August 29 - September 4, 2010
Friday, Sep. 3
The Paramount Chairman and CEO got $21.5 million for his six-bedroom, 11-bathroom Pacific Palisades house.
Her 16,500 square-foot penthouse in Century City is just about done, so it seems as if she's getting more serious about dumping that little joint in Holmby Hills.
Those were some of the not-so-encouraging words being tossed around in response to this morning's jobs report.
The main reason for spending mega-billions of dollars on underground rail has been shot down.
Obama considers payroll holiday, food banks report heavy demand, state property values dip, and Miramax deal is on track.
The economy remains extremely weak, with little sign that private employers are prepared to soon hire enough workers to jack up growth.
Thursday, Sep. 2
We can all relax - the USC game will be on tonight, as will "Wheel of Fortune" and "Jeopardy."
The five-bedroom, five-and-a-half-bath Bev Hills residence, built in 1923, is listed at $12.5 million.
Putting aside the plastic bag and budget failures, the legislative session ended with 98 bills being passed on Tuesday.
Ordinary, anyone who has been in front of a live camera and blanked out might feel for the Arizona governor's stunningly bad performance.
They happen when the economy continues to grow but not strongly enough to generate significant numbers of jobs.
Man is charged with 23 felonies for allegedly tricking five people into unknowingly granting him title to their homes.
Decent month for retailers, McCourt appears to be leveraged out, Disney channels stay on Time Warner Cable, and Miramax sale may not be done.
Wednesday, Sep. 1
At some point both sides will really try cutting a deal, though probably not before the state starts handing out IOUs.
California's population of illegal immigrants was 2.5 million in 2009, which is 6.9 percent of the state's population and 9.3 percent of the workforce.
The nation's kick-me automaker reported a 7 percent increase in August. Sales at the others car companies tumbled badly.
August turned out to be so awful that perhaps some small flicker of light should have been expected.
What's striking about this year's list is how few locals are ranked in the top 20 or 30 positions.
Wall Street is happy (don't ask me why), Oxy CEO is stepping down, sluggish summer at the movies, and big upgrade at Del Amo.
Tuesday, Aug. 31
Senate Republicans have called a caucus, says Capitol Weekly. No telling when lawmakers will vote on a bill that would ban plastic bags. *Anthony York explains the nonsense: Lawmakers must adjourn by midnight, as required by the state constitution. That means if Democrats - or anybody else, for that matter--want their bills to get to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's desk, they need the Senate and Assembly to act quickly. Judging from the actions of Senate Republican...
State lawmakers from both parties turned down each others' budget proposals, which means that California is at an impasse.
Never mind that it runs counter to the belief among budget officials that L.A. needs to scale back its services.
Dow finishes the month at 10,014, down 4.3 percent. Now come the real fun months of September and October.
My weekly business chat with KPCC's Steve Julian looks at the fading prospects for the Grand Avenue project.
He tops the list of actors who offer the best investment return for a Hollywood film, according to Forbes.
Unfortunately, this is a highly political, often emotional issue that will likely transcend any Ivory Tower analysis.
Home prices edge higher, heading out for Labor Day weekend, UC retirement system faces shortfall, and most Americans would still see a Mel Gibson movie.
Monday, Aug. 30
Both state houses will be voting on budget packages, but neither one is expected to get the necessary two-thirds vote.
Ah yes, the life of an office worker who is forced to sit through the unpleasant habits of the people seated nearby.
Slow volume tends to distort the market's ups and downs, and today was the slowest session of the year. Dow falls 140 points, to 10,009.
But the L.A. billionaire says that the book retailer's management has engaged in a smear campaign concerning his upcoming proxy battle.
The ex-girlfriend of billionaire Donald Bren got to present her (children's) case on "Good Morning America" (hey, it's August).
Fewer than 29 percent of brokerage stock ratings are "buys," according to Bloomberg, the lowest percentage in at least 13 years.
Money-losing real estate, mulling over extension of homebuyer tax credit, vote nears on plastic bag ban, and McCourt divorce trial begins.
Sunday, Aug. 29
Things are bad, they're not likely to get better anytime soon, and there's little or nothing we can do about it.
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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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