CanWest woes
CanWest Global closed the day’s trading at a record low of 25 cents following a slew of critical assessments of its financial crisis; analysts called Canwest shares worthless. Too many good employees depend, and too many Canadians rely for news, on this tottering behemoth…
CanWest Global closed the day’s trading on the TSX Monday at a record low of 25 cents following a slew of critical assessments of its financial crisis. Reported Editor and Publisher,
“Moody’s Predicts Canwest Will Miss Looming Payment, Downgrades
Credit.””Canwest shares worthless, to be avoided: analysts” was the headline Reuters used on a story today about analysts’ opinion of the company’s prospects. Advised the Globe and Mail headline “Steer clear of CanWest”
This on the heels of the horrific April 9 quarterly report of a $1.44 billion loss; as reported here by the New York Times and here in the Globe and Mail
with more context: CanWest “has taken a $1.2-billion writedown on its
newspaper assets and may now be in danger of violating another lending
agreement with its banks as the company faces a standoff with lenders
and a sharp drop in advertising revenue.”
CanWest itself is either wearing rose-tinted glasses, or knows something about optimism that most others do not. The April 10 Canadian Press story in the Toronto Star suggested a rosy outlook, quoting CanWest CEO Leonard Asper: Despite $4.1 billion debt, ad woes, CanWest says it’s `well positioned for an economic recovery… The CanWest-owned Financial Post report
take on the same story was distinctly mild in tone. “Economy pressures
Canwest,” said the headline on a FP story with no byline that began, “Global economic
pressures weighed on Canwest Global Communications Corp.’s
second-quarter results while the company’s specialty channels enjoyed a
sharp spike … “
I’m
not the only critic who considers CanWest’s vast influence in
journalism a
travesty in a democratic nation. But there’s no pleasure in watching a
company, on which too many good employees depend and on which too many
Canadians rely for news, struggle.
