SEC delays spin-off
From The Wall Street
The planned spin-off of Stilwell Financial from Kansas City Southern Industries Inc. will be delayed because the SEC is reviewing financial reporting practices regarding its 82%-owned subsidiary Janus Capital Corp. The review, which can take months, is the latest of several setbacks in the company's efforts to finalize the spin-off of its financial businesses, which include Janus, originally scheduled for 1998. According to a KCS statement, the SEC is examining whether Janus should continue to be considered a consolidated subsidiary for financial-reporting purposes or be broken out separately as an equity investment. A parent company's control over a subsidiary is a primary consideration in determining whether a unit can be treated as a consolidated subsidiary.

To the moon Janus
From The Wall Street Journal
The America Online and Time Warner merger is good news to Janus. The Janus Fund, Janus Twenty Fund, Janus Special Situations Fund, Janus Mercury Fund, Janus Growth & Income Fund, Janus Olympus Fund and Janus Global Technology Fund all recently reported holding shares in Time Warner, which rocketed $25.4375, or 39%, to $90.1875 at 4 p.m. on the NYSE. All seven funds rose more than 3% Monday, with Janus Fund jumping 5.2%, Mercury climbing 5.7%, Olympus increasing 5.9% and Special Situations plowing ahead 7.3%. The big move helped plenty of other funds as well, including MFS Emerging Growth Fund. The $15 billion-in-assets MFS Emerging Growth Fund fell 7.7% in last week's tech sell-off, when it was one of the worst-performing U.S. diversified-stock funds, according to Standard & Poor's. But a 1.1% stake in Time Warner gave it a much-needed nudge.

Specialized Internet funds may not be needed
From The Boston Globe
The AOL/Time Warner deal announced yesterday might force institutional investors to rethink the way they put money to work in Internet and media companies. Some experts say the merger could reduce the need for specialized Internet funds by highlighting the increasing exposure of traditional media companies to the Internet universe. In the near term, the deal focused attention on valuations in the media sector and sparked speculation of other deals linking Internet and publishing. One analyst said, "A lot of folks don't realize they already have a fair amount of Internet exposure in their portfolio. It doesn't mean you don't need a specialized fund, but it does mean you take a careful look at what you already own.  

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