Tuesday morning headlines

KB's red ink: The L.A.-based homebuilder lost $49.6 million in the fourth quarter, compared with a profit of $304.4 million a year earlier. That was better than analysts expected, but it included $340 million in charges the company took to lower the value of its housing stock and pull out of land purchases. Orders have fallen as the inventory remains high. KB Homes CEO Jeffrey Mezger said he expects unit deliveries to decrease "through the first half of 2007 and potentially longer." The company must still deal with restatements and other fallout from the forced resignation of long-time CEO Bruce Karatz, who was involved in the backdating of stock options. AP

Looking for illegal immigrants: Not the authorities - Bank of America. WSJ reports that the bank has quietly begun offering credit cards to customers without Social Security numbers. All they need is a checking account, which Bank of America and other financial institutions have been offering to undocumented immigrants. The cards come with a high interest rate and an upfront fee, but in defending the program, Bank of America executive Brian Tuite puts it this way: "These people are coming here for quality of life, and they deserve somebody to give them a chance to achieve that quality of life." From the WSJ:

The Charlotte, N.C., banking giant tested the program last year at five branches in Los Angeles, and last week expanded it to 51 branches in Los Angeles County, home to the largest concentration of illegal immigrants in the U.S. The bank hopes to roll out the program nationally later this year. "We are willing to grant credit to someone with little or no credit history," says Lance Weaver, Bank of America's head of international card services, whose team designed the program based in part on the bank's experience in markets like Spain, which lack conventional credit bureaus to rate a client's credit-worthiness.

Playa Vista details: Get ready for 2 million square feet of office space on 64 acres of land at Playa Vista's eastern edge. Two real estate companies bought the property for around $200 million, and the plan is to develop a low-rise, garden-style complex that will have lots of tech and entertainment firms. The Spruce Goose hangar and 10 other former Hughes buildings would be preserved and upgraded under the plan. About 2,100 residential units have been built at Playa Vista, which has a population of more than 5,000. Daily Breeze

Taco slump: Last year's E. coli outbreak at Taco Bell, which sickened more than 70 East Coast customers, resulted in a 20 percent decline in sales at the time, though overall fourth-quarter sales were down just 5 percent. Taco Bell parent Yum Brands blamed the quarterly decline on "adverse publicity related to a produce-sourcing issue." Now that's being open and honest - I wonder what genius decided to handle the matter that way. Almost makes you wonder how the rest of the company is run. LAT

Grand Avenue vote: L.A. city and county officials decide today whether to let the $2 billion development go forward. It's almost certain to happen because the public investment is relatively low. On Monday the LAT editorialized in favor of the project; today County Supe Michael Antonovich argues against it on the oped page. Construction of the first phase is scheduled to begin in October and to be completed by June 2011.

Beckham collectibles: There's a lot stuff showing up on eBay (a World Cup credential went for $222.53). Items for sale include Beckham books, magazines, photographs, trading cards, jerseys, boots, sunglasses and action figures. Turns out that some or perhaps most of it is fake. From the LAT:

The Galaxy made it clear that the team would be changing its logo and colors, as well as its jersey sponsor, to mark the arrival of Beckham, yet buyers are happily paying significant prices for what are essentially fake items. "Be the first to own the new Los Angeles Galaxy David Beckham No. 23 shirt!!" trumpeted the description on one jersey put up for auction by a dealer in England. "This is the authentic Adidas home strip for 2006 and 2007. Home gold and green." Well, no, not really. At some point this year the Galaxy gold and green will be ditched, reportedly in favor of a deep space blue, with a more galactic logo.

Venture stampede: More Chinese companies are attracting venture money from around the world. Venture-capital investment increased 55 percent from a year earlier ($1.89 billion across 214 deals). WSJ reports that lots of that money has gone into second rounds of financing or later - raising questions about what venture firms will do once they try to cash out. No dollar-denominated foreign venture-capital fund has exited via a local exchange yet because China has such strict capital controls. WSJ

Boutique backlash: This might be less applicable to trend-conscious L.A., but hotel guests around the country are apparently getting tired of the super-stylish scene at places like the W. Once unfazed by snooty staffs, tiny rooms and crazy-high prices, the Generation X customers are getting older and wiser about what makes a good hotel. From the WSJ:

So boutiques -- a category which generally refers to small, designer hotels with 200 rooms or fewer -- are focusing on offering greater comfort and more amenities. The Morgans Hotel Group, known particularly for its comely staff, says it has put more emphasis on recruiting and training. At the Galleria Park Hotel, a Joie de Vivre Hospitality Group property in San Francisco's financial district, guests can now summon a professional assistant for support services, including accounting, finance, human resources and sales and marketing (daily fee: $450). And some boutique hotels are responding to criticism that their austere furnishings often looked cheap and banged up. As part of a makeover of the Muse Hotel in New York, Kimpton Hotel & Restaurant Group is putting in sturdier hydraulic desk chairs and Art Deco high-back winged chairs in its rooms.

Lacter on radio: This morning's business chat with Kari Moran on KPCC has an update on the Tribune sale, the purchase of Johnny Rockets and GM's troubled Super Bowl ad.