Blockbuster shares rallied sharply Wednesday after the company announced a reduction in the letters of credit it maintains on behalf of Viacom, the company’s former parent, to $25 million from $75 million. The company said the change reflects a reduction in Viacom’s exposure to Blockbuster’s lease obligations.
FSI International is now a company that almost no one follows. But the latest results from the tiny Minneapolis-based semiconductor equipment firm offer a sobering snapshot of conditions in the industry.
U.S. telecom executives are cautious about speaking their minds when it comes to tech heavyweights like Apple and Google, but not Mikhail Shamolin, president of MTS, Russia’s largest cellphone company.
In an interview with Wall Street Journal editorial staff, he said the negotiations to bring the iPhone to Russia last fall were like “the negotiations of a junkie and a narcotics salesman,” because of the pent-up demand for the device.
Surprising no one, Gannett this afternoon cut its quarterly dividend rate to four cents from 40 cents, a reduction of 90 percent.
The publisher of USA Today and other newspapers said the move is “another prudent response to the full-fledged recessions in the U.S. and the U.K. and the continuing difficulties in the credit market.”
Kodak this morning said it will cut its staff by 3,500-4,000 jobs in 2009, reducing its workforce by 14-18 percent. The company also said it will pay no executive bonuses in 2008 and that it will not issue pay increases this year.
The company is struggling enough, in fact, to have opened talks with lenders to assure continued access to its revolving credit line.
Is Electronic Arts producing games that people just don’t want to play? Because they’re sure not buying them. Countless analysts are downgrading the stock–and while many are convinced the slowdown is just EA’s problem and not prevalent in the industry, skeptics attribute most of it to the economy. Which all begs the question: Is the company vulnerable to a takeover?
So here’s the crux of the debate on the solar stocks, which today have gained ground for the fourth straight session, posting some impressive cumulative gains after a long, long slide. The bearish view of the stocks is that the challenges facing the sector will continue into the unforeseen future. The bullish view is that that the Obama Administration will pour money into alternative energy, making the U.S. the biggest market for solar installations.
Blockbuster shares are selling off sharply today due to concerns about the company’s financial outlook for the near future. Slim DVD releases, unheard-of Olympics viewership and remodeling plans–including one called “Rock the Block”–are factors that have negatively affected the bottom line for this year. In order to tighten the company’s belt and get through its current rut, CFO Thomas Carey suggests putting some capital projects on hold for a while. In other words, “Block the Rock.”
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