Never underestimate the ability of Phil Anschutz's boys to make a buck - even under the most challenging circumstances. AEG Live, promoter of the Michael Jackson shows in London and a division of the Anschutz Entertainment Group empire, stands to recoup a big chunk of its investment, something that would have seemed unlikely just a few days ago. "People have speculated that this is going to bankrupt our company," AEG Live CEO Randy Phillips said on Thursday. "The truth is it isn't."

AEG has come up with two golden opportunities:

--An ingenious stunt in which nearly 1 million ticket-holders are given the choice of a full refund or a special commemorative ticket that features a three-dimensional image of Jackson. "So let's get this straight," blogs Neil McCormick of the London Telegraph, "somebody who has spent around £75 to go to a gig is being offered a souvenir ticket in its place, a printed piece of paper that they should have received anyway..." Well, yes, and according to AEG about 40 percent to 50 percent have so far opted for the souvenir ticket. At that rate, the company breaks even on the box office gate.

--A possible movie based on video and audio footage of Jackson's rehearsals. "We own the intellectual property," Phillips tells Billboard. "It is our responsibility and fiduciary duty to the estate to monetize as much of these assets as we can under the original contract, because the majority of the profit would go to the estate."

Still unclear is how much AEG would recoup from the maze of insurance coverage. Much will depend on the toxicology results from the autopsy. Phillips tells the LAT that if the death is the result of an accidental overdose, "we claim the full $17.6 million." Also not known are the economics of Tuesday's memorial service at Staples. Staging that event will not be cheap, especially with the mess that's likely to unfold outside the arena. But you can bet the AEG will be looking for whatever revenue possibilities might be available.

Several major financial institutions - Citibank, Chase and Wells Fargo among them - joined Bank of America in announcing plans to redeem the state's IOUs. But the cutoff is July 10, which only gives lawmakers and the governor a week to settle the $26.3 billion budget deficit impasse. After that? B of A says there are no plans for an extension - "This is a firm date for us," the bank told the LAT. That puts additional pressure on Sacramento to keep working on a compromise. Banks were far more accommodating in 1992, the last time warrants had to be issued, and that laissez-faire stance might have delayed cutting a deal. California will pay a 3.75 percent interest rate on $3.2 billion of state IOUs being issued this month. The notes will mature Oct. 2. If the IOUs are redeemed early, the state will pay the interest accrued up to that time,

Not good. Most of the economists cited in the WSJ posting have very little good to say about the June employment numbers. Some examples, compiled by Phil Izzo:

--This was a very ugly labor market report, and there is no amount of lipstick that can improve its image. -Millan L. B. Mulraine, TD Securities

--Private sector job losses in excess of 400,000 this deep into a recession cannot be viewed as anything but terrible news. -Joshua Shapiro, MFR Inc.

--We are encouraged that both the narrow and broad measures of unemployment rose only marginally in June and this, along with the slowing in the rate of private sector job losses, further suggests that the recession is drawing to a close. -RDQ Economics

--Job losses and the weak average hourly wages data suggest weak consumer incomes and thereby consumer spending. The second half gain in GDP will be dominated by federal spending. The test will be if much of the transfer payments are saved, not spent. In the personal income data released last week you saw that most of the money was saved. -John Silvia, Wachovia Economics Group

Big drop in stocks: The June jobs numbers obviously don't help. Dow is down about 170 points in early trading.

Latest on IOUs: Today's the day state Controller John Chiang could start issuing registered warrants. The state's Pooled Money Investment Board (who knew?) will set the interest rate for the IOUs at an emergency meeting this morning. (Capitol Alert)

Latest on budget: Really no change. The governor says the Democrats wasted the month of June debating a bill that would prevent the amputation of cow tails (a worthy effort but not exactly great timing). Lawmakers, meanwhile, accuse Schwarzenegger of being unreasonable in his demands. (Sacto Bee)

Tracking illegal workers: More than 50 L.A. businesses have been audited as part of a federal effort to toughen immigration enforcement. Among the companies was American Apparel. From the LAT:

Businesses are forbidden by law to hire illegal immigrants but often do so unwittingly. Employers are required to review, and keep, identification and work authorization documents and to complete a form, called an I-9, recording that information for each employee. They are not required, however, to determine whether those documents are valid. Companies can check the employment status of new hires through E-Verify, the online verification system, but the program is voluntary in California and most other states.

Swindlers on the loose: The FTC has charged five Van Nuys companies with bilking consumers out of about $300 million by selling fraudulent programs related to real estate or online businesses. It's part of a nationwide crackdown on con artists. From the LAT:

The FTC accuses the companies of making "false and unsubstantiated claims about potential earnings" that customers could make by following their advice in books, CDs and DVDs titled "John Beck's Free & Clear Real Estate System," "John Alexander's Real Estate Riches in 14 Days" and "Jeff Paul's Shortcuts to Internet Millions," which were sold for $39.95 each.

Chase Carey's payday: The new president and COO of News Corp. could earn up to $43.1 million in salary and bonuses in his first year. The employment deal is similar to that of Peter Chernin, who Carey succeeds. (WSJ)

Big bonuses are back: So much for Wall Street reform - Goldman Sachs is on track to pay out as much as $20 billion this year, nearly double the firm's $363,000 average last year. Morgan Stanley will likely pay $11 billion to $14 billion in compensation. Of course it's still early and those numbers could change. From the WSJ:

"I'm seeing deals like it's 2007 again," says Steven Eckhaus, an executive-employment lawyer at Katten Muchin Rosenman LLP in New York. He's worked on several deals recently that featured eight-figure guaranteed pay packages stretched over one to three years. The recent increases in compensation reflect efforts by Wall Street executives to keep pay high enough to remain competitive but low enough to avoid the wrath of angry lawmakers. In at least one case, bank executives or their representatives have discussed pay with the Obama administration's pay czar Kenneth Feinberg ahead of time, seeking to head off any public reprimand, according to a person familiar with the meetings.

Platinum payout turned down: Bankruptcy Judge Robert Drain said $30 million was a "not reasonable or appropriate" reimbursement to the Bev Hills private equity firm if its bid for auto supplier Delphi is topped. A lawyer for Platinum argued the firm had spent a lot of time and effort on its bid. (Reuters)

Sony Walkman turns 30: In the age of the iPod, it looks more like 300. Does anyone under 20 even know what a Walkman is? (AP)

Kind of a disappointing report - U.S. unemployment increased to 9.5 percent in June from 9.4 percent the month earlier, while 467,000 jobs were cut, far higher than what many economists had expected (May's loss was only 322,000 jobs). From the NYT:

The number of people who have been unemployed for more than 27 weeks has more than tripled since the recession began, to 4.4 million. The median time people go without a job has increased to more than four months, from slightly more than two months at the outset of the recession in December 2007. "We have never seen a duration of that magnitude," Lynn Reaser, vice president for the National Association for Business Economics, said. "There are a lot of ramifications. A lot of these people become discouraged, and they drop out of the work force. It affects their spending, their whole psychological frame of mind."

Remember, though, that most of the forecasts had unemployment remaining high well into next year. In L.A., that means a double-digit jobless rate.

So far, it's only on a limited basis - through July 10. Here's the statement: "Bank of America recognizes the State of California budget crisis will impact our clients and customers. To support our customers, while giving the state legislature additional time to pass a budget, we will accept California state-registered warrants -- or IOUs -- from existing customers and clients." Still waiting for word from the other big banks. (MarketWatch)

A few small institutions (among them Redding Bank of Commerce and Pan American Bank) say they will honor state-issued warrants from their customers, but the major players have not decided how to handle the IOUs. They might be waiting for the state to announce how much of an interest rate they will be paying on the paper (by law the interest rate cannot exceed 5 percent). Agnes Crane, posting at Reuters Blogs, expects some kind of distressed debt market that will scoop up the IOUs from those desperate for cash. For a price.

Just because the IOUs are sent to a specific person, business or local government doesn't mean that they can't be traded in or simply just traded. Whoever ends up holding them by their maturity date can redeem them with the state. And there's certainly enough IOUs coming down the pipeline to make for a nice liquid market. The controller expects to send out $3.36 billion IOUs this month alone, if the state can't fix its finances. And there will be plenty more to come in August and September, when the cash shortfall is projected at $3.7 billion and $6.5 billion, respectively.

The maturity date is Oct. 1, but of course that assumes there is sufficient cash available.

The last time California paid out IOUs in the early 1990s, some banks stepped up to the plate and paid cash for the warrants, profiting from the interest paid by the state when they were redeemed. Beth Mills, spokeswoman for the California Bankers Association, said bankers are still struggling to sort out how they'll protect themselves against possible fraud and the impact of a redemption extension beyond Oct. 1.

Lawmakers and the governor still have the rest of today to figure out a compromise and avoid the IOU scenario. If that doesn't happen, State Controller John Chiang will meet with a state board to determine what interest rate the state will pay.

This time it's the soap and lotion seller Crabtree & Evelyn, which has locations in Century City, Glendale and Rolling Hills Estates (as well as several in OC). In what sounds like a broken record, the chain says it cannot repay its debts. Chapter 11 protection allows leases to be renegotiated with landlords. (AP)