Review & Preview
Earnings Reports: Hilton Hotels Corp. reported second-quarter net income of $76 million, compared with $86 million for the like period a year ago. Revenue for the Beverly Hills-based operator of Hilton and Doubletree Hotels fell 5.4 percent, to $1.04 billion. The company cited a slump in business travel that lasted longer than expected. IHOP Corp. reported second-quarter net income of $9.3 million, compared with $10.2 million for the like period a year ago. Revenue for the Glendale-based restaurant chain rose 2.5 percent, to $84.9 million. Computer Sciences Corp. reported second-quarter net income of $79 million, compared with $47.7 million for the like period a year ago. Revenue for the El Segundo-based computer-services company rose 1.9 percent, less than forecast, to $2.76 billion. Keystone Automotive Industries reported first-quarter net income of $3.5 million, compared with $2.1 million for the like period a year ago. Revenues for the Pomona manufacturer and distributor of automotive aftermarket parts were $106.7 million, up from $91.5 million the year earlier. Walt Disney Co. reported net income of $364 million, compared with $392 million a year ago. Revenues dropped to $5.8 billion from $6 billion the year earlier
Medicare Settlement: Wellpoint Health Networks Inc. agreed to pay $9.25 million to settle allegations that its Blue Cross of California unit cheated Medicare. U.S. officials said Blue Cross, which was a Medicare contractor, falsified information so the government would believe the company performed more audits than it did. Thousand Oaks-based Wellpoint audited Medicare reports that hospitals and other health-care providers submitted.
Pinnacle Fine: Indiana gaming regulators fined Pinnacle Entertainment $2.3 million for allegedly entertaining high-rollers with prostitutes at a golf tournament last summer, thus ending a months-long threat to the company’s Indiana gaming license. Pinnacle’s former chairman, R.D. Hubbard, had resigned in connection with the violations in April.
Bank Sale: Family Savings Bank, based in Los Angeles, will be acquired by Boston Bank of Commerce, creating the nation’s largest black-owned bank with shareholders that include Earvin “Magic” Johnson and Janet Jackson. Terms of the cash agreement were not disclosed. The banks, with a combined $460 million in assets and 11 branches in Massachusetts, California and Florida, will offer loans, savings and checking services to minority clients in urban neighborhoods.
Hot Fall: Shares of Hot Topic Inc. fell sharply last week after the City of Industry-based teen clothing retailer reduced its second-quarter forecast and said third-quarter profit may rise less than expected. Same-store sales are projected to fall 3 percent to 4 percent in July and August sales may not meet expectations. The retailer expects profit in the quarter ending Aug. 3 to be 13 cents a share, the same as a year earlier.
Trauma Vote: The L.A. County Board of Supervisors voted 3-2 to put on the November ballot a measure that would institute a tax on developed properties to help fund trauma and emergency care. During a supervisors meeting, critics, including business groups, said the measure was irresponsible and potentially damaging for the local economy.
Simon Struck: Finding fraud and other misconduct, a Los Angeles Superior Court jury ordered William E. Simon & Sons to pay $78 million to the former owner of Pacific Coin Co., a pay phone business. GOP gubernatorial candidate Bill Simon, who founded the company with his brother and late father, was not named as a defendant in the suit. He issued a statement saying the verdict was “fundamentally flawed” and would be reversed by the judge or on appeal.
Preview
Earnings Reports: Quarterly results are due this week from Edison International, United Online, US Search.com, ValueClick, Arden Realty, ICN Pharmaceuticals and SCPIE Holdings. Edison is projected to report second quarter earnings of 39 cents per share, up from 24 cents in the year-earlier quarter.
Sports Beat: The Dodgers are back home this week, though given their recent showings at Dodger Stadium, it may not be much of a plus. The boys in blue play the Pirates Tuesday-Thursday (6th, 7th and 8th) and the Phillies over the weekend (9th, 10th and 11th). Also on the 11th is the last day of the JPMorgan Chase Open at the Manhattan Country Club.
Sounds of Summer: Another big mid-summer week at the Hollywood Bowl is highlighted by an evening with Tony Bennett on Wednesday (7th). On Thursday (8th), conductor Esa-Pekka Salonen will lead the Los Angeles Philharmonic in “Beethoven’s Ninth Under the Stars.”
Political Ambition?: Friday (Aug. 9) is the last day for candidates running for municipal offices in the prospective San Fernando Valley and Hollywood cities to file with the County Registrar of Voters. In the Valley, 14 council district seats and a citywide mayor are up for grabs. In Hollywood, five at-large council seats are open. The only catch: if cityhood votes for the San Fernando Valley and Hollywood lose, there will be no council or mayoral offices, regardless of who wins the council and mayoral elections.
Jazzed Up: The 15th annual Long Beach Jazz Festival kicks off Friday and runs through Sunday (9th-11th). An eclectic lineup of artists including Al Jarreau, George Duke and Poncho Sanchez will entertain fans sitting on a grassy knoll near the sea. Information: (562) 424-0013.
Dedicated: City Councilman Nate Holden will host the reopening of the Pico-Koreatown Public Library Monday (5th). The library, located at 694 S. Oxford Ave., has been expanded to 20,000 square feet and houses the West Coast’s largest Korean language collection. The new Wilt Chamberlain Gymnasium at 5401 Highlight Place in Baldwin Hills will be dedicated Thursday (8th). The ceremony will be attended by sports celebrities Chick Hearn, Mitch Kupchack and Bill Sharman. Information: www.lacity.org.
Minding Money: The U.S. Small Business Administration-Los Angeles District office will hold a Women’s Dollars & Sense Workshop on Thursday (8th) at 7:30 a.m. at the Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Pasadena. Information: (818) 552-3233.
