This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Following up on
— Debate: The future of fossil newspapers ...[vs fossil fuels] — George Pyle | The Salt Lake Tribune
Two big companies are fighting over who will own Chicago Tribune, L.A. Times, etc. While the people who run the Center of the Oil Universe, Saudi Arabia, are talking about ending their attachment to fossil fuels and diversifying into such sustainable, and Utah-like, endeavors as tourism.
— Gannett and Tribune bosses get into snit during acquisition talks — Benjamin Mullin |Poynter
"Discussions over the fate of Tribune Publishing are starting to get a little chippy.
"Since Gannett made its $815 million bid to purchase the publisher of the Los Angeles Times, the Chicago Tribune and 9 other major dailies on Monday, executives from both companies have exchanged pointed messages that offer contrasting accounts of the runup to the acquisition offer. ..."
— Tribune's Rocky Journey Leads to Gannett's Bear Hug — Lukas I. Alpert | The Wall Street Journal
— Tribune Publishing shares surge after Gannett launches takeover bid —Los Angeles Times
" ... The offer sets the stage for what could be a pitched battle between two of the country's largest — but very different — publishing companies, each of which has been seeking to secure its
future in a digital era. Tribune Publishing's newspapers have long prided themselves on award-winning journalism with a national and international reach, and Gannett has made its mark by building its USA Today flagship into an engaging and well-designed national newspaper to accompany its growing chain of local dailies. ..."
And, of course, there's this:
— Salt Lake Tribune, Deseret News lawyers huddle with grass-roots group about Huntsman's purchase bid — Tony Semerad | The Salt Lake Tribune
"An agreement for Utah investor Paul Huntsman to buy The Salt Lake Tribune got its first vetting Monday by a room full of lawyers.
"Attorneys for The Tribune and Deseret News met in downtown Salt Lake City with representatives of Citizens for Two Voices, the grass-roots group suing both dailies over their business dealings.
"The group's attorney, Karra Porter, called the meeting 'productive' but said participants did not reach any final conclusions. ..."
Meanwhile, the largest oil producer in the history of everything is looking beyond.
— Saudi Arabia Announces Sweeping Plan to Overhaul Its Economy, End Its "Addiction to Oil" —
Elliot Hannon | Slate
"Saudi Arabia announced a long-awaited plan Monday to dramatically reshape the country's economy, aiming to free it from its decades-long dependence on oil. The move by the Saudis may have been expected, but that doesn't make it any less of a sea change for the country that accumulated great wealth and power during the era of big oil and petro-based global economic growth. Now, prices have plummeted, the specter of climate change is changing consumption patterns, and to keep up with the times, Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman says the country needs to make changes. The biggest will be its move away from relying on oil; bin Salman says the country will be able to live without oil altogether by 2020.
" 'We have an addiction to oil ... this is dangerous,' Prince Mohammed said in an interview on state-owned al-Arabiya. 'It has delayed development of other sectors.'..."
— Saudi prince unveils plans to welcome tourists — AP | The Seattle Times
"Saudi Arabia has plans to issue select visas to welcome tens of thousands of tourists a year as part of a sweeping national reform plan aimed at showcasing the country's rich heritage, including pre-Islamic sites, and encouraging Saudis to spend some of their tourist money at home. ..."
— What's In Saudi Arabia's Blueprint for Life After Oil? — Bloomberg
— Saudi Arabia's post-oil future — The Economist
"If anyone needed confirmation that Muhammad bin Salman, Saudi Arabia's deputy crown prince, is a man in a hurry, they got it on April 25th. The 30-year-old unveiled a string of commitments for ending the kingdom's dependence on oil by 2030 that are by themselves laudably ambitious in the puritanically conservative country. Then he trumped himself, saying that the kingdom could overcome "any dependence on oil" within a mere four years, by 2020. It sums up what seems to be a somewhat manic optimism among the youthful new policy-setters of the royal court. Badly needed now is a cool explanation of how to turn vision into reality. ..."
— Ouch. Oil companies lose whopping $67 billion — Matt Egan | CNN Money
"The crash in crude oil prices caused a stunning $67 billion in combined losses by 40 publicly-traded U.S. oil producers last year, according Energy Information Administration research. And the bleeding is expected to continue at least early this year for many. ..."
— Gov. Mead working with state agencies on budget cuts — Ben Neary | AP | Casper Star Tribune
"Wyoming Gov. Matt Mead said Monday he will meet this week with the directors of the largest state agencies to address how to implement budget cuts he's ordered in response to falling energy revenues. ..."
— 35% Of Public Oil Companies Could Face Bankruptcy — Irina Slav | OilPrice.com
"More than one-third of public oil companies globally face bankruptcy, according to a new Deloitte report that paints a fairly gloomy picture of the U.S. shale patch as it struggles to survive under mountains of debt.
"The Deloitte report—the first high-profile report on the current financial situation of global oil and gas companies—surveyed 500 companies and found that 175 are facing "a combination of high leverage and low debt service coverage ratios".
Finally:
— Why do we pay so much for lousy investment advice? — Michael Hiltzik | Los Angeles Times
Doesn't mention oil or newspapers.