Roubini and Rosner on Charlie Rose 9/15
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
One of the reason the level of fear was so high this morning was because of Charlie Rose’s show last night.
It was a good one, and featured Nouriel and Josh Rosner among others. Check it out:
Rupert Murdoch Chases the Zeitgeist
Tuesday, September 02, 2008
The media sector has taken as many lumps as any over the past few months. There are few places to hide in the advertising slowdown, and the selloff has finally swallowed the stock of News Corp. (NWS-NYSE).
I was on board with Buysider Larry Haverty when he pointed out in February that News Corp was cheap, but we both got the direction of the stock wrong as the black hole swallowing all print operations takes down Murdoch:
February 5th 2008
``They did $1.8 billion in operating cash flow in the quarter,’’ said Haverty, helps manage $30 billion in assets, including almost 15 million News Corp. shares. ``Five years ago they only did $839 million. So this company has grown very rapidly. The stock has gotten really very, very little respect.
``It’s, among media companies, the fastest-growing company in terms of revenue and operating profit,’’ Haverty said in an interview with Bloomberg Radio. ``Most of this has been organic, although Rupert has hurt the multiple by making acquisitions which have turned out to be very strategically effective.
``This company is firing on all cylinders. The Fox entities in film production and cable television and the stations are just doing fabulously. They raised their guidance, they collected $250 million on the Super Bowl.’’
The stock is attractive at around 7.5 times cash flow, he said. ``This looks like a terrific situation here, and clearly the best of the bunch in terms of the large media companies.’ Bloomberg
News Corp's stock has played a brutal game of catching up to its peers as it ticked down to its recent 52-week lows. But if you are counting on Rupert Murdoch to pull a rabbit our of his hat and get the stock back to $20, you might want to read Michael Wolff's profile of Murdoch in Vanity Fair.
Sarah Palin Wants to Drill Drill Drill
Friday, August 29, 2008
Well this is a rather remarkable turn of events..although the selection of Sarah Palin is not a surprise to everyone.
Sarah Palin is not related to natural gas trader Brian Hunter, although they might have been separated at birth. The similarities to the faux Hunter are striking…
Palin made an appearance on Larry Kudlow’s CNBC show in late June...you can size her up, although the video is grainy.
She might be President some day given McCain’s advanced age....I am not sure if this is a master stroke or disaster.
CNBC-First In Business Porn
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
CNBC's website has made great strides since bringing in Allen Wastler as Managing Editor. But the written word and video content was not exactly the only reason to visit..at least for lonely heart Wall Street Warriors whose charms have been dulled thanks to cash flow issues.
The channel has been running provocative advertising that the moral majority would certainly describe as porn, and CNBC has reluctantly put an end to the practice before Jeff Zucker could make an appearance taking credit for the uptick in site visits and advertising revenue.
Allen Wastler issued an insincere apology that is not funny given CNBC's past brushes with harassment charges:
Dear Readers,
Sorry about the racy dating ads we've had on our site lately.
You know ... the ones showing women unbuttoning sweaters and listing mileage to ladies looking for a date. And the others showing come-hither countenances and blaring "NO CREDIT CARD REQUIRED." ("What?" chimed one of our reporters, "you just leave it on the dresser?")
These ads aren't exactly porn, but they cross the business journalism decorum code, I believe.
