Golden Globes flop could tarnish Chinese bidders 21 Feb 2017 Officials torpedoed Dalian Wanda's $1 bln bid for Golden Globes producer Dick Clark, a Hollywood website says. Reining in Wang Jianlin may be diplomatically astute and economically prudent, but if China's richest man can't get deals done, it's a bad sign for other Chinese buyers.
Blackstone now stronger against boss’s party jinx 13 Feb 2017 Steve Schwarzman's lavish 60th birthday in 2007 marked an LBO peak, and the business hit the skids as his firm went public. His star-studded 70th – where Gwen Stefani replaced Rod Stewart a decade ago – has leverage creeping up again, but today's Blackstone is a tougher beast.
Review: Defending America against the Fed 10 Feb 2017 A new book by Danielle DiMartino Booth, an adviser to ex-Fed hawk Richard Fisher, castigates the U.S. central bank's Ivy League groupthink and failure to change course since the crisis. Though Booth has a point, Janet Yellen and her colleagues aren't as omnipotent as she implies.
Michael Dell holds good hand in KKR poker game 10 Feb 2017 The IT entrepreneur has built up a 10 percent stake in German consumer research group GfK. It's a punt that a tender offer by private equity group KKR will succeed, paving the way for a much-needed restructuring. For all the risks, Dell has a decent chance of tripling his money.
Twitter CEO’s excuses look like fake news 9 Feb 2017 Donald Trump's preferred social-media platform posted a feeble 1 pct increase in Q4 sales. Boss Jack Dorsey, also CEO of Square, said ad revenue would lag user growth, but Twitter only added 4 pct more monthly users. If the two-timing boss is giving his all, it's not enough.
Publicis’ Levy pulls plug on heir’s kitchen sink 9 Feb 2017 The French ad giant announced a 1.4 bln euro digital writedown and shrinking fourth-quarter organic growth. New boss Arthur Sadoun thus has less scope to open his tenure with a big dump of bad news. Current CEO Maurice Levy remaining as chair won’t make that any easier, anyway.
Winning with sports on TV becomes tougher game 8 Feb 2017 Fox and Disney blamed the price of broadcasting basketball, baseball and football for weighing down profit. The NFL and other leagues also are on the hunt for new sources of revenue, in another sign of how the television business model is no longer the slam dunk it once was.
Disney boss risks overstaying his welcome 6 Feb 2017 Bob Iger may delay ending his 12-year reign atop the House of Mouse, a sign the firm has failed to find an heir since Tom Staggs left last year. CEO longevity has its uses. But as Lehman's Dick Fuld and Iger predecessor Michael Eisner can attest, clinging to power can get messy.
Review: The hollow promise of ending GDP worship 3 Feb 2017 Switching from the touchstone of economics to broader measures of value would be more truthful and could make the world a fairer place, Lorenzo Fioramonti argues. But his optimistic vision overlooks the inevitability of growth and integration – and humans' competitive drive.
Super Bowl 51 may be defensive, political football 3 Feb 2017 The championship game on Sunday caps a tough year for the league. Though some 100 mln people are expected to tune in, TV ratings have been down all year. Add sponsors tapping into post-election rancor and a president with an old grudge against the NFL and it could be brutal.
CBS scrubs up with messy radio deal 2 Feb 2017 The $30 bln U.S. TV broadcaster has at last found a way to offload its storied but unwanted audio business. It's a rare and complicated two-step with smaller rival Entercom. If it works, CBS boss Les Moonves should be better positioned to join the bigger wave of media M&A.
China-U.S. movies can breach great wall of doubt 1 Feb 2017 A joint production starring Matt Damon has underwhelmed critics. Yet Hollywood's partnership with China will accelerate regardless. The combination of the People's Republic's booming box office and Tinseltown's movie-making expertise suggest investments will pay off eventually.
Review: Supporting character stars in Buffett film 27 Jan 2017 A new documentary about the Berkshire Hathaway billionaire is more personal than business. Buffett shares old home movies and lets down his guard a bit to talk about his parents, formative moments and other memories. The influence of his late wife Susie resonates most powerfully.
BT boss is behind Pearson’s in CEO sack race 27 Jan 2017 Both the UK telco and the education publisher have recently released profit warnings wiping a fifth off their market value. BT boss Gavin Patterson has a less-bad shareholder return record than Pearson's John Fallon. Some of the firm's bigger problems are also out of his control.
Chinese tycoon turns cinema buyout into big score 27 Jan 2017 AMC, the cinema chain backed by China's richest man, is paying nearly $1 bln to become the Nordic No. 1. After a short stint in the director's chair, sellers Bridgepoint will enjoy a blockbuster return. It pays to be a seller when an A-lister like Wang Jianlin has an epic vision.
Sky’s rising costs highlight Murdoch bid’s appeal 26 Jan 2017 The pay-TV group's operating profit dropped 9 pct in the six months to December as pricey soccer rights kicked in. An unappealing mix of higher content costs and greater customer churn in the UK should make Sky investors look more favourably on Fox's 11 bln pound takeover offer.
Verizon and AT&T will get best connection from DC 24 Jan 2017 President Trump named a net-neutrality critic to run the FCC, the communications industry watchdog. That means internet providers may soon be able to charge the likes of Netflix to stream content faster. It'd be a timely fillip to earnings as their core phone business declines.
Netflix finances keep producing stranger things 18 Jan 2017 The $57 bln video-streaming service blew past quarterly subscriber expectations, quickly approaching 100 mln as it celebrated a decade online. After burning through still more cash, its share price soared to a new high. Apparently growth can come at almost any cost for Netflix.
Cox: Quest begins for immaculate M&A conception 17 Jan 2017 Dealmakers, many of them gathering in Davos this week, will be on the hunt for mergers that can keep the boom rolling while satisfying President-elect Donald Trump's obsession with jobs. That means synergies are out and "transformation" is in. Shareholders may pay the price.
LeEco’s $2 bln rescue rewards bad habits 16 Jan 2017 Property developer Sunac is ploughing funds worth more than half its market value into the overstretched TVs-to-electric cars group led by billionaire Jia Yueting. The partnership makes Jia's earlier pledge to slow down sound unconvincing, and could lead Sunac astray too.