Why

The market is way up but all my brick and mortar investments, banks, etc are down?

 

Banks are down from bad loans to stupid homebuyers. Futures are looking okay though. And NewsCorp just made a big announcement a few minutes ago.

News Corp. News Corp (NWS)
23.44 -0.56 -2.33%


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[NWS 23.44 -0.56 (-2.33%) ] has made an unsolicited offer of $60 a share for Dow Jones Dow Jones & Company Inc (DJ)
55.03 18.70 +51.47%


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[DJ 55.03 18.70 (+51.47%) ], owner of the Wall Street Journal, reports CNBC's David Faber, citing people familiar with the matter.

Dow Jones has confirmed that it received the bid and said the company is evaluating the proposal.



"There can be no assurance that this evaluation will lead to any transaction," Dow Jones said in a statement.

The Bancroft family, which controls Dow Jones with ownership of roughly 62% of voting stock, has hired advisors to help weigh the offer. It remains unclear what the family will choose to do, Faber said, but the offer has not been rejected.

The all-cash bid represents a huge premium for Dow Jones, or about 50% above its 52-week high. Trading in shares of Dow Jones have been halted.

"It is only that kind of premium that would have given the family a reason to even consider selling," Faber said, citing people familiar with News Corp.'s thinking.

News Corp., which is controlled by Rupert Murdoch, proposed the acquisition in a letter sent to Dow Jones board two weeks ago.

"It is not a family that acts monolithically given the controlling voting stake is held by as many as 20 separate members of the Bancroft family," reports Faber. "If Dow Jones' board of directors believes there is enough support amongst members of the family to consider a sale, it is likely to begin a process to do just that," he added.

Murdoch, who has built News Corp. into a media empire extending far beyond its roots in the newspaper business, has carried with him a deep desire to own Dow Jones and its prized property, the Wall Street Journal.

Later this year, News Corp. is expected to begin a business news channel to compete with CNBC. The addition of Dow Jones would certainly help those efforts, Faber said. CNBC currently has a partnership with Dow Jones that extends until 2012.

If Dow Jones is officially put up for sale, other bidders might include Bloomberg, or even private equity firms, Faber said.

"As I reported last fall, with a value that probably exceeds $20 billion, Bloomberg easily has the financial muscle to borrow the funds necessary to make a bid for Dow Jones," Faber said. "It remains to be seen what other bidders might emerge for a trophy property that, if it is for sale, will not likely be available again."

 

Read up on the "yield curve." Right now it's a bit inverted. If you still don't understand ask Sly.