San Diego, US Home Values Still Going South
Home values in the 20 largest metro markets dropped 3.7% in November from a year earlier, according to Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller indices released this morning (Jan. 31). There were 18 year-over-year declines in the 20 markets and 19 month-over-month declines. …
Former SD Lawyer Charged with Stashing Funds Offshore
Former San Diego attorney Christopher Rusch was charged in Phoenix today (Jan. 30) with defrauding the Internal Revenue Service by stashing funds in Switzerland. Rusch and two Phoenix area businessmen were charged with concealing millions of dollars in assets in …
Could Amylin Be Takeover Target?
Biotech Amylin stock is up 18.04% to $14.33 at mid-day Monday (Jan. 30), following Food & Drug Administration approval for U.S. marketing of Bydureon, a once-weekly version of Amylin's diabetes shot. This was the third try with the FDA. Amylin …
SDGE Refuses to Testify under Oath on Its Insurance Scam
San Diego Gas & Electric said yesterday (Jan. 27) that it would not submit responses under oath to questions posed by attorney Mike Aguirre in the long-running hearings on whether the utility can make customers — not shareholders — pick …
CPUC's Ratepayer Advocates Back SD Hearing on SDGE Fire Scam
The Division of Ratepayer Advocates, a group within the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) representing the interests of consumers, not shareholders, has come out in favor of a public meeting in San Diego at which San Diego Gas & Electric …
117 Gang Members Nailed on Drug Charges
A federal grand jury has handed up 17 indictments and the U.S. attorney's office has filed eight criminal complaints against 119 defendants allegedly involved in drug trafficking and other crimes. Two of the defendants are Mexican Mafia members and 117 …
Fed Will Try to Goose Stocks in Election Year
The Federal Reserve announced today (Jan. 25) that it will stay with the longtime tradition of passing out free whiskey to voters in an election year to jack up the stock market. Of course, the Fed didn't say it that …
Roche Makes Hostile Bid for Illumina
Swiss-based Roche Holding AG offered roughly $5.7 billion in cash for San Diego biotech Illumina early Wednesday (Jan. 25). Roche said it would pay $44.50 a share for Illumina, 18% more than its closing price Tuesday. Roche said Illumina was …
SDG&E Tries to Nix Public Hearing on Fire Insurance Scam
San Diego Gas & Electric has told the California Public Utilities Commission that there is no need for local public hearings now on its attempt to get customers to pick up uninsured costs of the 2007 wildfires. Recently, the Mussey …
Local Unemployment Drops Below 9 Percent
San Diego County's unemployment rate was 8.9% in December 2011, down from a revised 9.2% in November and below the 10.1% of a year earlier. December's rate compares with an unadjusted rate of 10.9% for California and 8.3% for the …
Wanted: Public Hearings on SDGE's Planned Fleece Job
San Diego County's Mussey Grade Alliance today (Jan. 17) formally requested that San Diegans have a chance for a public hearing on a planned San Diego Gas & Electric caper that in my opinion could be one of the county's …
Baseball Owners Wonder If Moorad Partners Have the Money
Columnist Mike Ozanian of Forbes Magazine says today (Jan. 16) that "The sale of controlling interest of the San Diego Padres to Jeff Moorad by John Moores has been delayed by Major League Baseball because the league is not convinced …
Company Charging $55 for One-Minute Calls Escapes Legally
The San Diego Better Business Bureau is swamped with complaints about San Diego-based BBG Communications. People complain about outrageous charges for credit card phone calls made from this company's overseas pay phones — $55 for one minute, for example. The …
Economist Laffer Sued Again
Arthur Laffer, former San Diegan and supply side economist who is generally considered the primary force behind the Reagan tax cuts of the 1980s, was sued in a Texas court Jan. 11 for alleged involvement in a Ponzi scheme. Some …
Escondidan Dodged Taxes, Lied
Escondido's Thongsavanh Phensombath pleaded guilty today (Jan. 12) in federal court to evading half a million dollars in taxes generated by his business, JMP Precision Sheet Metal Fabrication. According to the federal government, Phensombath submitted false statements to the Internal …
Feds Let Sempra Investigate Itself
The Washington Post reports today (Jan. 12) that in 2010, when a former employee said Sempra Energy was paying bribes in Mexico, the government did what it often does in white-collar crime cases: it asked the company (in this case …
Broker Banned for Churning Client Account
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) has banned John William Grant from association with FINRA members. Grant, who then worked for Torrey Pines Securities, made $1.1 million in trades, amounting to $11,500 in commissions, in an account in which there …
Median SD Home Values Fourth Highest
The median value of a home in San Diego County is $338,800, fourth highest among 25 major metro areas, according to new data from Zillow. The U.S. median is $147,800. Only three metro areas -- New York, Los Angeles, and …
Magazine Shows Stresses in L.A. Stadium Proposals
Investigative reporter Connie Bruck has a long piece in the Jan. 16 New Yorker magazine profiling Phil Anschutz *(pictured), owner of Anschutz Entertainment Group (AEG), and Phil Leiweke, president. Most of the article does not deal with AEG's plan for …
Three Local Accountants Disciplined
The California Board of Accountancy (CBA) has disciplined three San Diego accountants. Daniel Warren and his wife Kathleen, both certified public accountants, got three years of probation for knowingly filing false, fraudulent or misleading financial statements in connection with their …