REVIEW
November 14 – 20
New Speaker?: State Assembly Democrats chose Los Angeles legislator Fabian Nu & #324;ez as their next leader, making him a virtual certainty to succeed Culver City Democrat Herb Wesson as the next Assembly Speaker, possibly as early as next January. Nu & #324;ez won the caucus support after Glendale Democrat Dario Frommer withdrew and Long Beach legislator Jenny Oropeza conceded.
Calpers Firing: Putnam Investments was fired by the California Public Employees’ Retirement System from managing $1.2 billion in stock investments. Calpers, the largest U.S. pension with assets of $154 billion, is at least the 10th state pension fund to fire Putnam, which has been charged with fraud in the industry-wide probe of improper trading.
Jobless Numbers: Almost 35,000 jobs were added to California’s employment rolls last month while the statewide unemployment rate nudged up to 6.6 percent from 6.5 percent in September. Analysts noted the higher jobless rate could be due to more Californians entering the labor pool. L.A.’s County’s seasonally adjusted unemployment rate rose to 6.9 percent from 6.8 percent.
Earnings News: Farmer Bros. Co. reported first-quarter net income of $2.5 million, compared with $5.6 million for the like period a year ago. Revenue for the Torrance-based coffee company declined 9 percent, to $45.7 million. Hot Topic Inc. reported third-quarter net income of $15.3 million, compared with $10 million for the like period a year ago. Revenue for the Industry-based teen retailer rose 32 percent, to $161.5 million.
Hot Houses: Median home prices in L.A. County jumped 22 percent in October from a year ago, to $332,000, according to DataQuick Information Systems, although that was slightly below September’s median price of $336,000. Sales rose 13 percent from October 2002. Activity normally slows in November due to the holidays.
Freedom News: Freedom Communications Inc., parent of the Orange County Register, would remove older members of founder R.C. Hoiles family from the board and triple its debt under a plan to allow shareholders to sell their holdings, the Los Angeles Times reported, citing a proxy statement. Chairman R. David Threshie and Freedom publisher Douglas Hardie would leave the board, along with Tim Hoiles and David Hardie, the newspaper said.
Concealment Charge: Health Net Inc. has been sued by an investor group that claims the Woodland Hills-based health insurer concealed information about the poor financial health of workers’ compensation company Business Insurance Group when it was sold to Superior National Insurance Group. The suit was filed in New York State court by Capital Z Financial Services Funds, which helped finance the $285 million deal and which is seeking more than $200 million in damages.
Tech Losses: California technology companies lost about 123,000 workers in 2002, or almost a quarter of all technology workers who lost their jobs nationwide, according to research by the American Electronics Association. Hardest-hit segments included communications equipment, semiconductor manufacturing, computer and peripheral equipment and the Internet sector. The state remains the largest high-tech employer in the United States.
Design Contract: Northrop Grumman Corp. and Lockheed Martin Corp. won three-year contracts to design a high-velocity anti-tank missile. The awards to design competing versions of the compact kinetic-energy missile are worth as much as $80 million each to Los Angeles-based Northrop and Lockheed.
PREVIEW
November 24 – 30
Turkey Day: It’s time for drumsticks, parades, football and indigestion. Per usual, most everything will be closed on Thursday (27th), except the big supermarkets and movie complexes. On Friday, many businesses are taking the day off, and the New York Stock Exchange will have an abbreviated session, closing at 10 a.m. Most of the action, of course, will be at the malls with post-Thanksgiving sales and giveaways. The day after Thanksgiving, however, is not the reliable gauge it once was on how the holiday retail season eventually turns out.
Holiday Beginnings: The long weekend concludes on Sunday (30th) with the annual Hollywood Christmas Parade, which is now being sponsored by Chrysler and will feature the usual carloads of stars and musical acts. The parade route begins in front of Graumann’s Chinese and follows a two-mile route along Hollywood Boulevard, Vine Street and Sunset Boulevard. This year, the parade will be broadcast live on KCAL-TV (Channel 9) beginning at 7 p.m. and rebroadcast on Dec. 14 and Christmas morning.
Sports Beat: UCLA is through for the season while USC has a bye this week before finishing up its season next week. Meanwhile, the Lakers are home on Wednesday (26th) against Washington, Friday (28th) against San Antonio and Sunday (30th) against Indiana. The Clippers are home on Monday (24th) against Houston, Thanksgiving Night against New Jersey and Saturday (29th) against Denver. The Kings are home on Tuesday (25th) against New Jersey and Saturday (29th) against Chicago.
Rodeo Festivities: The City of Beverly Hills kicks off its own holiday season on Sunday (30th) with an evening event on the 200 block of Rodeo Drive that will feature a tree-lighting ceremony, musical performances and horse-drawn carriages, among other activities. Festivities begin at 6 p.m.
Economic Reports: Tuesday (25th): Preliminary third-quarter gross domestic product numbers and consumer confidence numbers from the Conference Board. Wednesday (26th): Durable goods orders, personal income and new home sales, all for October.
Hammer Support: The Los Angeles Area Chamber of Commerce will conduct a blood and marrow drive Wednesday (26th) in support of its president, Rusty Hammer, who is being treated for leukemia. The event, which will take place at the Chamber’s offices (350 S. Bixel St.), lasts a little over an hour and is being conducted with the American Red Cross. For information: 213-739-6540.
