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All over the map - a reflection of the zigzag year that Wall Street had in general.
LA Biz Observed archive
Mark Lacter covered business, the economy and more here from 2006 until his death on Nov. 13, 2013.
The entire LA Biz Observed archive — more than 10,000 blog posts by Mark —
remains online and available.
December 2011
Large companies wound up faring the best.
High prices and lousy films have become the default explanations, but there are others.
Aren't there enough adulterous opportunities out there without resorting to unrequited dalliances?
This case would never make it on TV or in the movies.
A Chapter 11 that will never end.
State officials plans to appeal the ruling.
With one more session this year, the Dow is up 6.1 percent.
Redevelopment agency officials are not happy; Brown says it will mean more revenue.
It's one of 79 U.S. locations (both Sears and Kmarts) that will be shut down.
Vegas more sober than St. Louis? Fort Myers more drunk than SF?
Two words for the CRA: Good riddance.
Unemployment, budget deficits, the elections, pro football, a new Dodgers owner...
The online retail giant is always rather selective in disclosing sales information.
My favorite shot is the supermarket checkout line, pre-barcode.
It's hard to top the "mourners" at the funeral procession for North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Il.
The big question is whether clearance prices were so low that they ate into margins.
As you might guess, NY is comfortably on top with 59 championships.
Money is not being spent renovating stores.
A sports architecture firm has been hired to look at renovations for Dodger Stadium,
This has been an especially tough year to figure out fuel costs
Too many operators and too few customers.
New owner keeps hammering home the God-and-country bit.
Sarah Jessica Parker, Heidi Klum, and Jennifer Aniston seem to do well, no matter what.
But consumer confidence surged to the highest level since April.
Manufacturers have been struggling to find qualified sewers.
Box office grosses are down 4.2 percent from last year and attendance is off 5 percent.
I'll be posting sporadically during the holiday week.
Yeah, I know - impossibly hokey (even by Christmas movie standards), and Margaret O'Brien's scene-chewing could be used to teach suicide-prevention counselors. But for pure, unadulterated schmaltz, it's hard to top Judy Garland's two-and-a-half goose-pimply minutes. As an unusually tough year comes to a close - and with 2012 not looking like any great shakes - the lyrics seem especially apt. All the best......
That money, while not breaking the bank, will have to come from sonewhere.
Santa has arrived!
Inquiring minds are still asking: What did Angelo know and when did he know it?
The L.A.-based retailer will be opening its first store next month.
The last fatal crash involving a commercial airliner in the U.S. was two years ago.
CalBuzz calls it "misleading at best, dishonest at worst and fatally flawed in any case."
Congress clears payroll tax cut, consumer spending is weaker than expected, LAX is jammed, and Wilshire Grand on its final day.
He's holding off on the NFL for another year. Says he's ready for the pros, but wants to get his degree and lead what should be a strong team next year....
That's according to a series of tweets by Chad Pergram of Fox News.
Still be below the pre-recession peak, but much improved from 2009.
I honestly haven't a clue.
Friedman is still in France and his victims are not happy.
Possible break in payroll tax impasse, good news on jobs, worrisome news about 2012, and Long Beach rejects high-end development.
I can't help but believe that more than a few people should be going to jail.
Paper suggests that the Republicans cut their losses and try to make a deal.
She was 43 - a painful time for many actresses.
The chain will keep open 14 of its stores (none in California) until Saturday at 6 p.m. An additional 27 locations will stay open until 2 a.m. each day (see local list below). This is an expansion of the extra-hours schedule that Macy's first introduced several years ago (Toys "R" Us also has non-stop shopping until Christmas Eve). The WSJ's Justin Lahart wonders about the strategy: With some of the biggest names in retail headed...
There are 14 million stories in those monthly unemployment numbers.
He comes off as a very smart guy and he tends to make his own decisions.
Standoff on payroll tax cut, California leads in job growth, housing bust worse than first thought, and Wendy's climbs to number two.
I'm not sure how this litigation helps resolve the mortgage crisis.
In the old days, a 337-point gain on the Dow usually meant something. Not in 2011.
You have to wonder if even their supporters are having a little buyer's remorse.
What are the chances that voters will approve a ballot measure that raises state revenues.
Vigilance at least gives you a fighting chance of not getting sick.
They're tossing back weeks of assaults by Occupy protesters.
Republicans balk at tax cut extension, holiday shopping picks up, calculating Dodger debt, and Amgen to develop generics.
The first time spending topped the $100 million mark.
This rarely happens with highly anticipated offerings.
Actually, all the bank stocks got clobbered today.
Homeowners, renters, businesses and nonprofits are eligible.
There's little enthusiasm to orchestrate real change.
At last count, more than four million Americans aged 55 to 64 can't find full-time work.
Investors bracing for 2012, holiday travel up slightly from 2010, Gingrich fading in Iowa, and Ontario officials oppose closing airport terminal.
The SF online game maker saw its stock fall below the offering price.
Passenger traffic fell 4.7 percent in October compared with a year earlier. Through the first 10 months of 2011, the Burbank facility had 3.6 million passengers, a drop of 3.7 percent from the same period a year earlier. Cuts in airline schedules have been a factor in the decline. American recently announced it would eliminate one of its daily flights to Dallas-Fort Worth, and with the airline's recent bankruptcy filing, it wouldn't be surprising to...
This interview with "Papa" Doug Manchester should send chills down the spines of newsroom staffers.
Some retailers are looking at the 17th, not the 24th, as their last big chance.
The state jobless rate in November was 11.3 percent, down from 11.7 percent the previous month.
L.A. inflation takes dip, SEC sues former Fannie, Freddie executives, Zynga begins trading, and Ontario airport might shut one of two terminals.
Repeat after me: We're number 135! We're number 135!
A couple of notable indicators.
My apologies for the broad brushes.
It's all about the hover.
Urgency has transitioned to lethargy.
Jobless claims hit 3-year low, NFL's Goodell rules out L.A. team next year, Lakers not happy about Paul going to Clippers, and Golden Globe nominations announced.
I feel like I've been on a desert island.
The league is expected to sign off on the deal tonight, reports ESPN.
The idea is to provide a few local start-ups with capital, office space and mentors.
Neighborhood bookstores are inefficient, overpriced relics of a non-digital era.
Not just any conservative donor list - American Crossroads, the right-wing political group.
Anonymous 55-year-old executive says her career has been greatly enhanced.
Blame their recession-related market losses.
Economy shows moderate growth, L.A. Unified to sue state, UCLA squabbling with Blue Cross, and big night for Liz's jewelry.
The magazine will be relocating from its Chicago headquarters.
Talk about your sci-fi adventures.
Gov. Brown signed off on just under $1 billion worth of trims.
The cuts were necessitated when revenue for the first half of this year fell short of projections.
TVs have become such commodities that the retail giant is forced to sell them at ever-lower profit margins.
The federal agency will recommend a nationwide ban, but there's virtually no chance of it happening.
At least there's some willingness to take a chance on new construction.
I suppose flat is better than down, but at some point the numbers will have to look a lot better than what's being reported by Dataquick for November. Sales in L.A. County were up 5.8 percent from a year earlier and were unchanged from October. Prices were up down 5.2 percent from a year earlier and up 2.6 percent from October. Of particular concern for Southern California: Sales above $500,000 fell nearly 16 percent from...
Its share of income fell to 17 percent in 2009 from 23 percent in 2007.
He's founder and CEO of the think tank Civic Ventures.
Retail sales disappoint, Best Buy profits tumble, support for Brown's tax plan, and champagne business pops.
The Georgia-based chain has a long history of intolerance.
Yes, though for reasons that don't necessarily mesh with an improved economy.
Once again, the NBA appears to be blocking the deal.
They've cleared about 200 Occupy protesters who had blocked an entrance.
Protesting at Port of Long Beach, Clippers closing in on Chris Paul, bad notices for Kindle Fire, and Madoff regrets guilty plea.
Gallup asked that question and, as you might expect, came up with a splintered response. Of the folks polled, 23 percent said between $100,000 and $150,000; 18 percent said between $150,001 and $299,999, 14 percent said between $300,000 and $999,999, 11 percent said $1 million, and 4 percent more than $1 million. The median response was $150,000, which is certainly not considered "rich" in many parts of L.A. Then again, responses to this sort of...
Huge deal for the Hawthorne-based company that's headed by entrepreneur Elon Musk.
The league, and NBA Commissioner David Stern in particular, are getting reamed.
The disgraced former CEO of Countrywide Financial had put the 6,238-square-foot home on the market in July for $3.68 million, according to Redfin, but Real Eastalker posts that the price was reduced in mid-October to $3.4 million. As you can see by the photos, the place has been vacated; he apparently purchased the home in 2000 with a $700,000 mortgage. These days, the whereabouts of Mozilo and his wife Phyllis are not known, but over...
Forecast of heaviest traffic and sales days.
Markets mulling European debt deal, Toyota slashes profit outlook, consumer sentiment edges higher, and Howard Buffett to succeed his father.
The three teams involved in the blockbuster trade - the Lakers, Rockets and Hornets - will appeal the league's veto. Good luck with that.
Wowser - Details are being finalized.
The ludicrous event is down to Gingrich and Santorum.
A 10-year deal with the Angels might be pushing it.
That still leaves the state $1 billion behind in revenues and $2 billion in expenditures.
Developers are proceeding with eight spec warehouse buildings.
Jobless claims drop to 9-month low, Pac Sun closes up to 200 stores, Angels sign Pujols, and NBA players to vote on contract.
"It was never my intention to inconvenience anyone," he wrote on the Huffington Post.
California Pubic Utilities Commission wants to know why it's taken so long to get everyone back on line.
More than two in five of those surveyed say the U.S. will be among the best-performing markets.
Corporate profits are often out of line with state income taxes.
A production member of the Fox medical series describes a frat-boy type vibe.
New tag line: "The World's Greatest Country & America's Finest City."
Jon Stewart and his writers can't wait.
I give it a qualified yea, especially since the mayor is going to China, Japan, and South Korea.
Improving economic forecasts, Brown's pension plan scores well, McCourt can keep parking lots, and Martha Stewart's deal with J.C. Penney.
The market had lost over $30 billion in the space of two days. You know the rest.
As of this afternoon, several thousand customers are still without electricity.
Chinese authorities insist that the murk is just fog.
With an able assist from former state Sen. John Burton.
It's hard to argue with sequel success.
Why bankers aren't prosecuted, NFL nears TV deal, Forever 21 expands in China, and Californians oppose bullet train.
Governor's proposed ballot measure would generate $7 billion for education.
This is already a leitmotif of the Republican campaign: Just make stuff up.
Randy Babbitt was arrested after being spotted driving on the wrong side of the road.
This should be a good one.
Took four years, but the Mouse House has come to terms with Anaheim hotel workers.
No more next-day mail, L.A. faces budget shortfall, Volt sales are sluggish, and Dodgers will have low payroll on opening day.
Negotiations broke off with harbor employers a couple of days ago.
Suddenly it's the thing to do.
Another one of the government's obscure numbers.
The question periodically comes up in the context of wacko conspiracy theories.
And he apparently has the money lined up.
Big banks sued on foreclosures, L.A. sues pot dispensaries, and Villaraigosa headed to Asia.
More people found work, but more people dropped out of the workforce.
The company has gone through several rounds of layoffs in the last year or two.
Here's one more indication of an economy that's considerably stronger than what's being advertised.
Their wages are paid by shippers who use the harbor.
The Romney folks have to be really nervous.
Singapore's Changi Airport has so many menities that some travelers choose to stay a while.
Retailers generally strong in November, LAX back in operation, Brown pushes for ballot initiative on tax increases, and Harry Potter coming to Hollywood.
Mark Lacter
Mark Lacter created the LA Biz Observed blog in 2006. He posted until the day before his death on Nov. 13, 2013.The multi-talented Mark Lacter
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