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HUD Unveils Housing Plan
The federal government announced that more than $34 billion will be spent over the next 10 years in the five-county area to help 360,000 moderate- and low-income families secure home loans.
L.A. County alone will receive $17.6 billion under the $488 billion nationwide program announced by the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
A study last year found that Los Angeles and Orange counties have the nation’s widest gap in affordable housing.
Under the HUD plan, housing finance companies Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae would raise the number of mortgages used for buying homes and constructing apartment buildings for low- and moderate-income families, from 42 percent of its portfolio to 50 percent.
Additional money would come from funds raised in the financial markets by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which are both quasi-government agencies that buy mortgages from traditional lenders, bundle and then sell them to secondary markets.
Litton Will Close Plant
Defense and electronics giant Litton Industries Inc. will fold its ailing professional services unit and consolidate its systems division by closing two plants, including one in Moorpark.
The Woodland Hills-based company is making the moves to refocus on profitable federal government contracts.
While consolidating its Data Systems and Applied Technology divisions, Litton will close its Moorpark plant, which makes air defense systems. The closure will occur by the end of the year, putting 45 people out of work.
The operations will be moved to facilities in Agoura Hills and San Diego. The other Litton plant being closed is in Oregon.
Meanwhile, Litton said it has completed its purchase of shipbuilder Avondale Industries Inc. for $529 million. Avondale will become part of Louisiana-based Litton Ship Systems, which is projected to have annual revenues of about $1.8 billion.
High-Speed Net Service Offered
Qwest Communications International Inc. has started selling high-speed Internet access in Los Angeles and 12 other U.S. cities.
The Digital Subscriber Line service offered by Qwest uses state-of-the-art electronics that allow subscribers to send data over ordinary copper phone lines at speeds as much as 125 times faster than dial-up modems. DSL service also stays on 24 hours a day.
Local phone companies have been racing to sell the service to compete against high-speed Internet access offered by cable television companies, including AT & T; Corp., which soon will be the largest U.S. cable provider after its $62.5 billion acquisition of MediaOne Group Inc.
Denver-based Qwest, which also is building an 18,815-mile national fiber-optic network, said the cost of its DSL service will start at $49.95 a month for residential consumers and $119.95 a month for businesses, with a $500 installation fee.
310 Overlay Moving Ahead
Despite strong resistance from West L.A. businesses and residents, state regulators released a draft decision that would resume plans for an area code overlay in the 310 region.
The tentative decision issued by the Public Utilities Commission calls for reconsideration of the requirement for 11-digit dialing in the overlay communities and for a study to determine how many available phone numbers are in use.
The PUC is scheduled to vote on the matter Sept. 2. If adopted, the overlay would take effect Oct. 16.
The draft ruling came despite objections by Assemblyman Wally Knox, D-Los Angeles, and many of his constituents, who urged the PUC to halt the overlay and consider alternatives after learning that only a fraction of available numbers with the 310 prefix are actually in use.
The overlay had been set to take effect as of July 17, but was postponed to consider the protests.
Mattel Makes Computer Deal
Mattel Inc. entered into a licensing agreement with Patriot Computers to begin selling computers that have Barbie doll and Hot Wheels themes.
Terms of the deal were not disclosed. The computers will retail for about $600.
The agreement came as El Segundo-based Mattel posted strong sales of software and CD-ROMs while the sales of its Barbie dolls continued to sag.
The silver-colored Barbie computers will come with special accessories, like the Barbie digital camera and a flowered Barbie mouse and mouse pad.
Ralphs Partners With Checkout.com
Ralphs food stores signed a cross-promotional deal with Checkout.com, the Internet entertainment site backed by former Hollywood agent Michael Ovitz and grocery magnate Ronald Burkle.
Under the agreement, Ralphs shoppers can get a discount on their next grocery bill if they buy music CDs or other merchandise from Checkout.com.
The move reflects the belief that e-commerce companies and traditional retailers can attract more customer traffic by forming relationships with each other, said Richard Wolpert, the former Disney Online president who heads Internet ventures for Yucaipa Cos., the site’s other major backer.
Checkout.com has debuted in limited form and plans to formally begin operating later this summer.
The Ralphs deal renews a link between the chain and Yucaipa, which owned Ralphs parent Fred Meyer Inc. until selling it to Kroger Co. last year for $8 billion.
As a result of the deal, Yucaipa became Kroger’s largest single shareholder and Yucaipa founder Burkle got a seat on Kroger’s board.
Angel Site Acquisition Delayed
The backers of a massive downtown development featuring a giant angel have delayed the acquisition of the Pacific Stock Exchange building and other property, pending an environmental review.
City of Angels Monument Corp. said it has postponed the purchase of the property because of environmental problems at the neighboring site of the controversial Belmont Learning Center.
An analysis of the stock exchange property found no contamination, but the group is seeking more time to examine the surrounding parcels it wants to buy, said Chief Operating Officer Gary J. Clayman.
Escrow on the stock exchange building had been scheduled to close in July, but has been extended until October, according to Clayton.
The $3.55 billion proposed project has been designed to cover an 85-acre site and include a hotel and commercial development surrounding an 1,100-foot-tall angel monument.
Xoom.com Buys L.A. Firm
E-commerce company Xoom.com Inc. acquired LiquidMarket Inc. of Los Angeles in a stock deal valued at $45 million.
LiquidMarket makes software that allows comparison shopping on the Web.
San Francisco-based Xoom.com said it will begin using the technology in the fall for such product categories as office supplies, consumer electronics and computers.
It eventually plans to expand that use to other categories such as books, videos, music and household goods.
