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The 20,000-square-foot Holmby Hills estate home has seven bedrooms, 13 bathrooms, home theater, blah, blah, blah.
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Mark Lacter covered business, the economy and more here from 2006 until his death on Nov. 13, 2013.
The entire LA Biz Observed archive — more than 10,000 blog posts by Mark —
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September 2012
The 20,000-square-foot Holmby Hills estate home has seven bedrooms, 13 bathrooms, home theater, blah, blah, blah.
Nothing terrible happened today - the Dow was down just 48 points - but stocks have fallen five of the last six days and you do have to wonder what might drive the market higher in the coming weeks.
Chamber votes 12-0 to support AEG project. Not a naysayer in sight.
Consumers pick up spending but for the wrong reasons, B of A agrees to pay $2.43 billion to settle class-action lawsuit, support eroding for Gov. Brown's tax plan, and Planning Commission signs off on Universal makeover.
Regrettably, none of the design concerns really threaten to derail the stadium package, which will go to the City Council on Friday. Nor will the questionable economic benefits.
L.A. occupancy was at 85.2 percent in July, while OC hotels were at 88.3 percent, helped along by the revamped California Adventure park in Anaheim.
This has been an irritant of mine for years: The obsessive coverage of monthly employment reports - coverage that often distorts the actual numbers.
U.S. job growth better than expected, mortgage rates hit record low, AEG convention hall plan criticized by architects advising the mayor, and NFL refs keep their pensions under new deal.
Sounds like an announcement may happen shortly, with the league trying to get them back to work for this weekend's games.
Council gives preliminary approval to DWP rate hike, Gov. Brown signs driverless car legislation, Jaime McCourt claims that Frank cheated her, and more troubles for Tesla.
So much for asking L.A. voters whether to keep the shops open. Authorities have sent warnings letters to operators in 68 stores, many located downtown and in Eagle Rock, that effectively tell them to shut down.
This is at least a step in the right direction, and the fact that it received a 14-0 vote suggests some sort of awareness of the city's financial troubles.
This is just a taste of what happens if a more aggressive pension overhaul - one that would freeze or reduce benefits for current employees - makes any headway next year.
Station went off the air as the bomb squad has a look.
L.A. home prices inching higher, big jump in consumer confidence, strong demand for California bonds, and $1.7-million reward offered in art heist.
Here we go - the first of what are likely to be several bids for the sports-and-entertainment unit of Philip Anschutz's empire.
Check your flight status. Since Sept. 16, 546 flights have been cancelled and 7,137 delayed - way more than usual. Put another way, just half of American's flights have arrived on time.
Not much doubt on this one - city officials offered all kinds of assurances that the possible sale of AEG would not impact the company's commitment to build the stadium and revamp the convention hall.
Apple sells out of iPhones, Facebook stock, now trading at around $21 a share, is still too pricey, council committee considers stadium plan, and free checking is getting more expensive.
It's channel 355 for those on the Variety or premium Sports Pass tier. The RedZone channel will be on channel 356 (only available on the Sports Tier).
Reuters reports that Peter Liguori, a former executive at Fox and more recently the Oprah Winfrey Network, is in serious talks for the top job at the media giant
But overall it wasn't a very strong August, considering that the separate payroll survey showed a drop of 10,400 jobs.
An announcement could be made later today, Bloomberg is reporting, citing a source. Time Warner had been the last holdout among major cable companies.
California debt is way higher than earlier estimated, iPhone 5 is released around the globe, high-speed rail gets White House fast track, and Maxine Waters avoids ethics charges.
California's jobless rate fell to 10.6 percent in August from 10.7 percent the month before, but only 12,000 jobs were added to the payrolls.
While potential bidders might be interested in the soccer teams and others might want the real estate and still others might go after the music side, it's hard to imagine single entity wanting the whole shebang. And how do you value the whole shebang?
For many months economists have been puzzled by the lackluster pace of recovery. The answer might go beyond pure numbers.
Jeffrey Gundlach, CEO of DoubleLine Capital (and before that L.A.-based TCW) lost several expensive paintings and a 2010 red Porsche Carrera 4S in the heist,
They made their fortunes in very different ways - Musk with orbital space vehicles and electric cars and Cherng with fast casual Chinese food.
The network that constantly manages to take your breath away is quintupling down on Romney's 47 percent solution. Stewart lays it all out.
California economy keeps improving (but slowly), Angels talking about possible move to the City of Industry, support slipping for Gov. Brown's tax measure, and Southwest Airlines slipping in performance rankings.
The sensible solution is to hold off on the stadium agreement until the AEG situation is resolved. Know who you're dealing with - don't take the word of the guy getting out.
Yes, Amazon is adding on sales tax for its California shoppers, which is what non-Internet retailers in the state had been lobbying for. But there's another side to this development.
Not to dwell on the infamous 47 percent solution, but Romney's dismissal of poor and needy people is astounding.
Already lining up for AEG, Fox well positioned for renewal of baseball contract, it's better to buy than rent a house in L.A. (though not by much), and WSJ's Walt Mossberg likes the iPhone 5.
WSJ, citing sources, says that deliberations are at an early stage and that it's possible Denver billionaire Philip Anschutz might decide not to sell the operation.
No one knows whether exempting new businesses from the city's gross receipts tax actually pencils out, but on a 10-2 vote the council decided to keep it going for another three years.
They keep messing around with plans to shave off the city's pension obligations in future years, but not a word on what to do with current obligations, which is at the heart of the deficit problem.
Say this for the Republican candidate's remarks, we're learning a lot more about the people who pay and don't pay federal income tax.
Frankly, it never seemed like much of a movement - not on Wall Street or L.A. or any of the other cities with encampments.
Apple hits $700 a sahare, FedEx says global economy is getting worse, most homeowners still stuck with high mortgage rates, and complaints about Wilmington refinery.
As with anyone parachuting into town, the detail work was a little iffy. But he left thinking good thoughts about L.A., which is more than you can say about many East Coasters.
The Republican candidate is taped saying that, "I'll never convince them they should take personal responsibility and care for their lives."
Demand exceeds supply for iPhone 5, Magic admits that Dodgers lack chemistry, L.A. area gas prices fall a bit, and Gov. Brown's legacy on the line.
This could be another indication that U.S. retailers are cautious about the holiday season.
Whatever benefit the brick-and-mortar crowd might have gained by forcing Amazon to include sales tax might be lost - and then some.
Gas prices boost inflation, consumer sentiment is at highest level in four months, last non-tax day on Amazon, and Planning Commission approves stadium plan.
Very cool video that was shot entirely with Google Glass, the company's futuristic headset/smartphone device.
I'm not a huge fan of the proposed complex, but I'm not especially fond of extortion either - and that's the sorta, kinda threat that a downtown coalition is throwing around.
What stands out is the stronger presence of higher-priced properties. Southern California sales between $300,000 and $800,000 - the common range for move-up buyers - rose 23.4 percent from a year earlier,
Big day for stocks, with the Dow jumping 206 points. Of course, the basis for today's runup is the Federal Reserve's more aggressive bond-buying program, which is only happening because the recovery has been so sluggish.
This is a big deal. "Open-ended" is the key phrase here, an indication that the Central Bank is prepared to keep buying bonds indefinitely in an effort to boost a sluggish recovery.
Waiting for the Fed, drop in California foreclosures, Planning Commission considers downtown stadium proposal, and Health Net sued over refusing to cover treatments.
It just isn't the gory story that it used to be. This is a slumbering recovery, yes, but a recovery nonetheless. And while everything could change tomorrow, slow growth doesn't seem like a winning bet for Romney.
In a nutshell, it'll be larger, lighter, faster, and be able to connect with more cellular networks. Apple's updated iPhone will be in stores on Sept. 21.
Three weeks after the blockbuster trade that brought Adrian Gonzalez to L.A., the Dodgers are 6-10 - not quite what the Guggenheim partners had in mind.
The Census Bureau is out with a zillion numbers that can be sliced and diced in lots of ways. The state's median income - and its percentage of uninsured residents - are both higher than the U.S. overall.
Apple introduces the iPhone 5, Federal Reserve policymakers meet to consider pumping the economy, more Americans are bypassing banks, and Gov. Brown signs pension legislation into law.
The one-hundredth year birthday celebration is capped off on Wednesday with a shindig that commemorates the hotel's landmark status - the first such designation under the city's historic preservation ordinance.
China, which is California's third-largest trading partner, bought $14.1 billion in state-produced goods and services in 2011, and Chinese investors have been snapping up U.S. companies and real estate.
This is the same U-T newspaper that ran a venomous anti-Obama editorial over the weekend, the same paper that's hosting an event for Republican Party candidates tonight, the same paper that's become an embarrassment for San Diego.
California received larger-than-expected tax revenues last month, according to the state Controller's office.
Government will be making money on AIG, rebuilding Convention Center to cost more than expected, Digital Domain special effects house is being taken over as part of bankruptcy filing, and Californians are more upbeat.
The 2.5 percent increase comes out to an extra $110 million in taxes - good news for struggling cities. Higher valuations are also a relief for homeowners who remain underwater.
Now that deserves a medal. L.A. money manager Alex Rubalcava has been tweeting his observations.
Forget about the political rhetoric from both sides and check out this summary from Business Insider.
Developers have been responding to a tight rental market (vacancies are down to 2 percent in many buildings).
Boom times in Bakersfield, special effects house Digital Domain might seek bankruptcy protection, Variety owners cut asking price for paper, and slow weekend at the box office.
The online prediction market had focused on the overall national vote, but it's now breaking down trades state by state. As you see from the map, most of the battleground states show Obama with the edge.
You have to wonder why the new owner of the OC Register insists on pushing the print side. Ad revenues are in free-fall, and they're never coming back.
They look great, of course, with the jacket perfectly molded to the body, but the customer base is not large enough these days to make it a lucrative business.
A coalition of community and union groups tried to get a restraining order on construction of the Walmart grocery, despite the retailer having all the necessary permits and approvals
California home prices took off in July, Jay Leno takes 50 percent pay cut, Caruso buys Carlsbad land for development, and heat wave gets expensive for L.A. schools.
Just 96,000 jobs added to the rolls and a drop in the unemployment rate for all the wrong reasons. It's been an up and down year, reflecting an economy that's being slowly reshaped before our eyes.
Nice moment for America's "kick-me" airport - a Qantas A380 jumbo-jet was scheduled to pull into Gate 134 of the new Bradley West international concourse.
Not to state the obvious, but if there's such wide disagreement on how many dispensaries are located in the city, how did they expect to enforce the ban?
Wall Street grabbed onto some encouraging news out of Europe and that, along with a couple of strong job reports, led to a huge day, with the Dow finishing at 13,292, up 244 points
Actually, it gets a little confusing because the magazine now publishes two lists: One made up of the New Establishment - mostly the powers of Silicon Valley - and the other covering the usual media and entertainment moguls.
Quite a dog-and-pony show at Santa Monica Airport this morning as CEO Jeff Bezos unveils the Kindle Paperwhite, the company's latest tablet.
Encouraging news out of Europe (though recession is still possible by the end of the year), better-than-expected increase in private payroll jobs, questions about the way teachers' pensions are handled, and Amazon to announce Kindle updates.
This isn't a huge surprise - in June the supermarket chain's parent company, Supervalu Inc., reported that its first-quarter profit fell by nearly half compared with a year earlier. Big-box stores like Target and Walmart are proving to be formidable competitors.
That would be the entertainment industry, which managed to add 3,200 jobs in L.A. County over the past year. And yet the state legislature voted to extend the tax break program for movie and TV companies wanting to work in California.
After agreeing to handle PR duties for East West Bancorp as part of a planned acquisition, according to the SEC complaint, she bought 10,000 shares of East West stock and then sold her shares after the acquisition announcement had been made.
For a while Jason Selch actually got away with it. But when one of the higher-ups found out about the mooning, he was fired. And guess what Selch did next?
The city councilman and candidate for mayor is too smart a guy to believe what he told Los Angeles magazine about the city's financial problems. L.A. faces enormous pension and health care obligations that are forcing all services to be reduced. Pretending that any real progress has been made doesn't square with the facts.
Starting today, the paper will only offer free access to its home page and section fronts - as well as 15 pages per 30 days. After that you'll have to pay up.
Pickup in productivity shows businesses can do more with less, Zuckerberg will hold onto Facebook stock, FedEx cuts forecast because of slowdown in Europe and Asia, and San Bernardino City Council unable to agree on budget cuts.
If the Council signs off on the plan, which seems likely, construction will begin in 2014 and take at least five to six years. The hotel renovation would come first, followed about a year later by twin condo towers.
Why should customers eating at 5 p.m. on a Monday night pay the same as those ordering at 8 p.m. on a Saturday night? Here are some Los Angeles examples.
Ruthless. Duplicitous. Corrupt. Scuzzy. Any of those words would describe the manner in which Anschutz Entertainment Group handled preparations for Michael Jackson's 50-show concert tour. Yes, this is the same AEG that the mayor and most members of the City Council are in bed with.
Just as the economy was beginning to tank in 2007, the city sold $125 million worth of bonds in order to close a shortfall in its pension plans. Big mistake.
Good month for car sales, sluggish summer at the box office, Guggenheim Partners buys Dick Clark Productions, and Grand Avenue developer says it has financing for apartment tower.
Mark Lacter
Mark Lacter created the LA Biz Observed blog in 2006. He posted until the day before his death on Nov. 13, 2013.The multi-talented Mark Lacter
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