What's next after wild week for stocks?

NEW YORK — The stock market needs to see a therapist.

Temperamental, flighty, prone to violent mood swings, the market took investors on a wild ride this week. From one day to the next, even within a few hours, stocks swung from despair to optimism, deep losses to big gains.

The Dow Jones industrial average plummeted 460 points at one point Wednesday, but pared most of those losses by the end of the trading day. On Friday, it surged 263 points. The difference between the Dow's high and the low for the week was the largest in nearly three years.

Investors seemed buffeted from every corner: Plunging oil prices, signs of a slowdown in Europe and fear of Ebola on the downside; strong corporate earnings and reassuring jobs market figures on the upside.

"We've entered a high-volatility market, and it's here to stay," said Bill Strazzullo, chief market strategist of Bell Curve Trading.

Here's a look at the factors driving the manic trading, and the outlook for next week:

EUROPEAN RECESSION?

Investors are afraid that Europe could slip into another recession, perhaps deeper than the one it emerged from just a year ago, and the slowdown could cut into U.S. corporate profits.

The bad news from Europe started piling up earlier this month. Germany, the region's biggest economy, said that manufacturing output fell. The International Monetary Fund cut its estimate of 2014 growth in the eurozone to an anemic 0.8 percent. Then came news on Tuesday that industrial production for the 18-country region plunged in August, and people really got spooked.

The Chinese economy, the world's second largest, is slowing, too.

"Can the U.S. continue to recover if the major drivers of the global economy— Europe and China — continue to struggle? I don't think so," said Bell Curve's Strazzullo. "I think we'll have subpar growth and you'll see that in the lower equity prices."

Even some optimists are worried.

"In this slowdown, it's more serious," said Mark Vitner, senior economist at Wells Fargo Securities, referring to the eurozone. "It's Germany and France, not just the periphery countries (like Greece), that are causing the damage."

Still, Vitner added, the danger to the U.S. is easy to exaggerate. He noted that the U.S. is a relatively closed economy. Only 14 percent of U.S. economic output comes from exports, one of the lowest such shares in the world.

One measure of trouble in the eurozone to watch is its purchasing managers' index, a broad gauge of business activity. The next reading comes out Thursday.

OIL PRICE PLUNGE

Benchmark U.S. crude closed at the $82.75 a barrel on Friday, one its lowest prices in years. The drop has hammered energy companies this month. Two Dow members, Chevron and Exxon Mobil, have fallen 6 percent and 3 percent, respectively.

Ultimately, the drop in oil could be good for stocks, though. That's because a fall in prices means drivers will end up paying much less to fill up their tanks, leaving them more money to spend on other things, like travel and clothes and dinners out.

Gas at the pump has already fallen to less than $3 a gallon in some parts of the country, noted USAA Investment Assistant Vice President John Jares in a report on Wednesday. He wrote that the drop in gas could prove a "boon to retailers" in the holiday shopping season, and cited it as one reason USAA mutual funds were buying stocks this week.

U.S. ECONOMY

A pickup in spending would sure help calm investor nerves.

One of the triggers for the sickening 460 point drop in the Dow on Wednesday was a report showing retail sales declined 0.3 percent in September from the previous month. Purchases of autos, gasoline, furniture and clothing all slowed.

"The economy remains stuck on the same shallow growth trajectory that has been in place for the past several years," economist Steven Ricchiuto of Mizuho Securities wrote to clients shortly after the numbers came out Wednesday.

Still, it's important to put the bad news in context. The U.S. economy is in the best shape in years. Employers are hiring at the strongest pace in 15 years and most economists expect the U.S. to grow a healthy 3 percent this year and next.

Investors will get more tea leaves to read on U.S. consumers next week. Internet powerhouse Amazon.com reports earnings on Thursday and shipping giant United Parcel Service on Friday.

THE PROFIT PICTURE

In the end, you can talk your head off about the state of the global economy and the U.S. consumer. But the biggest driver of stocks is earnings.

Exhibit A: The blowout profits reported by General Electric and Textron on Friday, which helped propel the Standard and Poor's 500 index up 1.3 percent.

The other good news is that companies in the S&P 500 seem reasonably valued based on average earnings forecasts by financial analysts. The index is trading at 15.1 times its expected earnings per share over the next 12 months, according to S&P Capital IQ, a research firm. That is slightly lower — meaning cheaper — than the average of 16.4 since 2001.

But financial analysts are a notoriously over-optimistic bunch. For all of next year, they expect earnings to rise 11.5 percent, more than double the expected growth rate in the quarter just ended.

How likely is that?

Investors will get a clearer view next week when 127 companies in the S&P 500 report third-quarter earnings and, more importantly, talk about prospects for the future. Among those reporting are Apple, Procter & Gamble, Boeing and Ford.

Randall Warren, chief investment officer of Warren Financial Service in Exton, Pennsylvania, is optimistic.

"It's a good time to buy," said Warren, who bought Google as it tumbled 6 percent this week. "I think earnings are going to ride to the rescue."

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Market turmoil: A gift for mortgage refinancers?

A sudden plunge in mortgage rates this week raised an urgent question for millions of Americans:

Should I refinance my mortgage?

Across the country, homeowners and would-be homeowners eager for a bargain rate fired off inquiries to lenders.

The opportunity emerged from the tumult that seized financial markets and sent stock prices and bond yields tumbling. Rates on long-term mortgages tend to track the 10-year Treasury yield, which fell below 2 percent for the first time since May 2013.

Accordingly, the average rate for a 30-year fixed mortgage, mortgage giant Freddie Mac reported, dipped below 4 percent to 3.97 percent — a tantalizing figure. As recently as January, the average was 4.53 percent.

Ultra-low rates do carry risks as well as opportunities. Charges and fees can shortchange refinancers who are focused only on the potential savings. And falling rates are often associated with the broader risk of an economic slowdown that could eventually reduce the income that some people have to pay their mortgages.

Yet the tempting possibility of locking in a sub-4 percent rate has a way of motivating people.

"It gets people excited," said Michelle Meyer, an economist at Bank of America. "It gets mortgage bankers excited. It gets prospective buyers excited."

The drop in rates could finally give homeowners like Issi and Amy Romem of Mountain View, California, the chance to refinance.

Amy Romem bought the condo at the peak of the housing boom for $400,000, using an adjustable-rate loan with an initial 5.875 percent rate that would reset after 10 years. The reset would amount to an extra $400 a month on the condo, which the couple now rents, Issi Romem said.

"Seeing rates go down even more is something I wasn't expecting," he said. "It reminds me that I need to do this now, before interest rates do go up."

Before this week, many bankers, lenders and borrowers had assumed that home loan rates would soon start rising closer to a two-decade average of 6 percent. That was based on expectations that the Federal Reserve would start raising its key short-term rate next year — a move that would likely lead to higher mortgage rates, too.

But that assumption fell suddenly into doubt as stocks plunged on Monday and Wednesday amid fears about global economic weaknesses, the spread of Ebola and the threat of the Islamic State militia group in the Middle East.

Seeking safety, investors poured money into U.S. Treasurys. Higher demand drives up prices for those government bonds and causes their yields to drop.

The yield on the 10-year note traded as low as 1.91 percent Wednesday before ending the day at 2.14 percent. A stock market rally on Friday helped lift the yield to 2.20 percent. That suggested that the moment to refinance might be fleeting.

"It's likely to be the last time we see these rates for a generation, if ever again," said Jonathan Smoke, chief economist at Realtor.com.

Even a slight drop in mortgage rates can translate into significant savings over the long run. For a median-priced home worth $221,000, a 0.5 percentage point decline in a mortgage rate would produce savings of $50 a month, according to a Bank of America analysis.

Still, it takes time for the savings to offset the costs of refinancing.

"There's no free lunch in this," noted Gary Kalman, executive vice president at the Center for Responsible Lending.

Lenders typically charge fees for paperwork on the loan and to pay for a home appraisal and title insurance, among other costs.

"You want to make sure the interest rate you're getting is dropping enough that it more than offsets whatever fees you may be paying," Kalman said.

Refinancing from a 5.5 percent rate — which some borrowers still have — to 4 percent would save $180 a month on a $200,000 mortgage. But the fees — averaging around $2,500 — mean it would take about 14 months to break even.

Research done this year by economists at the University of Chicago and Brigham Young University found that 20 percent of eligible households failed to refinance when rates first made doing so profitable in late 2010. They essentially cost themselves $11,500 in potential savings.

Those who missed those late rates last year now have a second chance.

"When you get these little boomlets like we see now, most of that is what drives refinancing activity," said Bob Walters, chief economist at Quicken Loans.

While applications for refinancing have been rising this week at Quicken, Walters added, it's unlikely that many would-be home buyers will be able to benefit. It can take buyers months to mobilize, because they need to first find a suitable house in the right neighborhood. That makes it hard for them to immediately snap into action when rates drop, though it might coax them into looking.

"It's a bonus if rates are lower," Walters said, "but it doesn't dictate the decision."

___

Boak reported from Washington, Veiga from Los Angeles.

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Robert Rodriguez sues over unpaid $7.7 million for 'Sin City 2,' 'Machete Kills'

Filmmaker Robert Rodriguez has sued the financers of "Sin City 2" and "Machete Kills," alleging non-payment of $7.7 million.

The suit was filed Friday in Los Angeles Superior Court on Friday by Rodriguez and his affiliate companies against Sergei Bespalov, Marina Bespalov, Maddartico Limited, Vrelonovama LLC, Aldamisa Entertainment and SC2 Productions.

It alleged breach of contract and fraud. The suit seeks a jury trial and unspecified damages.

"In order to induce Plaintiffs to enter into agreements with various of the Defendants relating to the Pictures, Defendants, including, specifically, Sergei Bespalov, falsely assured and represented to Plaintiffs that Defendants had more than sufficient financial resources and cash
flow - not only from and related to the Pictures, but also from other projects - to honor all of their financial obligations to Plaintiffs."

The suit alleged that when the money was not paid as promised, Rodriguez paid his own funds to "Machete Kills" screenwriter Kyle Ward.

Plaintiffs include Fifth Brain Inc., El Chingon, Inc., El Chingon Productions, El Chingon Investments and Quickdraw Holdings.

Rodriguez was a director and producer on both films, which under-performed at the box office.

"Sin City 2: A Dame To Kill For" had a budget estimated at $65 million and starred Bruce Willis, Mickey Rourke and Jessica Alba. It was released in August in the U.S. by the Weinstein Company and grossed $13 million; worldwide grosses hit $38 million.

"Machete Kills," starred Danny Trejo, Amber Heard, Mel Gibson, Sofia Vergara and Antonio Banderas. It was released last year, carried a reported of $20 million and grossed about $15 million worldwide.

Aldamisa and Sergei Bespalov did not respond to requests for comment.

© 2014 Variety Media, LLC, a subsidiary of Penske Business Media; Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC

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Gay-rights group backs use of HIV-prevention pill

NEW YORK — The largest U.S. gay-rights organization Saturday endorsed efforts to promote the use of a once-a-day pill to prevent HIV infection and called on insurers to provide more generous coverage of the drug.

Some doctors have been reluctant to prescribe the drug, Truvada, on the premise that it might encourage high-risk, unprotected sexual behavior. However, its preventive use has been endorsed by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the World Health Organization, and many HIV/AIDS advocacy groups

The Human Rights Campaign, which recently has been focusing its gay-rights advocacy on same-sex marriage and anti-discrimination issues, joined those ranks with the release of a policy paper strongly supporting the preventive use of Truvada. It depicted the drug as "a critically important tool" in combatting HIV, the virus that causes AIDS.

"HRC does not take this position lightly," the policy paper said. "We recognize there is still ongoing debate ... and that there are those out there who will disagree with our stance."

Truvada has been around for a decade, serving as one of the key drugs used in combination with others as the basic treatment for people with HIV. In 2012, the Food and Drug Administration approved it for pre-exposure prophylaxis, or PrEP — in other words, for use to prevent people from getting sexually transmitted HIV in the first place.

"Today, there is an unprecedented chance to end the HIV/AIDS epidemic, in part through PrEP's aggressive prevention of new HIV infections," said Chad Griffin, president of the Human Rights Campaign. "There is no reason — medical or otherwise — to discourage individuals from taking control of their sexual health and talking to their doctor about PrEP."

The CDC says studies have shown that Truvada, when taken diligently, can reduce the risk of getting HIV by 90 percent or more. Research discussed at the International AIDS Conference in July found that use of the drug does not encourage risky sex and is effective even if people skip some doses.

As part of its announcement, the Human Rights Campaign called on insurers, regulators and Truvada's manufacturer to take steps to reduce costs, raise public awareness, and make the option available to all medically qualified individuals who could benefit from it, regardless of ability to pay.

The cost of Truvada varies widely; a New York State Health Department fact sheet gives a range of $8,000 to $14,000 per year. The manufacturer, California-based Gilead Sciences Inc., has a program that provides assistance to some people who are eligible to use Truvada but cannot afford it.

The Human Rights Campaign urged all states to emulate Washington state, which implemented a program earlier this year offering assistance in paying for PrEP. The preventive option also was endorsed by New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo when he announced initiatives in June aimed at ending the state's AIDS epidemic by 2020.

The HRC called on state insurance regulators to take action against any insurers who deny legitimate claims from patients who've been prescribed PrEP by their doctors.

A prominent provider of services to HIV-positive people, the Los Angeles-based AIDS Healthcare Foundation, remains a vocal critic of the preventive use of Truvada. In an ad campaign launched in August, the foundation says many gay men fail to adhere to Truvada's once-a-day regimen and describes government promotion of the drug as "a public health disaster in the making."

On Oct. 10, an alliance of about two-dozen HIV/AIDS organizations in New York released an open letter to the Healthcare Foundation, asking it not to extend the ad campaign to their state.

"We believe your campaign could prevent people at risk for HIV from using this potential lifesaving medication," the letter said.

The Healthcare Foundation's president, Michael Weinstein, said his organization did plan to run ads soon in New York City asserting there is data casting doubts on Truvada's effectiveness.

"Censoring the discussion is not the answer," he said.

Weinstein also noted that — according to figures from Gilead — only a few thousand people thus far have filled prescriptions for Truvada.

"If people really felt it was the answer, it's hard to imagine it wouldn't have spread like wildfire," Weinstein said. "It's obvious there is enormous ambivalence in the medical community."

According to the CDC, there are about 50,000 new HIV infections annually, with gay and bisexual men accounting for nearly 63 percent of them.

___

Human Rights Campaign: http://www.hrc.org/

AIDS Healthcare Foundation: http://www.aidshealth.org/#/

CDC factsheet: http://www.cdc.gov/hiv/pdf/PrEP_GL_Patient_Factsheet_PrEP_English.pdf

___

Follow David Crary on Twitter at http://twitter.com/CraryAP

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Peyton Manning poised to make NFL history in primetime

There's no player in pro football more popular these days then Peyton Manning, and when the Denver Broncos quarterback sets the all-time NFL record for touchdown passes, his fans should be able to see it happen live.

Manning, whose 506 career TDs puts him two behind the record of 508 set by Brett Favre, figures to throw for his 509th score either this Sunday against the San Francisco 49ers or the following Thursday against the San Diego Chargers.

Perhaps not coincidentally, both games will be played in Manning's home stadium -- and broadcast nationally in primetime.

The marquee NFL teams can be scheduled for as many as five primetime games a season, and it's probably no coincidence that the NFL allotted two of the Broncos' evening appearances for this time of year. Manning needed 18 touchdown passes to surpass Favre heading into the season, so it was a calculated guess by the league (which releases its schedule in April) that it would happen in his sixth or seventh game.

Both NBC and CBS are no doubt salivating at the chance to televise the historic pass.

The Peacock started promoting the potential historic nature of its Oct. 19 game between Denver and San Francisco during last week's "Sunday Night Football" contest after Manning had thrown for three touchdowns earlier in the day against the New York Jets to pull to within two of Favre's record. And its press release for Sunday's game, which includes a rundown of prior Manning milestones on "Sunday Night Football" over the years, is headlined "Chasing 509."

If the new touchdown record hasn't been achieved this Sunday, CBS figures to garner easily its best "Thursday Night Football" numbers to date with its Oct. 23 Broncos-Chargers matchup. But even if the record has been broken by then, CBS should still benefit from the halo affect of having Manning on again just four nights later. It also helps that the matchup (Chargers-Broncos is a battle for first place in the AFC West) is the best of the seven Thursday games airing on CBS this fall.

An interesting sidenote to the Manning mania that will envelop primetime this week is that neither "Sunday Night Football" nor "Thursday Night Football" will have to share the sports stage with baseball. Both the American League and National League Championship Series wrapped quickly so there's no baseball game this Sunday night, and a new schedule format means that the World Series (which now starts on a Tuesday) is not scheduled to play a Thursday game for the first time since 1990.

The NFL has proven adept at milking historic records for all their ratings worth. If Manning continues to throw touchdown passes in every game this season, he will tie Drew Brees' all-time mark of 54 consecutive games with a score in Week 16 -- when the Broncos just happen to have another of their five primetime games (at Cincinnati on ESPN's "Monday Night Football").

When Brees himself set the mark in 2012, the NFL scheduled his Saints to be at home that week on NBC's "Sunday Night Football" -- and for good measure, it just happened to be against the team who originally drafted him, the San Diego Chargers.

Thanks in large part to the popularity of Manning, the Broncos recently overtook the Dallas Cowboys as the most popular NFL team in America, according to a Harris Poll released earlier this week (see below.)

And Manning has been ratings gold over the years, especially since his move from the Indianapolis Colts to the Broncos in 2012.

Last season, seven of the 13 most-watched regular-season NFL games involved the Broncos, including the team's game at Dallas on CBS in October (28.32 million) and Manning's return to Indianapolis as a visiting player for the first time just two weeks later (26.92 million on NBC). And of course, the Super Bowl -- in which the Broncos were destroyed 43-8 by the Seattle Seahawks -- averaged a U.S. television-record 112.2 million viewers on Fox in early February.

And in the early going this season, three of the the seven most-watched games have featured the Broncos, with the team's Super Bowl rematch with the Seattle Seahawks on CBS in September drawing the biggest crowd (27.29 million).

HARRIS POLL: MOST POPULAR NFL TEAMS ON TV
(2013 ranking in parentheses)

1. Denver Broncos (3)
2. New York Giants (4)
3. Green Bay Packers (2)
4. Dallas Cowboys (1)
5. Pittsburgh Steelers (7)
6. Seattle Seahawks (12)
7. San Francisco 49ers (8)
8. New England Patriots (5)
9. Chicago Bears (6)
10. New Orleans Saints (11)
11. New York Jets (15)
12. Minnesota Vikings (13)
13. Detroit Lions (22)
14. Washington Redskins (14)
15. Philadelphia Eagles (15)
15. Miami Dolphins (10)
17. Cincinnati Bengals (24)
18. Oakland Raiders (16)
19. Arizona Cardinals (16)
20. Cleveland Browns (25)
20. Buffalo Bills (28)
22. Atlanta Falcons (20)
23. Baltimore Ravens (16)
23. San Diego Chargers (23)
23. Kansas City Chiefs (29)
26. Indianapolis Colts (19)
27. Houston Texans (21)
28. Carolina Panthers (27)
29. St. Louis Rams (29)
30. Tampa Bay Buccaneers (30)
31. Tennessee Titans (31)
31. Jacksonville Jaguars (32)

© 2014 Variety Media, LLC, a subsidiary of Penske Business Media; Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC

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Janet Yellen decries income inequality

Federal Reserve chairwoman Janet Yellen said yesterday that rising income inequality in the U.S. is at odds with American values.

"It is appropriate to ask whether this trend is compatible with values rooted in our nation's history, among them the high value Americans have traditionally placed on equality of opportunity," said Yellen, delivering the keynote at the Conference on Economic Opportunity and Inequality at the Boston Federal Reserve. "The past few decades of widening inequality can be summed up as significant income and wealth gains for those at the very top and stagnant living standards for the majority."

She said inequality has increased since the recession. According to Federal Reserve data, the wealthiest 5 percent held 
63 percent of the wealth in 2013, while the lower half of all households held only 1 percent.

Yellen's remarks on inequality were a departure from typical Fed chair topics, which usually cover monetary policy or unemployment.

She also cited higher education costs as an economic concern.

"Higher education has been and remains a potent source of economic opportunity in America, but I fear the large and growing burden of paying for it may make it harder for many young people to take advantage of the opportunity higher education offers," she said. "College costs have risen much faster than income ... and have become especially burdensome for households in the bottom half of the earnings distribution."

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Here's what's been happening in markets this month

What a difference a month makes.

On Sept. 18, the U.S. stock market reached a record high after a mostly uneventful summer. Long-term interest rates headed higher, a sign that investors expected steady U.S. growth. A widely watched measure of volatility in the U.S. stock market was near its lowest level of the year, and European markets were heading higher after a nasty downturn over the summer. The price of crude oil was declining, but nothing like the sudden plunges that would come weeks later.

Here is a snapshot of key market signals and what they've shown over the last month and year to date.

S&P 500 INDEX

It's been a bumpy ride for U.S. stocks in the last month, especially since Monday. The Standard & Poor's 500 index nearly went into "correction" on Wednesday, meaning a decline of 10 percent or more from a recent peak. The declines briefly wiped out the year-to-date gains for the index.

One month: Down 5.7 percent.

Year-to-date: Up 2.1 percent.

BONDS

The U.S. Treasury market had one of its biggest moves in recent memory on Wednesday. The yield on the 10-year Treasury note dropped precipitously as prices on the notes surged. A rush to buy U.S. government debt, which is seen as extremely low-risk, can indicate investors are fearful of disruptions in other markets or expect the U.S. economy to slow down. In one morning the yield dropped from 2.20 percent to as low as 1.91 percent, a huge move that would normally take weeks. The magnitude and suddenness of the drop shocked investors, and left many puzzled over what caused it. By the end of the week trading had stabilized.

Friday: 2.20 percent.

One month ago: 2.62 percent.

Beginning of the year: 2.97 percent.

CRUDE OIL

The price of crude oil has had some steep drops in recent weeks, and has been in more or less steady decline since hitting a peak of $107.26 a barrel in June. On Friday it closed at $82.75 a barrel, 23 percent below that peak. Ample global supplies, high production levels and expectations of slowing demand in China and in Europe as economic growth weakens have driven down the price of oil. While cheaper prices for oil and gas are good for drivers, airlines and many others, they mean trouble for energy company profits.

One month: Down 12.2 percent.

Year-to-date: Down 15.7 percent.

EUROPE

Troubling signs of a slowdown in Germany, Europe's biggest economy, have rattled investors in recent weeks. Also, Germany's resistance to using economic stimulus puts it at odds with the European Central Bank and its European neighbors. That contributed to a slide in European markets over the last month. The declines were even more pronounced in countries on the periphery of Europe, which have borne the brunt of the region's long-simmering government debt problems, such as Greece and Portugal. Greece was especially hard hit by fears that its government could collapse, jeopardizing its exit from bailout loan programs. Greece's long-term borrowing costs rose sharply, a signal that investors are more worried about its ability to pay its debts.

Germany's DAX

One month: Down 8.4 percent.

Year-to-date: Down 7.3 percent.

Portugal's PSI

One month: Down 13.9 percent.

Year-to-date: Down 23.1 percent.

Greece's ATHEX

One month: Down 17.7 percent.

Year-to-date: Down 19.9 percent.

Yield on Greece's 10-year bond

Friday: 7.93 percent

One month ago: 5.77 percent

Beginning of the year: 8.14 percent.

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Massachusetts voters to decide fate of casino law

PLAINVILLE, Mass. — The second fight over gambling in Massachusetts pits the companies who have already won the right to operate casinos against mostly local activists who object to casinos largely on moral and religious grounds.

If approved, the Nov. 4 ballot question would make Massachusetts the first state in the nation to reverse course on casinos before the first one has even opened its doors. It comes as voters in six other states will decide whether to expand casino offerings this November.

Recent polls suggest the pro-casino side holds an advantage, but their lead has fluctuated, giving anti-casino forces hope.

Pro-casino supporters, meanwhile, are hammering their economic development and job creation message through slickly-produced television advertisements.

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Turner Broadcasting ends a tough week of write-downs, layoffs and exec uncertainty

The big news from HBO at Time Warner's investor meeting Wednesday overshadowed another surprise announcement that Turner Broadcasting would take a $400 million write-down on programming expenditures.

Turner execs didn't elaborate on the specific shows that would be written off, nor would execs comment on the matter. But the $400 million figure was seen as a stunner by seasoned industry observers -- and more evidence that the management of Turner's cablers is in need of an overhaul.

Sources say a significant portion of the write-down is coming from two megabuck off-network acquisitions that have been disappointing performers for TNT: "Hawaii 5-0," from CBS' syndie arm, and "The Mentalist," from Warner Bros.

Turner paid a whopping $2.5 million an episode back in 2009 to snag "Mentalist" (pictured) rights; the show is about to head into its seventh and final season. "Hawaii 5-0," now in its fifth season on CBS, is believed to have grabbed about $2 million an episode in a 2011 deal with TNT.

The write-down news came during a tough week overall at Turner, as the company began implementing layoffs and buyouts of nearly 1,500 staffers across its various divisions. And the company is also finding it an uphill climb to fill its top programming job after months of courting various TV biz insiders.

As recently as earlier this month, former Fox and NBC executive Kevin Reilly was seen as a lock to fill the leadership void at TNT and TBS left by the departures this year of entertainment chief Steve Koonin and programming prez Michael Wright. Now, sources confirm that Turner and Reilly have mutually decided to part ways.

The end of Reilly's talks with Turner, first reported by Deadline, have stirred renewed speculation about Turner trying to woo Sony Pictures TV exec Zack Van Amburg. Just a few months ago, he signed a new deal to remain co-head of Sony TV's domestic production unit with Jamie Erlicht.

A rep for Turner declined comment on the write-down and the executive search.

© 2014 Variety Media, LLC, a subsidiary of Penske Business Media; Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC

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Ebola monitoring inconsistent as virus spread

DALLAS — The top administrator in Dallas County rushed to Texas Health Presbyterian Hospital this week responding to urgent news: One of its nurses had caught Ebola from a patient. He quickly asked for the hospital's watch list to find out who else might be at risk.

Judge Clay Jenkins, who is overseeing the county's emergency response, was told there was no such list. Simply put, nurse Nina Pham and her co-workers, who were handing fluids, inserting IVs and cleaning Thomas Eric Duncan in his dying days, were supposed to take their own temperatures and let someone know if they felt sick.

That wasn't nearly enough for Jenkins, and that evening, he began to make changes. Hospital officials told potentially exposed hospital workers to stop seeing patients other than Pham.

But the next day, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention allowed another nurse who cared for Duncan, Amber Vinson, to get on a plane in Ohio and fly to Dallas with a mild fever. She was later diagnosed with Ebola, and CDC Director Dr. Tom Frieden has conceded that she "should not have traveled on a commercial airline."

The inconsistent response by health officials in monitoring and limiting the movement of health workers has been one of the critical blunders in the Ebola outbreak. Friends and family who had contact with Duncan before he was hospitalized were confined to homes under armed guard, but nurses who handled his contagious bodily fluids were allowed to treat other patients, take mass transit and get on airplanes.

"I don't think the directions provided to people at first were as clear as they needed to be, and there have been changes in the instructions given to people over time," said Rep. Michael Burgess, R-Texas, a doctor who did his residency in Dallas.

Local health authorities have said repeatedly throughout the response that their guidance and direction can change.

"Please keep in mind the contact list is fluid, meaning people may fall off the list or new people may be added to the list depending on new information that could arise at any time on any given day," said Dallas County health department spokeswoman Erikka Neroes on Friday when asked how many people are even being monitored.

On Thursday, Jenkins announced stricter restrictions that require hospital staffers who had been potentially exposed to stay away from the public for 21 days and check their temperature twice a day, once in person with a public health worker. It was the first written order anyone being monitored has been asked to sign.

"They can walk their dog, but they can't go to church; they can't go to schools; they can't go to shopping centers," said Mayor Mike Rawlings.

Public health epidemiologists were notifying the health care workers of the directions Friday, said Texas Department of State Health Services spokeswoman Carrie Williams.

But even those medical agreements allow some wiggle room. For example, they say public transit isn't outright banned but "should be discussed with the public health authority."

Officials say 125 friends, family, doctors, nurses, technicians, ambulance drivers and others may have been exposed in the days before Duncan died on Oct. 8. Since then, the two nurses have tested positive and at least 18 other people in Texas and Ohio have been identified as secondary contacts who also merit watching.

At first, the monitoring sounded relatively simple: track down the contacts, monitor them with least twice daily temperature records and test people who develop symptoms for Ebola. State officials would be in charge, working with the CDC and Dallas County authorities.

But for a time after Pham was diagnosed with Ebola, different hospital workers had different levels of monitoring, based in part on their exposure risk. Some self-reported their temperatures. Some continued to care for patients. Hospital spokesman Wendell Watson on Saturday referred all questions about the facility's monitoring practices to county officials.

The county moved Duncan's girlfriend, Louise Troh, her 13-year-old son, Duncan's nephew, and a family friend from their apartment to a guarded house in an undisclosed location, where a health official comes by twice a day and takes their temperatures. The unusual confinement order was imposed after the family failed to comply with a request not to leave their apartment, Jenkins said.

Pham and Vinson have been taken to medical centers with isolation units in Maryland and Atlanta. There are four such centers in the U.S.

At the National Institutes of Health medical center in Bethesda, Maryland, spokeswoman Amanda Fine says staff involved in caring for people with Ebola are given thermometers and instructions and must measure and submit body temperatures twice daily.

Taylor Wilson, a spokesman for the Nebraska isolation unit, which has also been treating Ebola patients, said that every time health care workers go into the unit, they must stop and take their temperature and other vital signs and log the results. They are also advised to keep an eye out for any symptoms.

He said that there are no restrictions on the staff's movements outside of work.

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Associated Press writer Emily Schmall contributed to this report from Fort Worth.

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