financing

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Pinterest Joins $1B Valuation Club

And how ... its new valuation is actually $1.5B

(Newser) - Facebook may be dominating the headlines this week, but don't forget about the little guys—or the no-longer-quite-so-little ones. Pinterest's valuation has jumped from $200 million to $1.5 billion thanks to a new $100 million round of financing. The Wall Street Journal notes that the news pushes...

Weinstein Co. in Trouble, Despite Success of Basterds

Company needs more hits to pull itself out of debt

(Newser) - Inglourious Basterds’ success has provided a stay of execution for Weinstein Co., but the firm needs several more blockbusters like it to stay afloat, sources tell the Wall Street Journal reports. The 4-year-old company hasn’t released as many films as it thought it would, but it’s burned through...

GE Reaps Billions From Bailout Loophole
 GE Reaps 
 Billions From 
 Bailout Loophole 
INVESTIGATION

GE Reaps Billions From Bailout Loophole

Loophole lets company pull down $74B from FDIC

(Newser) - The biggest beneficiary of the federal government's debt guarantee program, one of Washington's key bank rescue efforts, isn't a bank or a financial services company—it's General Electric, which exploited a loophole it had lobbied aggressively to insert, and reaped billions in bailout money. A joint investigation by ProPublica and...

Credit Crunch Saps Funding for Indie Films

Drop-off in foreign rights sales leaves producers looking for cash

(Newser) - Independent film producers are losing a once-reliable source of funding, the sale of foreign-distribution rights. Traditionally, the demand for American movies has been so high that producers can sell the rights to distribute the film—in many cases, even before it’s finished—in order to cover costs. But the...

DreamWorks Nails Down Disney Deal
DreamWorks Nails Down
Disney Deal

DreamWorks Nails Down Disney Deal

Spielberg's studio to get financing, distribution for six films a year

(Newser) - Steven Spielberg’s DreamWorks has secured a distribution deal with Disney, the Wall Street Journal reports. Under the agreement, Disney will handle marketing and distribution for six live-action DreamWorks films per year and give Spielberg’s studio access to $150 million in financing.

Spielberg Pays Bills for Ailing DreamWorks

Credit crunch forces director into personal bailout for studio

(Newser) - Perhaps for the first time, Steven Spielberg is using personal funds to pay half of a $26.5 million bill his company, DreamWorks, owes ex-partner Paramount so it can keep 17 film projects under its wing. Due to cash shortages, the studio has already lost the rights to as many...

Feds' Cash in Hand, GMAC Kicks Credit Into High Gear

Automaker offering new, low financing options for consumers

(Newser) - Now that the Treasury Department has pumped $6 billion into GMAC, its lending arm, GM, along with its dealers, is rushing out new financing deals for credit-strapped consumers, the Wall Street Journal reports. “The minute the news hit, we began contacting customers,” said one Michigan dealer, whose employees...

Saved by Zero? Or Sick to Death of It?

Toyota's relentless 0% APR ads wear thin ... and will continue

(Newser) - “Saved by zero?” Try bored. Toyota’s 0% APR ad campaign has left TV viewers annoyed—by both the jingle and the fact that it airs seemingly incessantly, AP reports. Though some might appreciate the extension of 0% financing, originally set to expire this week, most viewers are bemoaning...

Toyota Offers Interest-Free Car Loans

Japanese giant capitalizing on US automakers' woes

(Newser) - Toyota is moving aggressively to fight slowing sales with a $250-million advertising campaign that offers zero-percent financing on 11 vehicles. The Japanese auto giant is flush with billions of dollars in cash and plans to use it to boost its market share, just as Ford, GM and Chrysler are at...

Chrysler to Scrap Leasing
 Chrysler to Scrap Leasing

Chrysler to Scrap Leasing

Struggling automaker says it will focus more on financing loans

(Newser) - Chrysler will no longer offer auto leases through its financial arm, due to the declining value of used automobiles, particularly trucks and SUVs, the Detroit Free Press reports. Instead, it plans to focus on financing, which could lead to better deals for those who buy cars through loans. Given the...

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