April 29 - May 5, 2012
Friday, May. 4
The latest overview from Calculated Risk - and in particular that bottom red line - offers the best snapshot of what's going on: An extended period of slow growth.
Mitt Romney said that the U.S. should be generating 500,000 jobs a month instead of the 115,000 created in April. Really?
The deal is that marijuana remains illegal under federal law (even for medicinal purposes) and that state enforcement has been too inconsistent - in California and elsewhere - for prosecutors to sit idly by while recreational users get their supplies from neighborhood dispensaries.
The not-so-wonderful employment report really did in the markets from the opening bell. But a lot of the selling may have been due to profit-taking opportunities rather than any deep-seated concern.
Edward Conard is more than a supporter. He is one of the campaign's largest donors and worked with Romney at Bain Capital. He retired a few years ago at 51, has a net worth that's probably in the hundreds of millions of dollars, and believes that the so-called 99 percent should consider themselves damn lucky to have the 1 percent.
Yes, the same Stockton that's on the verge of filing for bankruptcy protection. In fact, it's leading all California metro areas in job growth. Of course, all this take time to move through the system - possibly too much time to avoid the courts.
A government employee who was able to approve claims and make payments is charged with one count of conspiracy and one count of bribery. He is accused of taking more than $40,000 in kickbacks in exchange for issuing more than $500,000 in unemployment insurance checks.
Disney's blockbuster took in $18.7 million for its midnight showings (a bit shy of "The Hunger Games" at $19.4 million), and total weekend box office will likely exceed $150 million.
Muted reaction to jobs report, more questions for county assessor's office, Huffington role at AOL gets downsized, and gas prices inching back up.
Only 115,000 jobs were added to the rolls in April, which is well below the tepid forecasts. The unemployment rate ticked down to 8.1 percent from 8.2 percent in March, but the drop could have been due to more people dropping out of the workforce.
Thursday, May. 3
The California State Teachers' Retirement System accuses the company of breaching its fiduciary duty by not pursuing evidence of massive bribery at a Mexican subsidiary. Don't be surprised to see other institutional investors join the suit.
The monthly employment report is an opportunity to affirm or negate existing narratives - in this case, the notion that job growth in the U.S. slowed in April and could mean trouble for the overall economy.
With roughly 338 million shares being sold, that would value the company at between $77 billion and $96 billion. Some people will buy Facebook stock no matter what, but is it a good idea? Some dos and don'ts.
No big mystery - Michael Johnson's total 2011 compensation of $89.4 million included $77 million from the exercise of stock options late last year. Johnson's haul, however, would have been a good deal smaller had he exercised those options today.
Kind of a big deal because 75,000 restaurant workers in L.A. don't have access to insurance, which means that many of them go to work when they're sick. The program offers preventive and primary care to low-wage uninsured workers,
One of those head-scratching surveys that is sure to fuel questions about the increasing role of the Internet in television viewing. TV watching is also down.
Soft month for retailers, economists expect U.S. jobless rate to drop by November, GM earnings beat forecasts, and L.A. CEO makes almost $90 million in 2011.
Wednesday, May. 2
Edvard Munch's iconic work is the most expensive piece of art ever sold at auction. No word yet on the buyer, who was bidding tonight by phone, but the LAT reports that there had been interest from the royal family of Qatar.
Yes, it might seem strange, but there is an explanation and it has to do with home prices. Simply put, not enough people are putting their homes on the market because they can't accept the fact that they won't be getting anywhere close to what they could have gotten for their property five or six years ago.
Or even a light one. Robert Evans and Sumner Redstone captured by Jonathan Alcorn at the Milken conference in Beverly Hills. Evans will turn 82 in June and Redstone will be 89 at the end of the month.
We're familiar with the real disasters, like AOL-Time Warner and Sam Zell's takeover of Tribune Co. But a new study says that buying other companies often turns out to be more trouble than it's worth.
All the major big-box retailers are looking for ways of getting into city locations. Walmart is focusing on groceries (Chinatown will be one of the locations), while the CityTarget concept is really just a scaled-down version of a conventional suburban location.
About the only significant news was that the new management would reduce general parking to $10 from $15. Also, the new owners confirmed earlier reports that former owner Frank McCourt will receive no revenue from any team operations, including parking.
It's now 67, according to a new Gallup poll, up from 60 in 1996. And considering how little savings many older Americans have on hand (at least according to the studies), don't be surprised to see that number inch closer to 70.
New signs of a hiring slowdown, S&P worried about California, more rich Americans turning in their passports, and Lasorda pitches for Ontario Airport.
Tuesday, May. 1
Some touching remarks by the Fox News anchor at today's memorial service for Mike Wallace. Chris said that beyond all the bluster and competitiveness was a "sweet and gentle man."
So far the police have taken 10 people into custody, reports KPCC's Shirley Jahad, who is at the scene. Century Boulevard has been closed between Airport Boulevard and the LAX Central Terminal Area, leading to lots of tie-ups.
Economic indicators continue to improve, more or less, and quarterly earnings continue to look good, more or less. But there's concern that the employment picture is getting murky and that the housing market is going nowhere fast. What's an investor to do?
The Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences has signed a new 20-year deal with CIM Group, owner of the Hollywood & Highland Center, and Dolby Laboratories will take over the naming rights from Eastman Kodak.
Finally. The new owners are expected to hold their first news conference on Wednesday.
The co-partner of the Kogi Korean BBQ phenomenon raised that possibility in a profanity-laced posting that sounded a little like the great Peggy Lee standard "Is That All There is?" He also might connect with Jamie Oliver.
The paper's daily numbers for the six months ended March 31 were up 1.9 percent, to 616,575. That's fourth-highest, after the WSJ, NYT and USA Today. But the results are confusing because of how the counting is done.
May Day protests downtown and at LAX, British panel blasts Murdoch, more new bank branches in wealthier areas, and Nazarian gets construction loan for Sahara revamp.
Monday, Apr. 30
Another cautionary tale in using two percentages nearly 20 years apart to make a point about economic growth: The numbers tend to fluctuate a lot, depending on what's happening with the national economy.
The L.A. developer keeps running into delays. This time it's over a property tax break worth $200,000 a year - the result of reducing the assessed value of the hotel property by $24 million.
Often dubbed a smaller, duller version of Davos (another blah-blah fest), this year's gathering started off with Sam Zell noting that "there is no 'effing' demand" in Europe.
Part of it has to do with the accounting sleight-of-hand that saved the company $2.4 billion in federal taxes last year - as well as millions more in California taxes. But there's something else.
If you're in the U.S., 27. If you're in China, 85. If you're in India, 195. A Princeton University economist trying to compare wages worldwide decided to take a wage rate and divide it by a product.
Hollywood payday for Obama, Walmart opponents using Mexican scandal, Mircrosoft buys into Nook, and Dodger sale expected to close today.
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The funeral for Mark Lacter will be held Sunday, Nov. 24 at 12 noon at Hillside Memorial Park, 6001 W. Centinela Avenue, Los Angeles 90045. Reception to follow.
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