http://online.wsj.com/article/BT-CO-20091209-708702.html
(Updates with additional comments from the Disney CEO.) By Nat Worden
Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Robert Iger, chief executive with The Walt Disney Co. (DIS), said Wednesday that the advertising market is improving but "visibility isn't all that great."
At an investor conference in New York City, Iger echoed comments made by CBS Corp.'s (CBS) Les Moonves a day earlier, saying that fourth-quarter advertising at the ABC Broadcasting network in the so-called scatter market is up about 25% from the spring selling season, known as the upfront.
But Iger said deals are being done for the near term, and advertisers remain unwilling to commit to longer-term buys, which suggests that some uneasiness remains about the direction of the economy.
Iger said continued ratings declines at the company's broadcast network are "not an inevitability." He believes better programming can halt the decline, and that a drop-off in audience for "Dancing With The Stars" has been a particular disappointment this season that has contributed to an overall ratings downtick.
Meanwhile, Iger said ABC Broadcasting faces some major negotiations with pay-TV operators in 2010, and he expects the company to focus more on getting paid specifically for its broadcast programming. The broadcast TV industry is in the process of trying to get paid more in affiliate fees on par with their cable network counterparts as uncertainty grows about the future of the ad-supported business.
At Disney's theme parks business, Iger said many consumers are unwilling to make vacation plans far in advance. That leaves Disney with less ability to predict the performance of its parks division, but Iger said bookings and attendance are "reasonably OK," thanks largely to pricing promotions that the company launched to spur demand amid the slowdown in consumer spending.
"It would be premature for us to say that we're seeing a strong rebound," said Iger.
He said last year's fourth-quarter at the theme parks division was relatively healthy despite the onset of the global financial crisis because many consumers had already booked their vacations well in advance of the market turmoil. This year, he said, that is not the case.
"From a comparison perspective, you're going to have some difficult comparisons," said Iger.
At the company's film division, Iger said the decline in DVD sales remains a problem that he expects to continue even as the economy recovers.
"The downturn in the economy has some impact on DVDs, but it goes way beyond that," said Iger, citing "huge competition in the marketplace for people's time and money when it comes to entertainment" from new forms of digital media.
"We see that trend continuing regardless of the economy," said Iger. "We don't see that trend slowing down."
Iger said the company's response to the down-trend in the film studio business starts with getting things right creatively.
"On the live-action front, we had an awful year," said Iger.
Secondly, he said the company has to continue reducing costs in the business, both in producing and marketing films. Iger said Disney will be more conservative in investing in films than it has been, and the company will focus more on Disney-branded films, which generate better returns for the company than non-Disney films.
"It's definitely a business that is more challenging today than it has been in a long, long time, and it calls for swift and significant action," said Iger.
-By Nat Worden, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2472; nat.worden@dowjones.com
Showing posts with label Sector-Media. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sector-Media. Show all posts
12.09.2009
9.25.2009
Thomson Reuters to Acquire Hugin Group
Posted by mincho2008
Thursday, 24 September 2009
Thomson Reuters today announced that it has signed an agreement to acquire Hugin Group BV from NYSE Euronext. Thomson Reuters proposed acquisition of Hugin is well aligned with its strategy to provide its corporate clients with effective decision making tools across the investor relations and public relations workflows. As part of the agreement, Thomson Reuters and NYSE Euronext will expand their strategic partnership toward offering value-added services to the issuer community.
=> information is everything only if one gives you direction and instruction to great decision making. This is what kind of service the world is looking for.
Since its start in Oslo, Norway in 1995, Hugin has built its position as the leading pan-European provider of investor relations and press distribution services and it currently helps over 1,700 companies in Europe to meet their communications and disclosure obligations. In recent years, Hugin has introduced solutions for the newly implemented EU regulatory framework and continues to develop innovative technology and workflow solutions for IR and PR professionals for the global market.
The transaction is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2009, subject to customary regulatory approvals. Terms were not disclosed.
About Hugin Group BV
Hugin Group is the leading pan-European provider of innovative services and professional support for connecting communication professionals with their target audiences. At the same time, Hugin ensures compliance with market authorities' regulations. From its start in 1995, Hugin has pioneered the regulatory and news distribution service industry, developing methods driving best practice. Hugin helps companies with their complete distribution and compliance needs. Hugin's distribution channels connect companies directly to hundreds of thousands of journalists, analysts, institutional investors and their specific stakeholders. Hugin Group is the favored partner of Investor Relations and Public Relations Officers, offering a full range of services including: financial, regulatory and media news distribution, online services, broadcast services and client services. Hugin Group today forms an international group present in 11 countries through 12 offices in Belgium, France, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland, The Netherlands and The United Kingdom. Hugin solution is technically integrated to 27 stock exchanges in 15 markets. Hugin has more than 1700 clients in 26 countries. For more information, go to www.hugingroup.com
Thursday, 24 September 2009
Thomson Reuters today announced that it has signed an agreement to acquire Hugin Group BV from NYSE Euronext. Thomson Reuters proposed acquisition of Hugin is well aligned with its strategy to provide its corporate clients with effective decision making tools across the investor relations and public relations workflows. As part of the agreement, Thomson Reuters and NYSE Euronext will expand their strategic partnership toward offering value-added services to the issuer community.
=> information is everything only if one gives you direction and instruction to great decision making. This is what kind of service the world is looking for.
Since its start in Oslo, Norway in 1995, Hugin has built its position as the leading pan-European provider of investor relations and press distribution services and it currently helps over 1,700 companies in Europe to meet their communications and disclosure obligations. In recent years, Hugin has introduced solutions for the newly implemented EU regulatory framework and continues to develop innovative technology and workflow solutions for IR and PR professionals for the global market.
The transaction is expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2009, subject to customary regulatory approvals. Terms were not disclosed.
About Hugin Group BV
Hugin Group is the leading pan-European provider of innovative services and professional support for connecting communication professionals with their target audiences. At the same time, Hugin ensures compliance with market authorities' regulations. From its start in 1995, Hugin has pioneered the regulatory and news distribution service industry, developing methods driving best practice. Hugin helps companies with their complete distribution and compliance needs. Hugin's distribution channels connect companies directly to hundreds of thousands of journalists, analysts, institutional investors and their specific stakeholders. Hugin Group is the favored partner of Investor Relations and Public Relations Officers, offering a full range of services including: financial, regulatory and media news distribution, online services, broadcast services and client services. Hugin Group today forms an international group present in 11 countries through 12 offices in Belgium, France, Denmark, Finland, Germany, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Sweden, Switzerland, The Netherlands and The United Kingdom. Hugin solution is technically integrated to 27 stock exchanges in 15 markets. Hugin has more than 1700 clients in 26 countries. For more information, go to www.hugingroup.com
9.16.2009
Thomson Reuters Tops Asia Risk Technology Rankings
http://home.globalcustodian.com/news/Technology/Thomson-Reuters-Tops-Asia-Risk-Technology-Rankings-/35434
Thomson Reuters has retained its leading position as the number one trading and risk management solution provider according to Asia Risk’s technology rankings for 2009. Thomson Reuters garnered strong support for its risk management solutions across ...
Thomson Reuters has retained its leading position as the number one trading and risk management solution provider according to Asia Risk’s technology rankings for 2009. Thomson Reuters garnered strong support for its risk management solutions across ...
9.04.2009
Moody's outlook
By Kerry Grace Benn DOW JONES NEWSWIRES
NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Shares of Moody's Corp. (MCO) and McGraw-Hill Cos. (MHP) remain under a cloud after bad news this week, though analysts say they see the slide as a buying opportunity.
The shares' decline comes after an unfavorable court ruling this week versus the companies' ratings agencies and Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRKA) pared its stake in Moody's for the second time since late July.
Analysts at Piper Jaffray said in a note to clients that the controversy could be an opportunity, adding their enthusiasm for the shares of both companies was based on rebounding credit-market issuance volumes, which drive revenue and earnings; easing regulatory worries; their belief that litigation risk "will prove manageable" and appealing valuations.
Moody's shares were up 10 cents at $24.36 in recent trading after losing 7.1% Thursday, while McGraw-Hill's were up 22 cents at $29.23 after dropping 10% Thursday. In the last month, the stocks are off 2.9% and 6%, respectively.
A federal judge ruled the ratings agencies, Moody's Investors Service and McGraw-Hill's Standard & Poor's Ratings Services, must defend a lawsuit over the collapse of a $5.86 billion structured investment vehicle in 2007. The judge threw out 10 of the 11 claims against the companies.
The firms had long argued that their ratings of securities were constitutionally protected opinion. But a federal judge ruled Wednesday that the ratings of certain securities - those that are distributed to a limited number of investors - don't deserve the same free-speech protection as more general ratings of corporate bonds that were widely disseminated.
The ruling is expected to spur more lawsuits and could apply to structured investment vehicles once valued as high as $400 billion.
Benchmark Co. analyst Edward Atorino said it's unfortunate the ruling happened, as business is getting better faster than expected in terms of new bond issuance for the two ratings agencies. But one claim going forward "really casts a pall over the stocks," he said.
Atorino said the companies in the past have always managed to successfully defend themselves against all kinds of charges, adding he thinks it's pretty difficult to prove fraud in cases like this one. They have been able to convince courts and juries that they provide opinions and aren't telling people to buy or predicting value, he said.
In a separate note, Piper Jaffray said that contrary to the market's negative response, "we believe the decision has little implication for the eventual outcome of the case or the ability of the rating agencies to rely on freedom-of-speech defense in ongoing litigation." The firm reiterated its overweight rating on both companies and said it would use the weakness to buy shares.
John Eade, an analyst at Argus Research Co. who only covers McGraw-Hill, said he thinks McGraw-Hill and Moody's will likely win the cases for First Amendment reasons and because the business "has been basically approved by Congress and integrated into the financial system over the past few decades to the point where certain pension funds are required to buy rated bonds."
He added he doesn't think the companies will be found guilty, but said the business model could change in two ways - first with the addition of new competitors if the government makes it easier for firms to achieve the Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organization status required to become a ratings agency, giving investors more choice.
The second possible change could be asking investment managers to pay for the ratings service - if that occurred, Eade said, the investors might have a better case to sue if they thought they had gotten bad advice. "I don't know how the government could mandate that," he said.
Meanwhile, Berkshire Hathaway sold 794,388 Moody's shares this week, or about 0.3% of the company's outstanding shares, at prices from $26.30 to $27.74. Buffett has weathered criticism in the past year for his stake in Moody's, because Moody's Investors Service is one of the ratings agencies that has been criticized for the top grades it had issued to mortgage-backed securities that later underperformed.
Buffett cut his Moody's stake by 8 million shares in mid-July, reducing his stake to about 40 million shares. He said at the time that he might decide to sell more shares.
-By Kerry Grace Benn, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2353; kerry.benn@dowjones.com
Bilibala comments:
After the financial crisis, the market actually need more (instead of less) consultant and credit rating service to make sure an particular fixed income product or an corpration should be.
So Moody and McGraw-Hill should be able to get more business than ever in future.
However, in short term, given the financial market is still in the "de-leveaging" stage (at least less underwriting activities is done.) So may be for the next few years, revenue growth will still under pressure.
Warren Buffett's move is understandable, he reduce sake in Moody down below 20% so that he doesn't have to use equity method to report Moody's earning in Berkshire Hathaway's book. It will help him to smooth the bottom line to be less volatile.
NEW YORK (Dow Jones)--Shares of Moody's Corp. (MCO) and McGraw-Hill Cos. (MHP) remain under a cloud after bad news this week, though analysts say they see the slide as a buying opportunity.
The shares' decline comes after an unfavorable court ruling this week versus the companies' ratings agencies and Warren Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (BRKA) pared its stake in Moody's for the second time since late July.
Analysts at Piper Jaffray said in a note to clients that the controversy could be an opportunity, adding their enthusiasm for the shares of both companies was based on rebounding credit-market issuance volumes, which drive revenue and earnings; easing regulatory worries; their belief that litigation risk "will prove manageable" and appealing valuations.
Moody's shares were up 10 cents at $24.36 in recent trading after losing 7.1% Thursday, while McGraw-Hill's were up 22 cents at $29.23 after dropping 10% Thursday. In the last month, the stocks are off 2.9% and 6%, respectively.
A federal judge ruled the ratings agencies, Moody's Investors Service and McGraw-Hill's Standard & Poor's Ratings Services, must defend a lawsuit over the collapse of a $5.86 billion structured investment vehicle in 2007. The judge threw out 10 of the 11 claims against the companies.
The firms had long argued that their ratings of securities were constitutionally protected opinion. But a federal judge ruled Wednesday that the ratings of certain securities - those that are distributed to a limited number of investors - don't deserve the same free-speech protection as more general ratings of corporate bonds that were widely disseminated.
The ruling is expected to spur more lawsuits and could apply to structured investment vehicles once valued as high as $400 billion.
Benchmark Co. analyst Edward Atorino said it's unfortunate the ruling happened, as business is getting better faster than expected in terms of new bond issuance for the two ratings agencies. But one claim going forward "really casts a pall over the stocks," he said.
Atorino said the companies in the past have always managed to successfully defend themselves against all kinds of charges, adding he thinks it's pretty difficult to prove fraud in cases like this one. They have been able to convince courts and juries that they provide opinions and aren't telling people to buy or predicting value, he said.
In a separate note, Piper Jaffray said that contrary to the market's negative response, "we believe the decision has little implication for the eventual outcome of the case or the ability of the rating agencies to rely on freedom-of-speech defense in ongoing litigation." The firm reiterated its overweight rating on both companies and said it would use the weakness to buy shares.
John Eade, an analyst at Argus Research Co. who only covers McGraw-Hill, said he thinks McGraw-Hill and Moody's will likely win the cases for First Amendment reasons and because the business "has been basically approved by Congress and integrated into the financial system over the past few decades to the point where certain pension funds are required to buy rated bonds."
He added he doesn't think the companies will be found guilty, but said the business model could change in two ways - first with the addition of new competitors if the government makes it easier for firms to achieve the Nationally Recognized Statistical Rating Organization status required to become a ratings agency, giving investors more choice.
The second possible change could be asking investment managers to pay for the ratings service - if that occurred, Eade said, the investors might have a better case to sue if they thought they had gotten bad advice. "I don't know how the government could mandate that," he said.
Meanwhile, Berkshire Hathaway sold 794,388 Moody's shares this week, or about 0.3% of the company's outstanding shares, at prices from $26.30 to $27.74. Buffett has weathered criticism in the past year for his stake in Moody's, because Moody's Investors Service is one of the ratings agencies that has been criticized for the top grades it had issued to mortgage-backed securities that later underperformed.
Buffett cut his Moody's stake by 8 million shares in mid-July, reducing his stake to about 40 million shares. He said at the time that he might decide to sell more shares.
-By Kerry Grace Benn, Dow Jones Newswires; 212-416-2353; kerry.benn@dowjones.com
Bilibala comments:
After the financial crisis, the market actually need more (instead of less) consultant and credit rating service to make sure an particular fixed income product or an corpration should be.
So Moody and McGraw-Hill should be able to get more business than ever in future.
However, in short term, given the financial market is still in the "de-leveaging" stage (at least less underwriting activities is done.) So may be for the next few years, revenue growth will still under pressure.
Warren Buffett's move is understandable, he reduce sake in Moody down below 20% so that he doesn't have to use equity method to report Moody's earning in Berkshire Hathaway's book. It will help him to smooth the bottom line to be less volatile.
9.03.2009
Thomson Reuters makes cuts in corporate advisory services
Sep 02, 2009
New York strategic research and perception experts to be laid off
Thomson Reuters yesterday told its New York-based strategic research and perception teams they are being cut, according to people familiar with the situation.
Jeff Shacket, VP of corporate advisory services, and around nine people reporting to him are leaving, including VP Kara Newman, who heads up strategic research, and senior director Rob Nagle, head of the perception team.
They were informed Tuesday by Bill Haney, Thomson Reuters’ London-based global head of investor relations services.
IR service providers have been put under pressure by the global financial downturn, which has led to trimmed corporate IR budgets – as reported in a recent benchmarking study by the research team being eliminated.
The strategic research team’s output includes research reports and other content for IRHub, an education and networking site for Thomson ONE Investor Relations clients. Though not a profit center, it has been viewed as a competitive differentiator.
By contrast, the perception team, which surveys investors on behalf of corporate clients, is a revenue generator. Nagle formerly worked at LaBranche & Co, the NYSE specialist, helping provide market intelligence to listed companies.
Other strategic research experts to be pushed out include Glenn Curtis, a regular industry commentator, and Arzu Cevik, who authored an article in the August issue of IR magazine, ‘The case of the disappearing analysts’.
According to Newman’s personal website, she has other irons in the fire. She is the ‘High Spirits’ columnist for Chile Pepper magazine and a contributor to Wine Enthusiast and the San Francisco Chronicle. An announcement on her website says her first book, Spice & Ice, about spicy cocktails, will be published by Chronicle Books in November.
A spokesman for Thomson Reuters declined to comment on the layoffs. ‘We don’t comment on personnel changes,’ he wrote in an email. ‘That said, we continue to invest in our growing IR business in terms of our products, services and people. With that, we continue to evolve our operations to ensure we are aligned with our clients’ evolving needs.’By Neil Stewart
Bilibala comments:Human resource is the most important assets of Thomas Reuters, even though Corp Advisory is not the major segment that generate profit for the corporation.
Senior management team should think it twice before they take actions. I mean, the economic downturn is almost over (even though when will it fully recover is still full of uncertainty), but laid off simply because of this may not be a good & impressive reason.
2.06.2009
Corp info: Disneyland 2008 results
1Q09 revenue down 8% and net income down 39%. Huge profit reduction mainly on studio entertainment sector (mainly due to unbeatable success of the High School Musical 2 in 2007). If we take away this impact, and non-recurring items like $40M fuel hedge cost and $60M bad debt write off. The adjusted result was not looking too bad.
As Warren Buffet said, "when you think about 20th FOX, or Universal Network, nothing will come to u mind, but with Disney, everyone will think of something good."
If any company or any product which will give u a memory about happy, joy, satisfy whenever u think about it. Then you may think about whether you should invest in such company.
In short run, the revenue may go down due to weak economy and weak advertisement sales.
In long run, it also face the challenge such as tradition broadcasting vs online, buying DVD vs watch on youtube/download issues.
Future success will rely on whether Disney can turn her business into the digital world instead of keep fighting on copy right or illegal issues.
As Warren Buffet said, "when you think about 20th FOX, or Universal Network, nothing will come to u mind, but with Disney, everyone will think of something good."
If any company or any product which will give u a memory about happy, joy, satisfy whenever u think about it. Then you may think about whether you should invest in such company.
In short run, the revenue may go down due to weak economy and weak advertisement sales.
In long run, it also face the challenge such as tradition broadcasting vs online, buying DVD vs watch on youtube/download issues.
Future success will rely on whether Disney can turn her business into the digital world instead of keep fighting on copy right or illegal issues.
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