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Stocks start off on plus side: But sentiment remains negative for all the obvious reasons. Dow is up about 30 points.
Economists turning bearish: New WSJ survey finds concern about the sluggish jobs recovery. On average, however, the economists surveyed put the chances of a double-dip recession in the next year at just 16 percent.
No budget progress: Gov. Jerry Brown says he still lacks the support from four Republican lawmakers who are needed to pass a spending plan. Budget deadline is Wednesday; Brown will hold a press conference later today. (LAT)
CA legislature most highly educated: Study finds that 90 percent of California lawmakers hold at least a bachelors degree. Arkansas has the least educated state house, with 25 percent of its members having never attended any college. (Sacramento Bee)
Facebook growth spurt over?: The social networking giant had two straight down months for active user growth, including unusual traffic drops in May. From All Things Digital:
The U.S. had 149.4 million active Facebook users at the end of May, down from 155.2 million at the beginning of the month, its first lost in the last year. That's not a huge loss, and not the first time Facebook growth has appeared to waver, but no loss is good for a company close to going public, and definitely not if it becomes a trend.
Grocery talks update: The three major Socal supermarket chains said a pension agreement with unionized workers was a big deal. But the union said the two sides remain far apart on health care, and they haven't even discussed wages. (CNS)
Ex-Clippers coach awarded $13 million: Mike Dunleavy was forced to take the club to binding arbitration because the Clippers stopped paying him immediately after his firing last year. (LAT)
Tough summer to fly: Not only will the planes be packed, but the fares will be very expensive. From the NYT:
While fares change daily, the cheapest nonstop round-trip flight from New York to Las Vegas for the July 4 weekend was selling on Friday for $597. The cheapest flight from San Francisco to Boston and back, operated by United Airlines, was selling for $664, but that included one stop. Southwest Airlines was charging $703.80 for the trip, and that was with a stop in both directions. A week in Paris is also expensive -- with round-trip fares for nonstop flights starting at $1,442 on American Airlines out of New York.
Mark Lacter created the LA Biz Observed blog in 2006. He posted
until the day before his death on Nov. 13, 2013.