Monsters vs. Aliens Sets Up Two Way Trading in DWA

The next film from Dreamworks Animation (DWA) arrives in theaters on Friday. Monsters. vs. Aliens will easily be the #1 film this weekend and will drive the box office to very positive comparisons But for investors the more pertinent questions are whether the film has a strong enough opening to drive DWA shares higher or […]

CETV Sells 31% Stake to Time Warner Dramatically Improving Risk-Reward Trade-Off

Central European Media Enterprises (CETV), one of my long-time favorite stocks which I stupidly rode all the way down, soared on Monday following the announcement that it was selling a 31% stake to Time Warner (TWX) at a 20% premium to Friday’s close. Apparently, I was not the only who believed that CETV had sunk […]

Disney Scraps Hong Kong Park Expansion to Shift Focus to Shanghai?

The Wall Street Journal is reporting that Disney (DIS) is putting expansion of its Hong Kong theme park on hold and laying off the employees involved in developing the expansion plans. The Hong Kong Park has been a disappointment almost from the day the gates opened. DIS owns it in partnership with the Hong Kong […]

The Backdoor Way to Play DirecTV

In February, following release of DirecTV’s (DTV) 4Q08 results, I wrote several favorable comments about DTV on RealMoney.com. I followed up by publishing the following commentary which discusses Liberty Media Entertainment (LMDIA) as an attractive backdoor play to purchase DTV at a substantial discount. With SeekingAlpha.com publishing an article from Bullish Bankers discussing Liberty Media […]

Why Would a Senior Google Exec Leave for AOL?

Time Warner (TWX) has hired one of Google’s most senior executives to run AOL. Tim Armstrong was a member of Google’s Operating Committee and President of Americas Operations. Armstrong also has a background in traditional media including developing internet properties at traditional media companies. Armstrong is undoubtedly totally loaded due to his 8 plus years […]

Life at Apple Continues Sans Jobs

Bloomberg is reporting a March 17th event to provide a “sneak peak” at new iPhone software, version 3.0. The company introduced a new, next generation shuffle and is now updating iPhone software (the iPhone is all about software). This is being done with Steve Jobs nowhere to be seen and without a rollout at MacWorld. […]

Technology Risk at NII Holdings

Pali Research is out with a new report on NII Holdings (NIHD). They are reiterating their buy and establishing a $25 price target. The cut estimates further and moved below management guidance but attributed 90% of the reduction to further weakening in the Mexican Peso. In my recent update on NIHD, I explained that underlying […]

Time Warner is Watching Watchmen

The Weekend box office continued its year long win streak but for the second consecutive weekend there was a disappointment from a highly anticipated film. Led by Watchmen, the box office rose 12.7% according to BoxOfficeMojo.com. Every weekend since late December is positive and year-to-date total receipts for the North American box office are up […]

NII Holdings: Business Holding Up, Stock Going Down

NII Holdings (NIHD) reported 4Q08 results and provided 2009 guidance at the end of February. I thought the 4Q figures were quite good considering the economic environment but the stock sold off sharply due to guidance that was below estimates. However, the guidance miss was due to foreign currency, in particular, the weakness of the […]

CETV: Macro Outlook Takes Company and Stock Out of Management Control For Now

Central European Media Enterprises (CETV) reported mixed 4Q08 results excluding impairment charges and currency impacts. Commentary on 2009 was much bleaker than the company had previously admitted but was more or less in line with recent analyst comments and estimates. In fact, Goldman this morning made virtually no changes to its model. The story on […]