Options to buy Dow Jones stock surged on Monday
Options to buy stock in the parent company of The Wall Street Journal, Barron’s and Marketwatch surged on Monday, Bloomberg News is reporting, the day before it was disclosed that News Corp. had made an unsolicited offer to acquire Dow Jones. The increase indicates that some investors knew about the offer before it became public […]
Friedman: Portfolio can do better
Marketwatch media columnist Jon Friedman writes that the first issue of new business magazine Conde Nast Portfolio was a dud, but he believes it will get better. Friedman wrote, “The debut reeks of excess and is guilty of The Three Deadly Sins of Publishing, namely giving the editors of a magazine — especially a spanking […]
The biz magazine cover story as contrarian indicator
Mark Hulbert writes on Marketwatch about a study by some University of Virginia professors that assesses whether a company being on the cover of a major business magazine such as BusinessWeek, Forbes or Fortune means that it’s time to sell the stock. Hulbert wrote, “The professors analyzed those cover stories in Business Week, Fortune and […]
Investment News: What are Marketwatch readers thinking now?
An editorial in the latest issue of Investment News wonders whether readers of business news web site Marketwatch can trust its content in the wake of it allowing tech columnist Bambi Francisco to continue covering the industry when she was also starting her own tech company. Investment News wrote, “In the name of editorial integrity, […]
Slow progress in Dow Jones/union talks
The union representing business journalists at The Wall Street Journal, Barron’s and Marketwatch says that its negotiations with parent company Dow Jones & Co. on Wednesday showed some progress, with the company offering a “slightly raised” wage offer. In an update posted on its web site, the Independent Association of Publishers’ Employees local 1096 stated, […]
Portfolio trying to live up to the hype
Meanwhile, Marketwatch media columnist Jon Friedman argues that Conde Nast Portfolio will have to be impressive in its first issue if it hopes to live up to its hype. Friedman, who has visited the magazine’s offices twice in recent weeks, wrote, “Portfolio is, in a way, a victim of the modern media biz. Bloggers want […]
Dow Jones poised to buy Financial News?
The Telegraph newspaper in London is reporting that Dow Jones & Co., the parent of The Wall Street Journal, Barron’s and Marketwatch, is near a deal to acquire the Financial News newspaper in that country. Ben Harrington wrote, “It is understood Dow Jones, which publishes The Wall Street Journal, is in advanced negotiations to acquire […]
Is Dow Jones stuck in a rut?
Crain’s New York Business wonders if the stock of Dow Jones & Co., the parent of The Wall Street Journal, Barron’s and Marketwatch, is overvalued and headed for a fall. An item in the latest issue stated, “But with the stock’s decline of almost 10% in the past year, some analysts reckon the shares are […]
Fallout from Francisco fiasco
The resignation Friday of Marketwatch columnist Bambi Francisco amid allegations that she used her column to promote a company she was building on the site led to a lot of coverage on Saturday’s papers. Damon Darlin of the New York Times wrote, “Ms. Francisco said she expected Dow Jones to issue a news release saying […]
Francisco leaving Marketwatch
Embattled Marketwatch tech columnist Bambi Francisco announced in a column posted late Friday afternoon that she’s leaving the business news web site amid allegations of a conflict of interest. Francisco had been allowed to invest in a start-up company with the understanding that she not write about it or its customers. But recent media reports […]
