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Stocks are off: The lousy jobs report wasn't exactly a surprise, but that doesn't make it any easier to digest. The Dow is down about 60 points in early trading.
At least gas is cheaper: But this week's drop is markedly smaller than what we've seen in previous weeks. The Auto Club's latest survey shows that the average price of regular in L.A. is $3.852 per gallon, which is 4.5 cents less than last week. Oil is trading this morning at around $107 a barrel.
IndyMac numbers revised: It turns out that uninsured deposits totaled $541 million, roughly half the original estimate (this is the second revision). IndyMac had $19 billion in deposits when the feds took over. The latest change resulted from the slow process of interviewing depositors about their accounts. (LAT)
Obama endorses LAX workers: Why the Democratic presidential candidate would choose to get into this prickly labor impasse between airline service workers and their employers is a mystery (the hand of Antonio?). "The demands they're fighting for aren't unreasonable," said Obama. Hundreds of baggage handlers, janitors, wheelchair attendants and others walked off their jobs for a day and then agreed to a three-week cooling off period.
No more 99 Cents Only: The quirky discount chain is expected to raise prices above 99 cents for the first time ever. The City of Commerce retailer has been struggling to maintain its long-standing model, but with higher food prices it was just a matter of time before they would take the plunge. A press conference on Monday will lay out details. (LAT)
Trader Vic's comes to LA Live: Boy, what a come-on to go downtown! The tiki-style restaurant chain whose prime Bev Hills location was closed last spring – something about a HAZ-MAT operation - will be opening at the massive shopping-and-entertainment complex. LA Live owner AEG has now leased all of the rentable space in the 4-million-square-foot complex under construction next to Staples Center. From the LAT:
Most of LA Live's restaurants -- including the Farm of Beverly Hills, Katsuya, Lawry's Carvery, Yard House and Rock 'n' Fish -- are scheduled to open late this year. The movie theater would open in 2009 and the project's two hotels, a JW Marriott and a Ritz-Carlton, would open in 2010. Representatives from the Valencia Group, which owns the Trader Vic's chain, said the restaurant would open next year with Polynesian dancers, tiki-style drinks and what they described as Island-Asian fusion food.
Pimco names CEO: Mohamed El-Erian, who spent two years managing Harvard's $35 billion endowment, has been named sole chief executive of the huge OC-based bond funds manager. Since returning to Pimco in January, El-Erian has been co-CEO. He'll also continue in his role as co-chief investment officer with founder Bill Gross. (Reuters)
Mark Lacter created the LA Biz Observed blog in 2006. He posted
until the day before his death on Nov. 13, 2013.