Dreamworks Animation's stock soars on sale talk

Softbank's $3.4 billion play for DreamWorks Animation has sent the entertainment company's stock soaring.

Shares of the film and television studio were up more than 20% in pre-market trading and were up 17.44% to $26.26 T 10:20.

Softbank is a Japanese telecommunications and Internet giant with investments in such companies as Sprint, Yahoo Japan and Alibaba. DreamWorks boasts a film library that includes "Kung Fu Panda," "How to Train Your Dragon" and "Shrek," as well as investments in the television and digital space through its acquisition of AwesomenessTV and pact with Netflix. It also has made inroads into China through its Oriental DreamWorks joint venture, which is engaged in everything from Internet content to theme parks.

Most analysts think a deal makes strategic sense.

"Unlike other consumer technology platform/distribution companies (Google, Yahoo!, Netflix), which have deliberately chosen to remain open platforms with no ties to any particular content companies, SoftBank's past bid for Universal Music signals a desire to own content," wrote Stifel analyst Ben Mogil in a note. "More importantly the bid for Universal Music indicates a stomach for content companies in the midst of large-scale changes in consumption patterns."

That strong stomach could come in handy. DreamWorks Animation's stock has undergone ups and downs as it has been battered by a series of costly film flops such as "Rise of the Guardians," "Turbo" and "Mr. Peabody and Sherman." Being part of a larger company might help it better withstand the cyclical nature of the film business, analysts said.

"We believe DreamWorks has attempted to find buyers in the past, and a sale would solve the existential question of what to do given a very uneven track record at the box office and a lack of meaningful profitability over the past three years," wrote Cowen & Co. analyst Doug Creutz in a note to investors.

It's not clear if DreamWorks Animation will continue to see its share price rise, particularly in light of a report that Softbank may be cooling on a possible purchase. That pushed the Japanese company's stock down by more than 1%.

© 2014 Variety Media, LLC, a subsidiary of Penske Business Media; Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC

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Massachusetts gas prices fall by a penny

BOSTON — The price of a gallon of gasoline in Massachusetts has dipped another penny to an average of $3.38.

AAA Southern New England reports Monday that self-serve, regular is now 6 cents per gallon lower than a month ago and 9 cents lower than a year ago.

The in-state price, however, remains 4 cents higher than the national per-gallon average.

AAA found self-serve, regular for as low as $3.21 and as high as $3.69 per gallon.

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Pediatricians urge IUDs or implants for teen girls

CHICAGO — Teen girls who have sex should use IUDs or hormonal implants — long-acting birth control methods that are effective, safe and easy to use, the nation's most influential pediatricians' group recommends.

In an updated policy, the American Academy of Pediatrics says condoms also should be used every time teens have sex, to provide protection against sexually transmitted diseases that other forms of birth control don't provide, and to boost chances of preventing pregnancy.

Condoms alone are the most common birth control choice among teens, but with typical use they're among the least effective methods at preventing pregnancy. Both long-acting methods are nearly 100 percent effective, with lower failure rates than birth control pills, patches and injections, the academy says.

IUDs and hormonal implants cost more, usually hundreds of dollars, because inserting them involves a medical procedure typically done in doctors' offices. But they're less expensive in the long run than over-the-counter condoms or prescription birth control pills, said Dr. Mary Ott, an adolescent medicine specialist and associate pediatrics professor at Indiana University. She is the policy statement's lead author,

Teens have to remember to use pills and condoms consistently. By contrast, IUDs typically work for three to 10 years after insertion, while implants typically last three years.

The new guidance was published Monday in Pediatrics. It echoes 2012 recommendations from the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists.

The policy emphasizes that abstinence is 100 percent effective at preventing pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases and says pediatricians should encourage teens to delay sexual activity "until they are ready." But since many teens don't heed that advice, the policy also says pediatricians need to provide birth control guidance.

IUDs — intrauterine devices — are small, T-shaped devices containing hormones or copper that are inserted into the womb to prevent pregnancy. Hormone-containing birth control implants are matchstick-size plastic rods placed under the skin of the upper arm.

"All methods of hormonal birth control are safer than pregnancy," Ott said.

These include pills, patches and injections.

The academy's new advice updates a 2007 birth control policy that didn't recommend specific methods other than condom use.

For the first time, the new policy addresses obese teens because pediatricians are seeing increasing numbers of patients whose excess weight may affect birth control effectiveness, Ott said. For example, hormonal patches may be less effective in girls weighing more than 198 pounds, the policy says. Also, obese girls are more likely to gain weight with hormonal injections than with birth control pills.

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Online:

American Academy of Pediatrics: http://www.aap.org

American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists: http://www.acog.org

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AP Medical Writer Lindsey Tanner can be reached at http://www.twitter.com/LindseyTanner

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Contracts to buy US homes slide in August

WASHINGTON — Fewer Americans signed contracts to buy homes in August, suggesting that real estate sales will remain sluggish over the next few months.

The National Association of Realtors said Monday that its seasonally adjusted pending home sales index fell 1 percent over the past month to 104.7. Higher prices and weak wage growth has limited buying, as the index is 2.2 percent below its level from a year ago.

The five-year recovery from the Great Recession has been uneven, such that historically low mortgage rates have failed to propel buying back to usual levels. Price increases going back to 2013 have led to fewer homebuyers, while many families have lacked the income to save for down payments. Investors making all-cash offers on homes have also begun to retreat, reducing the total number of sales.

Pending sales are a barometer of future purchases. A one- to two-month lag usually exists between a contract and a completed sale.

The Realtors project that 4.94 million existing homes will be sold this year, down 3 percent from 5.09 million in 2013. Analysts generally associate sales of roughly 5.5 million existing homes with a healthy market.

August contracts fell in all four geographical regions — Northeast, Midwest, South and West — compared to the prior month. The index had registered overall gains in four of the previous five months.

Combined with homebuilders catering to higher-income buyers instead of the mass market, the contracts index points to trivial improvements in home sales in September.

"We hope this lost ground will be recovered gradually, but with investors disappearing from the market and homebuilders gaining market share from private sellers, it will take time," said Ian Shepherdson, chief economist at Pantheon Macroeconomics.

The housing rebound started to struggle in the middle of 2013. Mortgage rates started to rise from historic lows, even though they remain below their historic averages. Fierce winter storms delayed construction and slowed foot traffic at open houses at the beginning of 2014. Sales, however, never quite showed much strength during the summer buying season because wage growth has been so modest coming out of the downturn.

Purchases of existing homes fell 1.8 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.05 million in August, the Realtors said last week. Sales fell from a July rate of 5.14 million, a figure that was revised slightly downward.

New-home sales did show greater strength in August, but they continue to be below the 1990s pace of more than 700,000 sales a year.

Sales of new homes climbed 18 percent last month to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 504,000, although much of the gains were concentrated in the West. More importantly, 28 percent of the new homes sold in August cost more than $400,000, compared to just 18 percent a year earlier.

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US stocks head lower, following drops overseas

NEW YORK — The U.S. stock market slid to start the week, following European markets down. Indexes recovered some of their losses by late morning.

KEEPING SCORE: The Dow Jones industrial average fell 81 points, or 0.5 percent, to 17,033 as of 10:58 a.m. Eastern time on Monday. It was down as much as 178 points in early trading. The Standard & Poor's 500 index lost eight points, or 0.4 percent, to 1,975. The Nasdaq composite fell nine points, or 0.2 percent, to 4,503.

The losses were slight but broad. All 10 industry groups in the S&P 500 traded lower, but not much. Energy stocks lost the most, 1 percent.

WHAT'S UP: The market has turned choppy in recent weeks, flipping between solid gains and steep losses. Since hitting a record on Sept. 18, the S&P 500 has slipped 1.4 percent.

"It seems like the last couple of weeks we've seen such a lack of direction," said John Canally, chief economic strategist at LPL Financial. "We're also way overdue for a pullback. I can't tell you how many calls we're getting now asking, 'Is this it? Is this the big one?'"

THE ECONOMY: Traders have pushed the stock market lower despite a string of encouraging economic news. On Monday the Commerce Department reported that consumer spending in August rose 0.5 percent from the previous month after no gain in July. Auto sales made up about half of the increase. It was the best result since spending expanded at the same rate in June and further evidence that the economy is on solid footing heading into the end of the year.

DEAL CHATTER: DreamWorks Animation, the studio behind "Shrek" and "Madagascar," soared 18 percent following reports that Japan's SoftBank Corp. is in talks to buy the company. DreamWorks gained $3.82 to $26.22.

SPIN OFF: NiSource surged 3 percent, the biggest gain in the S&P 500. The utility said Sunday that it plans to split off its natural-gas pipeline business into a stand-alone company. NiSource expects that new company, Columbia Pipeline Group, to be listed on the New York Stock Exchange by the middle of next year. NiSource gained $1.07 to $39.65.

OVER THERE: Major markets in Europe sank. France's CAC-40 fell 1.3 percent, while Germany's DAX fell 1.1 percent. The FTSE 100 of leading British companies lost 0.5 percent.

HONG KONG TENSIONS: Pro-democracy protests escalated Monday, raising concerns that business in Hong Kong might be disrupted. In a rare scene of disorder, thousands of people took to the streets over the weekend in a challenge against Beijing's decision to limit political reforms. Police fired tear gas and detained 78 protesters.

ASIA'S DAY: Concerns over the situation in Hong Kong weighed on its main stock index, the Hang Seng, which closed with a loss of 1.9 percent. Japan's Nikkei 225 index rose 0.5 percent, and China's Shanghai Composite added 0.4 percent.

ANALYST'S TAKE: "Sentiment is downbeat for a variety of reasons, not least due to the growing unrest in Hong Kong," said Fawad Razaqzada, technical analyst at Forex.com.

BONDS: Prices for U.S. government bonds rose, sending yields lower. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note fell to 2.48 percent from 2.53 percent late Friday.

CURRENCIES: The euro rose 0.2 percent to $1.2706 while the dollar was flat at 109.29 yen. The dollar has been rising over the past few months as the U.S. economy has strengthened and as traders price in the prospect of interest rate increases from the Fed.

ENERGY: Benchmark U.S. crude oil fell three cents to $93.49 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange.

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Pilots end strike at Air France after 14 days

PARIS — Air France's leading pilots union on Sunday announced an end to a 14-day strike that grounded roughly half of the airline's flights, stranded passengers worldwide and led to stern shows of frustration by the French prime minister.

After a late-night negotiating session with management, leaders of the SNPL pilot union walked away with no deal, but the realization that the strike "is not an end in itself," said union spokesman Antoine Amar. The union was "taking up its responsibilities" and ending the walkout so that service can now resume and negotiations can continue peaceably, he said.

Air France, in a statement, said that service would "progressively" start returning to normal on Tuesday — meaning that flights already canceled between now and then won't be reinstated. The company hailed the end of the strike, saying it "will have been costly and damaging. It has only lasted too long."

Alexandre de Juniac, chairman and CEO of parent company Air France-KLM, said management team members "are aware of the trauma that our customers, employees and partners just lived through," according to the statement.

At the center of the standoff are Air France's ambitions to develop a low-cost affiliate, Transavia, to tap into new markets in both France and elsewhere in Europe and better compete at a time when budget airlines have cut into the market share once dominated by giant European carriers like Air France.

The pilots union said it didn't oppose those plans to build the new business, but rejected the labor conditions that management had planned. They started the strike two weeks ago out of concerns that management was looking for a way to outsource their jobs to countries with lower taxes and labor costs.

In a tactical retreat, the carrier offered Wednesday to scrap a central part of the plan to shift most of its European operations to Transavia. But the pilots remained unsatisfied, saying the contracts sought for the low-cost carrier's operations in France alone were insufficient.

Air France, in its statement, "confirmed its decision to continue its accelerated development of Transavia in France, without delay" — which suggested that issues remain unresolved. The carrier said it is sticking to plans to create 1,000 jobs in France through the carrier, including 250 pilot positions.

Several would-be passengers interviewed by The Associated Press expressed frustration and anger during the strike; some grumbled about the tendency of many French workers to strike — and snarl services in the process. Socialist Prime Minister Manuel Valls chimed in during the walkout, saying the strike was unfounded, incomprehensible to the French people, endangered the flag carrier and gave France a "bad image."

Air France-KLM said previously that the walkout was costing up to 20 million euros ($25 million) a day.

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Emilio Alcalde, Krishna Mahon, A&E Olé Networks Brazil, on Brazil's pay TV market

A&E Olé Networks - a joint venture between AETN and Ole Communications - operates channels such as A&E, History and Bio across Latin America, playing an important role in circulation of US and domestic programming throughout the region.

The company established a new office in Brazil in 2012 in order to increase production of original Brazilian content and currently has a 6% share of the Brazilian pay TV market.

In the opening session of the RioMarket TV Seminars on Wednesday, A&E Olé Networks' Original Content Director for Brazil, Krishna Mahon took part in the panel dedicated to "How to meet the programming profile and production costs of a TV channel".

Variety interviewed Krishna Mahon, together with Emilio Alcalde - A&E Ole Networks' General Manager for Brazil - posing 10 questions about how they view the Brazilian pay TV market and the overall growth potential of A&E Olé Networks Brazil.

Emilio, what share does A&E Olé networks have in Brazil's pay-TV market?

Our share of audience January to June 2014 is 6%, (YTD) including A&E, History and the launch of the new brands, Lifetime and H2, adding the potential for significant growth in audience for the near future.

What are the main bases for your success in the Brazilian market?

I believe the main bases for the success in the Brazilian market are the great programming coming from A&E International, strong adaptation of content, localization and digital/marketing presence.

Without any doubt all of our great brands, especially History, which is one of the pay TV leaders, have a strong presence in the market. Earlier this year we welcomed Rick Dale, from American Restoration, in a consumer event at São Paulo where we had over 20,000 fans come to meet them in a local mall. There is also a great potential for A&E's new tagline 'Be Original' as well the launch of Lifetime and H2 channels this year.

We have a great team of professionals who are engaged with the brands, and programming strategies which are tailor made by Brazilians for Brazilian audience, based on the A&E's recognized brand series, local productions and local acquisitions. And of course, we have the esteemed commitment of the A+E Network's top management to support development of the market.

How do you position your activities in Brazil in comparison with the rest of A+E in Latin America?

There are not a lot of big differences in the activities that we develop in Brazil with the rest of Latin America, besides the language. We focus our energies on positioning our group as leaders in the market as we do in other countries, developing strategies to grow our business in distribution, brand positioning, ad sales, original productions, digital and social media platforms.

What have been your principal experiences in screening shows from Brazilian independent producers?

There are not a lot of options for acquisitions currently in the market, and that's a real challenge for all the networks. Having said that, we had good numbers with "Investigação Criminal" and "Polícia 24h", both acquisitions aired on A&E. Same happens with our original productions for A&E and History.

Krishna, have these shows benefited from support from the Fundo Sectorial?

No.

How has the 2012 pay TV law changed your business?

Our group understood the importance of localization long before the pay tv law, we knew Brazilian content gives us audience, so we had enough hours on History and A&E to comply with the quota, therefore we believed the law was positive at first.

Unfortunately, other networks that didn't co-produce and were not prepared, had to run to the market and acquire whatever was available. Now there's a lack of options for acquisitions of ready to air series, costs to produce have gone up and ultimately audience suffers the biggest negative impact.

What are the strongest potential areas of growth in Brazilian independent TV production - for example, animation, documentary series, fiction?

We have a great challenge/opportunity with factual programming, especially reality series, as Brazilian producers are still learning how to make them and ensure they don't look or feel fake.

The field that has most business opportunity in terms of licensing products and long shelf life is animation, but unfortunately this is not our area.

Do you have any fixed partnerships or outlook deals with Brazilian independent producers.

We identify best producers depending on the area, and we have several different partners, but nothing fixed, quite the opposite. We don't do two productions at the same time with any partner. Also our doors are open to fresh new ideas and we understand there's a great potential with the new upcoming producers.

Through your partnerships in Latin America do productions from Brazilian independent producers circulate abroad?

Yes, sometimes they do. We try to produce for the entire region, but we understand it depends a lot on the theme. Productions from Mexico or Argentina sometimes do well; sometimes they don't perform as well as in that specific market. With Brazilian content, besides these normal variations, there's a language issue as well as cultural differences, but we do have successful cases.

Do you have further expansion plans in Brazil or other territories that can be disclosed at present?

Our expectations are to continue growing within the Brazilian market.

© 2014 Variety Media, LLC, a subsidiary of Penske Business Media; Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC

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Bitcoin makes an itty-bitty splash in MA politics

With barely more than a month to go before Election Day, there has been one thing practically nonexistent this cycle: bitcoin.

The virtual currency, which made waves when the Office of Campaign and Political Finance said in January it was A-OK for campaigns to accept, is currently invisible.

That is, with one exception.

State Rep. Josh Cutler (D-Duxbury) has raised an itty-bitty $25 in bitcoin, because why not?

He said one of his constituents, who is all about the currency which is worth as much as people say it is, wanted to try it out.

"I had to turn to my college intern to get the lowdown on bitcoin," Cutler said. "I had heard of bitcoin but I didn't know anything about it."

The controversial currency almost had a brush with the gubernatorial race. In December, an attorney for the Charlie Baker campaign asked campaign finance officials if it would be kosher to hold a fundraiser and ask for bitcoins.

"In a regulated industry it is important for campaigns to remain constantly informed of the impact of new technologies," Baker spokesman Tim Buckley said.

The fundraiser never happened.

Campaign representatives for Baker, Maura Healey, Evan Falchuk and Seth Moulton all said they have not received any contributions in bitcoin. Attorney General Martha Coakley's campaign did not respond.

After OCPF issued its opinion in response to an inquiry from the Massachusetts Pirate Party, the office said campaigns could add the bitcoin booty to its treasure chests, as long as it is converted to USD within five days and is within the contribution limits.

Still, the finance watchdogs closely monitored bitcoin in the following months, including when the founder of one of the largest bitcoin exchanges was found dead, according to a Herald public records request.

The same day the advisory opinion was issued, the Sacramento Kings became the first professional sports team to accept bitcoin.

"The day will go down in bitcoin infamy," OCPF legal counsel Maura Cronin wrote in an email to OCPF spokesman Jason Tait.

If the last nine months are any indication, that is just a bit off-track.

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ESPN films is a triple winner at second La Costa Film Festival

ESPN Films was the big winner at the second La Costa Film Festival, with the jury picking "Brothers in Exile" as top feature documentary and "Tommy and Frank" (from the "30 for 30" series) as best short docu. "Brothers" was also given the audience award in the docu category.

Writer-director Ron Shelton received the Ambassador of Sports Award, for work on pics including "Bull Durham," "Tin Cup" and "White Men Can't Jump." Ed Harris was given the Legacy Award.

Seven audience awards were handed out. Aside from "Brothers," the winners were "Una Vida" (directed by Richie Adams), narrative feature; "White Lies" (Dana Rotberg), foreign narrative feature; "Bella Vita" (Jason Baffa), foreign docu feature; "Tandem" (Matthew Douglas Helfgot and Jared Hillman), short film; and "Bis Gleich" (Benjamin Wolff), foreign short film. Full-length surf docu "H2MexicO" (Brent Deal) received honorable mention.

The four-day fest screened 43 films from 13 countries. The event was held at the Omni La Costa Resort & Spa in Carlsbad, CA. Mandalay Sports Media helped curate the festival's sports themed narrative, documentary and shorts programs.

© 2014 Variety Media, LLC, a subsidiary of Penske Business Media; Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC

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Dreamworks Animation in talks to sell to Japan's Softbank

DreamWorks Animation could soon have a new owner in Japan's SoftBank.

Jeffrey Katzenberg is in talks to sell his toon studio to the conglomerate. The deal would value DWA at around $3.4 billion, according to The Hollywood Reporter, which first reported the news.

Katzenberg would remain the head of DWA should the deal occur, with the exec signing a five-year contract to remain its CEO.

SoftBank is said to be offering $32 a share to purchase DWA, higher than its current stock price of $22, as of Friday.

DreamWorks Animation, which has released its films through 20th Century Fox, starting with "The Croods," last year, has a mixed record at the box office of late. While "How To Train Your Dragon 2" is a hit, earning $611 million this summmer, it missed with "Mr. Peabody & Sherman," taking in just $273 million. "Turbo" also didn't live up to expectations, although the film has since spun off an animated series on Netflix.

However, DWA has scored considerably with its acquisition of AwesomenessTV, a digital network targeting a young online audience -- something that likely helped attract the attention of SoftBank, which has a number of major investments in digital platforms.

The company owns significant shares in Alibaba, Sprint, Yahoo and GungHo Online Entertainment, a mobile gamemaker.

DreamWorks Animation has operated as a publicly traded company since 2004.

The potential takeover by SoftBank comes as DWA hired Fazal Merchant last month to replace Lew Coleman as its new chief financial officer. Merchant is a former DirecTV and Barclays Capital executive.

DreamWorks Animation declined to comment on the news, saying it doesn't "comment on rumors and speculation."

© 2014 Variety Media, LLC, a subsidiary of Penske Business Media; Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC

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