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Stocks still down: This has been a terrible May for the market - five up days, 16 down days - and at last check the Dow was down 75 points this morning.
More jobless claims: Weekly filings rose 10,000 to 383,000 - not an encouraging sign for growth. Separately, private businesses added 133,000 jobs in May, according to payroll company ADP, which is only slightly better than April's tepid results. (AP)
Economy revised downward: First-quarter growth was 1.9 percent, down from the initial estimate of 2.2 percent. Turns out that consumers spent less than first estimated and businesses restocked more slowly. (AP)
Good numbers for retailers: Stronger-than-expected May sales for Macy's and Victoria's Secret parent Limited Brands would suggest that consumers are still in a buying mood. (Reuters)
Facebook update: Shares are down 4.4 percent to $26.92.
Talbot's settles for less: The struggling women's clothing retailer accepted a $2.75-a-share buyout from private equity firm Sycamore Partners after earlier turning down a $3.05-a-share offer. The Talbot's people were stuck after their stock fell sharply. (DealBook)
No on legalizing pot: Only 46 percent of California voters support legalization for recreational use, according to a USC-LAT poll, though the overwhelming majority are okay with medical marijuana. From the LAT:
The survey found opinions have not measurably changed since voters defeated the legalization initiative Prop. 19 in 2010 by similar margins. And oddly, given the state's long role as the leader of marijuana decriminalization and cultivation, support for sanctioning its general use here appears to lag behind the sentiment in the rest of the country. A Gallup poll in October showed support nationwide for legalizing pot at 50% for the first time since the pollster began asking the question in 1969, when only 12% of Americans supported it.
Support slipping for tobacco tax: The measure still leads, according to a Field Poll, but only by 50 percent to 42 percent. The tighter contest comes after a flood of advertising by tobacco companies. (Sacramento Bee)
Health care rebates kick in: UnitedHealth Group will be returning $3.5 million to 4,400 small businesses in California as part of the federal health care law. From the LAT:
The first of these California rebates, amounting to about $98 each for nearly 36,000 small-business employees and dependents covered by UnitedHealth, comes because the company's spending on medical care fell short of new government requirements. Insurers must notify federal and state officials of how much they may owe policyholders by Friday if they failed to spend a minimum amount of customers' premiums on medical care last year.
Mark Lacter created the LA Biz Observed blog in 2006. He posted
until the day before his death on Nov. 13, 2013.