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Stocks inch higher: On the last trading day before Christmas, it looks like another slow session. Dow is up about 17 points.
Consumer sentiment keeps rising: Confidence index is at its highest level since June, according to the Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan index. (Reuters)
Jobless claims fall: The four-week moving average rose slightly, to 426,000. Levels will have to fall below 400,000 for there to be any significant break in unemployment. (Bloomberg)
Big shopping day: Be advised - what some are calling Christmas Eve Eve is among the busiest shopping days of the season. From AP:
ShopperTrak expects retail spending to rise 4 percent for the holiday season. It fell 0.4 percent during the 2009 season. Anything over 4 percent is considered a healthy gain. The final days leading up to Christmas are important for retailers. Some do a third of their annual business during the season. The final countdown to Christmas is especially important. ShopperTrak estimates that the 10 days before Christmas usually make up 31 percent to 34 percent of holiday-season retail revenue.
FCC chairman ready to sign off on Comcast-NBC deal: But with conditions that include having to offer NBC programming to other online video providers and keeping similar channels, like sports or news channels, close together on cable systems. Approval won't happen until next year. (WSJ)
L.A. investment firm cuts another deal: Leonard Green & Partners is offering $1.6 billion for Jo-Ann Stores, a fabric and craft retailer. That's a 34 percent premium to the closing price of Jo-Ann Stores on Wednesday. (DealBook)
Demand Media delays IPO: The hold-up centers on how to explain the Santa Monica online company's complicated finances to investors - specifically, how Demand expenses the costs of making its content. From All Things Digital:
Demand has determined that its content has a more evergreen nature, compared to more topical-and perishable, from a revenue point of view-material produced by others. Obviously, since this accounting treatment results in more attractive financial results, the longer expense period is of great interest to many other online content creators-such as AOL and Yahoo-which are watching the Demand IPO closely.
Judge blocks Santa Monica taxi program: The city's franchising system does not include any companies that are Armenian American owned or operated. A discrimination suit was filed. (LAT)
Mark Lacter created the LA Biz Observed blog in 2006. He posted
until the day before his death on Nov. 13, 2013.