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All Mubarak all the time: Specifics still unclear, but all media eyes are focused on Cairo and the Egyptian president's impending resignation.
Stocks open lower: Market seems long overdue for a correction - Dow is down about 35 points.
Jobless numbers hit 2-year low: Weekly claims for state benefits dropped to 383,000 (anything under 400,000 is a good sign), while the more reliable four-week moving average stood at 415,500. (Reuters)
CA foreclosures stay flat: Filings were up slightly in January and down 6.6 percent from a year earlier, according to Realty Trac. There's still a big backlog due to paperwork and legal issues. (press release).
Twitter's crazy valuations: Potential suitors are talking about $8 billion to $10 billion, even though 2010 revenues were only $45 million. From the WSJ:
"Are these prices justifiable based on financial multiples? No," said Ethan Kurzweil of venture capital firm Bessemer Venture Partners. But these start-ups are building social services and have lots of data about their users and "the market is valuing that mightily right now."
Cost of canceling building sale: Gov. Jerry Brown says that the $1.2 billion to be forfeited could be made up through borrowing from various reserve accounts, with a pledge to pay it back in three years. (Sacramento Bee)
Furloughs taking a toll: Annual state worker pay has fallen about $1.2 billion from its 2008 peak (excluding the University of California). From the Sacramento Bee:
About half of state workers recently took another pay cut, earning less in 2010 than during 2009. "Furlough Fridays" ended late last year but were largely replaced by a "personal leave program" requiring state workers to average one unpaid day off a month.
Brown to address L.A. chamber: They're expecting more than 1,400 people tonight for the annual inaugural dinner at the JW Marriott. It's the governor's first Los Angeles appearance since taking office. (Capitol Alert)
Verizon iPhones go on sale: Folks started waiting in line early this morning. You can also get them at Best Buy. (PC Magazine)
Council approves stadium panel: Three to five members will work with city staff in shaping an agreement with AEG. The mayor has created his own blue-ribbon panel to review the proposal, but that group has no authority to negotiate a deal. (Daily News)
AOL stock keeps falling: Boy, shareholders really must love that deal with the Huffington Post. Stock is down this morning - it's been down all week.
Mark Lacter created the LA Biz Observed blog in 2006. He posted
until the day before his death on Nov. 13, 2013.