Viacom Inc. (VIA.B) today declared encouraging results for the third quarter. Quarterly net income from continuing operation was $443 million or 73 cents per share, compared to $385 million or 62 cents per share in the prior-year quarter. However, third-quarter adjusted (excluding one-time discrete tax benefit) EPS was 61 cents significantly above the Zacks Consensus Estimate of 55 cents. This is mainly due to soaring increase in operating profit and effective cost management. Quarterly revenues of $3.32 billion was down 3% year over year but was in line with the Zacks Consensus Estimate.   Operating income was $784 million, up 14% year over year driven by the solid performance of the Filmed Entertainment segment. At the end of the reported quarter, Viacom had $249 million of cash & cash equivalent and $6,852 million of outstanding debt on its balance sheet compared to $792 million of cash & cash ...

You ready for a good ol’ 1960s rock n’ roll flashback, courtesy of four lads from Liverpool?

Amid a buzz of publicity, yesterday was the day that many Beatles fans had eagerly waited for, with the release of a new video game in the band’s name – “The Beatles: Rock Band.”

If you’re not familiar with the “Rock Band” concept, it’s a bit like karaoke, except you play music in addition to singing. Gamers follow along with their favorite musicians/songs, using an electronic drum kit and guitar, and sing the songs, too.

The game is enormously popular, having generated over $1 billion in revenue. And gamers can download individual songs, albums, or catalogs of groups like AC/DC, The Who and The Grateful Dead. So far, they’ve paid for and downloaded over 40 million songs…

Both Paul McCartney and Ringo Starr were part of the creative process and have endorsed the game in the

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A New Wave of “Beatle Mania”… Four Ways to Profit From The Beatles: Rock Band

by Marc Lichtenfeld, Advisory Panelist

You ready for a good ol’ 1960s rock n’ roll flashback, courtesy of four lads from Liverpool?

Amid a buzz of publicity, yesterday was the day that many Beatles fans had eagerly waited for, with the release of a new video game in the band’s name – “The Beatles: Rock Band.”

If you’re not familiar with the “Rock Band” concept, it’s a bit like karaoke, except you play music in addition to singing. Gamers follow along with their favorite musicians/songs, using an electronic drum kit and guitar, and sing the songs, too.

The game is enormously popular, having generated over $1 billion in revenue. And gamers can download individual songs, albums, or catalogs of groups like AC/DC, The Who and The Grateful

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No surprise: video game sales were weak again in May. According to the NPD Group, May 2009 video game sales came in at $863.3 million, down 23% from May 2008. Software sales were down 17% to $448.9 million. Hardware sales dropped 30% to $302.5 million. Accessories were down 25% to $112,000.May, which is typically the weakest month of the year for video games, marked the third straight month of sales declines. Year-to-date, video game sales are tracking 7% below the first five months of 2008.Sales were soft across the board due to the lackluster release schedule and difficult economic conditions. Still, there were a couple of bright spots: THQ's (THQI) UFC 2009 Undisputed sold over 1 million units on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 consoles, and the Wii Fit w/ Balance Board and EA Sports Active Bundle (both for the Wii) ...

'Cause I'm the taxmanYeah, I'm the taxman. - The BeatlesAs millions of online shoppers have discovered, shopping online usually comes with a nice perk: no sales tax. But states are once again pushing Congress to close the online sales tax "loophole."It seems that every so often Congress takes up this issue and discusses whether or not online retailers should collect sales taxes on behalf of the states. The issue gets debated, goes nowhere, and things continue as they did before.When Congress takes up the issue again (which could be as early as this week), however, the results could be different this time.Most states are facing huge budget deficits, due to declining tax receipts from the downturn in housing, higher unemployment and a weak economy. According to the National Conference of State Legislatures (which is drafting the proposed bill), state sales ...

“Negative growth,” says newspapers.

Yes, dear reader. Stocks are advancing to the rear…and economies are growing…smaller. How we love these oxymorons! If only we could age negatively…and eat all we wanted and gain minus pounds!

The commentators have it all wrong. Look on the bright side. The world economy is not in a period of negative growth. It’s in a period of positive collapse! That’s why the Great Depression was so great, after all. What’s positive about this depression is that it is clearing away a generation’s worth of mistakes, misallocations of resources and misplaced confidence.

Stocks are down more than 20% this year. The U.S. economy is retreating at more than 6% per year. Britain is walking backwards at a 2% pace. And Japan? Wow…when it comes to negative growth, the Japanese are experts. Their economy is growing negatively at more than 12% per year. If this keeps up, by the time

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Currencies trade in a tight range…  China…  Commodity prices to blame…  “Safe” Treasuries? And Now… Today’s Pfennig! Good day… And a Wonderful Wednesday to you! Well… I went “shopping” yesterday evening… At least I can say I did my bit to keep the economy afloat! HA! Thanks to all who sent along notes to me yesterday with kind words. I truly appreciate the kind words, you are all too kind! The automakers made their pleas to Congress yesterday, and they claim they are in deep dookie! GM says they need $4 Billion right now! And… The original $25 Billion figure has grown to $35 to $40 Billion…

The currencies were lifeless yesterday, with only

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The Globe and Mail asks an interesting question: Mr. Medvedev is known to be a great lover of rock 'n' roll, especially as practised by Deep Purple and Pink Floyd. Lately, one could be forgiven for wondering if the Beatles have taken over his iPod. Back to the USSR, perhaps? Actually the full editorial is well worth reading, exploring the question of whether extended powers, term limits, and legislative pliancy actually help any given leader implement reforms, or whether it's just a cheap rhetorical cover for a power grab. This isn't Michael Bloomberg we're talking about here.