Important news from Jamila

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UPDATE 1-ITV agrees to buy Channel Television

LONDON Oct 18 (Reuters) - ITV , Britain's biggest free-to-air commercial broadcaster, has agreed to buy Channel Islands broadcaster Channel Television from Yattendon, bringing an independent corner of its regional network under its ownership.The terms of the deal, which is subject to regulatory approval, were not disclosed.Channel Television, which is already branded ITV, produces local news and sports for residents of Jersey, where it is based, Guernsey and the other Channel Islands, as well as the long-running children's television show "Puffin's Pla(i)ce".It also provides compliance services for a number of independently produced shows, including "Britain's Got Talent", broadcast on the ITV network.The move will bring 12 of the 15 Channel Three broadcast licences under ITV ownership. Northern Ireland-based UTV and Scotland's STV , which has two licences, hold the others.Shares in ITV were 1.2 percent lower at 0842 GMT on Tuesday, broadly in line with the FTSE 100 index .

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UPDATE 1-ITV agrees to buy Channel Television

LONDON Oct 18 (Reuters) - ITV , Britain's biggest free-to-air commercial broadcaster, has agreed to buy Channel Islands broadcaster Channel Television from Yattendon, bringing an independent corner of its regional network under its ownership.The terms of the deal, which is subject to regulatory approval, were not disclosed.Channel Television, which is already branded ITV, produces local news and sports for residents of Jersey, where it is based, Guernsey and the other Channel Islands, as well as the long-running children's television show "Puffin's Pla(i)ce".It also provides compliance services for a number of independently produced shows, including "Britain's Got Talent", broadcast on the ITV network.The move will bring 12 of the 15 Channel Three broadcast licences under ITV ownership. Northern Ireland-based UTV and Scotland's STV , which has two licences, hold the others.Shares in ITV were 1.2 percent lower at 0842 GMT on Tuesday, broadly in line with the FTSE 100 index .

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AMR and pilots continue talks, shares fall

* Negotiations to resume mid-weekBy John Crawley and Kyle PetersonOct 17 (Reuters) - American Airlines and its pilots made "significant progress" in contract talks that recessed on Monday, but investors were disappointed they did not reach a deal over the weekend and hammered shares of the carrier's parent, AMR Corp .The Allied Pilots Association and the No 3 airline left their remote, North Texas negotiating site in the early afternoon to return to Dallas/Fort Worth to strategize for the next round of bargaining.The two sides were expected to resume talks mid-week, the airline said.Both sides said negotiators made significant progress over the past several days."While some work remains, we are optimistic and believe there is a path to an agreement. The company and the APA will continue to build on the momentum of this progress," American said in a statement.Sam Mayer, a spokesman for the pilots, said the sides narrowed gaps in numerous areas. Wages, work rules, and terms on outsourcing remain unresolved."They are not completely nailed down," Mayer said.Union negotiators planned to huddle with their board on Tuesday to "go over their open items and refine our position prior to the resumption of negotiations," Mayer said.The airline and the union, which represents 10,000 pilots, have stepped up the pace of negotiations in recent weeks. Talks kicked into high gear over the weekend with American hoping for a deal by Monday.AMR shares ended 6.1 percent lower at $2.76 on the New York Stock Exchange, after dropping as much as 11 percent earlier in the day.Ray Neidl, an analyst with Maxim Group, said he believed investors were disappointed that the pilots had not reached a labor deal over the weekend."Maybe the stock was a bit overvalued on hopes of the talks," Neidl said. He said large moves on a percentage basis are common for stocks trading as low as AMR shares.Pressure has been mounting for an agreement as American has fallen further behind rivals, the biggest of which have gained strength through mergers.Analysts estimate that AMR on Wednesday will report a loss for the third quarter, usually the industry's strongest period due to busy summer travel.Other big U.S. airlines are expected to report profits."As we have discussed, we believe the company needs competitive wage rates and a pilot agreement that enables it to adjust capacity for today's slow growth environment," Helane Becker, a Dahlman Rose & Co director said in a note to clients on Monday."It appears as though the airline has been on hold as its labor leaders and management team negotiate new contracts. We will see what happens over the next few days, especially as we hear the two sides may be closer to an agreement than at any point in the last few years," Becker wrote.

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AMR and pilots continue talks, shares fall

* Negotiations to resume mid-weekBy John Crawley and Kyle PetersonOct 17 (Reuters) - American Airlines and its pilots made "significant progress" in contract talks that recessed on Monday, but investors were disappointed they did not reach a deal over the weekend and hammered shares of the carrier's parent, AMR Corp .The Allied Pilots Association and the No 3 airline left their remote, North Texas negotiating site in the early afternoon to return to Dallas/Fort Worth to strategize for the next round of bargaining.The two sides were expected to resume talks mid-week, the airline said.Both sides said negotiators made significant progress over the past several days."While some work remains, we are optimistic and believe there is a path to an agreement. The company and the APA will continue to build on the momentum of this progress," American said in a statement.Sam Mayer, a spokesman for the pilots, said the sides narrowed gaps in numerous areas. Wages, work rules, and terms on outsourcing remain unresolved."They are not completely nailed down," Mayer said.Union negotiators planned to huddle with their board on Tuesday to "go over their open items and refine our position prior to the resumption of negotiations," Mayer said.The airline and the union, which represents 10,000 pilots, have stepped up the pace of negotiations in recent weeks. Talks kicked into high gear over the weekend with American hoping for a deal by Monday.AMR shares ended 6.1 percent lower at $2.76 on the New York Stock Exchange, after dropping as much as 11 percent earlier in the day.Ray Neidl, an analyst with Maxim Group, said he believed investors were disappointed that the pilots had not reached a labor deal over the weekend."Maybe the stock was a bit overvalued on hopes of the talks," Neidl said. He said large moves on a percentage basis are common for stocks trading as low as AMR shares.Pressure has been mounting for an agreement as American has fallen further behind rivals, the biggest of which have gained strength through mergers.Analysts estimate that AMR on Wednesday will report a loss for the third quarter, usually the industry's strongest period due to busy summer travel.Other big U.S. airlines are expected to report profits."As we have discussed, we believe the company needs competitive wage rates and a pilot agreement that enables it to adjust capacity for today's slow growth environment," Helane Becker, a Dahlman Rose & Co director said in a note to clients on Monday."It appears as though the airline has been on hold as its labor leaders and management team negotiate new contracts. We will see what happens over the next few days, especially as we hear the two sides may be closer to an agreement than at any point in the last few years," Becker wrote.

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AMR and pilots continue talks, shares fall

* Negotiations to resume mid-weekBy John Crawley and Kyle PetersonOct 17 (Reuters) - American Airlines and its pilots made "significant progress" in contract talks that recessed on Monday, but investors were disappointed they did not reach a deal over the weekend and hammered shares of the carrier's parent, AMR Corp .The Allied Pilots Association and the No 3 airline left their remote, North Texas negotiating site in the early afternoon to return to Dallas/Fort Worth to strategize for the next round of bargaining.The two sides were expected to resume talks mid-week, the airline said.Both sides said negotiators made significant progress over the past several days."While some work remains, we are optimistic and believe there is a path to an agreement. The company and the APA will continue to build on the momentum of this progress," American said in a statement.Sam Mayer, a spokesman for the pilots, said the sides narrowed gaps in numerous areas. Wages, work rules, and terms on outsourcing remain unresolved."They are not completely nailed down," Mayer said.Union negotiators planned to huddle with their board on Tuesday to "go over their open items and refine our position prior to the resumption of negotiations," Mayer said.The airline and the union, which represents 10,000 pilots, have stepped up the pace of negotiations in recent weeks. Talks kicked into high gear over the weekend with American hoping for a deal by Monday.AMR shares ended 6.1 percent lower at $2.76 on the New York Stock Exchange, after dropping as much as 11 percent earlier in the day.Ray Neidl, an analyst with Maxim Group, said he believed investors were disappointed that the pilots had not reached a labor deal over the weekend."Maybe the stock was a bit overvalued on hopes of the talks," Neidl said. He said large moves on a percentage basis are common for stocks trading as low as AMR shares.Pressure has been mounting for an agreement as American has fallen further behind rivals, the biggest of which have gained strength through mergers.Analysts estimate that AMR on Wednesday will report a loss for the third quarter, usually the industry's strongest period due to busy summer travel.Other big U.S. airlines are expected to report profits."As we have discussed, we believe the company needs competitive wage rates and a pilot agreement that enables it to adjust capacity for today's slow growth environment," Helane Becker, a Dahlman Rose & Co director said in a note to clients on Monday."It appears as though the airline has been on hold as its labor leaders and management team negotiate new contracts. We will see what happens over the next few days, especially as we hear the two sides may be closer to an agreement than at any point in the last few years," Becker wrote.

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UPDATE 2-Apple sells 4 million iPhones in 3 days

Oct 17 (Reuters) - Apple Inc said on Monday it sold 4 million iPhone 4S in the new smartphone's first three days on the market, setting up a strong December quarter for the world's largest technology company.Helped by availability in more countries and on more telecommunications carrier networks, the iPhone 4S, which went on sale on Friday, Oct. 14, managed to outshine the iPhone 4, which sold 1.7 million over its first three days.Unveiled just a day before Apple Chairman Steve Jobs died, it was initially dubbed a disappointment, partly because it looked identical to its predecessor. But anticipation of its "Siri" voice software helped it set an online record in pre-orders on Oct. 7.It hit seven countries -- Japan, Australia, France, the UK, Germany, Canada and the United States -- versus five for the iPhone 4. In the United States, it launched with all three major U.S. carriers -- Verizon Communications Inc's and Vodafone Group Plc's Verizon Wireless, AT&T Inc , and Sprint Nextel Corp -- rather than just one for Apple's previous smartphone. In Japan, it appeared on KDDI Corp's network for the first time."Availability in more countries and carriers is helping unit volumes, in addition to pent-up demand," said BMO Capital Markets analyst Keith Bachman, adding that the mix of phone models sold will help margins during the last quarter of the year.Wall Street analysts expect Apple to chalk up 25 million to 30 million iPhone sales in the final three months of the year, despite worries about a tepid consumer-holiday season.The company took more than 1 million online orders in the first 24 hours when iPhone 4S was available for pre-ordering, exceeding the 600,000 pre-orders received for the iPhone 4 when it launched.On Monday, Apple also said that more than 25 million customers were using the "iOS 5" mobile operating system in the first five days of its release. And more than 20 million customers have signed up for iCloud, its free cloud services, Apple said.The latest iPhone will be available in 22 more countries on Oct. 28 and more than 70 countries by the end of the year.Shares in Apple were down 0.9 percent in afternoon trading to $418.18, alongside a decline in the broader market, after staying in positive territory for much of the morning.

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PRESS DIGEST - Financial Times - Oct 13

Leading European banks say they would rather sell assets than raise expensive new capital to meet compulsory demands from the European Union for higher capital ratios, threatening a further contraction of credit to the enfeebled euro zone economy.BLACKBERRY EMAIL OUTAGE HITS HALF OF USERSResearch in Motion , the maker of BlackBerry smartphones, was battling to shore up its network on Wednesday as it emerged that an intermittent service outage preventing users accessing email had spread to 30 million-40 million people, half of all Blackberry subscribers worldwide.GROSS U-TURN ON PIMCO STRATEGYBill Gross has made a U-turn in the investment strategy of his $242 billion fund after a high-profile bearish call on the U.S. Treasury market backfired, triggering deep underformance by the world's largest bond fund.ALCATEL-LUCENT DEAL TO SELL CALL CENTRE BUSINESSAlcatel-Lucent , the Franco-American communications equipment maker, has agreed to sell its corporate call centre services business for as much as $1.5 billion to Permira , the private equity group.HTC EYES FURTHER CONTENT ACQUISITIONSPeter Chou, chief executive of HTC , says the Taiwanese company is considering further acquisitions of media and content companies in order to step up its battle to become one of the world's best-known smartphone brands.GERMANY URGES TREATY REWRITE TO STRENGHTEN BLOCGermany is pushing its European partners to deliver treaty change within the next two years, in order to bring about closer integration in the euro zone and reinforce budget discipline.TOTAL WARNS FRANCE OVER SHALE GAS PERMITThe French authorities will make it harder to secure the country's future energy supplies if they continue to prevent Total from exploring for shale gas, according to Christophe de Margerie, the energy group's chief executive.FED TEMPTED BY 'QE3'The U.S. Federal Reserve considered a new round of quantitative easing as an option at its September monetary policy meeting, suggesting that "QE3" is still possible if the economy weakens further.

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PRESS DIGEST - Financial Times - Oct 13

Leading European banks say they would rather sell assets than raise expensive new capital to meet compulsory demands from the European Union for higher capital ratios, threatening a further contraction of credit to the enfeebled euro zone economy.BLACKBERRY EMAIL OUTAGE HITS HALF OF USERSResearch in Motion , the maker of BlackBerry smartphones, was battling to shore up its network on Wednesday as it emerged that an intermittent service outage preventing users accessing email had spread to 30 million-40 million people, half of all Blackberry subscribers worldwide.GROSS U-TURN ON PIMCO STRATEGYBill Gross has made a U-turn in the investment strategy of his $242 billion fund after a high-profile bearish call on the U.S. Treasury market backfired, triggering deep underformance by the world's largest bond fund.ALCATEL-LUCENT DEAL TO SELL CALL CENTRE BUSINESSAlcatel-Lucent , the Franco-American communications equipment maker, has agreed to sell its corporate call centre services business for as much as $1.5 billion to Permira , the private equity group.HTC EYES FURTHER CONTENT ACQUISITIONSPeter Chou, chief executive of HTC , says the Taiwanese company is considering further acquisitions of media and content companies in order to step up its battle to become one of the world's best-known smartphone brands.GERMANY URGES TREATY REWRITE TO STRENGHTEN BLOCGermany is pushing its European partners to deliver treaty change within the next two years, in order to bring about closer integration in the euro zone and reinforce budget discipline.TOTAL WARNS FRANCE OVER SHALE GAS PERMITThe French authorities will make it harder to secure the country's future energy supplies if they continue to prevent Total from exploring for shale gas, according to Christophe de Margerie, the energy group's chief executive.FED TEMPTED BY 'QE3'The U.S. Federal Reserve considered a new round of quantitative easing as an option at its September monetary policy meeting, suggesting that "QE3" is still possible if the economy weakens further.

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UPDATE 1-Two life insurers meet systemic criteria-analyst

* Life insurers rally in morning tradingOct 12 (Reuters) - Only two life insurers -- MetLife Inc and Prudential Financial Inc -- meet new requirements to be considered "systemic" and regulated as such, KBW analysts said on Wednesday.The Financial Stability Oversight Council on Tuesday proposed a three-stage test to figure out which nonbank financial firms should come in for tighter capital and liquidity regulation by the Federal Reserve.The insurance industry has argued that no insurer should be designated a "strategically important financial institution," or SIFI, in part on fears that any company so tagged would have difficultly competing with peers that are free to take more risks.KBW said only MetLife and Prudential crossed the council's $50 billion asset threshold and at least one of the secondary hurdles as well. While that does not guarantee that they will be designated systemic, it does suggest they will at least get further scrutiny in the review process."Presumably, companies not tripping any thresholds are unlikely to be seriously considered for SIFI status (and) are likely out of the woods," analyst Jeffrey Schuman said in a note to clients.Schuman said that was good news for the other large life insurance companies, including Aflac , Hartford Financial , Lincoln National and Genworth Financial .He also said it was still "far from certain" that MetLife or Prudential would be tagged as SIFIs.Both MetLife and Prudential have said in regulatory filings that they may be subject to the council's scrutiny, given their size.MetLife shares were up 3.5 percent in Wednesday morning trading, while Prudential rose 2.4 percent.Shares of other life insurers rallied, with Lincoln rising 5.7 percent, Aflac up 5.1 percent, AIG up 4.2 percent, Genworth up 3.6 percent and Hartford gaining 3.1 percent.

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AOL, Yahoo, Demand Media set sights on the ladies

It’s early October in New York which means that Advertising Week, which kicked off on Monday, is officially in full churn.   This year, the organizers of the conference that attracts all stripes from publishing outfits to retailers to ad agencies  may as well have slugged the event Ladies Week given the number of companies pitching to women. Specifically that would be AOL, Yahoo and Demand Media all of which launched in the past couple of days “premium” video channels catering to the women, and, by extension, consumer packaged goods companies looking for a means to place their online advertising dollars. AOL rolled out more than 15 original Web series some aimed at the ladies with such titles as “Little Women, Big Cars,” ” A Supermodel Stole My Husband,” and “Jocks & Jills.” (An aside: AOL also touted its “You’ve Got” one minute series lumping in President Barack Obama with other “notables” such as Kevin Bacon and Paula Abdul.) Over at Yahoo, Senior Vice President of the Media Network Mickie Rosen introduced Screens and its new fall line-up on Tuesday that includes original content  mainly aimed at females 25 to 45 in addition to other programs from third party sources from the likes of Hulu, CBS, Turner Sports. Demand Media launched  a new channel within its eHow network called Shift that targets “professional women seeking an online channel that reflects their holistic life,” according to a Demand press release. “A lot of content designed for women is on the softer-side. What we are doing is different,” said Erika Nardini, senior vice president of sales and marketing at Demand, adding that Shift is focusing on solution-based articles and videos. All three companies are going after lucrative online display ad dollars from the consumer packaged good companies that like to reach women. According to eMarketer, the CPG segment — that’s industry short hand for staples like soap and food products like mac-n-cheese — is poised to spend almost $2.5 billion in online advertising in the United States this year, more than doubling to $5 billion by 2015. (Pictured at top: Logo from one of Yahoo’s original series “Let’s Talk About Love”)