Cablevision Systems Corporation (NYSE: CVC) shares jumped sharply today after the media company announced that it is considering a range of strategic options to unlock shareholder value. Among other things, the Dolan-owned firm is considering a spin-off of its cable-television business, Madison Square Garden sports unit, or its Rainbow Media TV networks. The company also said that it plans to pay a quarterly dividend or buyback shares in an effort to boost the stock price.

Cablevision faced some harsh criticism this past year after it spent the earnings from its New York-area cable service by buy the Sundance Channel and Long Island's Newsday newspaper. Activist investors, including Gamco Investors, demanded that Dolan stop doing deals and share the proceeds with shareholders instead - advice that is finally being taken to heart. The move to spin-off certain segments may also make Cablevision cheaper for the Dolan family to acquire outright as they have attempted to in the past.

Cablevision operates cable programming networks, entertainment businesses and telecommunications companies. As of December 31, 2006, the Company served approximately 3.1 million basic video subscribers in and around the New York City metropolitan area. Through its wholly owned subsidiary, Rainbow Media, Cablevision owns interests in and manages numerous national and regional programming networks, the Madison Square Garden sports and entertainment businesses, and cable television advertising sales companies.

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Retailers may not get the boost they are looking for after reports surfaced that consumer spending increases were offset by higher prices. Inflation-adjusted consumer spending declined 0.2% in June, according to the Commerce Department. This means that companies like Wal-Mart Stores (NYSE: WMT) and Target Corporation (NYSE: TGT) may not have realized the benefits of the tax rebates, which have instead flowed into the hands of mining and energy companies behind the higher costs.

Inflation rose 0.8% this month, which is the largest increases since February 1981's reading of 1 percent. The problem the government now is that its tax rebate program is failing and the Fed may be forced to raise rates, which could further erode the credit problems in the U.S. The Fed is expected to keep rates unchanged, but pressure by the government to make the rebate programs work may force them to hike rates at least a little to ease inflation.

Retailers are now left between a rock and a hard place. A rise in interest rates would likely reduce consumer spending in the long-run because loans would be more expensive. However, it would enable them to enhance their profit margins since the cost of goods would presumably move lower. However, if interest rates do not rise, inflation will remain a pressure on margins and consumer spending may take awhile to turn around. In the end, it may be awhile before retailers recover.

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MiddleBrook Pharmaceuticals (NDAQ: MBRK) shares have dropped substantially from their highs earlier this year, but recently rebounded on news of a $100 million investment. The firm had been the center of buyout speculation for some time as they were in talks with several interested parties; however, the firm opted to take a $100 million capital infusion from Equity Group Investments. The move has many investors speculating the firm may be worth a lot more than it is trading at right now.

Under the terms of the agreement, MiddleBrook will issue EGI 30.3 million shares of common stock and a five-year warrant to purchase 12.1 million shares of common stock with an exercise price of $3.90 per share for an aggregate purchase price of $100 million. The move will bring MBRK's shares outstanding to around 86.31 million and should boost the market capitalization by $100 million to $224 million. This equates to an implied price of $2.60 per share, which pins the current discount at around 16% assuming the company can prove it is worth the same valuation as before the investment.

MiddleBrook will also receive a new chief executive officer that has a lot of experience in the pharmaceutical industry. The news may not be as good as a buyout for shareholders, but it does give new investors a chance to get in at a cheap price with management incentivized to push shares to at least $3.90 per share in order to realize the value of the additional warrants over time. Whether or not that happens remains to be seen, but MiddleBrook pharmaceuticals is definitely a stock to keep an eye on in the meantime.

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