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Stocks open higher: A bunch of good news earlier this morning - JP Morgan earnings, jobless claims - but now the market is sliding back. Dow is up about 15 points.
JP Morgan's decent quarter: Despite lingering mortgage concerns, the banking giant reported a 13 percent increase in second-quarter profit, easily topping analysts' estimates. (DealBook)
Another drop in CA foreclosures: State filings fell in June compared with a year earlier, with 1 in every 248 housing units receiving some sort of foreclosure notice, according to RealtyTrac. From press release:
Processing and procedural delays are pushing foreclosures further and further out - we estimate that as many as 1 million foreclosure actions that should have taken place in 2011 will now happen in 2012, or perhaps even later. This casts an ominous shadow over the housing market, where recovery is unlikely to happen until the current and forthcoming inventory of distressed properties can be whittled down to a manageable number.
Debt talks to resume: Another day of wrangling at the White House, and no sign of a breakthrough. President Obama has given lawmakers until tomorrow to determine whether they can reach a deal to cut the deficit. (Bloomberg)
Jobless claims fall: Weekly applications dropped 22,000 to 405,000, the lowest level in almost three months. But that's still too high to see any significant improvement in the job market. (AP)
Borders close to liquidation: An opening bid in a bankruptcy auction fell apart because of concerns among creditors - many of them publishers and landlords - about getting paid. No other suitors have emerged and the bidding deadline is Sunday. From the WSJ:
Creditors were essentially concerned that [the bidder, Jahm Najafi] would pay $215 million in cash for Borders and then liquidate the chain. With that potential scenario lurking, the creditors preferred Borders sell itself to a group of liquidators in a deal they believed would pay them more money ranging between $252 million and $284 million.
Amazon to introduce tablet: The device, to be introduced in October, will have a roughly nine-inch screen and will run on Google's Android platform, the WSJ is reporting. Pricing is not known.
The introduction of a tablet poses a conundrum for Amazon on how to keep from cannibalizing sales of its popular Kindle. Amazon has long said the Kindle is its best-selling device, though it has declined to disclose sales. A person familiar with Amazon's thinking said it still figuring out how to market the tablet computer. One issue is whether customers will want to buy both the tablet and Kindle, which is viewed as a dedicated-reading device for bookworms.
CA Treasurer warns of more budget cuts: Bill Lockyer says he could see another $100 million slashed from the university system if optimistic revenue projections laid out in the recently enacted budget don't materialize. Less likely, he said, were cuts in the K-12 school year. (Capitol Alert)
Is Union-Tribune on the block?: Bev Hills-based Platinum Equity has hired an investment banking firm to explore "strategic alternatives." The private equity firm acquired the San Diego newspaper only two years ago. (Union-Tribune)
Deep-water channel is vital: It's a top priority for the Port of Los Angeles, which faces increasing competition from the expanded Panama Canal. Finding was included in a study overseen by city Controller Wendy Greuel's office. (Daily News)
Mark Lacter created the LA Biz Observed blog in 2006. He posted
until the day before his death on Nov. 13, 2013.