS, and more.

Where these open and where they trade initially is anyone’s guess.Many of the units are currently counted as victims of economicweakness, the credit crunch, and other woes. But this has been BarryDiller’s exit plan for months at IAC/Interactive.

Jon C. Ogg
August 21, 2008