Money Digest - April 20, 2006

CalPERS claims

CalPERS, the largest U.S. pension fund, presented its annual focus list Wednesday of six U.S. companies whose shares it says have underperformed and that need to improve corporate governance practices, with radio giant Clear Channel Communications representing media stocks on the list. Besides a weak stock performance, CalPERS lamented that Clear Channel grants excessive severance and overpays its executives. The California Public Employees' Retirement System's recommendations often influence other investors.



News Corp. invests

Rupert Murdoch's News Corp. has agreed to invest in online job-search engine Simply Hired in a bet on the expanding online classifieds market, the Wall Street Journal reported Wednesday. Newspapers, among the businesses the media giant is in, have struggled of late in the classifieds market. Joining venture capital firm Foundation Capital, News Corp.'s Fox Interactive Media unit invested $13.5 million in the firm, Reuters said. Advertising-supported Simply Hired does not solicit job postings from employers but lets people search classifieds on such sites as CareerBuilder.com, Monster.com and Craigslist.



Univision 'hold'

Sanders Morris Harris analyst David Miller on Wednesday cut his rating on shares of Spanish-language media giant Univision Communications from "buy" to "hold," citing "limited upside." The stock has risen from the low-$20 range in October, driven by the upcoming World Cup, the recent decision to put the company on the auction block and a series of other factors, Miller said. "With a mere 9.8% upside to our … 12-month price target of $38.30, we believe further upside to the shares is limited," the analyst said. Univision shares closed down 1% at $34.49.