Gannett Co. reported a 33 percent drop in its fourth-quarter net income Monday. The media company, which publishes USA Today and owns a network of broadcast, digital and other publishing properties, said profits were weighed down by restructuring costs and other charges, as well as a revenue decline.
The company earned $116.9 million, or 49 cents per share, in the three months that ended Dec. 25. That’s down from earnings of $174.1 million, or 72 cents per share, in the same period a year earlier.
Gannett’s stock fell 7 percent, or $1.07 to $14.15 in midday trading on Monday. It has traded in between $8.28 and $18.93 in the past 52 weeks.
Excluding special items such as restructuring charges, Gannett earned 72 cents per share in the latest quarter. Analysts, on average, were expecting earnings of 68 cents per share, according to a poll by FactSet.
The company said its results reflected $63.6 million in charges related to workforce restructuring and facility consolidations at properties in the U.S. and the U.K. The largest charge was associated with the transfer of production of The Cincinnati Enquirer to a newspaper printer in Columbus, Ohio.
Revenue fell 5 percent to $1.39 billion from $1.46 billion in the same period a year earlier.
Analysts were expecting revenue of $1.39 billion, according to a poll by FactSet.
“We are positioning for growth in print and digital media through new subscription models delivered across platforms, capturing opportunities in adjacent businesses, and continuing to focus on operational efficiencies,” said Gracia Martore, president and CEO, in a statement business cards design.
Revenue at Gannett’s publishing division fell 5 percent to $1.01 billion, a decline the company attributed to lower advertising amid the economic softness in the U.S. and the U.K.
Broadcasting revenue fell 14 percent to $199.8 million, due mainly to sharply lower political advertising than a year earlier.
Revenue at the company’s digital division, which includes the website CareerBuilder, rose 9 percent to $181.5 million.
Company-wide digital revenue, which consists of the digital division and revenue generated by newspaper websites, rose nearly 7 percent to $290.3 million.
For the full year, Gannett earned $458.7 million, or $1.89 per share, down 22 percent from $588.2 million, or $2.43 per share, in the previous year.
Adjusted earnings were $2.13 per share.
Revenue slid 4 percent to $5.24 billion from $5.44 billion.
Analysts were expecting full-year adjusted earnings of $2.10 per share on revenue of $5.25 billion.
Cyprus’ banks will be able to recapitalize on their own and won’t need state support thanks to fiscal measures buttressing the island’s financial system, the government said on Saturday.
Cyprus’ Finance Ministry said in a statement that the economy has “strong foundations” and added that it will soon unveil a growth-oriented package of measures that it’s preparing in partnership with the private sector.
The ministry made its remarks a day after international ratings agency Fitch downgraded the eurozone member by a notch to BBB-, a step above junk status.
Fitch said the downgrade was mainly due to the large Cypriot banking system’s heavy exposure to Greek debt and its greater capital needs in light of the higher likelihood that banks will take a hit on Greek government bonds that exceeds 50 percent.
Fitch said Cypriot banks would need to almost double the euro900 million ($1.18 billion) _ or 9.9 percent of gross domestic product _ to build an adequate buffer against losses on their Greek exposure if the “haircut” on Greek government bonds reaches 70 percent.
Standard & Poor’s became the first ratings agency to push Cyprus into junk territory with a two-notch downgrade earlier this month. Moody’s also rates the island just above junk.
Cyprus government spokesman Stefanos Stefanou on Saturday called the downgrades unfair.
“We consider that the downgrades don’t reflect the real state of the Cyprus economy, which is in better shape than many other economies, either in the eurozone or in the European Union in general,” he told reporters.
According to the European Commission, the island’s deficit is projected to shrink from 6.7 percent of gross domestic product in 2011 to 2.7 percent this year following a string of fiscal consolidation measures including a 2 percent sales tax hike and a two-year public sector wage freeze.
The island’s debt is projected to reach 68.4 percent of GDP this year, well below the eurozone average of nearly 87 percent.
But high borrowing costs have effectively locked Cyprus out of the international markets. The island is relying on a euro2.5 billion ($3.29 billion) low-interest loan to meet its financing needs for this year.
Leading finance chiefs sought to reassure anxious global business leaders on Friday that Europe is on track to solve its crippling debt crisis before it drags the world’s economies down. Europe’s top banker said investors, burned after trusting the region’s governments too much, now trust them too little.
The finance chiefs said the picture in Europe has changed over the past two months as the European Central Bank has loaned billions of euros to fragile banks, indebted countries have pushed through convincing reforms and EU leaders have come near to building a closer fiscal union that would make their common currency stronger.
Several also signaled Friday that Greece is close to clinching a crucial debt-reduction deal with private bondholders _ a key element in Europe’s efforts to stem a two-year debt crisis that is causing ripples around the globe. The crisis is a central topic at the World Economic Forum, a gathering of government and business leaders at the Swiss ski resort of Davos.
“They’re making progress on reforms, they’re changing the institutions of Europe to put better discipline on fiscal policy,” said U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner. “You have three new governments doing some very tough things. You have an ECB doing what central banks have to do. You see them move to try to strengthen the financial sector.”
Mario Draghi, head of the European Central Bank, said a combination of actions _ including super-cheap, long-term loans to shaky banks on the continent and a couple of interest rate cuts _ have helped Europe avoid deeper financial trouble.
“We have avoided a major credit crunch, a major lending crisis,” he said.
Draghi said borrowing rates would remain high “for quite a while” because bond markets are overestimating the risk involved in holding European government debt after years of underestimating it. But he called market pressure “the most potent engine for reform in different governments.”
Geithner said the fate of the U.S. economy _ and by extension of the rest of the world _ hinges on Europe’s debt crisis, along with potential tensions with Iran. He said the main piece of unfinished business for Europe is building a bigger fund to help troubled economies survive.
But while French Finance Minister Francois Baroin said that fund needs to be increased to calm markets, his German counterpart, Wolfgang Schaeuble, indicated that his government is not prepared to do so. Germany, as Europe’s biggest economy, would face the biggest bill.
“We must not give the wrong incentives,” Schaeuble said. “You can make any figure. It will not work if the real problems will not be solved.”
Both, together with Spanish Economy Minister Luis de Guindos Jurado and European Monetary Affairs Commissioner Olli Rehn, agreed that the idea of issuing “eurobonds” backed jointly by all eurozone governments is a nonstarter for now. They didn’t rule out the possibility that such bonds could be introduced once confidence in Europe’s public finances is restored, with Guindos calling that a “final target.”
Schaeuble said eurobonds would provide bad incentives by allowing debt-ridden countries to “spend money you don’t have on the bill of others.”
Many economists have said eurobonds are needed to solve the crisis as they could reduce the borrowing costs of heavily indebted countries by pooling them with bonds of stronger economies like Germany’s.
Professor Nouriel Roubini, the renowned economist who predicted the financial crash of 2008, is one who thinks that eurobonds have to form part of a eurozone strategy to fend off the possibility of a breakup.
The eurozone “could be a slow-motion train wreck,” Roubini said.
Europe has been grappling with the crisis ever since Greece conceded at the end of 2009 that its public finances were in far worse shape than previously thought. Greece remains at the epicenter of the crisis over two years later. Its borrowing costs remain too high for it to borrow in the markets so a second European-led bailout is in the offing.
The finance chiefs signaled Friday that a deal is at hand that could help ease some of the near-term tensions.
Greece has been negotiating with the a group representing banks and other lenders in the hopes that they will forgive half of Greece’s debt in exchange for Greek assurances that it will pay back the other half without defaulting on its loans. The deal would also let Greece repay over a longer period at a lower interest rate _ negotiators have been trying to agree on what that rate will be.
Schaeuble said he is “quite optimistic” about a deal, while Rehn said he hopes a deal can be reached “if not today, maybe by the weekend.”
Agreement between Greece and its creditors is needed before Europe and the International Monetary Fund agree to a second multibillion-euro bailout package.
At the heart of the problem is that the 17 countries that use the euro use a single currency but have different fiscal policies. That changes the nature of their debt, said Adair Turner, chairman of Britain’s banking regulator the Financial Services Authority.
“That debt is more equivalent to the State of California debt than the U.S. federal debt,” he said.
That’s why all but one of the 27 EU countries _ the United Kingdom has refused to participate _ are discussing a closer fiscal union. On Monday, leaders meet in Brussels to work out the details of that new compact.
Schaeuble and Baroin noted that even the agreement in principle to forge closer ties has calmed markets since a December summit, as borrowing rates have dropped and stock markets have risen.
“It’s amazing,” Draghi said. “If you compare today with even five months ago, the euro area is another world.”
The crisis threatens more than Europe: the U.N.’s refugee chief warned Friday that it is fueling conflicts around the world. Antonio Guterres told The Associated Press that rising food prices and growing unemployment are hitting those already at the bottom hardest, sparking conflict in places like South Sudan and exacerbating hotspots including Afghanistan, Iraq and Somalia.
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Frank Jordans and Edith Lederer in Davos and David McHugh in Frankfurt, Germany contributed to this story.
Asian stock markets were mostly higher Thursday after the U.S. central bank pledged to keep interest rates low for another three years to nurture the country’s stubbornly slow economic recovery.
Hong Kong’s Hang Seng Index jumped 1.1 percent to 20,322.51 on its first trading day since the Chinese New Year holiday. South Korea’s Kospi rose 0.2 percent to 1,956.14. Benchmarks in Singapore and New Zealand also rose.
Japan’s Nikkei was 0.4 percent lower at 8,846.96, following strong gains a day earlier. Markets in Taiwan and mainland Chinese remained closed for the Chinese New Year. The Australian market was closed for a public holiday.
On Wednesday, the U.S. Federal Open Market Committee said it was unlikely to raise interest rates before late 2014. It had previously said it expected to keep rates low into the middle of 2013.
The Fed cut rates to near zero in December 2008, during the financial crisis, and has held them there ever since. The announcement was a sign that the Fed expects the economy, which is improving, to need significant help for three more years.
Analysts said stock buyers rejoiced that the Fed was leaning toward promoting economic growth.
“With the FOMC sending out a strong signal that monetary policy is likely to remain accommodative for even longer than previously expected, risk assets are in a very good position,” said Stan Shamu of IG Markets in Melbourne guaranteed personal loan approval.
Wall Street welcomed the news, with the Dow Jones industrial average closing up 0.6 percent at 12,756.96 _ the highest close since May 10. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 0.9 percent to 1,326.06. The Nasdaq composite index gained 1.1 percent to close at 2,818.31.
Benchmark crude for March delivery was up 39 cents to $99.79 per barrel in electronic trading on the New York Mercantile Exchange. The contract rose by 45 cents to finish at $99.40 per barrel in New York on Wednesday. At one point it was as high as $100.40.
The prospect of low interest rates weighed on the dollar, since it reduces the returns that investors get from holding assets denominated in that currency. The euro rose to $1.3103 from $1.3084 late Wednesday in New York. The dollar fell to 77.75 yen from 77.81 yen.
As regulators and attorneys general continue a year-long push to deliver help for homeowners, some left-leaning groups on Monday warned against any deal that protects banks against lawsuits.
Negotiations for a settlement over improper foreclosures have been dragging on for months between state and federal authorities and some of the nation’s biggest banks.
At stake could be a $20 billion to $25 billion pot of money from the banks and mortgage servicers that could help troubled homeowners modify loans and provide them with counseling, according to two people familiar with the talks.
Under the latest deal, about 1 million U.S. homeowners who are underwater on their mortgages could be eligible for as much as $20,000 in relief of principal owed, U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan has said. In return, mortgage servicers in states that agree to the deal would get immunity from lawsuits, the sources said.
Several Democratic state attorneys general were briefed of more details of the deal on Monday in a meeting in Chicago, CNNMoney confirmed. Republican state attorneys general were also to be briefed on a conference call.
News of the briefings spurred a protest on Monday outside the State of Illinois Building in Chicago by members of left-leaning groups, including Move On and the New Bottom Line, urging states to hold out for a bigger criminal investigation and a $300 billion settlement award.
Left-leaning activists and two Democratic lawmakers said they’re fighting against blanket immunity for banks, which North Carolina Democrat Rep. Brad Miller called a "very bad deal for the American people and a sweet-heart deal for banks," in a conference call with reporters on Monday.
The negotiations are between federal agencies, including the U.S. Department of Justice and the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, as well as state attorneys general and the five largest mortgage servicers:Bank of America (, Fortune 500), Wells Fargo (, Fortune 500), JPMorgan Chase (, Fortune 500), Citigroup (, Fortune 500) and Ally Financial ().
The Obama Administration had been pushing for a resolution in time for the president to tout the deal during his delivery of the State of the Union on Tuesday.
But no final agreement is expected this week, said Geoff Greenwood, spokesman for the Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller, who has been leading the talks.
Foreclosures: 100 hardest hit zip codes
The final monetary award depends on the participation of larger states. But several states, including New York, Delaware and California, are reportedly cool to the latest draft, a source said. Those attorneys general have said they want the freedom to pursue their own housing investigations.
Calls to those attorneys general were not returned on Monday.
Washington analysts say they expect some tidbits from the latest proposed settlement to make Obama’s State of the Union speech.
"The President is likely to tout how the agreement will provide for principal reduction and help for more than a million borrowers," said Jaret Seiberg, senior policy analyst with Washington Research Group in a Monday research report.
"He will emphasize how this is about helping today to correct the mistakes of yesterday," Seiberg said in the report.
The average U.S. price of a gallon of gasoline has jumped three-and-a-half cents over the past two weeks.
That’s according to the Lundberg Survey of fuel prices, released Sunday, which puts the price of a gallon of regular at $3.39.
Midgrade costs an average of $3.54 a gallon, and premium is at $3.66.
Diesel was up about two cents, at $3.91 a gallon.
Of the cities surveyed, Salt Lake City, Utah, has the nation’s lowest average price for gas at $2.94. Los Angeles has the highest at $3.71.
In California, the lowest average price was $3.59 in Fresno. The average statewide for a gallon of regular was $3.67, up about three cents.
South Korea has lifted an eight-year ban on imports of Canadian beef.
Seoul imposed the ban after mad cow disease was found in a Canadian cow in 2003. Canada has since been recognized as a “controlled risk” country for beef by the World Organization for Animal Health. Canada filed a complaint with the World Trade Organization over the South Korean ban in 2009.
South Korea’s Agriculture Ministry says the ban was lifted on Friday. But it says Seoul will only allow imports of Canadian beef from cattle younger than 30 months old. Younger cows are deemed less susceptible to mad cow disease.
The ministry also said the imports must exclude riskier parts such as the brain, skull and eyes.
South Korea was Canada’s fourth-largest beef export market before the ban.
Apple Inc. hopes to revolutionize the education industry
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The captain of a cruise liner that ran aground and capsized off the Tuscan coast faced accusations from authorities and passengers that he abandoned ship before everyone was safely evacuated as rescuers found another body on the overturned vessel.
The male passenger was found in a corridor of the part of the Costa Concordia still above water, fire department spokesman Luca Cari told state radio. The victim was wearing a life-vest. Six bodies have now been recovered, while 16 people are unaccounted-for after the luxury liner struck rocks or a reef off the tiny island of Giglio.
The number of unaccounted-for was raised after relatives of two Sicilian women who had been listed among those safely evacuated after Friday night’s grounding told authorities they not heard from them.
The search of the ship, including a risky inspection of the underwater half of the capsized ship, was continuing Monday, in rough seas.
On Sunday, divers searching the murky depths of the ship found the bodies of two elderly men. Three other bodies were found in the hours after the accident.
Still, there were glimmers of hope: The rescue of three survivors _ a young South Korean couple on their honeymoon and a crew member brought to shore in a dramatic airlift some 36 hours after the grounding late Friday.
Meanwhile, attention focused on the captain, who was spotted by Coast Guard officials and passengers fleeing the scene even as the chaotic and terrifying evacuation was under way.
The ship’s Italian owner, a subsidiary of Carnival Cruise lines, issued a statement late Sunday saying there appeared to be “significant human error” on the part of the captain, Francesco Schettino, “which resulted in these grave consequences.”
Authorities were holding Schettino for suspected manslaughter and a prosecutor confirmed Sunday they were also investigating allegations the captain abandoned the stricken liner before all the passengers had escaped. According to the Italian navigation code, a captain who abandons a ship in danger can face up to 12 years in prison.
Schettino insisted he didn’t leave the liner early, telling Mediaset television that he had done everything he could to save lives. “We were the last ones to leave the ship,” he said.
Questions also swirled about why the ship had navigated so close to the dangerous reefs and rocks that jut off Giglio’s eastern coast, amid suspicions the captain may have ventured too close while carrying out a maneuver to entertain tourists on the island guaranteed payday loans.
Residents of Giglio said they had never seen the Costa come so close to the dangerous “Le Scole” reef area.
“This was too close, too close,” said Italo Arienti, a 54-year-old sailor who has worked on the Maregiglio ferry between Giglio and the mainland for more than a decade. Pointing to a nautical map, he drew his finger along the path the ship usually takes and the jarring one close to shore that it followed Friday.
Costa captains have occasionally steered the ship near port and sounded the siren in a special salute, Arienti said. Such a nautical “fly-by” was staged last August, prompting the town’s mayor to send a note of thanks to the commander for the treat it provided tourists who flock to the island, local news portal GiglioNews.it reported.
But Arienti and other residents said even on those occasions, the cruise ship always stayed far offshore, well beyond the reach of the “Le Scole” reefs.
Coast Guard Cmdr. Filippo Marini said divers had recovered the so-called “black box,” with the recording of the navigational details, from a compartment now under water, though no details were released.
Survivors described a terrifying escape that was straight out of a scene from “Titanic.” Many complained the crew didn’t give them good directions on how to evacuate and once the emergency became clear, delayed lowering the lifeboats until the ship was listing too heavily for all to be released.
“We were left to ourselves,” pregnant French passenger Isabelle Mougin, who injured her ankle in the scramble, told the ANSA news agency.
Another French passenger, Jeanne Marie de Champs, said that faced with the chaotic scene at the lifeboats, she decided to take her chances swimming to shore.
“I was afraid I wouldn’t make the shore, but then I saw we were close enough, I felt calmer,” she told Sky News 24.
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