Posts Tagged ‘Media Navel Gaze’

The Week Unpeeled

An amazingly busy and heavy news week filled with tragic headlines, with global focus on the Boston Marathon bombings and a closely watched manhunt (one of the biggest in US history) that ended in the arrest of a 19-year college student, who with his brother killed in a police firefight, allegedly were responsible for the two homemade bombs at the finish line of the famous race. The live proceedings of the dragnet become reality TV or online viewing with the most recent coverage on why this happened and how it could have been prevented. (UK coverage over the weekend focused on the “what” of Chechnyan ties and the “why” of photos of Bostonians celebrating the capture for such a tragic story.)  The vast amount of civilian coverage of the bombing from smartphones made spectators at the race news “capturerers,” not really witnessed at this intensity. London marathoners on Sunday observed a 30-second moment of silence before the start of their race.

Elsewhere:

  • A fertilizer plant in Texas exploded (at the strength of a 2.1-magnitude earthquake), killing as many as 15 people, leveling many homes and injuring up to 180;
  • An Elvis impersonator was charged in sending ricin-tainted letter to the president and others;
  • The Senate rejected new restrictions on firearms;
  • Al Neuharth, the media mogul who ran Gannett Company and created USA Today, died;
  • Blackstone ended its bid for Dell with ownership still in pursuit;
  • The Dow also suffered, ending down 317 points for the week, or 2.1 percent, to close at 14547;
  • A small Brooklyn news outlet, InsideClimate News, which was founded just six years ago and funded by charitable foundations and readers, won a Pulitzer for national reporting, along with four from The New York Times, one from The Wall Street Journal and two from The Star Tribune in Minneapolis, among others; and
  • The Sunday Times published the Richest in Britain list with the top seven coming from outside the UK, many from Russia, highlighting the “lure of Britain to a footloose global elite”; top spot goes to Alisher Usmanov, part owner of Arsenal football club. End of Story
Share:
  • email
  • Print
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Tumblr
  • Digg
  • Reddit
  • StumbleUpon
No Comments » Written on April 22nd, 2013 by
Categories: From the News, Media Navel Gaze
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The Week Unpeeled

President Obama proposed a fiscal budget that includes $3.8 billion in spending and actually put some “comprising” cuts on Social Security and Medicare on the table.  Now that these sacred endowments have entered the discussion, battles have started from both sides, which will surely dominate headlines especially as we near the midterm elections.  Just in time for tax day. (Maybe we should use bitcoins in the budget . . . They seem to be appreciating bubble-like.)

Elsewhere:

  • Margaret Thatcher, the Iron Lady, died, amid heaps of coverage and commentary from compatriots and detractors (And amid lots of controversy, BBC radio did play “Ding, Dong, the Witch…”);
  • J.C. Penney CEO of Apple retail fame was ousted as the retailer struggled to recover any brand image;
  • North Korean situation remained on high alert;
  • The Fed accidentally released its minutes early (by some 19 hours) to Wall Street firms, among other concerns, raising more talk on embargoes and the whole pre-release process;
  • Gold continue to lose its luster, sinking into bear-market territory and seemingly ending its 12-year bull run (more reason for bitcoins);
  • The Dow ended virtually flat on Friday at 14,865 but strong for the week, hitting new highs again with several other barometers;
  • Annette Funicello, the original Mouseketeer (WAY before Brittany) died; and

Way notable obit: a Wednesday obituary in The New York Times is worth a read: McCandlish Phillips a former NYT journalist who exposed a Jewish Klansman was called a “tenacious reporter and lyrical scribe” (a rare combo). Phillips “refrained from smoking, drinking, cursing and gambling, each of which had been refined to a high exuberant art in the Times newsroom.”  NO surprise, he retired from print to the pulpit. End of Story

Share:
  • email
  • Print
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Tumblr
  • Digg
  • Reddit
  • StumbleUpon
No Comments » Written on April 15th, 2013 by
Categories: From the News, Media Navel Gaze
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The Week Unpeeled

The jobs picture turned a little sour last week with growth well below expectations because of a non-farm number at only 88,000 and an unemployment rate down to 7.6 percent in March, mostly because of folks leaving the workforce. That put a damper on the market, which has been on a tear.  The Dow ended pretty much unchanged for the week at 14,565, and other indicators were mixed, reflecting the divergent opinions on the direction of the economy and outlook for this rally.  In other markets, bonds continued to show signs of weakness with the closely watched “Agg” or Barclay’s US Aggregate Bond Index declining 0.12 percent in the first quarter, its first decline for that period (WSJ, Apr 3) in about seven years.

Elsewhere:

  • The SEC “blessed” the use of social media for corporate America to announce market-moving news (Warren Buffett’s BusinessWire opted not to “like” by objecting to the decision, no surprise really because it can make those dissemination services obsolete);
  • North Korea continued its bully tactics asking embassies to prepare evacuation plans;
  • Apple CEO Tim Cook used the apologia app and said sorry to China for certain customer service policies;
  • Facebook released what seems to be a super phone app called Home for Google’s Android operating system;
  • Developing signs of bird flu in China started to make headlines;
  • Roger Ebert, famed movie critic of thumbs up or down, died; and
  • Jay-Z, ever-morphing, this time into sports agent. End of Story
Share:
  • email
  • Print
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Tumblr
  • Digg
  • Reddit
  • StumbleUpon
No Comments » Written on April 8th, 2013 by
Categories: From the News, Media Navel Gaze
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The Week Unpeeled

The perp walk captured the front pages late last week (“Trading Probe Reaches Higher,” WSJ), as the Feds arrested Michael Steinberg, an SAC portfolio manager (at his Manhattan apartment building), who pleaded guilty on charges of securities fraud, posting $3-million bail.  This comes after the hedge fund settled insider-  trading charges with the SEC last week, paying over $600 million.  However, that deal was reportedly on hold with a judge saying he needed more time to consider whether to accept the settlement on grounds why settle for such a large sum when litigation would be much cheaper. (And btdubs, SAC chief Stevie Cohen just bought a Picasso for $155 million from casino operator Steve Wynn.)

Elsewhere:

  • North Korea played serious bully, with 30-year-old leader Kim Jong Eun, ordering rockets on standby for US targets, including Austin, Texas;
  • Cyprus banks reopened;
  • The Dow ended the first quarter on a record high close, an oft-repeated feat of late, at 14,578, but the S&P, the much broader  measure of the stock market, hit its first record since 2007 to end the quarter at 1569;
  • Other record runs:  General Hospital is celebrating 50 years on air (Tweet that for some old/new school media);
  • CNN named its co-host for morning show, Kate Bolduan, a 29-year-old who will share the screen with Chris Cuomo on the new “Starting Point” (you could Tweet that for more old/new motif); The “Today” show plans on hosts remain less clear (Cooper?);
  • Newscorp is starting a new cable channel called FXX, aimed at the 18- to 34-year segment;
  • NPR ended its “Talk of the Nation” show after 21 years on the air;
  • Kid stuff: 17-year-old Nick D’Aloisio sold his mobile app Summly to Yahoo! for $30 million;
  • Baseball season begins! End of Story
Share:
  • email
  • Print
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Tumblr
  • Digg
  • Reddit
  • StumbleUpon
No Comments » Written on April 1st, 2013 by
Categories: From the News, Media Navel Gaze
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,

The Week Unpeeled

Little Cyprus became the big focus last week for Russian oligarchs and global bankers, currency and credit traders as the island nation rejected a bailout deal that would have imposed a heavy tax on deposits (many reportedly Russian).  Geopolitical drama will continue no doubt for a republic with fewer than 1 million people.

Elsewhere:

  • Turkey and Israel have resolved a long-standing dispute, in a truce brokered by President Obama on his Mideast diplomatic trip;
  • The Dow ended down 0.2 percent to end Friday at 14,512, hurt by Cyprus tempest, which had a bigger negative impact on the Euro markets;
  • The bidders continue to take shape for Dell with Blackstone reportedly looking at all or part or joining forces with GE for the financial-services arm;
  • PPR, which includes such holdings as Gucci and Puma, has rebranded as Kering (smacks of Breton word “home”) in its continual evolution from a one-time timber-trading company;
  • JP Morgan won the “best crisis campaign” award from IR Magazine for its handling of the London whale trading loss;
  • As Pope Francis began his first official duties, the Church of England installed Justin Welby, as the archbishop of Canterbury, a former oil exec who like the pontiff is focusing on simplicity and modesty (the new modern?);
  • NBC’s “The Tonight Show” may be moving back to New York and will eventually – probably next year -- turn the microphone over to Jimmy Fallon from Jay Leno; and
  • David Bowie has released his first album in a decade (remember when his “receivables” were once securitized into Bowie Bonds?). End of Story
Share:
  • email
  • Print
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • LinkedIn
  • Tumblr
  • Digg
  • Reddit
  • StumbleUpon
No Comments » Written on March 25th, 2013 by
Categories: From the News, Media Navel Gaze
Tags: , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , ,
Older Entries » « Newer Entries