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Groupon's ousted CEO Andrew Mason is receiving kudos for his willingness to truthfully describe what happened to him. But he's a special case.
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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 —
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February 2013
Groupon's ousted CEO Andrew Mason is receiving kudos for his willingness to truthfully describe what happened to him. But he's a special case.
Once a studio receives financing and gives the production go-ahead, it's hard to pull back - even when similar movies do lackluster business. They're stuck.
Maybe for the same reason that it's taken nearly a full week for media watchers to make a stink over it.
It's only a number - 14,164 - but breaking the previous high in October 2007 is another validation of how far the market has come after its 2008-2009 tumble.
Business Insider's Henry Blodget says the company might have just suffered the worst quarter in retail history, and he has a point. Mass market chain stores of this size just don't post those sorts of declines (at least the ones that stay in business).
An up-close look at the firm's top players, along with news that the SEC has been investigating Michael Milken's dealings with Guggenheim and whether they violate the former junk bond king's ban from the securities industry. Milken is a Guggenheim client.
But NY Mayor Michael Bloomberg promises that come Monday "we'll be able to police the streets. There will be a fire engine that responds, an ambulance, our teachers will be in front of the classroom." Same thing in L.A.
Well, this is embarrassing for City Councilmen Eric Garcetti and Herb Wesson, along with a list of high-powered investors that includes former Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson and Limited Brands CEO Les Wexner.
Campaign contributions from union groups point to the near impossibility of L.A. being able to reduce pension and health care benefits to levels where they don't eat into the city budget - and with it staff and services.
Yeah, a whole one-tenth of one cent - don't spend it all in one place. Still, the slight drop finally ends many days of increases and could signal a legitimate pullback (though prices rarely go down as quickly as they go up). An average gallon of regular in the L.A. area is $4.324, according to the Auto Club, up more than 50 cents from a month ago.
That's $7.2 million annualized, which seems a little nutty even by L.A. standards.
The story pops up from time to time, often after awards season, and it suggests that the relative success of a few adult-oriented features - "Argo," "Zero Dark Thirty," "Lincoln," are examples this year - might somehow alter Hollywood's focus on the under-40 crowd. Don't bet on it.
This doesn't guarantee that the LAT or any of Tribune's other dailies will be purchased. But it does indicate that the company's new board is looking to unload the publishing side of the operation.
Taking a local operation nationwide is fraught with risk, whether it's finding the right location or maintaining quality control. We'll see what happens here.
The widely followed index runs more than a month behind Dataquick and other housing researchers, but it's finally showing what many of us have seen: A substantial increase in housing prices, fueled by limited inventory, a drop in foreclosures, and lots of all-cash deals.
The webcast reminded me a little of how local TV stations used to cover live events in the 50s and 60s: A couple of white guys yammering in between long periods of dead air.
What has been a mostly up-and-down month is finishing on the down side, perhaps the culmination of higher gas prices, Washington ineptitude, and now Europe.
The 23,000-square-foot home was designed by California Modernist architect John Lautner and built to resemble a volcano.
Watch those company parking lots! CEO Marissa Mayer was noticing that they were slow to fill up in the morning and quick to empty in the afternoon - an alarming pattern in the the workaholic world of Silicon Valley.
Not that long-lasting funding cuts wouldn't have some effect in certain pockets of the state - just that other pockets are likely to get along reasonable well.
Forget about blaming Congress or Obama - the reason Washington can't settle on a spending reduction plan is that Americans pretty much like things the way they are, at least according to a recent Pew Research Center poll.
It's the bane of any prognosticator: No matter how often you're right, there's always another election/game/award around the corner that could easily upend your record.
The two most vulnerable areas, at least in theory, are security screening and air traffic control. But no one really knows how it might shake out. Seems that Washington can't even stage a full-blown fiscal emergency without mass confusion.
They've been going up all week, but only by penny or half-penny increments each day and that usually signals a run-up is about to peak out.
That would be counting households with some sort of broadband connection to their television. The networks have been after Nielsen to add these viewers, who are being lost in the traditional measuring methods.
When someone in high heels strolls into the terminal and asks for assistance, you know something's not quite right.
Each 30-second spot is going for up to $1.8 million as advertisers look to Oscar night as a kinder, gentler version of the Super Bowl.
The answer is..... I'm thinking, I'm thinking. Elected officials say it will be devastating. Economists say it will noticeably dampen the recovery. The rest of us are scratching our heads.
With so many alternatives, the updated PlayStation, however it's received by the gaming cognescenti, will have to convince consumers that it's worth spending several hundred dollars.
A number of comments have come my way on the city's plan to remove a traffic lane on portions of Westwood Boulevard and Sepulveda Boulevard and add a bike lane.
We know all about the glamorous soirees during and after the ceremonies - as well as numerous events on Saturday - but the Oscar hubbub is happening all this week, with several dozen functions.
Here's one of the thorniest aspects of the recovery - and one of the least understood. Whatever the explanation, the economy is not about to shift into higher gear unless bankers become more comfortable with the current environment.
The season three finale drew huge ratings. But quick, can you name the local station that carried "Downton"? That's a problem.
The city is being divided again - this time between bikers in search of more space and motorists looking to hold onto what little space they have. I'm on the motorists' side.
Academy members have until 5 p.m. today to cast their votes, but the prevailing view is that the Ben Affleck-directed thriller has all but locked up the top prize.
But the penny-a-day increases would suggest that prices might be peaking out. Of course, that still leaves an average gallon of regular at $4.298.
The latest poll, taken by SurveyUSA for KABC, shows City Councilman Eric Garcetti at 26 percent and City Controller Wendy Greuel at 23 percent. After that it's Republican Kevin James (14 percent.)
He made Los Angeles a legitimate NBA town and helped turn pro basketball into a multi-billion dollar industry.
It could go out of business tomorrow and most of us wouldn't even notice. Its stock is being toyed with by a handful of billionaire investors who might as well be playing Monopoly. Why should we care?
Over the years, anti-tax crusaders have been desperate to prove that California's wealthiest residents, along with the companies they own, are leaving the state in large numbers because the cost of doing business is just too high. Not true
It's an aging industry that's been run more or less the same way for generations, and it's competing with a host of technologies and distribution channels that make it unnecessary to schlep to the multiplex at a set time. But strangely it's hanging in there.
We stopped going out on Valentine's Day years ago. I think tonight it's burritos from the food truck near our house. Anything but a restaurant.
Another stepped-up effort by the software giant to develop programming for its Xbox Live gaming and streaming systems. Microsoft is also taking space near Playa Vista.
Here's an un-Valentine's Day ode from comedian DJ Lubel that's been getting a lot of Web attention.
The L.A. nightclub and hotel operator bought the Vegas property in 2007, but he wasn't able to secure financing for a full-scale redevelopment. The answer came from a government program for overseas investors.
That's to be expected - combining legacy carriers rarely amounts to a great deal for travelers. Actually, it could turn out to be downright terrible for certain routes and certain fares (though probably not for L.A.).
As envisioned, the Time Inc. publishing unit would be rolled into an independent company and sold off. Time and SI would be kept.
It's not a terrific market for folks wanting to finance or deliberate for more than five minutes, which leaves out a good portion of potential homebuyers and raises concerns about how sustainable the price run-ups might be.
The editorial will be good news to the mayoral candidates, and mostly likely it will help kill the measure next month. But that doesn't mean the city's fiscal problems will magically disappear.
This was expected to happen, but not for several more years. The media giant is paying $16.7 billion for GE's 49 percent position, with the sale expected to be completed by the end of next month.
Here's a tweet that might set you back.
It really doesn't make any sense considering the contributions these production companies play in today's souped-up blockbusters. But this week's bankruptcy filing by Rhythm & Hues in El Segundo is just the latest indication of an industry in turmoil.
Back in November, the union's political action committee recommended opposing the March ballot measure, which would push the sales tax from 9 percent to 9.5 percent.
It's only been a few days, but If the cops are protecting 50 families 24/7, and if it takes 5.5 officers to protect each family, you're looking at 275 officers, and that doesn't count investigators trying to track down the guy.
The Model S sedan has been getting stupendous reviews - and for good reason. But cold temperatures apparently cause the electric battery to lose juice at a faster-than-advertised rate
For TV watchers of a certain age, the Hollywood Hills home is the familiar backdrop of the long-running series (1952-66) featuring the Nelson family: Ozzie, Harriet, David, and Ricky.
The network considers the Grammys to be as much of an entertainment show as an event-like awards show, and it figures entertainment is best run in prime time.
The young company was all but laughed at by the venture capital guys until it became clear last year that the idea was becoming hugely popular, especially at L.A. high schools.
There were a few contrarians last fall, but they were drowned out by the cheers, as often happens in the Wall Street world of bullish group-speak. In other words, analysts are just like you and me: vulnerable ninnies.
They're guessing that NY flight operations could be back sometime on Saturday, but that's not the same as a normal schedule. Boston will likely stay closed until at least Sunday.
For Korean Air, it's an obvious (if very expensive) way of becoming an L.A. icon. It will be cool to look at,of course, and it'll enhance the downtown skyline, but does it make sense?
Might not surprise you that Tokyo is in the top spot, and that places like Sydney, Oslo, Paris and Zurich are not far behind. What does seem surprising is L.A. being tied with NY as the most expensive city in the U.S.
During still another mayoral debate, a tenacious Austin Beutner (who knew?) kept asking the candidates for specific ways of closing the city's $1-billion budget deficit - and he got the usual double-talk that has become the hallmark of this very beige campaign.
The property runs along the western portion of Bel-Air, within walking distance of the two-block commercial strip on Moraga - right off the San Diego Freeway
Did you realize that as of last month there were 16 people left in the world who were born in the 1800s? Or that If you add up annual profits of the entire airline industry going back to 1948, you get a loss of $32 billion?
Truly one of the uglier structures you'll come across: black, bulbous, and completely out of proportion with its surroundings. Old-timers might remember that the Wilshire and La Cienega building was formerly a branch of Great Western Savings.
The combining of two big carriers will sometimes means fewer flights and higher fares, although the impact at Los Angeles International might be more limited than at other locations
Where did he get the idea that plastic would be molded into plates and cups right before serving - and then melted down after the meal, to be molded for the next meal? Yikes!
The decision to release just two films this year instead of three means all sorts of operating adjustments that could result in cutting as many as 500 positions at the Glendale-based studio.
The moniker is silly and boosterish, but there's no denying the growth of media and technology businesses in Santa Monica, Venice, El Segundo and Culver City.
Mortgages? Meh! More California homes were bought with cash in 2012 than any previous year - and by a lot. In L.A. County, one out of four sales were in cash.
Even assuming no one challenges the changes in court (and you can be sure someone will), the process is certain to drag out several more years - and that's before they break ground. It could easily be a decade or more before the runway gets moved if the runway gets moved.
Attention must be paid to a candidate who proposes to hire 2,000 police officers and 1,000 firefighters - and who doesn't have a coherent plan on how to pay for it.
The Bay Area, including SF, San Jose and Oakland, is the nation's sixth-largest TV market and yet it finished 28th among Nielsen's 56 local metered markets. Baltimore was number one. So what gives?
L.A.'s City Controller continues to be the most disappointing candidate in the mayor's race. In desperately seeking the support of public unions, she is exhibiting zero backbone or vision - just obnoxious brown-nosing.
She's 30-year-old Lynsi Torres, who with little formal management training and no college degree, took control of the iconic burger chain after several family deaths.
If L.A.'s billionaire philanthropist had to do it all over again, he would spend more time with his sons. He'd also improve on his penmanship. For a guy we all think we know pretty well, he offers some revealing snippets.
Too much talk of bullish times is often seen as a bearish indicator- that the market has, in effect, peaked out. Dow was down 129 points.
The Mouse House will relocate its people to the Burbank studio lot and to various properties in Glendale. The move will be complete by the time Disney's lease is up at the end of next March
The increases aren't anywhere near as sharp as what we saw last October, but the recent quarter-a-gallon bump is getting some attention.
The Ravens victory over the 49ers set a record for highest overnight ratings in Super Bowl history, according to preliminary Nielsen numbers.
This is dangerous terrain for a guy who got it so right in last November's election. I mean, what if he's wrong?
Agent Jade Mills has seen a lot of excess and, well, strangeness, and she shares a few of her experiences with Curbed L.A.
Westfield, the Australian-based shopping center giant and Steve Mnuchin, chief executive of Pasadena-based One West Bank, are taking a look at Philip Anschutz's sports and entertainment empire.
Sure, it's only a big, round number, but considering how far the market has come in three years (6547 on March 9, 2009), it's hard not to take note.
A single government report is only a snapshot - a fuzzy one at that. January's results more or less confirm what we've been seeing for many months: An economy that is getting better, gradually.
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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