Private Equity Firms Shovel Millions to Congress: MapLight Analysis

Political Action Committees and individuals connected to private equity and investment firms have given more than $17 million to lawmakers that have been serving since the 109th Congress adjourned in 2006, a report released last week by the nonpartisan political research firm MapLight shows.

From Jan. 1, 2007, to June 30, 2011, Democrats have taken in $10,871,919, while their Republican counterparts received $6,553,793, the report says. Of the Democrats’ total, President Barack Obama accounts for $1,921,490 while his 2008 Republican opponent for the White House, Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., has accepted $1,246,575.

Mitt Romney, the current GOP presidential candidate front-runner, has been criticized by his rivals for his career in private business. Texas Gov. Rick Perry, Newt Gingrich and Jon Huntsman, who left the race on Monday, laid into Romney on Jan. 9 for his years at Bain Capital, the private-equity firm he ran until the mid-1990s. Both Perry and Gingrich accused Romney of having “looted” companies and firing workers for his own gain.

The accompanying chart reflects analysis conducted by MapLight, which shows contributions from private equity and investment firms to members of Congress. Contribution industry classification provided by OpenSecrets.

7 Marvelous Media Stocks to Watch in 2012

There’s no question the time is right to buy media stocks. Despite last year’s volatility and summer stock slam, media stocks have risen quite considerably. A lot of factors play into this, but one thing that is without a doubt is the race for the White House will prove to be a huge cash cow for media companies. With an estimated $8 billion worth of political ads to be played throughout the country, you can see why.
Now it’s time to choose which media stocks are the best for you. I watch more than 5,000 publicly traded companies with my Portfolio Grader tool, ranking companies by a number of fundamental and quantitative measures. And this week, I’ve got seven media companies making positive headway over the past 12 months.
Here they are, in alphabetical order. Each one of these stocks gets an “A” or “B” according to my research.
7 Marvelous Media Stocks to Watch in 2012- CBS (NYSE:CBS) is a mass-media company, known best for its television stations. In the past year, CBS stock has jumped 47%. CBS stock gets an “A” for operating margin growth, a “B” for its ability to exceed the consensus earnings estimates on Wall Street, a “B” for the magnitude in which earnings projections have increased over the past month, a “B” for cash flow and a “B” for return on equity in my Portfolio Grader tool. For more information, view my complete analysis of CBS stock.
Comcast (NASDAQ:CMCSA) is a provider of video, high-speed Internet and phone services to residences and businesses. CMCSA is up 16% in the past year, compared to a gain of almost 7% for the Dow Jones in the same time. CMCSA stock gets an “A” for sales growth, a “B” for earnings momentum and a “B” for cash flow in my Portfolio Grader tool. For more information, view my complete analysis of CMCSA stock.
7 Marvelous Media Stocks to Watch in 2012-Discovery Communications (NASDAQ:DISCA) is a nonfiction media and entertainment company that provides programming across the world. In the last 12 months, DISCA has climbed nearly 11%. DISCA stock gets a “B” for sales growth, an “A” for operating margin growth, a “B” for earnings growth, a “B” for earnings momentum,  a “B” for its ability to exceed the consensus earnings estimates on Wall Street, a “B” for the magnitude in which earnings projections have increased over the past month, an “A” for cash flow and a “B” for return on equity in my Portfolio Grader tool. For more information, view my complete analysis of DISCA stock.
DISH Network (NASDAQ:DISH) is a satellite television provider with more than 14 million subscribers. In the past year, DISH stock is up more than 32%, compared to smaller gains by the broader markets. DISH stock gets an “A” for operating margin growth, a “B” for earnings growth, an “A” for cash flow and an “A” for return on equity in my Portfolio Grader tool. For more information, view my complete analysis of DISH stock.
7 Marvelous Media Stocks to Watch in 2012-News Corp. (NASDAQ:NWS) is a diversified global media company, known best for its controversial owner, Robert Murdoch, as well as for many popular prime time shows such as “American Idol” and “Family Guy”. NWS is up 16% in the past year, despite the controversy surrounding Murdoch. NWS stock gets a “B” for its ability to exceed the consensus earnings estimates on Wall Street, a “B” for the magnitude in which earnings projections have increased over the past month and a “B” for return on equity in my Portfolio Grader tool. For more information, view my complete analysis of NWS stock.
Sirius XM Radio (NASDAQ:SIRI) is a satellite radio provider that offers music, sports, news, talk, entertainment, traffic and weather channels. In the past year, SIRI stock has posted a significant gain of 28%. SIRI stock gets an “A” for operating margin growth, a “B” for earnings growth, an “A” for earnings momentum, an “A” for its ability to exceed the consensus earnings estimates on Wall Street, an “A” for the magnitude in which earnings projections have increased over the past month, a “B” for cash flow and an “A” for return on equity in my Portfolio Grader tool. For more information, view my complete analysis of SIRI stock.
7 Marvelous Media Stocks to Watch in 2012-Time Warner Cable (NYSE:TWC) is a cable operator that has customers in several markets across the U.S. TWC is up about 10% since last February. TWC stock gets a “B” for operating margin growth, a “B” for earnings momentum, an “A” for its ability to exceed the consensus earnings estimates on Wall Street, a “B” for the magnitude in which earnings projections have increased over the past month, a “B” for cash flow and an “A” for return on equity in my Portfolio Grader tool. For more information, view my complete analysis of TWC stock.