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Muted market: In Wall Street's perverse way of looking at things, the disappointing employment report could nudge the Federal Reserve into action - and that, investors figure, might be a good thing. Dow is bouncing around the line.
About that jobs report: I have a few thoughts in the post below.
California home prices took off in July: CoreLogic reports a 6 percent increase in standard home sales (sales that don't include foreclosures and under-water homes). That's the biggest one-month jump since the housing crash. In L.A. County, prices were up 4.8 percent. (OC Register)
Gas prices still stuck. An average gallon of regular in the L.A. area remains at $4.17 a gallon, according to the Auto Club, just a penny higher than last week.
Leno's big pay cut: The host of "The Tonight Show" is now only making $15 million, a 50 percent drop. Leno's lower salary is part of heavy budget slashing for the late-night show. From the WSJ:
[The network's entertainment chief, Robert Greenblatt], said he noticed the bulge in "Tonight's" budget last spring, after he had finished introducing his first full season of prime-time programming. "I went to his [Leno's] office and we sat down and I said, 'We have to be smart about how we do this show. We are in a difficult place at the network'...He understood."
Speeding up stadium approval: Councilwoman Jan Perry proposes to reduce the public hearing notice period for the proposed AEG facility. Perry, who is running for mayor, says that if the council fails to vote by a set deadline (said to be Sept. 28), the project could be delayed by a year. (Daily News)
Caruso buys Carlsbad land: The 48-acre parcel is just east of Interstate 5. Caruso's firm will soon begin the design and approval process with local and state officials. From the North County Times:
In an unusual move for a developer, a top Caruso Affiliated official said the company has no specific plans for the property, which it purchased from San Diego Gas & Electric Co., beyond a desire to build retail, possibly mixed with housing. Instead, the company says it will use community input and suggestions to create a plan. The process helps the company overcome the kinds of community opposition that plagued a 2006 attempt to develop the property.
Heat wave gets expensive: Maintenance crews at the L.A. Unified School District have racked up more than $400,000 in overtime repairing air-conditioning units. From the Daily News:
Maintenance and Operations chief Roger Finstad said crews cleaned and checked the equipment at the district's 30,000 classrooms before school started on Aug. 14, and thought everything was all set to go. But sweltering temperatures overwhelmed air-conditioning units, prompting 360 service calls the second day alone. After two days of hustling from school to school - fixing units that weren't cranking out enough cooled air or had quit altogether - facilities officials declared an emergency and ordered repair crews to work overtime until the crisis abated.
S&P stops rating Compton bonds: The city has not gotten an audit firm to sign off on its finances. Mayor Eric Perrodin alleges that waste, fraud, and abuse of public funds may have caused Compton's debt problems. (LAT)
Mark Lacter created the LA Biz Observed blog in 2006. He posted
until the day before his death on Nov. 13, 2013.