Reuters clients get trading edge on Mediaset earnings

Reuters beat the competition on Nov 9 in the race to publish Italian broadcaster Mediasets nine-month results, which prompted Nomura, Barclays, Bank of America and other brokers to cut their targets and helped send the shares down 6.5 percent. Reuters alert on key Italy advertising sales in the nine months to September was more than eight minutes ahead of Bloomberg and more than six minutes before Dow Jones. Other earnings snaps were some five minutes ahead of competition, while the headline on the Nov-Dec forecast for Italy advertising was unmatched. Reuters snaps started to come out more than one minute before the market close and before the official statement was released. Bloomberg and Dow Jones snaps were after the close. The following day shares in Mediaset, controlled by Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi, closed down 6.5 percent as brokers cut their targets and investors reacted to a mixed bag of results at a time of uncertainty for the government of Berlusconi.