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U-T Seeking to Rent Part of Headquarters Space
By Don Bauder - July 2, 2009, 12:43 p.m.
The Union-Tribune has sent a memo to its staff, saying that it is looking into renting out space in its building. Some potential renters have already looked at the fourth and fifth floor, say the new owners, Platinum Equity. (The fourth floor houses the library, photo lab, and photo library, ...
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Job Losses Soar; Some Economists Expect Weak Growth for Years
By Don Bauder - July 2, 2009, 6:31 a.m.
U.S. employers slashed 467,000 jobs in June, far more than the 363,000 economists had expected, the Labor Department reported this morning (July 2). The unemployment rate edged up to 9.5%. Economists had expected 9.6%. Including laid-off workers who have given up looking for jobs or settled for part-time work, the ...
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Local Home Prices Dropping at Slower Rate
By Don Bauder - June 30, 2009, 7:02 a.m.
San Diego County home values declined 0.1% between March and April, compared with a 1.5% decline between February and March. For the last year, San Diego home values are down 20%, according to the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller home indexes, released this morning (June 30). Seven cities experienced a year-on-year decline ...
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Watchdog Institute Puzzles Union-Tribune Staffers
By Don Bauder - June 29, 2009, 5:47 p.m.
On Friday, June 26, U-T editor Karin Winner sent an enigmatic message to the staff. Her very close friend Lorie Hearn, who heads the investigative team (and was formerly the number two person on the staff), is leaving to form the Watchdog Institute. It plans to raise money from local ...
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San Diego Lead Indicators Rise for Second Month
By Don Bauder - June 25, 2009, 6:30 a.m.
The lead indicators of the San Diego economy, compiled by Alan Gin of the University of San Diego, rose for the second straight month in May. The index went up from April's 100.9 to 101.2. Figures for building permits, stock prices, consumer confidence, and the national economy went up. Help ...
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SEC Charges Chula Vista Resident with Running $14.7 Million Ponzi-like Scheme
By Don Bauder - June 24, 2009, 12:23 p.m.
The Securities and Exchange Commission charged in federal court today (June 24) that Moises Pacheco of Chula Vista has fleeced more than 200 investors in a Ponzi-like scheme. Pacheco raised $14.7 million through five hedge funds over a three and a half year period, according to the agency. He initially ...
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San Diego's Hotel Business among Nation's Worst
By Don Bauder - June 23, 2009, 7:17 a.m.
San Diego hotel/tourism statistics are looking horrible, particularly when compared with performance in other cities. According to Smith Travel Research, local hoteliers' revenue per available room in the week of June 7 to 13 was down a stunning 42.3%, the largest decline in the top 25 markets. Occupancy at San ...
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Whistleblower Shipione Heads to Harvard
By Don Bauder - June 20, 2009, 8:29 a.m.
Diann Shipione, the former member of the City pension board who exposed the frailty of San Diego finances and the dishonesty of pension information provided by the government, has been admitted to the Harvard Kennedy School Masters Program in Public Administration. She starts July 21 and graduates in 2010. In ...
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San Diego Unemployment Rises to 9.4% as Job Losses Grow
By Don Bauder - June 19, 2009, 10:50 a.m.
The unemployment rate in San Diego County jumped to 9.4% in May, up from a revised 9.2% in April and well above the 5.4% of a year ago, according to the California Employment Development Department. The May rate was below California's 11.2%, but above the U.S.'s 9.1%. Between April and ...
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CNBC Features Tom Gores, Mike Aguirre -- Separately
By Don Bauder - June 18, 2009, 6:25 p.m.
A CNBC news report tonight (June 18) at 5 p.m. put the spotlight on Tom Gores, the Beverly Hills financial swinger whose firm now owns the Union-Tribune, and Mike Aguirre, the former city attorney who was endlessly smeared by the U-T and defeated for re-election. This time, Gores got the ...
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Whitacre Wrong Choice for GM, Says Graef Crystal
By Don Bauder - June 15, 2009, 10:56 a.m.
Former San Diegan Graef Crystal, one of the ranking experts on executive compensation, says on his website (GraefCrystal.com) that Ed Whitacre is a bad choice to be non-executive chairman of General Motors. The government recently appointed him. Whitacre became the head of SBC Communications, since renamed AT&T, in 1990. From ...
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U-T "Deeply Mediocre," Says Columnist Discussing Globe
By Don Bauder - June 15, 2009, 10:41 a.m.
Is the Boston Globe worth $250 million, or should its owner, the New York Times, pay someone up to $40 million to take the newspaper off its hands? That's how wide the spread is in a David Carr column in today's (June 15) New York Times. (Talk about biting the ...
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Bailout Bubble -- Watch Out
By Don Bauder - June 14, 2009, 9:34 a.m.
The Saturday/Sunday (June 13-14) Wall Street Journal has a "must read" article, and I am not saying that because the Journal is agreeing with the thesis that I have been propounding on this blog and in columns for some time. The article begins on page 1 with the headline, "Stocks ...
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Why Haven't State Regulators Gone After AIG?
By Don Bauder - June 13, 2009, 6:50 p.m.
The government has pumped more than $150 billion into bailing out American International Group (AIG), the big insurance conglomerate that has gambled with derivatives, been charged with cooking its books, and admitted that it would not be a going concern without the bailout funds, among many things. States regulate insurance ...
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Platinum's Juicy, Subsidized Deal for Delphi Runs into Snag
By Don Bauder - June 11, 2009, 12:08 p.m.
Platinum Equity, the Beverly Hills private equity firm that bought the Union-Tribune for a song, has been trying a similar caper with bankrupt Delphi, the auto parts maker that once belonged to General Motors. GM, the government's auto task force and Platinum quietly put together a deal in which Platinum ...
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Appellate Court Says DROP Not Vested Benefit
By Don Bauder - June 10, 2009, 3:19 p.m.
The federal Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals posted today (June 10) its decision that the City's Deferred Retirement Option Plan (DROP) is not a vested benefit protected by the federal constitutional contracts clause. The appellate court was ruling on a suit filed against the City by the San Diego Police ...
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Generation Y Likes San Diego for Job Prospects
By Don Bauder - June 10, 2009, 11:53 a.m.
This year's 2.3 million college grads were asked in a poll what locations would be the best for job-hunting. San Diego was in 9th place, according to BusinessWeek.com. Despite the financial industry depression, New York City was a runaway number one: eight of ten surveyed listed it first. Second was ...
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Waring Named to Housing Commission by 6-2 Vote
By Don Bauder - June 9, 2009, 12:43 p.m.
Jim Waring, who championed Sunroad while he was Mayor Jerry Sanders's real estate czar, was approved for a seat on the Housing Commission today (June 9) by a 6-2 vote of city council. Councilmembers Donna Frye and Sherri Lightner voted against Waring, in a balloting that some have called a ...
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Market Slices Callaway Golf Stock
By Don Bauder - June 9, 2009, 11:51 a.m.
Stock of Callaway Golf is down 13.19% this morning (June 9) to $6.32. Yesterday, the maker of golf clubs and balls reduced its second quarter dividend to 1 cent a share from 7 cents. It will also issue $110 million of preferred stock to pay down debt. That stock will ...
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Boston Globe Union Rejects Cuts; Owner NY Times to Slash Unilaterally
By Don Bauder - June 8, 2009, 9:04 p.m.
A classic battle that may play a role in the future of daily newspapers took place today (June 8). The Boston Globe's Guild members voted 277-265 to turn down a package of concessions, including an 8.4% pay cut, unpaid furloughs and other slashes. The New York Times, owner of the ...
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