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Will the rally last? The European bailout is supposed to be good news, but does anyone really understand what the debt-reduction plan will do? Dow is up about 340 points.
So much for Europe on the cheap:The dollar is falling and the euro is rising.
Oxy investors balk at executive pay:A majority of shareholders oppose the L.A. energy company's pay practices, though the vote is nonbinding. CEO Ray Irani is one of the highest paid chiefs in the U.S. (WSJ)
L.A. hosts Microsoft event: Up to 15,000 people are expected to attend the Microsoft Worldwide Partner Conference in July 2011. It'll be the largest convention the city has ever hosted. (Daily News)
California's travel rebound: State tourism officials are looking for a 3 percent increase in business this year and a 4 percent bump in 2011. They also expect visitors to be spending more. (LAT)
Obama-Wellpoint tussle: In his weekly radio address, the president took aim at the health care industry for raising rates. The next day, WellPoint CEO Angela Braly asked Obama to knock it off. From the LAT:
The parent of California's huge Anthem Blue Cross is finding itself under fire from regulators, politicians and the public -- attacks that could hurt its business and financial prospects. In addition to continuing criticism from the Obama administration, many of the insurer's California customers remain irate despite its canceling of a planned rate hike this year, and Democratic lawmakers and regulators, on the warpath much of the year, are raising new issues.
Higher-end home sales picking up: L.A. County's 10 highest-price ZIP codes had 81 sales in April compared with 53 a year earlier, according to Home Data. However, countywide homes sales in April were flat from a year earlier. (LABJ)
Calpers disaster: The pension fund's $1.2-billion investment in the Mountain House residential community south of Stockton is now worth $200 million. Calpers says it's not bailing. From the Sacramento Bee:
Jim Lamb, a Mountain House homeowner who manages rental houses here and elsewhere, said market values are near bottom but not quite there yet. It could be years before prices return to 2006 levels. In the meantime, Mountain House and other depressed real estate developments remain a dead weight on CalPERS' $209 billion portfolio, administered on behalf of California's state and local employees. Although its stocks and other investments have partially recovered from the crash, its real estate holdings lost half their value, a drop of $13 billion, in the 12 months ending last Sept. 30.
City National takes over failed bank: The L.A. banking company acquired the assets of San Diego's 1st Pacific Bank of California, which regulators seized late Friday. (LABJ)
Mark Lacter created the LA Biz Observed blog in 2006. He posted
until the day before his death on Nov. 13, 2013.