Ted Turner

U.S. executives are selling their companies' shares at the fastest pace in 10 months, a development that some analysts say might foreshadow a market decline. In the last eight weeks, executives, directors and big individual investors made 3.1 sales for each purchase, according to Vickers Weekly Insider Report. That's the most selling activity by insiders since July 2002. Among the leading sellers: Microsoft Corp. Chief Executive Steve Ballmer, AOL Time Warner Inc.

Ted Turner, the largest individual shareholder of AOL Time Warner Inc., sold more than half his stake in the giant media company for $789 million, traders said. Turner sold the 60 million shares to Goldman, Sachs & Co., which was offering the shares to institutional investors at $13.15 each, the traders said. Turner held 115.9 million shares at the end of April. AOL shares fell 7 cents to $13.38 on the New York Stock Exchange. Goldman declined to comment.

Media mogul Ted Turner indicated he would consider staying on AOL Time Warner Inc.'s board after he resigns as the media company's vice chairman in May. "With the war, I don't want to leave them in a lurch, so maybe I'll stay for a while," Turner said. Turner said he had not made a firm decision and would consult with other board members first.

Outgoing AOL Time Warner Inc. Vice Chairman Ted Turner sold more than 5 million additional shares of the company's common stock on Monday, according to a regulatory filing. Turner now directly owns 107.2 million common shares and indirectly 10.6 million common shares, including 7.8 million through Turner Partners. Shares of New York-based AOL Time Warner were up 47 cents to $10.74 on the NYSE.

Ted Turner, AOL Time Warner Inc.'s biggest individual investor, continued to pare his stake in the company, selling as much as $5.09 million of the shares last week. Turner is on a program that calls for him to sell $5 million worth of AOL Time Warner stock each month. He has accelerated that schedule since announcing he will quit as AOL Time Warner's vice chairman, disclosing a $50-million sale Feb. 14. Shares of AOL Time Warner slipped 16 cents to $10.27 on the New York Stock Exchange.

Former media mogul Ted Turner will decide soon whether to proceed with plans to complete his planned Civil War trilogy after "Gods and Generals" debuted with only $4.7 million. The nearly four-hour film, which has no major stars and cost Turner $90 million to produce and market, is the "prequel" to 1993's "Gettysburg." Turner has said "Gods and Generals" must be a financial success before he decides whether to complete the trilogy with "The Last Full Measure."

Ted Turner has seen three of his wishes come true in recent days. AOL Time Warner Inc. called off a proposal to merge Turner's brainchild CNN with ABC News. The head of the conglomerate's cable networks -- who happens to be a Turner foe -- resigned. And the man picked to take over that cable empire, which Turner built, has the maverick media mogul's stamp of approval.

Ted Turner steps out of his hotel room near Georgetown, closes his eyes and clutches his chest. His knees begin to buckle and then he starts to swoon as if he has just been shot through the heart. Why me? you can almost hear the media titan ask. The talk has turned to the box office prospects for his epic Civil War film "Gods and Generals," which Warner Bros. plans to release on Friday. When someone mentions that movie attendance could drop dramatically if war breaks out, Turner groans.