Oprah Winfrey made herself famous on broadcast TV and now she is walking away from the medium. Harpo, her production company, sent a letter to the 214 stations that carry her show saying that "The Oprah Winfrey Show" will air its last program on Sept. 9, 2011. CBS (CBS) syndicates the show, so it will lose a large source of revenue. Many ABC stations air her program, so this will be a blow to them as well.

A number of newspapers and news websites reported that Oprah is well along in creating her own cable channel. She is a billionaire, according to knowledgeable sources, so the risk of moving to cable is one she can afford. The new venture will be called OWN and will be partially owned by Discovery Communications (DISCA).

Continue reading After 25 years, TV talk queen Oprah to move to cable

After 25 years, TV talk queen Oprah to move to cable originally appeared on DailyFinance on Fri, 20 Nov 2009 06:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The AAA projects that 38.4 million people will travel more than 50 miles from home over the Thanksgiving holiday next week. That is not up much from last year -- only 1.4%. But at least it is up. With a slow economy, high unemployment and oil at $80 a barrel, it would not have been shocking for the group to forecast a drop.

Broken down by mode of transportation, the AAA projects: "The number of travelers by automobile is expected to be 33.2 million in 2009 compared to 32.5 million last year; an increase of 2.1%. The number of travelers by air is expected be 2.3 million compared to 2.5 million in 2008; a decline of 6.7%." The drop in air travel is probably an indication that people are still watching what they spend carefully. The decline is despite the fact that the AAA expects the cost of airline tickets and hotel rooms to drop.

Continue reading Thanksgiving holiday travel: AAA forecasts slight increase

Thanksgiving holiday travel: AAA forecasts slight increase originally appeared on DailyFinance on Thu, 19 Nov 2009 13:20:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development doubled its forecast for the global recovery from the deepest recession in decades. But even its new numbers call for a remarkably weak economic rebound. "The good news is that the recovery -- albeit a weak one -- is under way," OECD Secretary-General Angel Gurría said in the group's latest semi-annual report.

Weak, indeed. The jobless rate is expected to peak in the first half of 2010 in the U.S., but it may not be until 2011 that unemployment begins to fall in the euro area, according to the OECD's forecasts. U.S. GDP is only expected to rise 2.5% in 2010 and 2.8% in 2011.

Continue reading Global economic forecast: Recovery is growing, but relatively weak, says OECD

Global economic forecast: Recovery is growing, but relatively weak, says OECD originally appeared on DailyFinance on Thu, 19 Nov 2009 08:45:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Sony (SNE) held its investor and analyst meeting on November 19th. Tucked among the presentation materials was information about the company's new targets aimed at getting its profits and operating income back to "normal" levels. The problem with the projection is that it is for the fiscal year ending March 31, 2013. Sony only expects a small profit in the 2011 fiscal year, mostly based on sales of its Playstations, TVs and camera hardware.

Sony previously said it would return to "normal" levels of margins in 2011. But reaching that goal has been pushed out by two years. "It's a very realistic plan; there is little flair, but the company has previously set targets it couldn't achieve," said Masaryk Ashing, a Tokyo-based analyst at Mitsubishi UFO Financial Group Inc, according to Bloomberg.

Continue reading Sony's major miss on profit targets

Sony's major miss on profit targets originally appeared on DailyFinance on Thu, 19 Nov 2009 05:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Large U.S. banks have raised money to improve their capital position this year, in some cases because the government required them to do so. Bank analysts have worried that a wave of write-downs on commercial real estate and credit card debt might require some big financial firms to go back to the funding well. That raises the question of whether institutional investors still have any appetite for putting money into global banks.

Those concerns about bank funding may have been allayed a bit. Mitsubishi UFJ (MTU), the largest bank in Japan and a major investor in Morgan Stanley (MS), is raising $11 billion. The firm has already filed papers with Japan's Ministry of Finance to sell common shares.

Continue reading Mitsubishi UFJ proves banks still have access to market capital

Mitsubishi UFJ proves banks still have access to market capital originally appeared on DailyFinance on Wed, 18 Nov 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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"A chicken in every pot and a car in every garage." --Herbert Hoover, 1928.

Federal regulators plan to propose a way to get inexpensive broadband to every person in the U.S. According to several media sources, The Federal Communications Commission will offer a program for the federal government to take an activist role in expanding broadband, and may add a tax to phone bills to help fund it. Two months ago, the Berkman Center at Harvard laid out a plan for universal U.S. broadband. It said that building the necessary infrastructure of the program could cost as much as $350 billion.

Continue reading Cheap broadband for every American

Cheap broadband for every American originally appeared on DailyFinance on Wed, 18 Nov 2009 05:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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YouTube, the video-sharing unit of Google (GOOG) has launched a new product called YouTube Direct. Its purpose, according to the site, is to offer "a new tool that allows media organizations to request, review and rebroadcast YouTube clips directly from YouTube users."

The actual purpose of the Direct product is to help television outlets to get access to video collected by "citizen journalists." A local station in Cleveland, for example, could get clips of a fight at a Browns football game taken by someone siting in the stands.

Continue reading YouTube offers TV news shows easier access to citizen journalists' videos

YouTube offers TV news shows easier access to citizen journalists' videos originally appeared on DailyFinance on Tue, 17 Nov 2009 08:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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There are two sides to every story, and sometimes three, four or five. An audit by the Special Inspector General for the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) claims that the Federal Reserve Bank of New York allowed banks to get 100% of the value of complicated financial instruments that they had insured with AIG (AIG). The transactions involved over $60 billion. The full report was issued today.

The inspector general Neil M. Barofsky claims that the Fed "refused to use its considerable leverage" to force major banks to make concessions on the money they were owed as part of their relationships with AIG.

Continue reading Did the NY Fed needlessly spend billions extra on AIG bailout?

Did the NY Fed needlessly spend billions extra on AIG bailout? originally appeared on DailyFinance on Tue, 17 Nov 2009 05:05:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Japan's GDP rose at an annual rate of 4.8% in the quarter ending Sept. 30. Most analysts had forecast a figure below 3%. It is not entirely clear how much of the increase is due to government stimulus and how much is due to "organic" activity including consumer spending and exports. Capital spending did rise 1.6%. Consumer activity was up a tiny 0.7%, but most experts believe that this was due to incentive programs to get people to buy cars and appliances.

The Japanese numbers, while good, point to the dilemma of the all the wealthy nations including the U.S., U.K. and many E.U. countries. GDP started to improve in the third quarter for most of these countries, but almost all of that activity was due to stimulus programs, which in turn have caused sovereign treasuries to take on hundreds of billions of dollars in new debt. Debt service is becoming a larger and larger part of most national budgets, and unless GDP growth rebounds quickly and dramatically, higher taxes will be the only way to dig these economies out of a hole.

Continue reading After two years, Japan's economy is growing again

After two years, Japan's economy is growing again originally appeared on DailyFinance on Mon, 16 Nov 2009 05:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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In a court case that began last year, Apple (AAPL) charged the young upstart Psystar, which makes Mac knock-offs, with a host of copyright and trademark violations. The venerable computer and consumer electronics company said that Psystar had infringed its copyrights by selling PCs that looked like Macs and ran slightly modified versions of its Mac OS X.

Psystar apparently didn't have much of a case. On Sunday, U.S. District Court Judge William Alsup ruled in Apple's favor in a sixteen page decision. The most important part of the court's opinion is that companies cannot resell the Apple OS to consumers because they are "unauthorized copies" which violate Apple's terms of use for the software.

Continue reading Apple wins the clone war: Judge rules Psystar can't sell Mac look-alikes

Apple wins the clone war: Judge rules Psystar can't sell Mac look-alikes originally appeared on DailyFinance on Sun, 15 Nov 2009 11:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Google (GOOG), book authors and publishers had until midnight to provide a federal court with a plan to settle differences on how the search engine digitizes and charges for books. The group waited until the last minute to get its proposed settlement to the courthouse. The new agreement may address government concerns about Google's earlier settlement that gave it a virtual monopoly in the online digital book market.

Google, the Authors Guild and the Association of American Publishers, filed a new version of the methods that Google will use to create an online library. An earlier deal had been challenged for potential violations of copyright law and antitrust provisions. The entire agreement and its proposed benefits to all parties was posted on the Google website. The search company promoted that settlement by saying "Today we're delighted to announce that we've settled that lawsuit and will be working closely with these industry partners to bring even more of the world's books online. Together we'll accomplish far more than any of us could have individually, to the enduring benefit of authors, publishers, researchers and readers alike."

Continue reading Google kisses and makes up with book publishers

Google kisses and makes up with book publishers originally appeared on DailyFinance on Sat, 14 Nov 2009 12:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Germany and France, the two largest economies in Europe posted modest third quarter GDP growth. Germany's economy grew 0.7% in the period that ended September 30 and France announced a 0.3% improvement. In the second quarter, both countries had also reported a tiny up-tick in GDP.

These tiny advances were consistent with growth in other wealthy nations, particularly the U.S. They were also almost certainly caused by the stimulus packages that many E.U. nations have in place. That raises the question of how developed countries will fare once their governments stop pumping liquidity into the financial system.

Continue reading As Germany and France rebound, global recovery grows

As Germany and France rebound, global recovery grows originally appeared on DailyFinance on Fri, 13 Nov 2009 05:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The recession has led to many transformations in the employment landscape. One is that women now hold half of all the jobs in the U.S., according to statistics from the federal government. The Wall Street Journal reports that women make up 49.9% of the work force, up from 48.7% in December 2007. In 1970, women held only 35% of all jobs.

Lots of forces are behind this trend. Some women are taking jobs because their spouses earn less money due to the tight economy or because their spouses have lost their jobs. Households under pressure from debt burdens need more income, so many single-income families are becoming two-income families. And layoffs seem to be hitting men disproportionately in this slump.

Continue reading Half of American workers are women -- but they don't earn half of all income

Half of American workers are women -- but they don't earn half of all income originally appeared on DailyFinance on Thu, 12 Nov 2009 15:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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There is a new product on the home page of Amazon.com (AMZN). PC users can now download a free version of Kindle software which allows Kindle users to synchronize the libraries on their Kindle e-readers with their PCs.

The move is a curious one for Amazon, which sells the Kindle for $259. Why give away any related software at all? Amazon has not said, but it is easy to guess.

Some consumer electronics research has shown that the Kindle and other e-readers are priced out of the market for many people. Much of the data from these surveys indicates that people may pay $50 or even $100 for an e-reader, but prices over $200 drive potential users away. Amazon may not be admitting it, but the company knows that the Kindle market is limited because of its price.

Continue reading Amazon launches free Kindle software for PC

Amazon launches free Kindle software for PC originally appeared on DailyFinance on Thu, 12 Nov 2009 05:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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In an exclusive report in The Wall Street Journal, word emerged that AIG (AIG) CEO Robert Benmosche has said he may leave, largely because of what he sees as heavy-handed government regulation. He believes that the "pay czar" is hurting the insurance company's chances of bringing in new talent.

Benmosche has fought the government, his board and the public's perception of him at nearly every turn. He complained when government officials did not immediately approve his $10.3 million pay package -- perhaps forgetting that his predecessor Ed Liddy worked for $1.

More Coverage: AIG May Be Able to Repay U.S. After All

Continue reading AIG's CEO threatens to leave, at last

AIG's CEO threatens to leave, at last originally appeared on DailyFinance on Wed, 11 Nov 2009 11:01:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The S&P 500 index is so far having a fine year, up a bit more than 20%. But several big-company stocks in the index have doubled, or better, over that time. Among the best-performers are some of Amerca's most well-known companies.

Here's a look at 10 of those and their prospects of advancing further -- or sliding back into the large pack of equities that have had only modest advances during the current bull market (all prices are as of the close on Nov. 9).

Continue reading These 10 big-name stocks have doubled this year. Can they keep it up?

These 10 big-name stocks have doubled this year. Can they keep it up? originally appeared on DailyFinance on Tue, 10 Nov 2009 15:35:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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The "Year of the Layoff" was supposed to be over now that the economy is improving and most large companies have fired as many people as they reasonably can. Productivity gains can only squeeze so much out of a shrinking work force.

But American companies are aggressively chopping their workforces again, and that raises the question of whether unemployment will continue to grow at the rate of almost 200,000 jobs per month well into 2010.

Continue reading Layoffs return with a vengeance as large companies cut again

Layoffs return with a vengeance as large companies cut again originally appeared on DailyFinance on Tue, 10 Nov 2009 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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As expected, the E.U. raised objections to the Oracle (ORCL) buyout of Sun (JAVA) at about the same time that the Department of Justice approved the deal. The E.U.'s objection is based on the large market share that the two tech companies would have in the MySQL software business.

European authorities have been deviling American companies for years. In 2001 they killed the GE (GE) deal to purchase Honeywell (HON), which would have been the crowning achievement of Jack Welch's tenure at the world's largest conglomerate. The E.U. has troubled Microsoft (MSFT) and Intel (INTC) over antitrust concerns, and now it has brought up similar issues with Oracle's plans.

Continue reading E.U. challenge to Oracle-Sun deal a bad omen for M&A

E.U. challenge to Oracle-Sun deal a bad omen for M&A originally appeared on DailyFinance on Tue, 10 Nov 2009 05:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Lloyd Blankfein, the CEO of Goldman Sachs (GS), has put an unusual spin on the bank's activities. He says his firm is doing "God's work." This may seem like an audacious statement coming from a man whose company has been harshly criticized for planning to give many of its employees multi-million pay packages just a bit more than a year after the collapse of the credit markets.

Blankfein told The Times of London, "We help companies to grow by helping them to raise capital. Companies that grow create wealth. This, in turn, allows people to have jobs that create more growth and more wealth. We have a social purpose." That is, of course, a social purpose that comes at a very steep price; it charges huge fees for raising money and handling M&A transactions, even if they eventually fail.

Continue reading Goldman Sachs CEO Blankfein says firm is doing 'God's work'

Goldman Sachs CEO Blankfein says firm is doing 'God's work' originally appeared on DailyFinance on Mon, 09 Nov 2009 09:32:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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It has been expected for some time now. U.K. business authorities told Kraft (KFT) some weeks ago that it would need to make an official bid for Cadbury (CBY) or make no bid at all. Cadbury has been clever about maneuvering itself into a position to either stay independent or fetch a high price from Kraft. It increased its guidance two weeks ago. Last week, Kraft's position to make the acquisition was hurt when it missed Wall Street revenue estimates.

None of that past is more than prologue now: Kraft made its much-anticipated official bid for Cadbury at a price of 717 pence a share or 9.8 billion pounds ($16.5 billion). Cadbury shares fell 1% to 750 pence just after the news was released. Shares had traded as high at 768 pence on hopes that Kraft would be more aggressive with its bid.

Continue reading Kraft finally makes Cadbury bid official and the war over value begins

Kraft finally makes Cadbury bid official and the war over value begins originally appeared on DailyFinance on Mon, 09 Nov 2009 09:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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