October 17 - October 23, 2010
Friday, Oct. 22
You would think that $160 million (and counting) would be more than enough to handle the ever-loopy Jerry Brown.
As expected, Randy Michaels is out and will be replaced by a four-member Executive Council that will include LAT Publisher Eddy Hartenstein.
Talk about your un-level playing fields: They have higher levels of a hormone called DHEAS that often results in higher life expectancies.
Still quite weak, but the county did gain 11,600 payroll jobs between August and September, while the state overall lost 63,600 jobs.
That will be the hot trend in restaurants next year, according to an SF consulting firm.
Big job losses last month, how KCET's fortunes turned sour, $99 air fares to NY, and will Peter Chernin be moving to Tribune?
Payroll employment fell by 63,500 jobs in September compared with the previous month.
Thursday, Oct. 21
Well, at least according to this chart of Google searches - and it makes sense.
The number of new vehicle registrations increased 14.6 percent during the first nine months of 2010 compared with a year earlier.
The Nov. 4 event is being hosted by David Geffen, Robert Iger, Peter Chernin, Haim Saban, and of course Ari Emanuel, Rahm's brother.
Prepare yourself for an onslaught of postmortems about the governor did well and did poorly.
The Olympic Boulevard complex, home to a variety of movie and TV production houses, is expected to go for as much as $75 million.
Consumers stay cautious, Americans not saving enough for retirement, big Toyota recall, and LAX concession contracts approved.
Wednesday, Oct. 20
Brown has a seven-point edge over Whitman, while in the Senate contest Boxer is only up by two points.
So much for yesterday's long faces - the Dow gained 129 points and is now at 11,107. Looks like the rally was pretty broad based.
San Luis Obispo was one of the nine cities named by Smart Money magazine as a good place to retire.
The airlines are benefiting from a pickup in demand and a planned reduction in supply (they call it "capacity discipline").
Sadly, it's hard to imagine that fundamental changes to the pension program will be made unless the state runs up against an actual financial crisis.
Wells Fargo reports strong earnings, another jump in L.A. bankruptcies, Brown maintains lead over Whitman, and L.A. considers Hollywood tax breaks.
Tuesday, Oct. 19
My business chat on KPCC looks at why the pickup in port traffic may signal a decent holiday season.
While news events generally don't move markets, the day was loaded with icky reports.
Will Randy Michaels be sacked? Sources tell the Financial Times that it's a "foregone conclusion."
The $546-million federal loan for a light rail project to the LAX area is less a public policy achievement than a reminder of what could have been.
OC's KOCE-TV will be airing the popular "Masterpiece" series on Sunday nights at 8, starting Oct 24.
Foreclosure resales account for about a third of all Socal sales, which is down substantially from 2009 but still quite high.
This could be a very big deal if banks were required to buy back toxic bonds sold to investors.
Encouraging forecast for holiday shopping season, another bump in gas prices, Disney picks up Marvel films, and William Morris HQ up for sale.
Monday, Oct. 18
The mega-church founded by evangelist Robert H. Schuller owes about $7.5 million to unsecured creditors.
L.A. billionaire Patrick Soon-Shiong is buying Johnson's stake in the team. No specifics so far about the size of the stake or the purchase price.
The bank has resubmitted the paperwork for 102,000 pending foreclosure actions, and plans to resume sales in November.
Very typical of Villaraigosa - it's easy to take action involving people who haven't yet been hired (and then take credit for solving the problem).
They weren't able to figure out a power-sharing arrangement that would merge the two news organizations.
After all the hype come all the concerns, starting with having to buy a $2,200 battery charger that will take eight hours to charge.
Socal vacancies shoot up, more pension proposals for L.A., California cities in search of revenues, and Leno is losing younger viewers.
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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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