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October 31, 2006
The City Council signed off on a 10.4 percent increase, with the current fare of $2.20 per mile increasing to...
To follow up on this morning's LAO item on circulation, here are the figures for several area papers, courtesy of...
That's one of the stand-out areas in the third-quarter numbers at IAC/InterActive Corp., which is Barry Diller's media amalgam that...
Under the headline "Silent Auction," the paper has "some Wall Street bankers" speculating that a Tribune Co. committee is just...
Big real estate deal: Well, big in the world of commercial real estate anyway. L.A.-based CB Richard Ellis Group Inc.,...
October 30, 2006
It's ZIP code 90071, which is part of downtown's financial district, where the average wage for 35,975 workers was $104,072....
OK, so it's in NY, but this week's New York magazine examines what billionaires get to do (Hint: a lot...
It's Ben Myerson Candy Co., which has been operating in L.A. in some form for 117 years. It's being sold...
The Westside congressman would be running the powerful House Government Reform Committee if the Democrats win the House - and...
How did Joan Palevsky come up with $200 million for the California Community Foundation? Were the World Series ratings just...
The Chicago-based media giant and parent of the LAT did receive several preliminary offers from private-equity firms for the entire...
Well, things were terrible for pretty much all the major papers in the latest Audit Bureau of Circulations FAS-FAX report....
October 27, 2006
Gary Winnick and pals are long gone, but the telecommunications firm has been busy making acquisitions. Just announced this week:...
Notice that not many new shows this season are being cancelled? Notice that not many new shows are getting full-season...
Housing turnaround: Former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan said the U.S. economy had gone through a weak patch during the summer...
October 26, 2006
The Nov. 13 cover story in Forbes is headlined "Divorce - Dirty Tricks" and yeah, there are lots of them....
Contrary to my suggestion in the earlier post that private-equity firms might be willing to pony up around $40 a...
They may be unions, but they're also major shareholders of some of the companies implicated in the stock option backdating...
Breaking news from Teen Hollywood - Ashlee Simpson wears Skechers. "My feet really take a pounding every time I perform...
It's still early, but the tea leaves suggest that Tribune Co. will be hard-pressed not to sell the company, either...
Diller's the one: Executive compensation scorecards normally come out in the spring and early summer, but some companies haven't filed...
October 25, 2006
At least that's what Fox executives are hoping for as they talk up the fantasy involving 15-year-old Eragon and his...
Los Altos was the top spot in September, with a median price of $1.5 million, followed by Manhattan Beach ($1.4...
Fallout continues from the liquidation of Tower Records. The NYT laments on the loss of the store's sizable classical collection....
Don't know if this has been picked up yet, but KLVE (K-Love 107.5) and KSCA (La Nueva 101.9), both owned...
It's been a while since we've tallied up the local companies implicated in the options backdating scandal. The latest tally...
Angelo's payday: Here's a riddle: How do you get $10 million as part of your retirement deal - and then...
October 24, 2006
That's what the Financial Times is hearing. The newspaper says that the nation's largest radio station chain, with a huge...
Since everyone and their uncle have been taking a shot at predicting the digital future, why not include someone who...
Never mind Dow 12K - the better market story is Warren Buffett's long-running investment vehicle hitting the $100,000 mark in...
The Santa Monica-based real estate company (the Trillium in Woodland Hills, One Westwood, Studio Plaza in Burbank and many others)...
'Flags' fluttering: Paramount executives are all in a dither over a disappointing opening-weekend for Clint Eastwood’s World War II movie...
October 23, 2006
Port increases: September was another huge month at the Ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach. The number of loaded...
Just before sentencing, he maintained his innocence. "We will continue to pursue my constitutional rights and it's no dishonor to...
It was nice to see L.A. County having a good quarter for venture capital funding, but its $252.8 million total...
Will Tribune sell the Times? Why is NBC Universal revamping its operations? How are you supposed to know if the...
Ming Hsieh, the chairman and CEO of South-Pasadena-based Cogent Inc., has donated $35 million to USC's Viterbi School of Engineering....
Tribune bidders lining up: Well, potential bidders anyway. WSJ reports that three groups of private equity firms have expressed interest...
October 20, 2006
NBC is replacing the waaaay overated and underperforming drama/comedy this Monday night with another struggling hour, "Friday Night Lights." Is...
Well, probably. You have the 11th largest media market (Detroit) going against the 21st (St. Louis), so the Fox folks...
The latest example of Socal's incessant mixed-use craze comes out of Culver City, where the redevelopment agency has given Champion...
It was only a matter of time before many of the Jewish retailers on the 400 block of Fairfax Avenue...
The September jobless percentage is the same as the state and just a touch over the nation's 4.6 percent rate....
How Sony "screwed up": That's Sir Howard Stringer's description of the company's 2004 deal to purchase MGM, along with a...
October 19, 2006
OK, so it's only a number and the Dow is made up of just 30 stocks and the other indexes...
The paper's top-honcho, Chris Anderson, said in a memo to staff that a voluntary severance program "has essentially met its...
Might there be some interlocking threads among the 120 or so companies being investigated for backdating stock options? Well, it...
David Carter is a very familiar name when it comes to the business of sports. A consultant to teams and...
No bombshells in this morning's Tribune Co. conference call with analysts. As reported earlier, third-quarter net income was sharply higher,...
That's what Nikki Finke is reporting on her Deadline Hollywood site. She says that the hot-shot entertainment lawyer is being...
NBC Universal cuts: The WSJ details the $750 million in cost cuts that will impact most every division. For openers,...
October 18, 2006
The story of how the casino mogul blew $140 million because his elbow ripped into Picasso's "Le Rêve" is making...
A good earnings report from IBM and moderating inflation weren't quite enough to offset worries later in the session about...
Just ask Viacom ex-CEO Tom Freston, who is walking away with $84.8 million. In addition to severance, which covers around...
It's no doubt the result of ongoing tensions - some of which resulted in litigation. Or has anyone forgotten the...
Dow 12,000: The crossover came just a little before 7. Another milestone. Oxy earnings: Despite the pullback in oil and...
October 17, 2006
While we're on the TV beat, Ad Age reports that News Corp.'s telenovela-based network is off to such a slow...
Monday's preliminary numbers show the NBC drama (or is it a comedy?) declining 15 percent from a week earlier, to...
It's a nearly 4-acre parcel on Seward Street across from Hollywood Center Studios. J.H. Snyder Co. wants to to develop...
U.S. Attorney resigns: Her move to Gibson, Dunn was announced this morning. See post below. Port problems: The law of...
Debra Wong Yang is leaving her post as U.S. Attorney in Los Angeles to join the L.A. office of Gibson,...
October 16, 2006
Whenever a company does something that’s clearly in the public interest, you can be sure that people will be skeptical....
The Compton-based supermarket chain entered guilty pleas to five federal counts, including conspiracy, identity fraud and falsifying and concealing information...
Item 5 updated. Location matters: Third quarter on-location shooting throughout Socal is up 7 percent from the year earlier, much...
October 13, 2006
BW's Oct. 23 cover story has the magazine's list of top MBA programs in the country. UCLA's Anderson School winds...
He's planning a 50-story office tower overlooking the Harbor Freeway, according to the Downtown News, which will be posting the...
Shares of locally based homebuilders Ryland and KB are getting creamed today, probably in response to another homebuilder, Centex Corp.,...
When it comes to fashion shows, there's New York, Paris, Milan... and Culver City? Yep, it's that time of year...
Could this week's $1.6 billion sale to Google signal newfound interest among advertisers and investors in the lesser-known sites? Well,...
It's another day of light posting on the business beat. NBC struggling: Maybe Sunday night football and a couple of...
October 12, 2006
Another day of light posting (probably tomorrow too) due to deadlines elsewhere. LAT investigates itself: The Times appears to have...
October 11, 2006
Microsoft CEO Steve Balmer will never be accused of knee-jerk, shoot-from-the-hip declarations. Consider his comments to BW about YouTube, Facebook...
Looks like he sold a huge chunk of Qwest Communications - $540 million worth, give or take a few million...
Not rich enough: The Malibu-based publisher of the Robb Report and other glossy pubs for the super-rich has taken itself...
October 10, 2006
Piper Jaffray analyst Gene Munster suspects that two more studios are looking to cut download deals with Apple Computer. Apparently,...
Total passenger traffic at all six Socal airports was down 3 percent in August, but occupancy levels at L.A. County...
Just buy a big supermarket chain. Thanks to its acquisition of Albertsons earlier this year, Supervalu Inc. reported second-quarter earnings...
YouTube coverage: WSJ, which has been ahead of the story, plays Google's $1.65 billion purchase inside, but LAT and NYT...
October 9, 2006
Bet you never thought that 10 percent of your energy bill goes for so-called standby power - stuff like computers,...
He's still representing former H-P chairwoman Patricia Dunn, who appeared on "60 Minutes" last night and took aim mostly at...
Let the games begin. Google made it official this afternoon, agreeing to acquire the video-sharing site for $1.65 billion. The...
That's what an L.A. Superior Court judge determined this morning. Fox Interactive says that Judge Carolyn Kuhl "fully dismissed" a...
A number of readers tell me their e-mails have been bouncing back. It's been an occasional problem, but I think...
Costliest ever: Remember all that talk out of Hollywood about cost-cutting? So how does that jive with Universal's upcoming comedy...
October 6, 2006
Hollywood producer John Davis (that's right - son of Marvin) isn't hurting from a nasty court battle with his sister,...
A Delaware bankruptcy judge approved the sale of Tower Records to Woodland Hills-based Great American Group, which plans to liquidate...
Next week's Business Journal (subscription required) has the September median price of an existing L.A. County home at $550,000, unchanged...
U.S. employment: Just 51,000 jobs were added in September, the fewest in almost a year, while the national unemployment rate...
October 5, 2006
The now ex-publisher of the LAT tells the WSJ's Sarah Ellison that he and Scott Smith, president of Tribune's publishing...
Tribune stock was down $0.04, or 0.12 percent, just before the close, which is not exactly a huge response to...
Actually, he's an attorney by training (Harvard law). Clerked for Supreme Court Justice Potter Stewart and in the early years...
Sumner Redstone has become the new Barry Diller when it comes to candid public comments. The Viacom chairman's interview with...
L.A. drop modest: The Moody's Economy.com study on a projected decline in home prices has gotten lots of play, but...
October 4, 2006
As commercial real estate deals go, it's a pretty big one: 800,000 square feet in Woodland Hills with tenants that...
TV ratings are a little like political poll numbers - there's almost always something for everybody. Beyond all the spin...
It's a monster initial public offering, all right. Santa Monica-based Douglas Emmett Inc. is defying the trend of real estate...
That's what several news organizations are reporting on their Web sites (BW WSJ NYT) Attorney General Bill Lockyer also is...
It's not too early for the toy industry to size up the likely top sellers this holiday season. A hot...
Los Angeles International Airport might not be so late in accommodating those huge Airbus A380 jets. With the European consortium...
Disney still behind: Front-page coverage of the Dow setting an all-time record on Tuesday, but as you've been reading on...
October 3, 2006
Answer me this: Why does passenger traffic at LAX continue to slip? The August decline was 2.5 percent (international was...
Time to exhale. The Dow finally closed at an all-time high. For the day, the index gained 56.99 points, or...
In its list of 50 top U.S. restaurants, Gourmet places the Wolgang Puck institution in fourth position, behind Thomas Keller's...
He's Elliott Broidy, dubbed by the Jewish Journal as "the mystery man of the Israeli economy" and just as mysterious...
Animation swoon: Just as some had predicted last spring, the glut of animated movies is taking its toll. The NYT...
October 2, 2006
Well, it's in Bel-Air, which explains a lot. BW's Chris Palmeri blogs that the 12-acre parcel could be the highest-priced...
The fall TV season is off to a good start, with prices for 30-second spot ads nearing all-time highs, reports...
Good luck trying to move apparel and textiles being shipped in from the Philippines. Deborah Belgum at California Apparel News...
You know you've got problems when both the Economist and the NY Post are on your case. The new edition...
Once again, the Dow couldn’t finish above its all-time high – perhaps an indication that the recent rally is showing...
Pretexting illegal: Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed a bill that makes it unlawful to get at phone records through fraud or...
October 1, 2006
Vitesse profile: The LAT's Scott Reckard tries to poke around Vitesse Semiconductor, the Camarillo-based company that's suspected of manipulating stock...
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