CBS Corporation (CBS), the media conglomerate, recently asserted that it still expects its full year 2009 operating income before depreciation and amortization (OIBDA) in the range of $1.725 billion to $1.925 billion.  The uptrend seen in the second-quarter 2009 revenue has made management optimistic and forecasted better results in the third and fourth quarters compared to the earlier quarters in 2009. The company also indicated some signs of revival in advertising demand in core categories like retail, telecom, pharmaceuticals and quick service restaurants.   Although the sluggish advertising market continues to hurt total revenue, which declined 11% to $3,006.3 million in the second-quarter 2009, but CBS saw a 3% improvement in quarterly revenue compared with a 14% drop in the first-quarter 2009.  In a separate story, National Amusement Inc., the holding company of media tycoon Sumner Redstone plans to sell its stake in CBS Corporation and ...

Recently, Harbinger Capital Partners, one of the largest investors in The New York Times Company (NYT), offloaded a chunk of its stake in the company. The investment firm sold about 5 million shares at $8.25 per share, fetching $41.3 million in total. This reduces its ownership interest to 16.38% from 19.94%. The shares of New York Times surpassed the selling price and closed at $8.37 on Tuesday, up 2.6% from the previous day’s session. Harbinger made it clear that it has no intention to shed its entire stake. Harbinger Capital started purchasing The New York Times shares nearly two years ago, at prices ranging between $15 and $20 a share, and investing approximately $500 million in aggregate. The firm incurred a significant loss by selling shares at $8.25 each. The investment firm was looking for a ...

HP Beats 4Q Forecasts; Carrefour Milks New CEO From Nestle; InBev Officially Closes Anheuser Buy; Home Depot Beats 3Q Estimate; Gulf Bank Loses $1.4 Billion; Mexican Tycoon Interested in Circuit City; Wholesale Prices Plummet

Hewlett-Packard Co. (HPQ), the world’s largest maker of personal computers, offered a preview of its fiscal fourth-quarter profits – reporting that it will beat market expectations and raise its fiscal 2009 outlook. “HP is gaining market share in an extremely strong competitive position. They’ve got share gains, combined with very aggressive cost reduction,” Shannon Cross of Cross Research told Reuters. Lars Olofsson, Executive Vice President of Nestle SA, has been named Chief Executive Officer of Carrefour S.A., the world’s second-largest retailer. He’ll ...