Biogen Idec, Elan Report Tysabri Brain Disease Cases; Stocks Plunge in After-Hour Trading
Biogen Idec and Elan today (July 31) notified regulators of two confirmed cases of a potentially deadly brain disease among patients being treated with the companies' multiple sclerosis (MS) drug, Tysabri. Biogen, based in Cambridge, Mass., several years ago bought …
Bond Law Firm Settles City Attorney's Suit for $2.875 Million
City Attorney Mike Aguirre revealed today (July 29) that the law firm of Orrick Herrington & Sutcliffe agreed to pay $2.875 million to settle a pension-related suit filed earlier by the City. Five service-providing firms have now settled pension cases …
San Diego Home Prices Now Back to October '03 Levels. Prices Decline in May, but at Slower Pace
San Diego existing family home prices were down 1.4 percent in May from April, according to the Case-Shiller home price indices released today (July 29) by Standard & Poor's. Only four of 20 major metro areas did worse: Phoenix (down …
Westfield Exec Took Fifth Last Friday. Will Shopping Center Developer Take San Diego to Cleaners?
Last Friday (July 25), Peter Lowy, LA-based head of U.S. operations for Australia's Westfield shopping center empire, took the fifth amendment before the Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations. Earlier this month, the subcommittee had issued a report charging that Peter …
Money Flows Out of Brandes's Investment Firm, As Stock Portfolio Fails To Perform
In the second half of last year, the San Diego money management firm of Brandes Investment Partners had $125 billion under management. According to the firm's website, that total was down to $86.4 billion at midyear 2008. The institutional/private client …
A.H. Belo, Initially Considered Candidate To Buy Copley, Reports Big Loss, Layoffs
When Copley Press announced last week it was putting itself up for sale, some analysts thought a logical buyer would be Dallas-based A.H. Belo. The company owns the Dallas Morning News and the Riverside Press-Enterprise, among other newspaper assets. Analysts …
The Question on Nancy Graham: Why Was She Hired in the First Place?
Nancy Graham, who recently resigned as head of Centre City Development Corp., has left the state, supposedly to be with her ill mother. The city attorney's office has been investigating her for a month, and now CCDC will hold its …
Note to U-T Employees: You Think You're Angst-Ridden? Look at Your Former Ohio, Illinois Colleagues
Union-Tribune employees are walking around semi-catatonic. The company has announced it is looking at "strategic alternatives," which probably means it is up for sale in a miserable market for newspapers. New York's Evercore Partners will assist the company. Evercore also …
Union-Tribune is up for sale, company tells employees
The shoe finally drops. Long time rumors are coming true. The Union-Tribune has put itself up for sale.
The shoe finally drops. Long time rumors are coming true. The Union-Tribune has put itself up for sale. In an announcement to employees today (July 24) Union-Tribune president Gene Bell said, "the Copley Press is announcing today that it is …
San Diego Unemployment Rate for June Leaps to 5.9 Percent; County Lost Jobs Over Last 12 Months
The San Diego County unemployment rate surged to 5.9 percent in June, up from a revised 5.5 percent in May, and well above the 4.6 percent of a year ago, according to the state Employment Development Department. The county lost …
More Wall Street Socialism: SEC Wants to Thwart Short Selling of Fannie, Freddie, Brokerage Stocks
It is simply hilarious that Wall Street genuflects at the altar of free enterprise, free markets, rugged individualism, etc. The nabobs believe in free enterprise as long as they are making money, but when they start losing, they want a …
Administration Wants To Bail Out Wall Street Through Massive Subsidy of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac. But Market Not Buying It
One of the biggest lies told in Washington, D.C. is that fiscal and monetary policies are not designed to prop up the stock market. Rather, they are designed to support the economy, claim our leaders. Once again, utter balderdash. On …
Lepine Drops Harassment Suit, Receives No Payment. Will Campaign Now Focus on Goldsmith's Domestic Uproars?
Amy Lepine, one of the losing candidates in the city attorney's race, today (July 11) dropped the harassment and gender discrimination suit against City Attorney Mike Aguirre and the City. She dropped it just before a judge was to rule …
San Diego Spends Less Per Capita on Fire Protection Than Orange and Los Angeles Counties
San Diego County spends less per capita on fire protection and emergency medical services than Orange and L.A. counties, according to a study by the San Diego Institute for Policy Research. The gap has been widening over the last four …
Seventeen Lose Jobs as Copley News Service Disappears
The old Copley News Service is now part of Creators Syndicate, and has a new name: Creators News Service, according to the Editor & Publisher trade publication. When the deal was announced in late May, Copley had 21 employees. Three …
Brace Yourself for Another Bailout: Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac Near the Brink
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson told Congress today (July 10) that government-sponsored housing behemoths Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac are "adequately capitalized." Paulson's nose immediately became as long as a broomstick. At the time, the stock market was knocking Fannie down …
County Democrats Endorse Aguirre for City Attorney; Only One Vote Goes for Opponent
Elected members of the San Diego County Democratic Party voted tonight (July 8) by roughly 60 to 1 to endorse City Attorney Mike Aguirre for re-election. Prior to the June 3 primary, members of the central committee backed no candidate; …
County Retail Sales Dropping Sharply; Tax Receipts Will Feel It
Inflation-adjusted taxable retail sales in the county dropped 2.4 percent in the second quarter of last year, according to figures compiled by the San Diego Institute for Policy Research. In the first quarter of 2007, they were down 0.9 percent. …
SDGE Should Push Rooftop Solar Program, Says City Attorney, Noting Utility's Lagging Response to State Clean Energy Mandates
San Diego Gas & Electric should concentrate on in-area strategies for producing clean energy, such as a rooftop solar program, according to a report by the city attorney's office. SDGE derives just 6 percent of its electricity from renewables, versus …
Possible Sale of Pittsburgh Steelers Shows Once Again How NFL, Gambling Industry Are Joined at the Hip
According to the Wall Street Journal today (July 8), the Pittsburgh Steelers professional football team might be sold. The team is 80 percent owned by the sons of founder Arthur Rooney, a gambler who was, according to author Dan E. …
Gaylord Stock Tanks; Outlook for Business Group Bookings Weakens Sharply
Some San Diegans are still hoping that Nashville-based Gaylord Entertainment will build a $1 billion hotel and convention center on the Chula Vista bayfront, with more than $300 million of government subsidy, or corporate welfare. The facility would concentrate on …
It's Official, If a Bit Silly: We Have a Bear Market. More Disturbing: General Motors Could Go Bankrupt, Says Analyst
Stocks plunged today (July 2) as oil soared above $144 a barrel. Both the Dow Jones Industrial Average and Nasdaq are now 20 percent lower than their highs of last October. Officially, that marks a bear market, according to technicians, …