Fox Family Worldwide Inc

In an effort to knock down press reports that Fox Family Worldwide Inc. is for sale, the two joint venture partners of the children's television and cable company said Thursday that they are not parting ways and are eager to build on their five-year partnership.

When two titans of television--Rupert Murdoch and Haim Saban--formed Fox Family Worldwide five years ago, they took on the Disney Channel and Nickelodeon. Saban brought a library that included "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers," and Murdoch contributed News Corp.'s weekday and Saturday morning blocks on the Fox network in a 50-50 partnership that was going to dominate kids TV. Together they bought a cable channel to expand their reach beyond their competitors.

When two titans of television--Rupert Murdoch and Haim Saban--formed Fox Family Worldwide five years ago, they took on the Disney Channel and Nickelodeon. Saban brought a library that included "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers," and Murdoch contributed News Corp.'s weekday and Saturday morning blocks on the Fox network in a 50-50 partnership that was going to dominate kids TV. Together they bought a cable channel to expand their reach beyond their competitors.

In an effort to knock down press reports that Fox Family Worldwide Inc. is for sale, the two joint venture partners of the children's television and cable company said Thursday that they are not parting ways and are eager to build on their five-year partnership.

* Callaway Golf Co. said it named Gateway Inc. executive Brad Holiday as its chief financial officer, effective Aug. 15. Holiday, 46, most recently served as vice president of financial planning and analysis at Gateway. Before joining the computer maker, he held financial positions with Nike Inc., Pizza Hut and General Mills. * Animation firm Will Vinton Studios of Portland, Ore., has named Chris Rico director of development. He will be based in Los Angeles.

News Corp., the media company controlled by Rupert Murdoch, may be forced to buy the rest of Fox Family Worldwide Inc., a low-rated cable-television venture, from partner Saban Entertainment Inc., Saban said. News Corp. and Saban each own 49.5% of Fox Family, which runs the Fox Family Channel. Under terms of the venture, Saban has the option to require News Corp. to buy its stake for "fair market value in cash," Saban said in a statement.

Los Angeles billionaire Haim Saban tried to shield $1.5 billion from taxes by using an offshore tax haven, according to a U.S. Senate panel report Monday. Saban paid for a transaction that created artificial losses, which he claimed offset his profit from selling his interest in the Fox Family Worldwide Inc. network in 2001, according to the 370-page report by the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations.

In the middle of his six-city, three-day, money-raising tour, President Clinton rubbed elbows with wealthy donors Saturday in San Diego and Beverly Hills in an effort to boost prospects for Democratic candidates in the fall elections. The main event of the day was a star-studded $1.5-million fund-raiser at the Beverly Hills mansion of Haim Saban, who runs Fox Family Worldwide Inc. and produces children's television shows such as the "Power Rangers in Space."

An entertainment industry tycoon from Los Angeles gave the Democratic National Committee $7 million last month to help build a new headquarters, a record-breaking gift for the party, a Democratic spokeswoman said Thursday. The gift from Haim Saban, who made his fortune from the "Mighty Morphin Power Rangers" and other children's television shows, may be the largest that either major national party has received in modern times. And it could turn out to be among the last of its kind.

Two principals of defunct Seattle investment management firm Quellos Group and a Los Angeles lawyer were indicted in a tax shelter scheme that allegedly created more than $1.3 billion in fraudulent losses for prominent clients, including media mogul and billionaire investor Haim Saban. The operation was "one of the largest tax fraud schemes ever uncovered in this country," U.S. Atty. Jeffrey C. Sullivan in Seattle said Thursday.

As Hollywood writer-director Gary Ross disembarked with his family this week at Union Station in Washington, he thought back on the classic Frank Capra film "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington" and the idealism Jimmy Stewart evoked as a new U.S. senator first laying eyes on the nation's capital.

Media mogul Haim Saban and his philanthropist wife, Cheryl, will announce Monday that they have made charitable commitments or gifts of $100 million to health care and education in the United States and Israel, including a $40-million pledge to Childrens Hospital Los Angeles that the facility called unprecedented.