State air regulators last week approved an ambitious plan to clean up the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, as well as others around the state.

The California Air Resources Board plan would cost between $6 billion and $10 billion to implement over the next decade. It seeks to reduce toxic emissions from goods movement near the ports 20 percent to 40 percent below 2001 levels over the next four years. It would also reduce the health risk from diesel emissions by 85 percent.

“California is fortunate to have a thriving economy and to serve as a national gateway for goods movements. However, we also need to address the problems that accompany this growth,” said Air Board Chairman Robert Sawyer after the board vote.

The plan would allow the agency to impose tougher pollution controls on trucks and trains used for goods movement, including retrofitting diesel engines. It also would give the board authority to require that ships use low-sulfur marine fuels or electric power when approaching or docked at the state’s ports. And it recommends that local authorities consider health impacts when considering granting approvals for rail yards and port projects.

Critics say the plan includes little funding, especially after the failure earlier this year of a statewide multi-billion-dollar infrastructure bond to clear the Legislature.

Big Board Denim


Premium denim isn’t only hot in department stores and specialty boutiques. It is also a hot stock market commodity.

Blue Holdings Inc., maker of Antik and Yanuk brand jeans, is moving this week to the Nasdaq from the Over-The-Counter Bulletin Board. The Commerce-based company will trade under the ticker symbol BLUE.

“Trading on Nasdaq should help Blue Holdings expand its shareholder base and improve the liquidity of the stock, further enhancing the long-term value of the company,” said Chief Executive Officer Patrick Chow in a statement.

Blue Holdings is following rival jeans company L.A.-based True Religion Apparel Inc.’s path from a reverse merger into a shell a cheaper and faster way of going public than an initial public offering to the Nasdaq. Blue Holdings went public last April, while True Religion did so in 2003 and jumped to the Nasdaq in August last year.

Blue Holdings can only hope to mirror True Religion’s success. Since the company took up residence on the Nasdaq, True Religion’s shares have skyrocketed from trading in the $15 range to a recent 52-week high of $24.36 on Feb. 22. Last week, Blue Holdings shares traded in the $6 range.

Banking Blues


City National Corp. was punished by Wall Street last week after reporting first-quarter financials that failed to meet investor expectations.

The bank reported April 19 that net income for the quarter ended March 31 rose 3 percent to $57.2 million, or $1.12 per share, compared with $55.5 million, or $1.09, a year ago. That was short of the $1.21 per share forecast of analysts polled by Thomson Financial.

As a result, shares of the Los Angeles-based parent company of City National Bank fell 8 percent to $71.50 on April 20, even though revenue rose 5 percent and total deposits hit $11.9 billion, compared with $11.76 billion a year ago.

Management lowered earnings growth guidance for 2006 to a range of 8 percent to 10 percent for the year, from a range of 9 percent to 12 percent, citing slipping interest margins, slower-than-expected deposit growth and a drop in real estate construction loans for the lackluster growth.

The results prompted various responses from analysts. City National shares were downgraded to “hold” from “buy” by analyst Campbell K. Chaney at Sanders Morris Harris, and cut to “market perform” from “outperform” by analyst Gary Townsend at Friedman, Billings, Ramsey & Co.

In contrast, Jacqueline Reeves at Ryan Beck & Co. raised her rating to “outperform” from “market perform.” Adam Barkstrom at Stifel, Nicolaus & Co. reiterated his “buy” rating, blaming lower earnings primarily on a fall in net interest income.

Expanding Landscape


Valley Crest Cos. has completed two key acquisitions in its continued push to garner major commercial and high-end landscaping projects.

The Calabasas-based landscaping company acquired Santa Ana-based HRP LanDesign, which has 50 employees and specializes in master-planned communities. It also purchased Fairhope, Ala.-based Site Works, which marks Valley Crest’s further expansion into the booming southeastern market.

Earlier this year, the company acquired a Florida company. Terms for any of the deals were not disclosed. Already Valley Crest is one of the nation’s largest privately held landscaping companies.

“We decided to acquire these two companies because our customers kept asking if we did landscape architecture,” Andrew Brennan, vice president of the family-owned company said. “It just gives our company more diversity and expertise and makes us a more-well-rounded firm.”

Valley Crest has done work in more than 20 states and has about 8,500 employees. It has worked locally on projects ranging from the Getty Villa, to the Walt Disney Concert Hall and Dodger Stadium.

Losing Game


THQ Inc. expects to report a fourth-quarter loss of 13 cents per share next month due to a change in development strategy for its World Wresting Entertainment games and the disappointing performance of one of its major titles.

Shares of the Agoura Hills-based maker of interactive entertainment software fell $1.99, or 7 percent, to $25.25 in after-hours trading following the April 20 announcement. THQ plans to report results for the quarter ended March 31 on May 5.

THQ has entered into a long-term, strategic agreement with Japanese game developer YUKE’s Co. Ltd. for developing games based on the WWE brand, including the upcoming WWE SmackDown vs. RAW 2007.

THQ holds a minority interest in YUKE’s, which has developed wrestling games for the company since 1999. Since the company will now outsource all WWE game development, the company expects 8 cents per share of expense related to the cessation of internal product development for wrestling games.

In addition, the company’s results are expected to include 6 cents per share of higher-than-expected expenses for one of its major titles, “Full Spectrum Warrior: Ten Hammers.”

“Full Spectrum Warrior was performing well below plan, probably because it got mediocre reviews and came out when current-generation console sales are down 30 percent,” Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter told Bloomberg News.

Rachel Brown, Deborah Crowe, Howard Fine, Allen P. Roberts Jr.