Randomly Noted

The 150-year-old Rocky Mountain News will be closed following the publication of its last edition this Friday. The papers owner, E.W. Scripps, put the paper up for sale late last year but apparently only one buyer emerged, and that unnamed buyer didn’t have a “viable” plan. So, the paper’s archives, masthead and website are now up for sale.

The newspaper business has been in distress for some time but the past few weeks have been horrible. The San Francisco Chronicle recently announced it would need severe expense cuts to stay in business or it would have to sell itself or close down. The group that runs The Philadelphia Inquirer filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy last weekend. As did a smaller newspaper group called Journal Register. And earlier today, Cablevision, which bought 97% of  Newsday last summer for $650 million, wrote off $402 million of that acquisition. The operating cash flow for the paper in the fourth quarter was but $10.3 million.

Rocky Mountain News coverage of its closing, click here.

A dizzying number of new proposals in the Obama budget that was released earlier today. Looks like at least one proposal provides an opportunity for for the financial adviser and wealth manager businesses. Basically, the new budget will require every company that does not offer a retirement plan to foot the costs to enroll all of their employees into direct-deposit IRA accounts. The idea is that about half (or 75 million people) of the workforce in the U.S. lack employer-based retirement plans. And if you aren’t forced to save a little here and there, you don’t save. This gives individuals the incentive to start saving in a tax-deductible program. And at no cost for them to set up. Most of the companies that don’t offer 401 (K) plans or traditional pension plans are small businesses. So, the opportunity may seem minimal for plan sponsors who see the dollar signs in administering large company lans. But by pooling plans and products, some smart Wall Street firms and advisers may find a way to bring in some much needed new business.

To read this section of the budget, click here.

Indonesia is telling the market its U.S. dollar bonds will pay yields as high as 12%.  It’s a sign of the times, as Dow Jones Newswires is reporting: Governments, especially those in emerging countries, have to work VERY hard to get deals done. If Indonesia’s issue gets priced at the mooted levels – 10.50%-10.75% for a new 2014 bond and 11.75%-12.00% for its new 2019 bond – well, surely it’s an enticing opportunity for investors with spare change jingling in their pockets. Jitters about emerging market risk would surely be offset by the generous yield – and besides, how big a default risk is Indonesia? It’s  politically stable – more so than it has been in years – and resource-rich, meaning it has what its growing neighbors want and need. The fact that Southeast Asia’s biggest economy is behaving so conservatively on the pricing front shows just how reluctant investors are to make fresh bets.