November 4 - November 10, 2012
Friday, Nov. 9
Christopher Kubasik was set to start his new job in January. Longtime executive Marillyn Hewson will now become chief executive. .
Sales of expensive purchases could fall as much as 3.9 percent if the proposed increase goes through, according to Beacon Economics, though the overall sales drop would be closer to 1.3 percent.
Social Security is expected to increase, but not at an alarming level. Spending on everything else is actually falling. It's health care that's the problem.
Elon Musk's company is hiring lots of people (close to 2,000 workers at last check). Still, Space X remains a work in progress - as does the refashioned space business.
Consumer sentiment hits five-year high, Disney meets expectations thanks to ESPN and theme parks, Chief Charlie Beck warns of officer layoffs unless the sales tax is raised, and Michael Jackson's Holmby Hills home is sold.
Thursday, Nov. 8
Readers have been commenting about IBM CEO Virginia Rometty getting a base salary that's lower than what former CEO Louis Gerstner was making in 2000.
Whether she can gather support among a fragmented electorate remains to be seen, but her speech today was more impressive than anything I've heard in this still-early campaign.
Municipal elections are just around the corner, and they will be a big deal - not just because voters will be selecting a mayor, but because at least one measure to raise taxes is likely to be on the ballot.
Businessweek is out this week with another of its provocative covers, this time a photo illustration of how the job of president can take its toll.
Wall Street continues to slide, state Democrats appear to have won supermajority in Assembly and Senate, Villaraigosa seeks funding alternatives after Measure J goes down, and another tough day to travel back east.
Wednesday, Nov. 7
Or perhaps it's Time Warner Cable balking at what DirecTV has offered to carry the Laker channel. Whatever the case, both sides have yet to reach a deal and that has many thousands of DirecTV customers unhappy.
Several business units will be consolidated and some facilities in Seal Beach will be closed as part of the cost-cutting effort within its defense operation.
One kind of uncertainty (the election) was resolved, but it was replaced with other uncertainties. Dow plunged 312 points.
"For all the ridicule directed towards pre-election polling, the final poll estimates were not far off from the actual nationwide vote shares," said a Fordham University researcher.
The transit tax extension received almost 65 percent of the vote. It deserves to win passage, period.
The day after most of them went down to defeat, you have to wonder whether they now think it was worth the effort - and the dollars.
So much for the Obama rally. Now that the presidential election has been resolved, investors are focusing their attention on Washington and that dreaded fiscal cliff.
Credit stepped-up advertising, Gov. Brown's statewide campaigning, and the fact that the tax measure was on the November ballot, when turnout was going to be larger than at any other time of the year.
Tuesday, Nov. 6
Polls closed at 4 p.m. L.A. time, but it's likely to be well into the evening before a projection is made.
An Obama rally? Seems unlikely, given his unsteady relations with the financial community, but the Dow is up more than 50 percent since the president took office.
Operators are paying close to $10 per subscriber per month, an increase of more than 90 percent. And that doesn't including the upcoming Dodger TV deal.
Airlines have been cutting back, especially since the recession, and a number of second-tier airports are taking serious hits.
Not that $1.5 million isn't a handsome wage (and that's not including bonuses and perks), but it isn't what the guys were making.
Bracing for tax hikes no matter who is elected, state regulators consider criminal charges involving an $11 million political contribution, iPad market share takes a dip, and American Suzuki files for bankruptcy and will no longer sell cars in the U.S.
Monday, Nov. 5
Three high-profile releases have been pushed back next year, forcing the Agoura Hills-based company to raise new capital in an effort to keep going.
Complimentary valet parking and hors d'oeuvres throughout the day - sure beats an "I Voted" sticker.
Of the 30 most recent polls in the state, Romney leads in just two - and both surveys come from Republican-leaning groups.
The California courts required an Arizona group to turn over donor information to the state's Fair Political Practices Commission.
Arizona group turns over donor records, L.A. area gas prices nearing $4, Time Warner Cable cuts deal with Cox Cable on carrying Laker games, and first Dreamliner lands at LAX.
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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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