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Market drifting: Not much action in early trading, but that will change over the coming days as a slew of second-quarter earnings are due out. That includes the big banks.
CA budget update: Some progress over the weekend, though it sounds as if the heavy lifting (cuts in education programs, for instance) are still ahead this week. (AP)
Housing market shows life: June sales in L.A. County jumped 25 percent from the previous month and 44 percent from a year earlier, according to the Business Journal, while the median price was up 5 percent from May but still 25 percent below June 2008. Pent-up demand appears to be playing a role in the recent surge.
NUMMI plant may close: GM has already pulled out, and now Toyota might shut down its operations at Fremont's New United Motor Manufacturing Inc. (the plant was founded 25 years ago as a joint venture). From the SF Chronicle:
Nummi brings in $2.3 million a year in property tax for Fremont, the Bay Area's fourth-largest city. The city can scarcely afford to lose the funds - it's already reeling from a $16.3 million budget shortfall that has resulted in the loss of 74 city jobs and much of the city's reserve fund.
Port possibilities: A new report says there's enough cruise traffic coming through the Ports of L.A. and Long Beach to perhaps justify building a $1-billion terminal. From the Press-Telegram:
Port authorities estimate that each ship visit generates nearly $700,000 in economic output to the region as ships restock on fuel, food, alcohol, disposable dishware and other supplies. Meanwhile, the thousands of passengers pouring out of these floating resorts spend about $300,000 per visit visiting local restaurants, retail shops and purchasing gifts. A sizable percentage of out-of-towners, who comprise about 25 percent of guests, also extend their stay in the area by booking hotel rooms and visiting sites like Disneyland, Hollywood and other attraction, bringing in even more revenue that the study didn't detail.
BusinessWeek for sale: The biz weekly that's lost 30 percent of its advertising revenue in Q2 has hired an investment bank to line up buyers (good luck with that). Familiar storyline: The recession and Web competition have cut into ad sales. (Bloomberg)
Abu Dhabi buys into Tesla: Daimler AG sold part of its 10 percent stake in California electric-car manufacturer to Aabar Investments. No price was disclosed. (Bloomberg)
Mark Lacter created the LA Biz Observed blog in 2006. He posted
until the day before his death on Nov. 13, 2013.