7 posts and columns on leverage

Wielding a Sword of Damocles, Yahoo’s Asian Partners Await Answer on Yet Another Proposal to Buy Back Shares

in News on December 2, 2011 at 5:13 pm PT

While last week’s swirl around an Alibaba takeover of Yahoo were overhyped and premature, a lot of what will happen depends on negotiations to settle a longtime asset dispute.
damocles

The One-Year Report Card of Yahoo's Carol Bartz–Deal-Making: Incomplete

in News on January 25, 2010 at 9:24 am PT

Sorry for the break in grading Yahoo’s Carol Bartz on her one-year anniversary as CEO. But BoomTown was swanning around the Sundance Film Festival in Utah this weekend, went partying with those boozy Hollywood types and ended up in Provo with the crazy gals from “The Runaways”! I wish! Actually, running away from issuing any grade for deal-making for Bartz is a pretty good way to put it. Because today, after much thought, I have to give the Yahoo leader an incomplete for deal-making.

Google Makes AOL’s Turnaround Task Even Harder

in Media on November 13, 2009 at 6:43 am PT

Little by little, AOL is offering investors more and more details about what the company will look like after it spins off from Time Warner. But the more AOL discloses, the less attractive the company looks. The newest problem: AOL’s steady flow of Google money is going away.
tim_armstrong_lg

In Their Own Words: Comcast’s Case for–and Against–an NBCU Deal

in Media on October 1, 2009 at 4:16 am PT

Comcast says it doesn’t have a deal to buy NBC Universal. Does it want to buy NBC Universal? Ask COO Steve Burke and you’re going to get a confusing answer.
eightball

Palm "New-ness": A Share Price of $6.10

in News on January 12, 2009 at 8:15 am PT

Palm’s long-suffering investors are today basking in the company’s “new-ness”–specifically, a stock that’s continuing the big rally it began last week after the announcement of the Palm Pre handset and Web OS. As I write this, Palm is trading at $6.10–up an astonishing 85 percent since its big announcement. And it seems destined to go higher still, given the enthusiastic reception analysts have given it.

Palm “New-ness”: A Share Price of $6.10

in News on January 12, 2009 at 8:15 am PT

Palm’s long-suffering investors are today basking in the company’s “new-ness”–specifically, a stock that’s continuing the big rally it began last week after the announcement of the Palm Pre handset and Web OS. As I write this, Palm is trading at $6.10–up an astonishing 85 percent since its big announcement. And it seems destined to go higher still, given the enthusiastic reception analysts have given it.

Voices

Piper Sees ’09 E-Commerce Down 10 Percent; Online Ads Up 2 Percent

in News on December 4, 2008 at 11:27 am PT

Gene Munster of Piper Jaffray cut estimates on 33 Internet companies today. He claims that it’s due to the “significant deterioration in the economic and consumer spending outlook.” Well, at least people are saving a little money. Munster sees e-commerce spending down 10 percent in the coming year, and online advertising up just two percent.