May 13 - May 19, 2012
Saturday, May. 19
Possible engine trouble automatically shut down the launch at the last minute early this morning in Florida. They could try again as early as Tuesday.
Friday, May. 18
This is a surprise considering that event-type advertising is considered so beneficial - and there's no bigger television event than the Super Bowl. But GM's marketing chief says that the costs are just too high.
Great image pulled down by Business Insider that shows how desperate they were to keep the price at or above the offering price of $38 a share. Losing money on the first day of trading would have been a huge embarrassment. The stock closed at $38.23.
With about 15 minutes left in the session, the stock was trading at $38.00, which had been the offering price. Buying picked up a bit right before the close (perhaps helped by the underwriters), with Facebook finally staggering across the finish line at $38.23, up 23 cents.
The plan is for the Hawthorne company's unmanned Dragon Spacecraft to soar into space on Saturday morning en route to the International Space Station - the first time a private company has tried to rendezvous with the orbiting outpost.
The media conglomerate that has its roots in the Libertarian philosophy of founder R.C. Hoiles really seems to be breaking apart. Freedom Communications has announced the sale of four Texas newspapers. On Thursday the company said it was selling four of its Midwest papers
This could reflect what's going on nationally: More people leaving the job market out of frustration. Still, job growth has been quite good statewide over the last 12 months.
A solid but not spectacular pop from the $38-a-share offering price. Very hard to wrap your arms around this one, given the size and hype (keep in mind that they're moving $18 billion worth of stock). The general consensus is that Facebook is overvalued, but many were saying the same thing about Google some years back. So who knows? *Update: A little before 9, Facebook shares were sliding back to near the offering price. It's...
California's jobless rate inches lower, L.A. gas prices stabilize after big run-up, more troubles for state court system, and JPMorgan CEO blessed trading methods.
Thursday, May. 17
The Dow falls 155 points, to 12,442. That's 11 out of 12 days. Meanwhile, the Facebook IPO is being priced at $38 a share. That values the company at $104 billion.
The last polls I checked show a continuing disconnect between reality and presumed entitlement. Voters don't want to pay more taxes, but they also don't want to see cuts in education or other core services.
That's 10 percent to 15 percent of the workforce and is part of a company-wide restructuring being implemented by CEO Meg Whitman.
Irvine-based Freedom Communications, which came out of bankruptcy protection two years ago, has been in the process of selling off some of its properties. There's been considerable speculation that Freedom is shopping its biggest asset, the OC Register.
Southwest, United, and JetBlue top the domestic carriers. At the bottom are Delta and US Air, which had no seats available on at least two out of every three inquires. International carriers have some of the best programs.
Mortgage rates fall to record lows, Facebook insiders are cashing out, new Dodger owners might not have to share their revenue with other clubs, and council members split over medical marijuana.
Wednesday, May. 16
Wasn't she on the skids only a few years back? All it took was a judging gig on "American Idol" to fire up the comeback that had Lopez earning $52 million over the past 12 months.
The L.A. billionaire, like other big-wigs, are usually masters of time control, but what if you're not really, really rich and find yourself stuck in an endless, hopeless meeting?
The Port of Los Angeles had a strong April, as we posted on Tuesday, but the Port of Long Beach continues to see declines.
I pretty much gave up on the Laker center - and on the Lakers in general - after he was caught on camera parking in handicap spaces. The latest infraction is much tamer, but it's telling.
The ads connect Skechers Shape-ups with great sex, and federal and state regulators say that's false advertising (ya think?). Manhattan Beach-based Skechers has agreed to a $40-million settlement with the Federal Trade Commission.
All fierce development battles have to end sometime. This one, which has pitted real estate interests and environmental groups for decades, appears to be drawing to a close.
Still no sign of a definitive turnaround, but there's enough going on to get our attention. For all of Southern California, the April median price was up 3.6 percent from 2011, the first time prices rose year-over year in 16 months.
Facebook ups its IPO, L.A. City Council looks to avoid layoffs, cellphones in flight (oy), and Aaron Sorkin to adapt Walter Isaacson's Steve Jobs biography to the screen.
Tuesday, May. 15
The Dow falls another 63 points, dropping to a four-month low. There are the usual concerns about Europe and banks and housing, but the broader question is whether these down days are more than a temporary blip.
Three days before the big IPO, this can't be great news - and yet, it's not that surprising. From the start, institutional investors have been hesitant about the offering because ad revenue, while substantial, does not match the company's likely valuation.
The Legislative Analyst's Office is projecting $2.1 billion in revenue collections over the next 13 months as a result of the Facebook IPO - a good portion of that coming from CEO Mark Zuckerberg. But the money, while significant, won't come close to paring the state's $16 billion deficit. It's a reminder that the very rich can't do it all.
You might recall a recent PolitiFact post that debunked the often-cited 85 percent figure. Well, Pew Research found that among 25-34 college grads, just 21 percent were living with their parents or at least had moved in temporarily.
Overall container traffic was up almost 15 percent - the busiest April in the port's history. Inbound traffic had been slowing down in the first three months of the year, but activity is expected to be brisk through the back-to-school season.
JPMorgan executives ignored red flags, gas price increases slowing down, reasons why state deficit projections were so wrong, and half of Americans say Facebook is a passing fad.
Monday, May. 14
The social network site plans to go public on Friday at $34 to $38 a share, which would raise the company's valuation to up to $104 billion - the highest IPO for an American company. Much of the interest seems to be coming from individual investors.
Finally, a little outrage from an elected official over the monster shortfall that the state faces next year. The mayor was also not happy with suggestions from local labor unions that the city is engaged in some sort of war on women.
Brian Dunn says that his relationship with a 29-year-old female subordinate, while close, was not romantic or otherwise improper. Well, maybe. But I sure wouldn't want to be explaining to my spouse the details of that close friendship.
CEOs do makes mistakes and some of them are whoppers, as JPMorgan's Jamie Dimon demonstrated by not aggressively pursuing the suspicious trading activity that wound up costing the company $2 billion. Well, Eli Broad blundered badly in the early 1970s when he got out of the cable business.
It's pretty bad - furloughs for state workers, four-day work weeks, another reduction in funding for the UC system, and sharp trims in health and welfare spending are among the big cuts proposed by the governor in his May revision.
JP Morgan executives set to leave, big jump in L.A. gas prices, networks announcing what shows are in and out, and locally based Legal Zoom files IPO.
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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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