Restructuring

Rupert Murdoch, the head of media giant News Corp., was brimming with confidence when his firm's Myspace was the reigning social networking site three years ago, noting it was "not just looking up friends," as rival Facebook was doing. Now Myspace could use some friends. Hobbled by dramatic declines in advertising revenue and monthly visitors, Myspace announced a sweeping restructuring Tuesday that will result in the loss of 500 jobs worldwide, or about 47% of the workforce at the Beverly Hills company.

The gig : John Hyde is vice chairman of Image Entertainment, a Chatsworth-based home entertainment company with a library of more than 3,200 titles ? including the prestigious Criterion Collection, independently produced movies and stand-up comedy ? that it distributes on DVD and digital platforms. Together with Chief Executive Ted Green, Hyde recruited a private equity firm to acquire Image, which was on the verge of bankruptcy, in January and put them in charge. In a very tough market for DVD sales, they have restructured the company and are seeking to grow it through acquisitions.

Still recovering from a management scandal that claimed its chief executive a week ago, Tribune Co. is bracing for its next disruption: how to cope with legal challenges from Aurelius Capital Management and other unhappy creditors seeking to upend its bankruptcy case. Creditors face a midnight Friday deadline for submitting restructuring plans that would contest a settlement filed Oct. 22 by Tribune, its biggest senior creditors and the committee charged with representing the company's junior creditors.

Billionaire Nicolas Berggruen has assembled veteran policymakers, business leaders and activists for his Think Long Committee for California. They are: David Bonderman, partner at the investment firm TGP Capital Eli Broad, Los Angeles developer and philanthropist Willie Brown, former Assembly speaker and San Francisco mayor Gray Davis, former governor Maria Elena Durazo, executive secretary-treasurer of...

Ford Motor Co., demonstrating the growing strength of the U.S. auto industry, earned $1.7 billion in the third quarter, a 69% jump over the same period last year and surpassing a record set in 1997. Analysts said Ford's financial health was further evidence that the industry's restructuring during the recession was paying off even though auto sales remain near historically low levels. The nation's other major automakers, General Motors Co. and Chrysler Group, are expected to report improving finances next month.

Question: I've been studying companies that I might invest in. Can the stock of the Interpublic Group of Cos. continue to do well? Answer: While the economy inevitably plays a role in this advertising and marketing company's profits, the need to project a positive image remains important worldwide. This global company controls communication agencies in more than 100 countries. That includes some of the field's best, such as McCann Worldgroup, Draft FCB Group, Lowe Worldwide, Golin Harris, Magna Global and Deutsch.

After dominating the home video rental business for more than a decade and struggling to survive in recent years against upstarts Netflix and Redbox, Blockbuster Inc. is preparing to file for bankruptcy protection next month, according to people who have been briefed on the matter. Executives from Blockbuster and its senior debt holders last week held meetings with the six major movie studios to discuss their intention to enter a "preplanned" bankruptcy in mid-September, said several people familiar with the situation who requested anonymity, citing the sensitivity of ongoing talks.

After 20 months and millions of dollars in attorney fees, time is running short on Tribune Co.'s campaign to control its own destiny in Bankruptcy Court. Faced with warring creditors and ample evidence that the most powerful among them are eager to take control of the Chapter 11 process, the embattled Chicago media company's management is scheduled to file a revised restructuring plan on Friday that may prove to be the group's last, best chance to broker a friendly compromise in the chaotic case.

With big interest payments looming and its losses mounting, Blockbuster Inc. has bought some extra time from its debt holders to form a new recapitalization agreement. The postponement gives the struggling DVD rental chain until the end of September to restructure its debt. It's the second such extension the company has received. If it is unable to reach an accord, Blockbuster will probably have to file for bankruptcy because it is unable to make its interest payments. Even if it does reach a restructuring pact, Blockbuster warned investors, it may still have to file for Chapter 11 reorganization given the continued deterioration of its business.

The ink was barely dry on Ilya Kovalchuk's new contract with the New Jersey Devils before the NHL rejected the 17-year, $102-million agreement, ruling the heavily front-loaded structure was an attempt to circumvent the salary cap and minimize its average annual value. Kovalchuk, who was also pursued by the Kings, was the star of a news conference Tuesday in Newark where he signed his contract and declared himself "a Devil for life." The 27-year-old left wing was to be paid $80 million through the first eight seasons and $95 million through the first 10 but only $550,000 in each of the last five seasons.