March 3 - March 9, 2013
Friday, Mar. 8
Hollywood is a highly cyclical business, of course, and so employment levels tend to bounce around from month to month. This being TV pilot season could be one explanation for a bump - as well as a pickup in the number of commercials being shot.
That may be pushing things, but Alloy Digital is where the Smosh guys hang their hats, and ... you mean you haven't heard of the Smosh guys? Have a seat.
Just three days ago I reluctantly but dutifully voted for Measure A, the proposed half-cent sales tax hike that was supposed to pare down the city's mountainous deficit. Now L.A.'s mayor says it's not so bad after all.
Thursday, Mar. 7
The publisher of Hustler bought the Wilshire Boulevard property almost 20 years ago for $18.8 million, so we're talking about a nice return.
That's probably due to continuing questions about how much of the money will be handed over to the league as part of the revenue-sharing arrangement with other teams. This could turn out to be an important snag in the 25-year $7-billion TV deal.
The Disney prequel will pull in $80 million+ this weekend, according to Deadline, and they're already revving up the sequel machine. But can those early numbers translate into a long term franchise (the early reviews are not good).
We all want to know about the horse race of bidders, and yet there's no way to determine how each sale is unfolding and what the eventual outcome will be. The sellers aren't talking, at least publicly, and the unnamed sources who pop up in news stories are notoriously unreliable.
Wednesday, Mar. 6
Forget about the plan to have Meredith Corp. take over People and other lifestyle titles, with Time Warner keeping Time, Fortune, Money, and SI.
You got me. L.A. voters handily defeated Measure A, which would have added a half penny to the sales tax and generated enough revenue to make up most of next year's shortfall. They apparently didn't trust city officials to spend the money wisely. So does anyone have any bright ideas on finding $200 million?
Not income inequality, wealth inequality - that is, the imbalance of people with or without enough money to spend on items that go above and beyond a daily or monthly nut.
Actually, I feel kind of sorry for the folks running for mayor - they all meant well, and goodness knows, they've worked hard. But they're not exactly natural born leaders. Hell, let's just say it: They were the dullest group of candidates I can ever recall following.
Tuesday, Mar. 5
You can cite all sorts of reasons why we shouldn't be taking the new record all that seriously: The index is only made up of 30 companies and it's weighted in a strange way. It doesn't account for inflation. It doesn't reflect the overall economy. And yet the psychological boost to the financial world is hard to deny.
For aviation buffs, Dominguez Hills is a very big deal. In 1910, it was the site of the nation's first air show, what the LAT called "one of the greatest public events in the history of the West."
Not all rich people are alike when it comes to telling the world exactly how much they are worth. Some spin off their holdings and conduct business under different names in order to avoid getting on the Forbes rich list, some are indifferent to the notoriety, and some, like Prince Alwaleed Bin Talal of Saudi Arabia, are obsessed with being ranked as high up as possible.
Stocks have taken off in the first hour of trading, with the Dow index at around 14,259, which is almost 100 points higher than its record close of 14,164 on Oct. 9, 2007 - before the recession and financial meltdown.
Monday, Mar. 4
The package deal would include the LAT, Chicago Tribune, Baltimore Sun and six other daily papers, Bloomberg reports, citing sources. A single transaction would be easier, but it would also mean fewer interested parties. Several potential bidders have shown some interest in individual papers, but not the entire portfolio.
His name is Andy Zaky and his upbeat forecasts about Apple had been largely spot on - so much so that he gained a large following of admiring investors who were convinced that what went up would keep going up. Not quite.
Turns out that the show has become a sensation among financial planners and lawyers who say that the Earl of Grantham's mishandling of money can be a lesson for today's investors.
In a word, sigh. Even by the normally uninspired nature of LA elections, this one has often resembled a campaign for class president. High school class president. How did it get this bad?
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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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