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Disney still behind: Front-page coverage of the Dow setting an all-time record on Tuesday, but as you've been reading on LABO, the Wall Street assessments are mixed at best. Even many of the blue chips leading the current rally are still struggling. If you bought $1,000 worth of Disney stock on Jan. 14, 2000 - date of the previous close - your shares were only worth $985 at the close of yesterday's trading. Looking at the bright side, those shares were only worth $497 at the end of 2000.
Office rents climb: Not a huge surprise for anyone negotiating a new lease. Nationwide, there was a 2.3 percent increase in the third quarter, according to a study by Reis Inc., which tabulates the numbers for the WSJ. Orange County had a 3.7 percent jump in effective rents (no L.A. numbers available, but other studies show an uptick here too). The high numbers have caused office tenants to take less space, perhaps an indication that the market is reaching its peak.
Tribune-CW connection: The boys in Chicago are closely watching the ratings for the new network - owned by Warner Bros. and CBS - because 16 of Tribune's stations are affiliates. Bigger audiences mean higher ad revenues and fatter valuations for those stations when and if Tribune decides to sell. You might remember that the Tribune board thought about spinning off the stations earlier this year, but held off in the hopes that the CW would add value. So far, ratings have been good.
Fox shows online: Interesting experiment during the playoffs: Rather than turn off non-baseball viewers over the next three weeks, Fox is putting several of its prime-time shows online. Shows being run - "Bones" and "Prison Break" - will be repeats of this season's episodes. With the success of MySpace and YouTube, more folks are willing to watch TV on their computers, it seems.
FCC listens: Well, at least during a hearing in El Segundo, where a bunch of radio and TV artists, along with consumer advocates and politicians, griped about consolidation in the broadcast industry. A relaxation of ownership rules was turned down by a federal appeals court, so the FCC is back to the drawing board, eliciting public comment around the country. Rep. Maxine Waters criticized Tribune's ownership of the Times and KTLA.
Still no spinach: Regulators say it's all right to eat the green stuff, but local restaurants remain cautious. Swiss chard, watercress and broccoli are among the substitutes still being used. At least one eatery, Tender Greens in Culver City, continued to serve fresh spinach during the E. Coli scare. It had a purveyor in Oxnard that the owners said was reliable.
Mayor on piracy: Villaraigosa's 14-day trip to Asia will engage DVD piracy, which costs the major movie studios nearly $300 million a year. He met with Daily News editors and reporters in advance of the trip.
New Hallmark head: Henry Schleiff, former head of Court TV, is named president and CEO of Crown Media Holdings, the parent company of the Hallmark Channel. After years of minimal growth, the Studio City-based channel has seen some ratings improvement.
Mark Lacter created the LA Biz Observed blog in 2006. He posted
until the day before his death on Nov. 13, 2013.