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Trouble with defaults?: The LAT is playing up new figures showing that default notices statewide jumped 145 percent in the last three months of 2006. It's the largest number of default notices in a quarter since 1998, but L.A. appears less impacted than portions of the Inland Empire and Central Valley (Riverside-San Bernardino, Modesto, Stockton and Visalia have seen some of the biggest increases in the nation). These areas are vulnerable because of all the first-time buyers - folks with limited equity and thus limited borrowing opportunities. There's little indication, however, that we're in for a repeat of the mid-1990s, when foreclosures were off the charts. The WSJ examines how banks are trying to prevent foreclosures through refinancing and debt forgiveness programs.
Crop report: They're finally tallying up the losses from last week's big chill and the numbers are higher than first believed. Ventura County farmers lost a record $281 million in crops and nursery stock. That includes strawberries, raspberries and landscaping plants that weren't counted in the first few days. Statewide, crop losses could top $1 billion ($800 million of which comes from citrus). LAT
Bartiromo buzz: That's as in CNBC's Maria Bartiromo (known in some circles as the "Money Honey") who traveled with Citicorp executive Todd Thomson on the banking giant's corporate jet. The $50,000 trip required the bumping of two Citicorp execs, which apparently got Thomson into hot water with his bosses, according to the NY Post. (He and Bartiromo had been seen together at dinner and at various functions.) Thomson, who was forced out over the weekend, was quite the spender - his office in NY was nicknamed the "Todd Mahal." WSJ NY Post
Property Buys: L.A. ranks third among the most popular U.S. cities for foreign investors, behind NY and Washington. Offices remain the top choice when it comes to property type, followed by multi-family housing and hotels. But a new survey shows that foreign investors have been looking at stuff like senior and student housing, resorts, storage facilities and infrastructure projects. WSJ
The Brad Grey report: This guy seems to pop up everywhere. The LAT examines whether the now-chairman of Paramount Pictures is making a push to get producing credit for "The Departed," which he worked on at rival Warner Bros. It's the kind of story maybe 100 people in the entire world really care about (and I'm being generous.) Paramount led all studios with 19 Oscar nominations, including seven for "Babel" and eight for "Dreamgirls." which was shut out of the best picture and best directing categories. Such success was the centerpriece of a WSJ profile, which notes that the studio has yet to achieve the profit margins seen at Fox, arguably the best-run studio. Grey also notes the challenge of integrating DreamWorks into the Paramount system while still keeping SKG independent. From the WSJ:
Paramount is starting from a low base. Its parent Viacom said last year that the studio sank to an operating profit margin of 5 percent in 2005, after a brutal cost-cutting drove talent away from the Hollywood studio. That compares to about 10 percent at Time Warner Inc.'s Warner Bros. and around 15 percent at Fox, Viacom said at the time. When Mr. Grey first took over, the turnaround plan set a target to reach 10 percent over several years. His acquisition of DreamWorks dramatically accelerated that. As a result, Viacom said in June that Paramount would hit 10 percent within a year to 18 months.
Mark Lacter created the LA Biz Observed blog in 2006. He posted
until the day before his death on Nov. 13, 2013.