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Scam Diego
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Employment Numbers Worse Than Reported, but Main Street's Pain Is Wall Street's Gain
By Don Bauder - November 6, 2009, 7:30 a.m.
The U.S. unemployment rate surged to 10.2% in October, up from 9.8% in September, as the nation lost 190,000 jobs. Economists had expected job loss of 150,000 to 175,000. The number of unemployed persons rose by 558,000 to 15.7 million. The unemployment rate among Hispanics is 13.7% and among African-Americans ...
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Defense, Fire Reconstruction Propel San Diego Economy
By Don Bauder - November 5, 2009, 7:01 p.m.
War and natural disasters propped up the San Diego economy last year. According to Kelly Cunningham, economist for the National University System Institute for Policy Research, the county's metropolitan gross domestic product, or total output of goods and services, grew 2.6% last year. The state grew by just 0.4% and ...
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Supreme Court Justice Asks: Who Passed Bribe?
By Don Bauder - November 4, 2009, 11:05 a.m.
The California Supreme Court is hearing today (Nov. 4) the case of whether former San Diego City pension board members should stand trial for conflict of interest. The district attorney's office is pressing the case; the 4th district court of appeals said it could go forward, and it was appealed ...
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SDGE Lobbyist Said to be Innocent, Reinstated
By Don Bauder - November 2, 2009, 5:26 p.m.
In early September, there were reports that then-Assemblyman Mike Duvall had earlier bragged about his sexual conquests -- unfortunately, captured on an open microphone. A San Diego Gas & Electric lobbyist was identified in the media, and in a complaint to the Fair Political Practices Commission, as one of the ...
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Here's A New One: U-T Owners Understate Claimed Readership
By Don Bauder - November 2, 2009, 4:45 p.m.
The Union-Tribune boldly asserts that 1.15 readers look at its printed edition each week. This is based on data provided by Scarborough Research. The claim has raised many eyebrows, because Audit Bureau of Circulations reported recently that weekly circulation in the most recent reporting period declined 10 percent from a ...
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Dollar "Carry Trade" Creates Global Asset Bubble That Will Burst
By Don Bauder - November 2, 2009, 12:29 p.m.
New York University economist Nouriel Roubini, who predicted the current woes, says that borrowing cheap dollars has created a massive, global asset bubble that will burst in ignominy -- although he doesn't know when. It's a column in the Nov. 1 Financial Times of London. I have commented on this ...
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Memory -- er, uh -- Lapses at the Union-Tribune
By Don Bauder - October 28, 2009, 9:53 a.m.
The Union-Tribune should be giving memory classes to its employees. Maybe an honesty class would help, too, but I don't want to pre-judge a case now going on in Superior Court. Background: Steve Kelley, former U-T editorial cartoonist, had once agreed to do a comic strip with the current editorial ...
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Local Lead Indicators Continue Rising
By Don Bauder - October 27, 2009, 7:33 a.m.
The lead indicators of the San Diego economy rose 1% in September from August, the seventh straight month of gains. The index is still lower than it was in January, however. Building permits, consumer confidence, and the national economy moved in a positive direction, but help wanted advertising, initial unemployment ...
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San Diego Home Prices Rose in August; Values Down 38.7% from Peak
By Don Bauder - October 27, 2009, 7:25 a.m.
San Diego County home values rose 1.6% between July and August, although this was worse than the 2.5% increase from June to July, according to data released this morning (Oct. 27) by Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller. Prices dropped 8.9% from August of 2008 -- one of the better performances among the ...
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U-T Circulation Drops Sharply, but Many Dailies Do Worse
By Don Bauder - October 26, 2009, 7:20 a.m.
Union-Tribune daily (Mon.-Fri.) circulation dropped to 242,705 from 269,820 for the six months ended September 2009 compared with the same six months of 2008, according to data released this morning (Oct. 26) by the Audit Bureau of Circulations. This was a 10.05% decline. The U-T is ranked 24th among the ...
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Fabiani Quote Suggests Chargers L.A. Move May Be Done Deal
By Don Bauder - October 23, 2009, 10:52 a.m.
If another NFL team occupies a new stadium under consideration in City of Industry in the Los Angeles market, "It would be financially catastrophic for the Chargers," Mark Fabiani, the team's spokesman, told Gene Cubbison of KNSD-TV yesterday (Oct. 22). "We're in a bad financial situation now; we'd be in ...
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Burnham's "Elitist" Remark Hands Victory to Rider
By Don Bauder - October 23, 2009, 7:25 a.m.
Congratulations to real estate mogul Malin Burnham for inadvertently handing opponents of a $432 million city hall a rallying cry. Yesterday (Oct. 22), the corporate welfare mendicants, San Diego Downtown Partnership, held a meeting for discussion of three projects it wants subsidies for: a new city hall complex, expansion of ...
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Beware Buying Biotech on Basis of Ballyhoo
By Don Bauder - October 21, 2009, 1:40 p.m.
Stock of biotech Aethlon Medical enjoyed a big ride this week on the basis of a news release touting a product, but the bloom is already off the rose. On Tuesday, the tiny company sent out a release saying that its Hemopurifier product "is effective in capturing the current pandemic ...
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Moores, Cronies to Pay about $55 Million in Peregrine Settlement
By Don Bauder - October 16, 2009, 3:43 p.m.
Although all the details are not final, there is an agreement for John Moores and former board members and officers of fraud-tainted Peregrine Systems to pay roughly $55 million to victims of the swindle. The agreement was hammered out today (Oct. 16) by lawyers representing both sides. The deal will ...
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San Diego Unemployment Drops on Seasonal Factors
By Don Bauder - October 16, 2009, 12:03 p.m.
The San Diego County unemployment rate dropped to 10.2% in September from a revised 10.6% in August, according to the state's Employment Development Department. However, seasonal factors played a major role. (The data are not seasonally adjusted.) For example, local education jobs rose by 4,000 or 6% from August because ...
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Fabled Borrego Springs Resort, Development May Close Nov. 30
By Don Bauder - October 15, 2009, 5:47 p.m.
According to today's (Oct. 15) issue of the Borrego Sun, the Borrego Ranch Resort & Spa (formerly Casa del Zorro) and adjoining Montesoro Golf & Social Club (formerly Rams Hill) may close by November 30 if they cannot find an investor. The company that controls both entities, Lubert Adler, has ...
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Wall Street's Party Depends on Main Street's Misery
By Don Bauder - October 14, 2009, 1:30 p.m.
Wall Street rejoiced yesterday as the Dow Jones Industrial Average once again went over 10,000. This time, however, there is a dangerous set of circumstances that could lead to social unrest. Two major factors are pushing stocks: 1. A worldwide ocean of liquidity -- zero short term interest rates in ...
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Ponzi Schemer J. David "Jerry" Dominelli Is Dead
By Don Bauder - October 12, 2009, 5:48 p.m.
J. David "Jerry" Dominelli, whose multi-million dollar Ponzi scheme rocked San Diego in the 1980s, continuing into the 1990s, has died. His obituary ran in August in the Chicago Tribune, but it mentioned no details of his life. He was 68. The obituary lists his parents as Victor and the ...
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Did Copley Sell Too Soon? Newspaper Stocks Rebound -- but Still Low
By Don Bauder - October 12, 2009, 4:46 p.m.
Copley Press sold the Union-Tribune last spring for the sharply-discounted value of its real estate. At the time, everything looked gloomy for the newspaper industry. In the last three months, newspaper stocks have rebounded strongly. However, they are still far, far below their earlier highs, and the volatile stock market ...
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Copley Press Trying to Sell 22 Acres Adjoining Fox Hill
By Don Bauder - October 12, 2009, 11:38 a.m.
Copley Press is selling nearly 22 La Jolla acres with a beautiful view of the sea. The parcel adjoins Fox Hill, a legendary home on 7 acres that was formerly occupied by the late Helen Copley. That is not included in the deal. Prudential Realty advertises the parcel as "La ...
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