Netflix has a lot to prove in 2012, specifically how successful it can be in the U.K. and Ireland. The company, whose stock lost 70 percent of its value just in the past three months, is so confident in the future of its streaming business overseas that it is even willing to take a loss in the new year.
Consumers just got yet another option for entertaining their kids with Disney movies. Disney just agreed to rent its movies on YouTube -- it will offer hundreds of films from Disney, Pixar, and DreamWorks Studios on YouTube starting today for between $1.99 and $3.99. The studio controls pricing and will receive the majority of revenue.
With shares of Time Warner 15% higher over the past 3 months, how should you trade this media giant?
Focusing on companies with earnings growth at a reasonable price, a strong balance sheet and financial condition, and dividends.
Stocks recovered from their afternoon lows to close higher Wednesday after Ben Bernanke said the Fed may look to reinvest in mortgage backed securities to provide additional support to the weak housing market.
Early this morning, Major League Baseball and Frank McCourt issued a joint statement saying that they agreed to recommend to the bankruptcy court to hold an auction for the sale of the Dodgers. When prospective owners are bandied about, Dallas Mavericks owner Mark Cuban comes up first, because he's a fan's owner and he has the cash. But Cuban told the LA Times yesterday that he wouldn't be interested in the team if the price was over $1 billion. Who else gets in? I think Fox, which sold the team, stadium and parking lots to McCourt for $421 million in 2004, could -- and might have to -- throw its name in the hat again.
We're headed into a slew of earnings this week from media giants—on both the content and distribution side. Whether we're talking about content creators like News Corp and Time Warner or kings of distribution like Comcast and Time Warner Cable, there are a couple key themes that will impact the whole industry. Here's what to watch as earnings reports roll out this week and next.