BUSINESS BRIEFS
TV Guide at risk with $2.8 billion proposed sale
Associated Press
SAN FRANCISCO — TV Guide magazine's already fuzzy future looks even more uncertain now that the magazine is part of a proposed $2.8 billion sale to security software specialist Macrovision Corp.
Gemstar-TV Guide International Inc.'s intellectual property and interactive programming were the magnets for Macrovision's proposal yesterday to buy Gemstar — raising questions about whether there will be a place for a 54-year-old magazine that has been losing money and readers.
Macrovision Chief Executive Fred Amoroso didn't provide any definitive answers in a conference call with analysts, saying he didn't know much about publishing and needed more time to assess how TV Guide could fit into his strategy.
But some industry observers think the one-time household staple will soon land in the trash bin of publications that couldn't adapt to the digital age.
CONSUMERS EDGY ABOUT ECONOMY
WASHINGTON — Consumer confidence barely budged from a 2-year low as housing troubles, a credit crunch, high energy prices and turbulence on Wall Street continue to make people uneasy about the economy and their own financial situations.
The RBC Cash Index showed confidence clocking in at 65.9 in early December. That hovered close to a reading of 64 in November, which marked the worst showing since the devastation wrought by the Gulf Coast hurricanes in 2005.
Economists said a host of factors were to blame for the still gloomy mindset of consumers. The collapse of the housing market, which has dragged down home values, has made people feel less wealthy. Home foreclosures have shot up to record highs. Harder-to-get credit has made it difficult for some to make big-ticket purchases. High energy prices are squeezing wallets and pocketbooks. And, Wall Street's gyrations have made some worry about the value of their nest eggs.
MURDOCH NAMES LEADERSHIP TEAM
NEW YORK — Rupert Murdoch installed his own leadership team at Wall Street Journal publisher Dow Jones & Co. yesterday, a week before his acquisition of the company is expected to close. He also tapped his son James as heir apparent to his media empire News Corp.
Les Hinton, who has spent his career at News Corp.'s newspapers, will become CEO of Dow Jones next week, following a vote of the company's shareholders on Dec. 13.
Robert Thomson, editor of The Times of London, will become publisher of the Journal. Dow Jones also owns Dow Jones Newswires, Barron's and a news database business called Factiva.
Murdoch's takeover of Dow Jones triggered several other executive changes, including the departures of Dow Jones' CEO Richard Zannino; Wall Street Journal publisher Gordon Crovitz and general counsel Joseph Stern.
DELPHI CAN START SOLICITING VOTES
NEW YORK — Delphi Corp. can begin soliciting votes for its plan to exit bankruptcy, the company's lawyer said yesterday, a major step toward letting the auto parts maker proceed with a restructuring that would shed thousands of jobs in plants across the country.
Delphi attorney Jack Butler said bankruptcy judge Robert Drain verbally approved the order yesterday and that if all changes the judge requested meet his requirements, he would enter an order on Monday.
Delphi's proposal would ultimately eliminate 27,000 of 33,000 union jobs and would sell or close 20 factories across the nation and one in Mexico. Remaining and future workers are left with a two-tier wage structure, with new United Auto Workers members earning wages of $14- to $18.50 an hour, down from $27 per hour.
The company expects to begin sending voting material to about 500,000 creditors Dec. 15 and has scheduled a hearing to begin Jan. 17 to confirm its plan. Unsecured creditors — who would receive 100 percent on their claims as stock and rights to purchase discounted shares — have until Jan. 11 to decide.
OIL SURRENDERS PREVIOUS BIG GAIN
NEW YORK — Oil futures retreated yesterday, giving back much of the previous session's big gain after the government's November jobs report wasn't as robust as some traders had hoped.
Retail gas prices, meanwhile, declined again, dropping 1.1 cents overnight to $3.023 a gallon, according to AAA and the Oil Price Information Service. Gas prices have fallen nearly 9 cents, or 3 percent, since mid-November and are expected to retreat below $3 a gallon as long as oil prices generally keep falling.
The report quashed the hopes of some oil investors that the Federal Reserve will cut interest rates by a half percent instead of the more widely expected quarter percent when it meets Tuesday, said Phil Flynn, an analyst at Alaron Trading Corp., in Chicago.
