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Stocks tightening up: Dow is up, but only by about 15 points. Don't be surprised to see some sort of sell-off after an extended rally.
Oil hits $108: Look out for higher gasoline prices as the Libyan impasse continues to worry traders. (AP)
Southwest canceling more flights: Not as many as over the weekend, and the airline says that inspections on its 737-300 planes should be completed late Tuesday. (AP)
Fatigue-related cracks blamed for mishap: It's apparently a real problem for the older planes. From the NYT:
Robert L. Sumwalt, a member of the board, said in a telephone interview from Arizona that the fatigue would not have been apparent on a visual inspection of the lap joints in the fuselage of the Sacramento flight, and that current regulations did not require high-tech techniques like ultrasound that might have detected the hidden cracks. A fuselage section is being flown to the board's labs in Washington for a more comprehensive metallurgical examination.
AirTran tops in quality: The low-cost carrier, about to be taken over by Southwest, had the best overall performance of the 16 largest U.S. carriers last year. Regional air carrier American Eagle ranked last in the study, which is based on Department of Transportation data. From AP:
Overall, airlines improved their performance last year. They lost fewer bags, bumpings due to overbooking were down and on-time arrivals were up. But travelers were still dissatisfied -- complaints to the Transportation Department about airline performance went up a whopping 28 percent in 2010, the study said.
McDonald's to hire 50,000 on April 19: They're not the best jobs around, of course, but the mass hiring will boost spending by the fast food giant and its franchisees by more than $518 million in wages and salaries in the coming year. (Portfolio.com)
Disney breaks ground on Shanghai park: It will be the company's first theme park in mainland China and comes after many years of negotiations. Disney would reportedly take a 43 percent equity stake while a city-run joint-venture company would own the remaining 57 percent. (LAT)
Downtown power: AEG's Tim Leiweke grabs the top spot in the Downtown News list of 42. Leiweke is followed by billionaire Eli Broad, Councilwoman Jan Perry, Deputy Mayor Autin Beutner, and in fifth place, Mayor Antonio Villarigosa. On the mayor:
You could write a book about the high hopes and hard landings of the Villaraigosa administration (someone probably will), but as he nears lame-duck status, he risks a legacy that lacks a single defining achievement. Yes, there's still significant power attached to the office, but he'll be haunted by everything from the failure to make the 30-10 mass transit dream deal happen to the dissolution of his marriage while he was mayor. He should be top two or three on this list; his placement here says more about him than those who rank higher.
Fire sale for Sheen NY concert: Last night's Chicago concert apparently worked out better than Saturday's Detroit fiasco, but NY tickets can be had for $24. Face value is $126. More than 1,685 were still available at StubHub. (THR)
Mark Lacter created the LA Biz Observed blog in 2006. He posted
until the day before his death on Nov. 13, 2013.