Best Media Stocks To Own For 2014

Looking at Euro policy makers, from a market and credibility perspective, they are playing with fire by using strong words to talk about action in June. The biggest risk to the market is the ECB disappointing at the next rate decision meeting on June 5th as it has done in the past. If so, all the hard work done by the EUR bear over the past ten-day's would immediately be unwound, allowing the 18-member currency to bounce back towards the heavily defended and psychological €1.4000 print. The current price action since the single-currency's fall from grace after the ECB meeting could be ending.

To many, ECB action seems certain, but what's to be delivered remains unclear. Euro policy makes will have to deliver a compelling initiative, enough to ensure financial markets react positively and weaken the EUR. A -10/15 bp cut in key rates, a negative deposit rate and or leaving the SMP unsterilized is some examples of what's possible. Many expect that slashing deposit rates could have the biggest impact on weakening the EUR, especially against USD and GBP –now that the FED and BoE are expected to hike next year.

5 Best Heal Care Stocks To Buy Right Now: DISH Network Corporation(DISH)

DISH Network Corporation, through its subsidiaries, provides direct broadcast satellite (DBS) subscription television services in the United States. It offers programming that includes approximately 280 basic video channels, 60 Sirius satellite radio music channels, 30 premium movie channels, 35 regional and specialty sports channels, 2,800 local channels, 250 Latino and international channels, and 55 channels of pay-per-view content. The company also offers local HD channels in approximately 160 markets and 215 national HD channels; and receiver systems, including a small satellite dish, digital set-top receivers, and remote controls. In addition, it provides DISHOnline.com, which enables DISH Network subscribers to watch 150,000 movies, television shows, clips, and trailers; DISH Remote Access that enables subscribers to remotely manage their DVRs using compatible mobile devices, such as smartphones, tablets, and laptops through their broadband-connected receiver; and Go ogle TV that enables DISH Network subscribers to search the Internet, check email, interact with social media, and find additional online programming content while simultaneously watching television. As of March 31, 2011, the company had approximately 14.191 million customers. DISH Network provides receiver systems and programming through direct sales channels; and independent third parties, such as small satellite retailers, direct marketing groups, local and regional consumer electronics stores, nationwide retailers, and telecommunications companies. The company was founded in 1980 and is headquartered in Englewood, Colorado.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Dan Radovsky]

  Sprint Nextel (NYSE: S  ) has received the go-ahead from SoftBank to obtain more information from DISH Network (NASDAQ: DISH  ) regarding its merger proposal of April 15, Sprint announced today.

• [By Jonathan Berr]

  Cracks are starting to appear in the decade-old framework of the television industry. DirecTV (DTV), Verizon (VZ), AT&T (T) and Dish Network (DISH) have all refused to carry Comcast’s regional sports network in Houston, arguing steep fees Comcast was charging couldn’t be justified by the viewership. Having the Houston Astros, one of the worst teams in baseball, as part of the channel’s programming lineup doesn’t help matters either. These spats will become more commonplace.

• [By Chris Hill]

  Noodles & Company's (NASDAQ: NDLS  ) stock continues to rise. Westport Innovations (NASDAQ: WPRT  ) experiences a pullback. Southwest Airlines (NYSE: LUV  ) and DISH Network (NASDAQ: DISH  ) team up to offer live TV to passengers. And it was a bad day for anyone who thinks Amazon.com (NASDAQ: AMZN  ) is overvalued. In this installment of Investor Beat, Jason and Matt discuss four stocks making big moves today.

Best Media Stocks To Own For 2014: Gannett Co. Inc. (GCI)

Gannett Co., Inc. operates as a media and marketing solutions company in the United States and internationally. Its Publishing segment publishes 83 U.S. daily newspapers with affiliated online sites, including USA TODAY, a national, general-interest daily newspaper; USATODAY.com; USA WEEKEND, a magazine supplement for newspapers; Clipper Magazine, a direct mail advertising magazine; bi-weekly Nursing Spectrum and NurseWeek periodicals; and military and defense newspapers. This segment also includes 17 paid-for daily newspapers; approximately 200 weekly newspapers, magazines, and trade publications; and approximately 600 non-daily publications, as well as involves in commercial printing, newswire, marketing, and data services operations. The company?s Digital segment owns and operates CareerBuilder, an employment Web site, which offers online recruitment and career advancement services for employers, employees, recruiters, and job seekers; ShopLocal, which provides multicha nnel shopping and advertising services; Planet Discover, which offers hosted search and advertising services; PointRoll, which provides digital marketing services and technology; and Schedule Star, which offers scheduling solution for high school athletic departments. Its Broadcasting segment operates 23 television stations and affiliated Web sites, which produce local programming, such as news, sports, and entertainment programming. This segment also includes Captivate Network, a national news and entertainment network that delivers programming and full-motion video advertising on video screens located in elevators of office towers and select hotel lobbies in North America. The company has strategic business relationships with online affiliates, including Classified Ventures, ShopLocal.com, Topix, and Metromix LLC, as well as strategic marketing agreement with Microsoft. Gannett Co., Inc. was founded in 1906 and is headquartered in McLean, Virginia.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By The Part-time Investor]

  The following stocks met the criteria in January of 2008 and were put into the initial portfolio:

  Abbot Labs (ABT)Advanced data processing (ADP)Associated Banc-Corp (ASBC)Bank of America (BAC)BB&T Corp. (BBT)Bemis Company (BMS)Anheuser Busch (BUD)The Chubb Corporation (CB)Clorox (CLX)Comerica Inc. (CMA)Diebold Inc. (DBD)Emerson Electronics (EMR)First Dollar Corp. (FDO)First Third BanCorp. (FITB)Gannett Co, Inc. (GCI)General Electric (GE)Hershey (HSY)Illinois Tools Works (ITW)Johnson and Johnson (JNJ)Leggett and Platt (LEG)Eli Lilly (LLY)La-Z-Boy (LZB)McDonald's (MCD)Marsh and Ilsley (MI)M&T Bancorp (MTB)PepsiCo (PEP)Pfizer (PFE)Procter & Gamble (PG)Pentair Ltd. (PNR)Regions Financial Corp. (RF)Rohm and Haas (ROH)RPM International (RPM)Sherwin Williams (SHW)Sysco Corp. (SYY)UDR Inc. (UDR)

  Historical quotes were taken from Yahoo Finance. $10,000 was put into each position, to the nearest whole share, so a total of $349,262.89 was invested. From 1/15/08 through 5/16/13 all dividends were reinvested back into the stock that paid them. If a dividend cut was announced, that stock was sold on the ex-div date of the new, lower dividend.

• [By Sue Chang]

  Gannett Co. (GCI) �is projected to post earnings of 41 cents a share in the third quarter.

Best Media Stocks To Own For 2014: Cablevision Systems Corporation (CVC)

Cablevision Systems Corporation provides telecommunications and media services. It operates in two segments, Telecommunications Services and Other. The Telecommunications Services segment is involved in television business, including video, high-speed data, and VoIP operations, as well as the provision of commercial data and voice services. The Other segment offers Newsday, a daily newspaper; amNewYork, a free daily newspaper; and Star Community Publishing, a group of weekly shopper publications; and newsday.com and exploreLI.com. This segment also engages in motion picture theatre business, Clearview Cinemas; provision of the News 12 Networks, a regional news programming services; and the MSG Varsity network, a network covering high school sports and activities, and other local programs, as well as cable television advertising. Cablevision Systems Corporation was founded in 1985 and is headquartered in Bethpage, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Anna Prior]

  Cablevision Systems Corp.(CVC) said it swung to a profit in the first quarter, driven by higher rates and advertising sales that boosted its cable revenue.

• [By Tim Beyers]

  Who loses in all this? Pure-play content distributors such as Cablevision Systems (NYSE: CVC  ) and DISH Network (NASDAQ: DISH  ) . Like partner Netflix, Apple is taking steps to eliminate the barriers between viewers and content created by these gatekeepers. Color me grateful -- both as an investor and as a fan of great television.

• [By Alyce Lomax]

  All in the family
  Cablevision� (NYSE: CVC  ) is family-controlled, so maybe nepotism is to be expected. Recently, in a bizarre turn of events, CEO James Dolan expanded the corporate responsibilities of his wife, Kristin. Although that sounds like a clear conflict of interest, it's a little stranger still since the company had disclosed that the couple had separated. Meanwhile, Dolan's brother-in-law, Brian Sweeney, has been awarded with a promotion to spearhead corporate strategy.

Best Media Stocks To Own For 2014: Discovery Communications Inc(DISCA)

Discovery Communications, Inc. operates as a non fiction media and entertainment company worldwide. The company provides original and purchased programming across various distribution platforms. Its content covers science, exploration, survival, natural history, sustainability of the environment, technology, docu-series, anthropology, paleontology, history, space, archaeology, health and wellness, engineering, adventure, lifestyles, forensics, civilization, and current events. The company owns and operates nine national television networks in the United States, including Discovery Channel, TLC, Animal Planet, Science Channel, Investigation Discovery, Military Channel, Planet Green, Discovery Fit & Health, and Velocity. Discovery Communications also has interests in Oprah Winfrey Network, a pay-television network and Web site; The Hub that features original programming, game shows, and live-action series and specials; and 3net, a three-dimensional network. In addition, it o ffers network branded Web sites, and mobile and video-on-demand services; and distributes various national and pan-regional television networks. Further, the company develops and sells curriculum-based products and services to public and private K-12 schools, such as access to an online VOD service that includes curriculum-based tools, professional development services, and student assessment and publication of hardcopy curriculum-based content; and postproduction audio services to motion picture studios, independent producers, broadcast networks, cable channels, advertising agencies, and interactive producers. As of December 31, 2011, it operated approximately 150 distribution feeds in 40 languages. The company is headquartered in Silver Spring, Maryland.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Harold L. Vogel]

  *Includes AMC (AMCX), Cablevision (CVC), Charter, Comcast Cable (CMCSA) and networks, Discovery (DISCA), Disney (DIS) cable networks, Time Warner Cable (TWC) and cable networks, Viacom (VIAB) networks.

Best Media Stocks To Own For 2014: Liberty Global Inc.(LBTYA)

Liberty Global, Inc. provides video, broadband Internet, and telephony services primarily in Europe and Chile. The company offers broadband services over cable distribution systems, including video, broadband Internet, and telephony; and video services through direct-to-home satellite, or through multichannel multipoint distribution systems. Its analog video services comprise basic and expanded basic programming; and digital cable services include basic and premium programming, digital video recorders, and high definition programming, as well as pay-per-view programming, such as video-on-demand and near video-on-demand. In addition, the company offers voice-over-Internet-protocol and circuit-switched telephony services, as well as mobile telephony services using third-party networks. Further, it owns programming networks that provide video programming channels to multi-channel distribution systems owned by the company and the third parties. As of December 31, 2011, the com pany owned and operated networks that passed 33,262,100 homes; and served 18,405,500 video subscribers, 8,159,300 broadband Internet subscribers, and 6,225,300 telephony subscribers. Liberty Global, Inc. was founded in 2004 and is based in Englewood, Colorado.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Monica Gerson]

  Breaking news

  Loews (NYSE: L) reported a 59% rise in its third-quarter earnings. Loews posted a quarterly profit of $282 million, or $0.73 per share, versus a year-ago profit of $177 million, or $0.45 per share. To read the full news, click here. BankUnited (NYSE: BKU) announced today the commencement of an underwritten offering of 9,000,000 shares of its common stock by certain of its existing stockholders, subject to market and other conditions. To read the full news, click here. Liberty Global (NASDAQ: LBTYA) announced today an agreement to sell substantially all of its international content division Chellomedia to AMC Networks (NASDAQ: AMCX).To read the full news, click here. Myriad Genetics (NASDAQ: MYGN) today announced that validation data for the Myriad myPlan Lung Cancer test showed that it significantly predicted patients' risk of death from early-stage lung adenocarcinoma within five years of being diagnosed. To read the full news, click here.

  Posted-In: Bank of America US Stock FuturesNews Eurozone Futures Global Pre-Market Outlook Markets

• [By Tim Brugger]

  Upon Liberty Global's (NASDAQ: LBTYA  ) successfully closing its acquisition of Virgin Media (NASDAQ: VMED  ) , Tom Mockridge will assume CEO responsibilities of the U.K. communications firm, Liberty Global announced today.

• [By GuruFocus]

  Warren Buffett (Trades, Portfolio) added to his holdings in Wal-Mart Stores Inc by 17.32%. His purchase prices were between $72.66 and $78.91, with an estimated average price of $75.43. The impact to his portfolio due to this purchase was 0.62%. His holdings were 58,052,412 shares as of 03/31/2014.

  Added: Liberty Global PLC (LBTYA)

  Warren Buffett (Trades, Portfolio) added to his holdings in Liberty Global PLC by 149.19%. His purchase prices were between $40.36 and $45.96, with an estimated average price of $43.34. The impact to his portfolio due to this purchase was 0.17%. His holdings were 7,346,968 shares as of 03/31/2014.

• [By Sam Robson]

  LONDON -- Vodafone� (LSE: VOD  ) (NASDAQ: VOD  ) �is believed to have increased its offer for Kabel Deutschland following a rival bid from�Liberty Global� (NASDAQ: LBTYA  ) .

Best Media Stocks To Own For 2014: Time Warner Cable Inc(TWC)

Time Warner Cable Inc., together with its subsidiaries, operates as a cable operator in the United States. It offers video, high-speed data, and voice services over its broadband cable systems to residential and commercial customers. The company provides a range of video services, including on-demand, high-definition (HD), and digital video recorder (DVR) services; residential high-speed data services with connection to the Internet; wireless mobile broadband Internet services; and digital phone services to residential customers. It offers video programming tiers and music services; high-speed data, networking, and transport services; and commercial digital phone service to small and medium-sized businesses under the Time Warner Cable Business Class brand. Further, Time Warner Cable Inc. sells advertising to various national, regional, and local customers. As of June 30, 2011, the company served approximately 14.5 million residential and commercial customers in the New Yor k State, the Carolinas, Ohio, southern California, and Texas. Time Warner Cable Inc. is based in New York, New York.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By WWW.DAILYFINANCE.COM]

  Andrew Burton/Getty Images Most of us couldn't imagine life without our cable or satellite TV, high-speed Internet access and wireless communications. They've become basic utilities, and we pay handsomely for them. Yet, we aren't very satisfied with the service we get. According to the latest American Customer Satisfaction Index, customer satisfaction with subscription TV (cable, satellite and fiber optic service) and Internet service providers continues to decline. Satisfaction with pay TV fell 4.4 percent, to an ACSI score of 65 (on a 100-point scale), while ISPs -- which include many of the same companies -- dropped 3.1 percent to 63. These are the lowest scores of all 43 industries tracked by ACSI. "Customers question the value proposition of both, as consumers pay for more than they need in terms of subscription TV, and get less than they want in terms of Internet speeds and reliability," said Claes Fornell, ACSI chairman and founder. The survey finds that customers are much more dissatisfied with cable TV than with fiber-optic and satellite service. Dish Network (DISH) at 67, the lowest-scoring satellite TV company, still rates higher than the best cable company, Cox Communications, with 63. Comcast (CMCSA) (parent company of CNBC) at 60 and Time Warner Cable (TWC) with 56 have the most dissatisfied customers. ACSI Managing Director David VanAmburg noted that for the last decade or so, the price of these communications services has been rising much faster than inflation. Some households, especially people living in an apartment, now pay more for TV and Internet service each month than they do for gas and electric. Another complaint: When there is a service issue, the customer service experience isn't very good. "These are not companies that do a very good job of providing good call center customer care or good face-to-face customer care," VanAmburg said. Wireless Service and a New Cellphone Favorite Americans aren't exactly thrilled with their

• [By Lee Jackson]

  Time Warner Cable Inc. (NYSE: TWC) said recently it is willing to take on more debt to make the right acquisition. That acquisition could be another cable company. The consensus price target is pegged at $126. Investors are paid a 2.3% dividend.

• [By Jayson Derrick]

  Comcast (NASDAQ: CMCSA) and Charter Communications (NASDAQ: CHTR) are reported to be considering a joint bid for Time Warner Cable�(NYSE: TWC). Comcast gained 4.36 percent, closing at $49.52. Charter Communications gained 6.06 percent, closing at $134.66. Time Warner Cable was the biggest winner of the group, gaining 9.92 percent, closing at $132.85.

Best Media Stocks To Own For 2014: DIRECTV(DTV)

DIRECTV provides digital television entertainment in the United States and Latin America. The company provides direct-to-home (DTH) digital television services, as well as multi-channel video programming distribution services in the United States. It offers various channels of digital-quality video entertainment and CD-quality audio programming directly to subscribers' homes or businesses, as well as video-on-demand services; and approximately 160 national high-definition television channels and 4 3D channels. The company also provides premium professional and collegiate sports programming, such as the NFL SUNDAY TICKET package, which allows subscribers to view the NFL games. In addition, it offers DTH digital television services in Latin America and the Caribbean, including Puerto Rico. The company provides its local and international programming under the DIRECTV and SKY brand names. As of December 31, 2010, it served approximately 19.2 million subscribers in the United States; and 8.9 million subscribers in Latin America. The company was founded in 1990 and is based in El Segundo, California.

Advisors' Opinion:

• [By Jon Friedman]

  Wible's analysis determines that the beneficiaries are likely going to be Viacom (NASDAQ: VIAB  ) , Lions Gate, Carmike Cinemas (NASDAQ: CKEC  ) , and DIRECTV (NASDAQ: DTV  ) .

• [By John Reese]

  Indeed, in 2013, the Greenblatt-based portfolio has bounced back strong, returning more than 50%. Below is a look at its current holdings.

  EBIX, Inc. (EBIX)
  
  Western Refining (WNR)
  
  DirecTV (DTV)
  
  ITT Educational Services (ESI)
  
  Science Applications International (SAIC)
  
  Weight Watchers International (WTW)
  
  ConocoPhillips (COP)
  
  AmSurg Corp. (AMSG)
  
  PDL BioPharma (PDLI)
  
  AFC Enterprises (AFCE)
  
  

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• [By Jake L'Ecuyer]

  Top Headline
  On Sunday, AT&T (NYSE: T) announced its plans to buy DirecTV (NASDAQ: DTV) for $48.5 billion, or $95 per share in a combination of stock and cash. The offer price of $95 per DirecTV share represents a 10 percent premium to closing price of $86.18 on Friday. The deal has a total value of $67.1 billion, including DirecTV's net debt.