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Bush bailout: The president announces a $13.4 billion rescue plan to prevent the collapse of GM and Chrysler (for now anyway). The money is a loan and will be conditioned on the companies making big reorganization plans by early next year. By then, of course, it's Obama's problem. (NYT)
Wall Street reaction: Stocks are higher on the bailout news, though rumors of the plan have been flying for days). The Dow is up about 150 points.
Gas prices trickle upward: The holiday travel season could be playing a role, though with oil prices below $34 a barrel this morning, lowest in five years, the betting is that the increases won't last long. For the week, the Auto Club reports only a 4.3-cent-a-gallon drop in pump prices in the L.A. area, to $1.72 a gallon.
About that holiday travel: The Auto Club expects 5.3 million Southern Californians to be on the road, on the rails or in the air, a 1.9 percent drop from last year. It's the fifth consecutive major holiday that has posted a decline in the number of travelers.
Desperate retailers: The last weekend before Christmas will see monster discounts because merchants are so desperate to clear inventories and raise some cash. Markdowns are especially steep in clothing. From the WSJ:
J.C. Penney Co. is planning about 300 "doorbuster" discounts on various items, up 80% from last year, and will keep stores open to midnight, one hour later than on Black Friday. Sears Holdings Corp. will offer up to 70% off on fine jewelry at its Sears stores, which will stay open this weekend until 11 p.m. However, many retail experts believe the efforts will fall short, noting that it would take an extraordinary surge to make up for weeks of slumping sales this year. Retail sales for the six weeks to December 13 are off 2% from a year ago.
Music biz ends mass suits: It just wasn't a very effective way to deter people from stealing music on the Internet (not to mention the PR nightmare of suing a 13-year-old girl). The Recording Industry Association of America now wants to work with Internet-service providers to try and eliminate piracy. Lots of luck. (WSJ)
Redstones near deal? The family appears to be moving closer to a debt restructuring of National Amusements, the Redstones' holding company. But Pappy Sumner and daughter Shari are still at odds over what assets to give up - Shari remains opposed to selling off movie theaters. From the NYT:
Several years ago Mr. Redstone, 85, created a new trust to hold his stake in National Amusements, with Ms. Redstone designated to become chairwoman of CBS and Viacom upon his death, provided that she was still a member of each board. Mr. Redstone has since said that he now believes the boards of each company should decide who succeeds him as chairman. Amid the current negotiations over the debt, it is possible that Mr. Redstone could again seek to remove his daughter from the boards — something he could do because he is the controlling shareholder — to ensure that she would not automatically succeed him when he dies, according to people briefed on the matter who spoke anonymously in discussing Redstone family matters.
Panasonic buying Sanyo: The $9 billion deal creates one of the world’s biggest electronics companies. As usual, the talk is about cost-cutting and synergy (remember that word?) (DealBook)
Port expansion OK'd: It only took six years for the Board of Harbor Commissioners to approve an $85 million overhaul for the China Shipping facility at the Port of L.A. The terminal will be able to process lots more cargo and produce a lot fewer emissions. (Daily Breeze)
Mark Lacter created the LA Biz Observed blog in 2006. He posted
until the day before his death on Nov. 13, 2013.