July 12 - July 18, 2009
Friday, Jul. 17
It'll keep accepting the registered warrants for another week, to July 24. This is the second IOU extension
Gardena mattress retailer Sit `n Sleep is phasing out Irwin, who would always have a conniption when the prices got too low.
L.A. County's rate fell to 11.3 percent from a revised 11.6 percent the previous month, but it might just be the result of fewer people looking for work.
California's unemployment rate in June was 11.6 percent, up a shade from the previous month.
More bank profits (sort of), another Furlough Friday for CA, new woes for videogames, and a boost in DVD rentals.
Thursday, Jul. 16
The June numbers were down 12.7 percent from a year earlier. Inbound was off 17.1 percent and outbound 9 percent.
A bankruptcy filing by CIT Group could have huge consequences on the fashion business, much of it involving small manufacturers based in L.A.
Charles Schwab pulled its sponsorship from a CNBC documentary on the porn industry, only to be brown-nosed by one of the network's reporters.
Prices are especially low for a July, which is normally the peak of the summer driving season.
Tech eminence Chris Anderson says there are two main problems with newspapers: The news and the paper.
Strong earnings at JP Morgan Chase, budget talks continue in Sacramento, big Boeing deal for El Segundo, and Wal-Mart thinking green.
Wednesday, Jul. 15
Hard to know whether this is real, but lawmakers and the governor keep saying that they're near a deal on the budget - perhaps as early as tonight.
Platinum Equity, the Bev Hills-based private equity firm that recently bought the SD Union-Tribune, is taking on the San Diego Reader.
The landmark downtown hotel at 5th and Main is being sold to affordable housing provider Amerland Group.
California's former treasurer will lead a new commission to examine the causes of the financial crisis.
June's median price of an L.A. County home was $320,000, according to Dataquick, up $20,000 from the previous month but still down $95,000 from June 2008.
Budget deal could be near, Kohl's takes over Mervyn's locations, more prime beef shows up in supermarkets, and Calpers sues over losses.
Tuesday, Jul. 14
This time it's Moody's that has lowered California's credit rating two steps, to Baa1 from A2. That's three levels above junk bonds
June container traffic out of the Port of Long Beach fell 28.7 percent from a year earlier, an especially sharp drop that doesn't bode well for any near-term recovery.
The L.A.-based Spanish-language media giant, along with NY public radio station WNYC, will acquire the celebrated classical music station from the NYT.
Lots of interest in Thursday's Chris Anderson event, sponsored by the ALOUD Business Forum. I'm fresh out of passes....
Budget talks resume, another dip in gas prices, SFV office glut, and L.A. firms could be looking at BW.
Monday, Jul. 13
He's headed to Butner, N.C. for a sentence of 150 years. Madoff will find himself earning pennies a day sweeping floors, cleaning toilets or working in the kitchen.
For those of us in a television daze over the weekend the sight of infomercials starring the legendary pitchman might have seemed, well, a little weird.
The attention he has received says a lot about how clueless the media and financial worlds continue to be about what's working and what isn't.
Web guru Chris Anderson will be talking about the free thing and other online matters this Thursday morning at another ALOUD Business Forum.
L.A. County filings for May jumped 72 percent from a year earlier. OC had a 61.6 percent increase. Nationally, the numbers were 37 percent higher than a year earlier.
Hope to hear from you. Address is twitter.com/LABizObserved....
Some progress in budget talks, housing market shows life, cruising opportunities at ports, and Abu Dhabi buys into Tesla.
Sunday, Jul. 12
Ticket sales for the Sacha Baron Cohen mock documentary tumbled 39 percent between Friday and Saturday, a sign of some seriously bad buzz.
New focus will be on accessing entertainment and related information (the social networking site had been headed in that direction for some time).
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The funeral for Mark Lacter will be held Sunday, Nov. 24 at 12 noon at Hillside Memorial Park, 6001 W. Centinela Avenue, Los Angeles 90045. Reception to follow.
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