Drill 3: Feb. 26

Revenue Drops 31% at DreamWorks Animation

DreamWorks Animation’s fourth-quarter profit fell.
Revenue sank 31 percent.
The company is based in Glendale California.
DreamWorks Animation earned $51.6 million (58 cents a share) in last year’s fourth-quarter.
This figure is down 45 percent compared to the previous year’s fourth-quarter earnings of $94.1 million (98 cents a share).
DreamWorks Animation’s revenue in the current fourth-quarter was $199.8 million.
This figure is compared to $290.2 million in the previous fourth-quarter.
Analysts expected 60 cents per share and $232.5 million in revenue.
Thomas Reuters polled analysts.
In 2008, DreamWorks released “Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa” and “Kung Fu Panda.”
Mostly in DVD sales, “Kung Fu Panda” added $101.8 million to fourth-quarter revenue.
Mainly from consumer product sales, “Madagascar added $24 million.
Both movies accounted for $1.2 billion collectively in box-office revenue in 2008.
DreamWorks earned $142.5 million ($1.57 a share) for the full year of 2008.
This figure is down 35 percent compared to the previous year.

Last year, DreamWorks Animations fourth-quarter earnings were 98 cents a share. Analysts estimated that the current fourth-quarter earnings would be 60 cents a share. Together, the most recent “Madagascar” and “Kung Fu Panda” released in 2008 contributed $125.8 million to the fourth-quarter revenue and $1.2 billion in box office revenue for the year of 2008. For the year, DreamWorks earned $1.57 a share. Fouth-quarter revenue is down 31 percent, fourth-quarter earnings are down 45 percent, and Full year earnings are down 35 percent.

Japan’s Exports Plunge 46% in a Year

Compared to last year, Japan’s earnings plunged 45,7 percent in January.
This is a record trade deficit; it is the biggest since 1980.
This is a result of recessions in the United States and Europe.
These two smothered demand for the country’s cars and electronics.
The Finance Ministry in Tokyo announced on Wednesday that the shortfall is 952.6 billion yen ($9.9 million).
Shipments dropped abroad.
This eclipsed a record 35 percent decline in December.
Compared to a year earlier, exports to the United States shrunk 52.9 percent.
Exports to Europe also tumbled considerably.
As a result of this decline in trade, Japanese companies will likely be forced to continue firing workers and closing factories, which will worsen the economy.
The economy has shrunk more in the last quarter more than it has in 34 years.
Japan’s exports to China and Asia dropped 45.1 percent and 46.7 percent, respectively.

The United States and Europe have experienced recessions in their economies recently. Their demand for Japanese cars and electronics has decreased significantly. Exports to these countries as well as China and Asia have shrunk. The result is a record trade deficit; the largest fall in 34 years occurred last quarter. The Finance Ministry in Tokyo announced on Wednesday that the shortfall is 952.6 billion yen ($9.9 million). Due to this trade deficit, it is likely that more workers will be fired and more factories will be closed in Japan.

Former Broker Is Sentenced to 5 Years for Insider Trading

David Tavdy, who worked for a broker-dealer named Assent, pleaded guilty to conspiracy and securities fraud.
This happened a year after he admitted to buying tips from and receiving private information about UBS’s stock recommendations from a UBS executive.
The judge in this case was Manhattan Federal District Court’s Judge Deborah A. Batts.
The judge sentenced Tavdy to 63 months.
13 people, including Tavdy and former UBS executive, Guttenberg, were charged with insider trading in 2007.
This illegal activity was likened in pervasiveness to rings in the 1980s.
Former Wall Street business employees from businesses such as the Bank of America Corporation, Morgan Stanley and Bear Stearns comprised the 13 people, all of who plead guilty.
The judge stated that Tavdy made “millions of dollars….by abusing insider information.”
His informer, Guttenberg, was an institutional client manager in the equity research department at UBS.
Last November, Guttenberg was sentenced to 6.5 years for informing Tavdy and another about such shares as those of Caterpillar and the Goldman Sachs Group.
Tavdy made $10.3 million in illegal profits, which he forfeited at sentencing.
Using the information given him, he executed hundreds of securities transactions.
The judge ordered Tavdy to serve time at a minimum-security federal prison in Miami beginning no later than April 21, 2009.

Guttenberg, and executive at UBS, provided unpublicized information, tips, and stock recommendations to David Tavdy. Tavdy used this information to accumulate $10.3 million in illegal profits. Tavdy admitted to his activities and regarded them as unwise decisions. He and 13 others were charged with insider trading in Manhattan’s Federal District Court. Guttenberg was sentenced to 6.5 years for his crimes. As Judge Batts sentenced him to 63 months in prison, Tavdy forfeited his illegal profits.