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LA Biz Observed archive
Mark Lacter covered business, the economy and more here from 2006 until his death on Nov. 13, 2013.
The entire LA Biz Observed archive — more than 10,000 blog posts by Mark —
remains online and available.
January 2010
That would be L.A.'s top budget analyst, who is talking about more layoffs and consolidation. Here's betting it won't happen.
All of a sudden, the mayor and several council members are questioning whether the city really needs to let anybody go.
A different economic indicator, one you might not have heard of, has production doing well, but not employment, housing and consumer spending.
The total number of vehicles affected by potential problems with floor mats or gas pedals. That's nearly as many vehicles sold last year in the U.S.
LAT critic Christopher Hawthorne calls the $600-million complex "equal parts Chateau Marmont, L.A. Live and Pershing Square."
Bankers are saying all the right things in public, but the behind-the-scenes chit-chat is a whole lot different.
L.A. details budget cuts, Burkle goes after Barneys, trouble for CA teachers fund, and questioning "January Barometer."
The 5.7 percent annual rate of growth is the highest quarterly showing in six years.
"It's kind of like an iPhone and Kindle had a baby, and pumped it full of steroids," says one observer.
The Senate just voted 77-23 to end debate on the nomination of Ben Bernanke for a second four-year term as Fed chairman.
The case that started off with sensational allegations of drug use and illicit sex ends with no convictions.
Their decision to sit on their hands as Obama was proposing bank taxes may turn out to be a questionable strategy.
If the feds sign off on the fix, production could begin next week and dealers could be getting the new part within the next two weeks.
Tracing Toyota's pedal defect, Bernanke vote could come today, CA gets choo-choo bucks, and Juicy girls are gone.
Believe it or not, the iPhone has only been around three years.
Auction is scheduled for Saturday. After that, the downtown electronics store will shut down for good. We think.
Toyota advises drivers to step on the brake pedal with both feet and shift into neutral if they need to come to an immediate stop.
The most obvious question is why would I need this, but we were saying the same thing when the iPhone came out.
This could be more evidence that the worst of the housing slump is over, but it could also be the calm before another wave of foreclosures.
CEO Steve Jobs introduces the tablet-like device in SF this morning.
Apple's big day, growing foreclosure backlog, LAX loses passengers, and Martha changing channels.
It generates more revenue than any other Apple product - including desktop and portable computers - combined.
We are talking about jobs and leased space - not to mention a cash crop that's responsible for revenues of $14 billion a year statewide.
L.A., with its large immigrant community, doesn't come out so well in its numbers of high school dropouts. It's even worse than Vegas and Miami.
Honda becomes the title sponsor of the L.A. Marathon.
An online category has been added to business journalism's version of the Pulitzers: Online Commentary and Blogging.
The Swedish car company will be acquired by Spyker Cars, a tiny Dutch maker of sports cars.
Home prices are rising, consumer confidence improves, truckers banned from texting, and the latest on the Oscar race.
Complete with nerds, babes, limos and champagne. Whoever said economists were dull?
The Denver Post may not be the best place to get the complete story on the recent bankruptcy filing by the parent of MediaNews Group.
So is it about to become the best-selling movie in the history of the world or what?
This is going to be a very complicated, very drawn-out process, if for no other reason than all the players involved.
The concert promoter's giant merger with Ticketmaster has passed antitrust scrutiny, save for a few minor conditions.
Financial columnist Jane Bryant Quinn and Republican candidate Meg Whitman will headline the Drucker Business Forum this week and next.
Hard to believe that you could get 94 percent of California voters agreeing on anything, but then again the state's budget woes are pretty extraordinary.
Bernanke gains support, L.A. billionaire to leave company, what Leno cost KNBC, and iPhone expected to get Verizon service.
It's crunch time, Mr. President - on health care and everything else. So what's it going to be?
State Controller John Chiang says that by April 1, California will actually be in the red by $197 million.
Unsold inventory state-wide reached a five-year low in December, and the inventory is falling at all price points.
"It is time for a change," she said. "It is time for Main Street to have a champion at the Fed."
The size of baby peas, they're bouncing around my office courtyard. If you haven't been out lately, the atmosphere is very unstable. And it's chilly....
Many economists expected unemployment to peak sometime in the fourth quarter - and it looks like that will be the case.
NBCU profits plummet, MGM preps for bankruptcy, Oxy goes oil exploring in Iraq, and Freedom bankruptcy plan approved.
The December job loss was the largest of any state - and an increase from the 10,200 jobs lost in November.
L.A. Councilwoman Jan Perry says it's time to get serious about cutting costs. She's talking about layoffs, outsourcing and a hiring freeze.
Understanding that nobody knows anything, there is some reason to believe that the market's two-day bender may signal trouble.
All told,2.3 million U.S. vehicles are involved. The automaker needs to correct sticking accelerator pedals.
Commercial banks would no longer be able to invest on behalf of the bank itself. Big losses from investments played a huge role in the credit meltdown.
Boy, it sure must be lonely working at a place where you break all kinds of stories, but seldom get any recognition.
Try "123456." Other throwaways include "abc123," "iloveyou" or even "password." You might as well just say: Hack me."
Another bad day for stocks, Conan deal is done, Live Nation might sell assets, and L.A. could face more layoffs.
High court overturns a 20-year-old ruling that essentially prohibits companies from using their own money to contribute to campaigns.
Folks with some money are not all that different from everyone else when it comes to concerns about retirement and the economy.
It won't happen for political parties, just as it won't happen for laundry detergents, talk shows hosts or phone carriers.
Now that it's time to cast ballots, Academy voters are struggling to come up with 10 best picture nominations.
Republicans consider Obama to be a disaster because of how the economy has been handled. But theirs is a concocted reality.
Stocks down sharply, bank earnings show some promise, still waiting for Conan announcement, and FHA requires higher downpayments.
Starting in early 2011, online visitors will only have access to a certain number of free articles per month
Sounds like an old story about the iron hand of Chinese government, right? Well, yes and no.
Making his palsied defense of the Leno disaster on the Charlie Rose show, NBC's Jeff Zucker perfectly captures a "too big to fail" attitude.
New poll shows 46 percent believe the health care bill is a bad idea. Meanwhile, the word from Massachusetts is not good for the Democrats.
Sales and prices picked up in higher-end places like Bev Hills, Santa Monica and Newport Beach. Trend or blip?
What is it about investors who keep insisting that they can generate annual returns of 12 or 13 percent - safely?
Conan's $40 million deal, big loss at Citigroup, state to ease HMO waits, and junk bonds rule.
Election watcher Stu Rothenberg predicts Republican Scott Brown will win the open Senate seat in Massachusetts, which mean so-long health care bill.
Not much business news expected because of the holiday (markets are closed).
Funny you're not hearing about the additional jobs being added locally by moving "All My Children" from NY to L.A.
Big payday for JP Morgan, NBC prepares Conan exit, J&J accused of kickbacks, and mixed bag for videogames.
That's what People is reporting, citing an unnamed source. It gives them more than a month to figure out a settlement.
The next few months should look pretty good, both because retailers will have to restock and because 2009 was so terrible.
News Corp.'s Roger Ailes sounds less than overwhelmed about having O'Brien hosting a late-night show on Fox.
One-time board president William Crist was paid 800K by a British investment firm to get business from the CA pension fund.
The recession, coupled with aggressive poaching by other states, has trimmed overall filming in the area by 19.4 percent.
CA foreclosures head up, Calpers comes clean, companies provide aid to Haiti, and state IOUs still flying around.
Substandard design and materials, lax regulations and shoddy construction methods played a huge role in the devastation.
An L.A. law firm says it has come under cyber attack from China - the same firm that's handling a software piracy suit against the Chinese government.
The irony is that the earthquake is likely to step up economic activity for years to come.
Workers between 25 and 34, Latinos and high school graduates are having the toughest time finding a job L.A. County.
End of a short era: NBC is taking down a "Jay Leno Show" billboard at the Universal Studios lot.
most Western executives will tell you that doing business in China, while potentially lucrative, is a major pain in the keister.
More folks are leaving California than coming in, but not by the numbers you might assume.
Bankers tap dance in D.C., all signs point to a Conan exit, "Modern Warfare" passes $1b mark, and downtown lightshow tonight.
The Tesla Roadster was driven on a 2,700-mile trek as a way of illustrating that all-electric cars can go long distances
Some relief is likely, according to the Legislative Analyst's Office, but the governor can forget about an $8 billion bailout.
Two, possibly three, assistant coaches are joining Pete Carroll in Seattle. Meanwhile, the list of potential candidates for head coach is thinning.
The late-night host just issued a statement that basically says no to the 12:05 idea. But he isn't saying he's quitting.
He drove 50 miles to a Long Island address he'd found in the purse - and refused a reward.
KB posts profit, L.A. County's budget nightmare, low bids for MGM, and gas prices shooting up.
The OC coroner's office ruled that the alleged scamster took an overdose of painkillers.
The feds are accusing a Bev Hills firm, NewPoint Financial Services, of defrauding Iranian immigrants in a $20-million scam.
Fox Entertainment president Kevin Reilly said today that network officials have spoken informally to O'Brien's reps, but they haven't gotten very far. "Until he makes a decision, we can't do anything," he told television writers in Pasadena. Reilly said Fox officials had been "digesting" the turn of events at NBC (sounds like they're a ways off from offering him the late-night spot). O'Brien is still said to be mulling a decision on whether to accept...
The former bond manager at TCW Group says that the sex devices and DVDs he had in his offices were "vestiges of closed chapters of my life."
The Trojans have a loyal core of fans, but if the team does goes south, there's bound to be some fallout at the bottom line.
CA officials offer assurances, L.A. home prices edge higher, Boeing may get more business in Long Beach, and old media still takes lead.
Austin Beutner is a former partner at private-equity giant Blackstone Group. He'll oversee the Port of Los Angeles and the DWP.
Pete Carroll is close to a deal to leave USC and become head coach of the Seattle Seahawks, according to the LAT.
Have L.A. home prices really fallen that much? Really depends on where you happen to be.
The big question economists are wrestling with is where the new business will be coming from - and how long it will last.
"Tough times still lie ahead," says Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger as he announces $8.5 billion in spending cuts.
Never mind about the unemployment rate - what inquiring minds really want to know is why and/or how superstar bond investor Jeff Gundlach would keep 12 sexual devices, 34 hardcore porn magazines and 36 hardcore DVDs and videocassettes in his TCW office in downtown L.A.? That's the cache TCW claims it found after he was unceremoniously let go in early December, and while the firm's lawsuit against Gundlach includes far more serious allegations - among...
Economists weighing in on the so-so employment report are not sounding all that concerned that the economy lost 85,000 jobs in December.
Look for the governor to propose deep cuts to public transit, healthcare and social services.
Weather may explain weak jobs report, NBC late-night decision expected soon, and Fox pulls kids quiz show because of cheating.
The nation's economy is still in that choppy stage in between contraction and expansion.
Not really, but at least December revenues were 5.7 percent above the state budget estimates.
Nothing like a parody to affirm one's place in the media establishment. The folks at Comedy.com take a few well-aimed shots.
TMZ is reporting that after the Winter Olympics next month, Jay will take back his old 11:30 spot.
Marijuana, sexual devices, porn magazines, X-rated DVDs - are we talking about staid L.A. money management firm?
The paper will shut down the OC printing facility, a cost-cutting effort that had been rumored for months. Plus, other stuff.
We're going through a stage when it's easy to say greed is not good - few of us are in a position to be greedy even if we wanted to be.
Believe it or not, there was significant improvement in lost luggage, consumer complaints and flight cancellations
Last-minute shoppers save Christmas, big boost from BCS game, L.A. rents down sharply, and low-wage earnings are robbed.
Last year U.S. sales fell almost 13 percent, though it would have been worse without Taylor Swift and Susan Boyle.
The former KB Home CEO, charged with 20 counts of fraud and making false statements, is accusing prosecutors of manipulating witnesses.
Academy honchos, desperate for better TV ratings, have been dying to see a top-grosser pick up the top prize.
This time it's from Pamm Fair, chairwoman of FilmLA, the nonprofit group that works with filmmakers shooting in the L.A. area.
Governor pushing jobs, L.A. officials propose pension cuts, court closures hurt economy, and Disney store on Broadway.
A Federal Reserve official says home ownership is a terrible investment - and not just because prices have fallen so sharply.
The brain works (or doesn't work) in mysterious ways. Note how many people don't bother reading the consent form before signing.
A small Santa Barbara company alleges that the Chinese illegally copied portions of its filtering code to block access to Internet sites.
December sales rose 33 percent from a year earlier, while full year sales dropped 15 percent.
I had been leaning on the faulty premise that business sites can look gray and boring because, well, they're just business sites.
Workers are singing the blues, L.A. is hard place to find work, bankruptcies took off in 2009, and "Avatar" has global appeal.
The much-awaited multimedia tablet device will be announced later this month and shipped out starting in March, says the WSJ.
The aerospace giant is looking for a location somewhere in the Washington, D.C. area. Plans to move by next year.
Columnist Paul Krugman warns that all the bullish talk could lead the U.S. back to 1937, when the economy went south.
Stocks taking off on first trading day, late-year flurry of car sales, Mattel teams up with WWE, and movie theaters over DVDs.
All of which creates an unsettling disconnect between Wall Street and Main Street, though that gap should narrow in 2010.
No word on details of the deal, specifically how much Fox was able to wrangle from the cable giant.
At last check, Time Warner Cable and Fox were still working on a new contract that would keep Channel 11 on the air.
Mark Lacter
Mark Lacter created the LA Biz Observed blog in 2006. He posted until the day before his death on Nov. 13, 2013.The multi-talented Mark Lacter
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