Wednesday, October 7, 2009

Wednesday October 7 -- Got news or an update?

If you have news or an update, leave it in comments.
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22 comments:

Anonymous said...

Is CBS Really Going Bankrupt? (The Business Insider)

Two weeks ago, we noted that CBS had been pinpointed by Audit Integrity as one of 10 big companies at risk of bankruptcy.

This prompted an outraged denial by CBS. As the banking collapse illustrated, any time a company denies that it's about to go bankrupt, it makes sense to assume that the company is indeed about to go bankrupt--and then analyze the situation for yourself.

We've now done that for CBS. Here's the bottom line:
CBS is not on the verge of bankruptcy.

The company is, however, highly leveraged, and its cash flows have been deteriorating rapidly. So if current trends continue, the company will be forced to cut more costs or risk violating debt covenants. If CBS's cash flows keep deteriorating after that, it will very much be on the verge of bankruptcy.

CBS has also blown billions in recent years stupidly buying back its own stock at much higher prices--shareholder value destruction at its finest.

So the company's weak financial position is very much of its own making.

THE SITUATION
Here's a snapshot of CBS's current financial position:
Cash: $341 million
Debt: $7 billion
That's called leverage!
Meanwhile, CBS's cash flows have been precipitously declining:

2006 Free Cash Flow: $1.5 billion
2007 Free Cash Flow: $1.7 billion
2008 Free Cash Flow: $1.7 billion
2008 Free Cash Flow (through June): $1.4 billion
2009 Free Cash Flow (through June): $250 million

Anonymous said...

Maybe if they try a more liberal agenda; you know, be a media puppet for Obama - then people will want to watch their programs, and money will flow back into the coffers ... just be a bit more liberal.

But don’t go to the middle of the road, and present both sides of a news story - like FoxNews. Lord knows you don’t need their fiscal problems -like paying higher taxes, splitting up the profits, making your shares actually go up in value and having great numbers in the Neilson ratings ...

Anonymous said...

Axelrod met with Roger Ailes to whine about Fox News’s non-worship of Obama (Hot Air)

He’s got one cable news network fact-checking comedy skits about him and another running hour-long infomercials for his health-care plan. And he still can’t stop complaining.

At a time of tension between their organizations, White House senior adviser David Axelrod met with Fox News chairman and chief executive officer Roger Ailes two weeks ago, sources tell POLITICO.

The two met privately in Manhattan during the president’s visit to the United Nations. The two discussed news coverage and the relationship between the organizations.

An FNC spokesperson tells POLITICO that Ailes and Axelrod had a “cordial conversation” over coffee while the president was in town.

In Axelrod’s defense, so dominant is FNC these days that Red Eye’s pulling more viewers in the 25-54 range at 3 a.m. than CNN is at 8 p.m. Which I guess means the White House is better off scheduling Hillary for an interview with Pinch, the New York Times marionette, than with Campbell Brown.

More whining: Though White House aides are hesitant to criticize the network on the record, their disdain for the programming–including Sean Hannity and Glenn Beck–is clearly evident. “They are the paid political programming for a party, and occasionally a couple of news stories break out in the midst of 23 hours and 45 minutes of political rantings and opinion,” said one senior administration official.

“Everything about it is one-sided political opinion directed at a base. Period.”

Anonymous said...

Canada’s National Post files for bankruptcy (FT)

The National Post newspaper, started by Conrad Black, the now-imprisoned former proprietor of the UK’s Daily Telegraph, on Tuesday filed for bankruptcy protection along with several other businesses now owned by Canwest Global Communications, a Canadian media group burdened by C$4bn ($3.8bn) in debt.

The affected properties, accounting for 30 per cent of Canwest revenues, also include a dozen other daily newspapers in Canada’s main cities and the Global television network.

A division comprising more than a dozen special interest TV channels, jointly owned with Goldman Sachs’ private-equity arm, has not filed for protection.
Canwest, which has 1,700 employees, said operations “will continue uninterrupted” while it negotiates a fresh financial structure with creditors.

It aims to complete the restructuring within four to six months. Many of the businesses are expected to be sold.

Anonymous said...

Those White Coats In The Rose Garden (IBD)

...Rather than a grass-roots uprising of physicians, this was a classic case of AstroTurfing.

Attendance was by invitation only, and 40 of the 150 were said to be members of Doctors for America, a reincarnation of the Doctors for Obama arm of the Obama campaign that boasts of having more than 15,000 members.

The physicians were told to bring their white lab coats with them to make sure the TV cameras to capture the proper image.

Those who just showed up wearing suits or dresses were provided with lab coats hastily rustled up.

White House spokesman Reid Cherlin insisted that the doctors "were not invited based on their support for a public option."

We'd like a second opinion on that. Doctors for America as an organization embraces a government-run insurance option.

"It just appears that the president of the United States, at this point, is choosing to meet only those who support his agenda," said Dr. Margaret Flowers, a Maryland pediatrician and congressional fellow for Physicians for a National Health Program, a group not invited.

Anonymous said...

3 of 4 doctors flanking Obama at event donated to his campaign (The Washington Times)

Not only did the four doctors who flanked President Obama at his White House press event on Monday recommend his plan; three out of four of them donated to his presidential campaign.

It could be an ad slogan to put the toothpaste marketers who like to brag that nine out of ten doctors recommend their brand to shame.

The four doctors who stood and clapped along with Mr. Obama’s plans were Dr. Mona Mangat of St. Petersburg, Florida, Dr. Hershey Garner of Fayetteville, Arkansas, Dr. Richard A. Evans of Dover-Foxcroft, Maine, and Dr. Amanda McKinney of Beatrice, Nebraska.
Campaign finance records made available by the Center for Responsive Politics show three of them gave thousands to Mr. Obama’s presidential campaign. Dr. Manget gave $500, Dr. Garner gave $4,415 and Dr. McKinney gave $1750.
No campaign donations were found in the 2008 election cycle for Maine-resident Mr. Evans.

“Accordingly, 3 out of 4 doctors agree, contributing to the President’s campaign gets you a great photo-op!” joked one Republican Hill staffer who wished to remain anonymous

Anonymous said...

State senator (DEMOCRAT) cited in hit and run. (Following in his mentors footsteps) The Boston Globe

State Senator Anthony Galluccio was cited Monday for leaving the scene of an accident after he allegedly collided with a vehicle carrying three people on Sunday afternoon in Cambridge and then fled. Galluccio, a Cambridge Democrat, collided with the other vehicle at about 5:30 p.m. as he was driving around Garden and Linnaean streets, said officer Frank Pasquarello, spokesman for the Cambridge Police Department.

No Charges Filed After Accident Involving Politician



Yahoo News APRIL 28, 2006

A Cambridge city councilor ((Massachusetts Democrat)who caused a multiple car crash in December will not face charges, despite reports from witnesses who said he was drunk.

NewsCenter 5's Janet Wu reported that a clerk magistrate ruled Friday that Boston police did not follow proper procedure at the crash scene, and no charges will be filed.

Galluccio arrived with his two high-powered, politically-connected attorneys leading the way.

Cameras and most reporters were barred from the hearing, but Clerk Magistrate Daniel Hogan confirmed that on Dec. 18, following a five-car crash, which Galluccio admits he caused, the Cambridge city councilor was so belligerent that he had to be restrained.

But Hogan dismissed the Boston Police Department's complaint, because officers failed to charge Galluccio the night of the accident, and no one was seriously injured.

"Absolute outrage. This is a guy who couldn't walk, couldn't talk. In my observation he was absolutely drunk," accident victim Peter Manderino said.

Anonymous said...

Michigan Governor Granholm & Teachers Union Pave the Way for Tax Hikes (Democrat Sewer for 50 years) Americans for Tax Reform

Two hours into a government shutdown last night, the Michigan legislature caved on passing a set of budget bills and instead approved a temporary measure that keeps the government running for another 30 days. The midnight hold-up: approval of a K-12 budget that cuts school aid fund spending by less than 3% ($218 per pupil). The demand: higher taxes on Michigan residents...

Anonymous said...

Obama To Stop Locking Up Illegal Aliens

The Obama administration is expected on Tuesday to unveil an outline of sweeping changes for the nation’s immigration-detention system, saying it will decide whom to lock up and for how long based on the danger and flight risk posed by detainees.

Officials familiar with the report said the administration is pledging to revise detention standards and will turn to the private sector for ideas, asking for proposals to construct two model facilities.

Until now, the Obama administration has been reluctant to revise detention standards, which were updated late in the administration of former President George W. Bush.

The immigration detention system expanded dramatically during the Bush years as the government took a much tougher line against illegal immigrants.

Anonymous said...

NAACP Gets Out The Felon Vote In Maine

The NAACP is registering voters at prisons in Maine, one of just two states that allow all inmates to vote while behind bars, in what is apparently the nation’s first such statewide drive.

snip

Though prison inmates tend to skew to the Democratic side, the drive isn’t about furthering any political agenda, said Rachel Talbot Ross, president of the Portland chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People.

Anonymous said...

ACORN Awarded $1M Grant Over Firefighters FOX

Nearly $1 million in Homeland Security funding typically earmarked for fire departments has been awarded to ACORN, despite a clear signal from Congress that it intends to cut off federal funding to the embattled group, the Washington Times reported on Wednesday.

The grant to ACORN's Louisiana office became public on Oct. 2, less than three weeks after the House and Senate voted to cut off ACORN funding after employees were caught on video advising a fake prostitute and pimp on scams.

Anonymous said...

ACORN's Lewis suggests opponents are racist (The Washington Times)

ACORN's Bertha Lewis charged Tuesday that accusations about the embattled community organizing group are racist, alleging that a coordinated political effort started by former Bush adviser Karl Rove sought to stop the group from registering minority voters.

"For many years, there've been folks who've disagreed with our ideology or methodology that has gone after us," Mrs. Lewis, ACORN's chief executive officer, said in a speech at the National Press Club in Washington.

"I mean we, back going to 2004, we now see through e-mails from Karl Rove from the previous administration that ACORN itself was targeted, targeted to go after us so that we would stop doing voter registration because it was said that we were moving too many minorities to vote, changing the power dynamics on the local election and that we needed to be stopped."

She also labeled as racist the infamous videos that show ACORN workers advising a man and young woman posing as pimp and prostitute how to circumvent the law.

"These new filmmakers, [James] O'Keefe himself, told The Washington Post, 'They're registering too many minorities; they usually vote Democratic; somebody's got to stop them,'" Mrs. Lewis said.

Anonymous said...

Official at ACORN Funder to Head Corporation for National and Community Service (BigGovernment.com)

President Obama announced he plans to nominate Patrick Corvington to be chief executive of the Corporation for National and Community Service, which oversees Senior Corps, AmeriCorps, and Learn and Serve America.

Big Government readers will remember that “the Corporation” assumed a prominent role on the infamous NEA Conference call, where ”the Corporation’s” Nell Abernathy joined White House and NEA officials to nudge artists to produce works supporting the Obama Administration’s legislative priorities.

Anonymous said...

Obama Failure: Guantanamo Bay Not Closing – Time To Blame Someone (radioviceonline.com)

Another epic failure?

President Obama never had a plan to close Camp Delta, the detainee facility for the worst of the worst terrorists in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Like many liberals, he felt it was the right thing to do, made a big deal about the issue during the campaign, and kicked off his term by committing to close the facility in one year. Epic Fail.

Anonymous said...

I know, I know. If Bush hadn’t opened the camp, there’d be no need to close it. That’s the ticket!

Bush didn’t open it, it was established as a US Naval Base in 1898. A DemoCratic President was in office at the time.

Anonymous said...

Barack Obama cancels meeting with Dalai Lama 'to keep China happy' (Telegraph, UK)

President Barack Obama has refused to meet the Dalai Lama in Washington this week in a move to curry favour with the Chinese.

The decision came after China stepped up a campaign urging nations to shun the Tibetan spiritual leader.

It means Mr Obama will become the first president not to welcome the Nobel peace prize winner to the White House since the Dalai Lama began visiting Washington in 1991.

Anonymous said...

New York State Tax Revenues Slump 36%, Is New York The Next California? (Zero Hedge)

New York State is quickly becoming the next California, as tax revenues drop 36% from 2008 levels, and a dejected governor expressing his frustration with policy measures that continue to not bear fruit.

As a reminder the state most reliant on the financial sector, is struggling with a $2.1 billion budget deficit that is still looming despite tax increases, federal aid and spending cuts.

New York State’s income tax revenue has dropped 36 percent from the same period in 2008, Governor David Paterson said, “frustrating” his attempt to close a projected $2.1 billion budget deficit.

“We added personal income tax, which we thought would make the falloff 10 percent to 15 percent,” Paterson, a Democrat, said on CNBC today, referring to $5.2 billion in new or increased taxes. “This is what is so frustrating.

It’s still 36 percent, meaning our revenues fell more in 2009 than they did in 2008.”

Anonymous said...

Muslim soccer team refuses to play with gay French team (AP)

A gay soccer team from France cried "homophobia" when a Muslim team refused to play against them.


"Sweetie", also being a devout Marxist, you must be torn with cognitive dissonance over this.

But...what’s your position? Hint. Answering, “Prone” means you side with the French.

John Altevogt said...

Comrade Obama once again showing his subservience to his foreign masters. How pathetic to have a communist traitor soiling the White House.

First it was bowing to a Saudi king then it was his world apology tours and now he's kowtowing to the Chinese.

Anonymous said...

Hugh Hewitt has the audio interview of the SacBee's Propaganda Editor, Amy What's her name.

http://www.hughhewitt.com/blog/g/6712f625-2aa5-4fc8-913b-75a47ef9d3ec


As you can expect she's caught completely flat footed, but her long, long pauses tell you more than what she does say. Frankly, I was surprised she didn't suddenly declare, "No Diga inglés" before she bailed.

Anonymous said...

Bee Capitol Bureau is a complete joke and has been for years. They get beat by the Chron and LA Times like a drum. Bee needs to clean house and get some editors and reporters who know how to report a story. The Whitman story was pathetic.

Anonymous said...

Although this happened a while back, have you noticed the
Obamanation Presidential seal...Seems our dear overlord has decided that his personal touch on the presidential seal will garner him more acceptance...

http://rlv.zcache.com/obama_victory_presidential_seal_button-p145486780686067695t5sj_400.jpg

Oh and try to add/edit to the Wikipedia site on bəˈrɑːk huːˈseɪn oʊˈbɑːmə (Barack Obama)...YOU CAN'T DO IT!!!

For an unauthorized "Wiki" entry (and quite a bit more truthful)

http://operationitch.wordpress.com/2009/07/13/barack-obama-wiki-entry/