Bio • Email • Archive
Follow Mark on Twitter •
Archive by Date
September 30, 2011
Homeowner advocates are pleased, but the move will likely set back any resolution.
Employees would raise concerns about questionable activity, only to be ignored or in some cases let go.
Boy, what a lousy three months.
This explains a lot. Census data via Capitol Alert: Just 50.1 percent of California's 27.4 million voting-age residents were registered...
The media critic and author is the next headliner in the Live Talks Business Forum series. He'll be in conversation...
Might make people think a little harder about whether the purchase is necessary.
Now there's chatter about scheduling conflicts of some kind.
Oh, come on - are you that surprised?
Consumer mood improves (slightly), outrage over debit card fee, big payday for fired H-P boss, and Kobe's Italian holiday.
September 29, 2011
The only problem was that Californians simply said no.
This could present some problems because the pension fund is obligated to pay off retirees.
Editors of the 2012 Southern California edition didn't update its ratings for Orange County restaurants.
Seems plenty clear to me.
Jobless claims tumble, double-dipping on state pensions, bad news for Madoff victims, and interns sue "Black Swan" producers.
September 28, 2011
Some more fallout from the worst financial meltdown since the Great Depression.
The focus should be on overhauling the regulatory maze, which is what drives business owners craaaaazy.
In case you're still a little confused, here's a quick summary.
What's interesting is how the device, priced at $199, doesn't try to be all things to all users.
No ham and cheese sandwiches, of course, but there's more to it.
Amazon introduces $199 tablet, Best Buy hiring fewer temp workers, Fox Sports sues Dodgers, and SUVs posing less danger to cars.
September 27, 2011
City's move to freeze healthcare benefits given to thousands of cops and firefighters once they retire might not be legal.
The sellers hope to attract a really rich investor with money to burn.
We kick around the possibilities during this week's business chat.
The average annual premium for family coverage through an employer rose 9 percent from a year earlier.
The governor has scheduled a bill-signing ceremony with representatives of Anschutz Entertainment Group.
Some hope on European debt, mortgage guarantees lowered, Californians taking hit on finances, and LAX traffic is up again.
September 26, 2011
The latest explanation involves Libyan oil.
Rumbles of a euro-zone bailout might have energized traders.
Still trying to gather myself after watching the taut, 10-minute spine tingler.
Chief marketing officer is alleged to have run a rogue lending operation.
Much of what wrong was beyond the company's control.
Investors worry about Europe, Netflix cuts streaming deal with DreamWorks Animation, and grocery workers ratify contract.
September 23, 2011
The league says that Frank McCourt's plan to hold onto the team is "dead on arrival."
Pretty volatile day, but at least there were some buyers around.
And not just by the White House.
All administrations have scandals. It's just that this one has no safety net.
Remarkably cavalier treatment of the thousands of people who just a few days ago were willing to walk off their jobs.
Consumers are borrowing more, White House missed warning signs on Solyndra, grocery workers to vote on contract, and voters still love Prop 13.
September 22, 2011
Notice how they're always guys with their sleeves rolled up and ties askew. Until now.
Labor talks between the league and the players ended without much progress.
Same old names make up the magazine's Southern California contingent.
The Dow has fallen around 7 percent since the Fed offered a downbeat assessment of where the economy is heading.
Company is supposed to make the announcement after the market closes.
She has a new book out and will be in conversation with Jim Flanagan.
FedEx cuts forecast, Kaiser nurses are still out, Schwarzenegger to write memoir, and L.A. commutes not that bad.
Follows up on a bad day in the overseas markets.
September 21, 2011
Here's a quick summation of why the local economy is trailing the U.S. as a whole.
The New Yorker's Amy Davidson suggests that we better get used to it. Is this effective? The most powerful...
Investors don't seem very optimistic that the economy will be helped out by the central bank's actions.
How would you feel about your son or daughter working in a warehouse that had a temperature of 102 degrees?
The hope is that rates on mortgages and other consumer and business loans will be reduced.
Union officials didn't want their members to walk. The chains didn't want to lose more customers.
A lot of the usual suspects for the annual guide for L.A., now in its 25th year.
Their beefs included higher health care costs and inadequate staffing levels.
The former eBay CEO and last year's Republican candidate for governor is being considered.
Fed to announce new moves, Paramount plans upgrade, "Avatar" coming to Disney theme parks, and Brown says it's not like the old days.
September 20, 2011
Looks good at 72 - and he seems ready to make the moves on a young interviewer.
The projection of a 9.5 percent jobless rate within the next few months stands out.
What, no more problems left to deal with in L.A.?
The one-time ZZZZ Best wunderkind begins serving a five-year sentence for securities fraud.
Prez is given a less than 50-50 chance of being reelected on Intrade,
California's bleak outlook, Brown a bit more popular, small dip in gas prices, and Qantas strike disrupts L.A. service.
September 19, 2011
The local market is vast and diverse - and football comprises a relatively small part of the pie.
Hollywood is very good at rewarding bad behavior.
Basically self-protection.
Both sides will now be taking their respective cases to the 2012 campaign.
Just announced by the United Food and Commercial Workers.
The old single-serve packets are too small, too messy, and too difficult to open.
We got a little taste of it Sunday afternoon.
Obama wants the rich to pay more taxes, Netflix splits off businesses, court sets aside Costco class action, and McCourt wants to spruce up image.
September 18, 2011
Some progress appears to have been made, but still no deal.
September 16, 2011
Now that's an interesting tactic - and quite different than during the strike/lockout eight years ago.
The co-creator of the Fox television series "Party of Five" beat out Patric Verrone.
Alleged activity involved the union's pension and health plans and resulted in losses of $5 million to $10 million.
Here's another indication of a poorly managed White House.
So much for unemployment peaking out earlier this year.
Gundlach breached his fiduciary duty no money is awarded to TCW.
Grocery workers prep for strike, lots more foreclosures for L.A., Regents defer on tuition increases, and solar company might have been better off without federal help.
The state unemployment rate rose to 12.1 percent in August, up from 12.0 percent the previous month.
September 15, 2011
American is offering $99 round-trip fares between Los Angeles and SF and Dallas/Fort Worth.
More market newsletter editors are pessimistic - and that could actually be a bullish sign.
Actually, that's on the low side of other forecasts.
The company recently changed its pricing, and it's not going down well.
The economy simply does not function the way it used to. Look at the role of technology.
Jump in jobless claims, California foreclosures, and L.A. food prices. Otherwise, all's well.
September 14, 2011
Retailers are cautious about ordering for the holiday season.
Any deal would be challenging to mount because of how the company is set up.
It's pretty pathetic that California is lumped with low-achievement states like Mississippi.
Guess that leaves the rest of us out.
What happened to the Fremont-based solar company doesn't reflect what's going on in the solar business.
Guests hate them because they're so expensive, and hotels hate them because they're, well, so expensive.
More business days in August meant a somewhat better month.
California voters sour on Obama, planes to remain crowded, McCourt attorneys argue over spousal support, and solar executives back out of hearing.
September 13, 2011
Not that we're suggesting the university presidents are in cahoots or anything, but...
That's no doubt news to Sen. Dianne Feinstein and the other California lawmakers.
The protracted impasse suggests a strong reluctance by union officials to actually call for a walkout.
Boy, for a guy who is normally savvy about his image, this 3-minute homage is so wrong on so many levels.
Fat-cat developers bypassing the environmental regulatory process would have been unthinkable just a few years ago.
As much as 200 percent more in August compared with previous months.
GDP did grow by 1.7 percent in 2010, but it lagged much of the nation.
Analysts are speculating about store closures, smaller menus, and perhaps a greater emphasis on bar business.
Jobs bill could be DOA, poverty rate edges higher, more on campaign treasurer scandal, and why gas prices aren't coming down.
September 12, 2011
There's a limit to how much garbage one can ingest.
Would you believe Tyler Perry?
More players usually mean greater competition and lower cost.
Market watchers are running out of explanations.
Self-aware? Americans? You've got to be kidding.
Truth be told, the White House has a lot of explaining to do.
Grauman's Chinese, the Cinerama Dome and the Village in Westwood remain the preferred venues.
Wide market swings becoming standard, B of A announces big job cuts, and groundbreaking for next phase of Expo Line.
September 10, 2011
A last-minute stab at job creation ended up in the trash last night - and it's probably just as well.
September 9, 2011
Most likely, Gov. Brown, will sign the bills into law, and AEG will have its special status.
Revenues are not high enough to meet a budget target that would forestall huge cuts at the end of the year.
No special reason, it seems - just more of the same concerns.
Seems unlikely for lots of reasons (including the personalities involved.)
Great discussion on Charlie Rose last night about the president's speech and Wednesday's Republican debate.
And it's shrinking - big time.
Let us clap our hands and rejoice, friends.
Call it fix-as-you-go business plans.
Even if the entire measure gets through Congress, which it won't, the overall impact will be limited.
B of A plans big job cuts, Bernanke says consumers are too anxious, legislature considers changing environmental rules, and power bills could be going up.
San Diego Gas & Electric says all its 1.4 million customers have had power restored.
September 8, 2011
San Diego Gas & Electric says 1.4 million customers are affected.
Something about refineries selling more of their product overseas.
It's not that the president is fixated with politics - it's just that he's not very good at it.
Here's a sign that budget-conscious shoppers are struggling to make high-ticket purchases.
Well, bipartisan with the Assembly.
A state Senate report finds that some of them are acting as blank checks.
The restaurant guide started up by two NY lawyers had been on and off the block for some time.
"They're trying to show that they're not the doofuses that they are," she tells Fortune.
Low expectations for Obama speech, Amazon cuts deal with Sacramento, more stadium exemptions may be in the offing, and ESPN renews MNF contract.
September 7, 2011
Or so urges Antelope Valley Congressman Buck McKeon.
The Natural Resources Defense Council sure seems to be.
No big news, though the last I checked up is still way better than down.
Forget about that time-honored delight of burning your mortgage.
The city's preliminary deal with Anschutz Entertainment Group is light on the mitigation front.
Coastal counties were up, inland counties were down.
The large number of long-term unemployed, and the likelihood of slow economic growth over the next several years.
Government messes up on tax assessment, more stadiums may be exempt to rules, proposed ban on plastic and paper, and L.A. among toughest cities to find work.
September 6, 2011
The president's plan centers on tax cuts, infrastructure spending, and direct aid to state and local governments.
Carol Bartz is out and CFO Tim Morse has been named interim CEO.
They must be quaking in the Republican cloakroom.
Forget about oil prices tumbling - the gasoline market marches to its own mysterious drummers.
The Dow fell 100 points, to 11,139, which is a lot better than at the start of the session.
Get ready to kick the budget can.
After last year's disastrous pairing of non-comics James Franco and Anne Hathaway, the bar is especially low.
New CFO joins company, along with two TV executives.
The only thing they're really good at is lopping off potential tax revenues.
These results run counter to the surveys taken around the time of the debt ceiling debate.
Ugly opening for stocks, jump in California taxable sales, union workforce in L.A. is holding up, and big payday for Dodger lawyers.
September 2, 2011
Well, what would you expect to happen when a bunch of cocky bizjocks from L.A. insist on special exemptions?
And still no word on refunds for vendors and attendees.
The former editor of the LAT will be talking about the future of newspapers.
In a nutshell, no one expected the jobs report to be this bad.
It wouldn't seem that way.
The yield on a 10-year Treasury note just fell to 1.99 percent.
What happens to the more than six million Americans who have been out of work for six months or more?
But in the toxic world of Capitol Hill, nothing is a sure thing.
Some observations on this morning's weak employment report.
More on the jobs report, gas prices shoot up, AEG bill receiving lukewarm response, and Murdoch gets big raise.
The economy showed zero job growth in August, the first time there has been no increase in net jobs in almost a year.
September 1, 2011
Loans being sent off to Third-World farmers and entrepreneurs - and now, two U.S. cities.
Well, the truth is nobody has a clue - even more so than usual.
L.A. Marathon founder Bill Burke is leading the bid, reports the LAT.
Pretty interesting month for auto sales.
I honestly don't know what's to become of these folks.
Does anyone need to be reminded that Mark Zuckerberg, Steve Jobs, and the three dudes from Google are really big cheeses?
Decent economic news, Amazon offers deal in sales tax fight, bond superstar Gundlach called "unstable," and film mart considers move from Santa Monica to downtown.
© 2003-2011 • About LA Observed • Email the editor
Follow LAO
| The overall project is now four to six months behind schedule. This means that the plans to close the freeway over a weekend to finish tearing down the Muholland Drive bridge in Sepulveda Pass are now delayed at least until late summer. Plus: Wilshire Rampture by the numbers.
| He's making history with the Space X Dragon capsule, but let's not forget the other players in the fledgling commercial space business - an industry that's taking shape in California.