During and seemingly despite the biggest economic downturn in 80 years, the entire infrastructure that delivers entertainment is undergoing an unprecedented technology revolution.
Mark P. Mills, Contributor
Monte Burke, Forbes Staff
Kashmir Hill, Forbes Staff
Jeff Bercovici, Forbes Staff
Forbes' Lewis D'Vorkin and Jim Bankoff on tech, talent and storytelling.
The senior managers of a three-year-old thermal power plant in North India say that the Chinese equipment they installed has been giving them trouble due to low quality. They are not alone. Around the country, power plants have claimed that they bought cheaper Chinese boilers, turbines and generators in preference to Indian equipment only to see them malfunction too quickly. read »
When I wake up in the morning and check news for the companies I own, I worry. I don't worry that my companies missed their quarterly guidance by a few pennies – running a business is an art, and things don't usually work out in a precise, linear fashion. The companies that have a "deliver the quarter" culture often just play their financial statements as a musical instrument. No, I am not worried about that. read »
Today’s tickers: SHPGY, ODP, SKX & GNW read »
It is being reported that that billionaire Drayton McLane has reached an agreement to sell the Houston Astros and his stake in a regional sports network to Jim Crane. The way I look at the numbers being reported, the MLB team is being valued from $475 million to $500 million [...] read »
The Story So Far: What We Know About the Business of Digital Journalism, a recent report by Bill Grueskin, Ava Seave, and Lucas Graves, for Columbia University’s Tow Center for Digital Journalism, opens with a description of the front wall of the waterfront office of the Miami Herald, a part of the building that is now half obscured by a massive billboard for Apple. The fact that an Apple billboard is currently the face of a legacy media company serves as an apt metaphor for the respective fates[...] read »
News Corp. increased its stake in Rotana Group, the Arabic music producer and broadcaster owned by Saudi billionaire Prince Alwaleed bin Talal, to 14.5% from 9.1%, Rotana announced Wednesday. News Corp. spent $35 million (131 million Saudi riyals) on the new stake. The purchase values Rotana at $643 million. In a photo sent out by Rotana, Rupert Murdoch's son James Murdoch, who was recently promoted by his father, is shown negotiating the deal with Prince Alwaleed and staff from both companie[...] read »
Turns out hockey is a lot like baseball, at least when it comes to teams starved for capital. While New York Mets owners Fred Wilpon and Saul Katz have been finding it difficult to get their hands on $200 million for less than half their MLB team, Dave Checketts could not get someone to give him a big chunk of dough that was also willing to let him keep running the NHL's St Louis Blues. read »
