U.S. Loses AAA Rating from S&P
Standard & Poor's today (Aug. 5) downgraded the rating on United States debt from the highest AAA to AA+, and said the outlook was negative. The recently announced plan to narrow the deficit fell short of S&P's threshold. Significantly, S&P …
Novatel, Mad Catz Stocks Walloped
Two San Diego tech stocks got thumped today (Aug. 5). Shares of Novatel Wireless, maker of modems and wireless networking gear, plunged 28.39% to $3.33. The company's second quarter loss narrowed to 12 cents per share from 70 cents in …
Jobs Report Better Than Expected. Market Relieved
The U.S. created 117,000 jobs in July, more than the 85,000 economists expected. The Labor Department reported that the unemployment rate dipped to 9.1% from 9.2% in June, although economists said that improvement was mainly a result of people leaving …
Bridgepoint's Debt Ratio Staggeringly High
Education Sector, a think tank, has come up with a ratio to measure the burgeoning debt problems in higher education. It's called the debt to credential ratio, or the total amount of debt piled up by undergrads divided by the …
Stocks Plummet. Next Up: More Liquidity
The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged 513 or 4.31% today (Aug. 4). The Nasdaq swooned 5.08%, and the Standard & Poor's 500 dropped 4.78%. Stocks in Europe sold off, too; problems in countries such as Italy are adding to previous …
Leap, Bridgepoint Shares Creamed
On a day (August 2) in which the overall market tanked, shares of Leap Wireless and Bridgepoint Education were among the biggest losers. Wireless service provider Leap Wireless shares plunged 21% to $10.27, greatly because competitor MetroPCS reported disappointing results. …
Workforce Index Drops for First Time in Five Months
The San Diego Workforce Index, compiled monthly by the San Diego Workforce Partnership, dropped in June for the first time in five months. The index was hit by the rise in the county unemployment to 10.4% in June from 9.6% …
A New J. David Scandal
Old-timers remember the Ponzi scheme named J. David that dominated San Diego news in the 1980s and into the 1990s. J. David Dominelli, the main manipulator, went to prison for a long stretch and has since died. Now there is …
County Home Values Rise in May
Housing values across the nation rose in May from April, according to the Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices, but the gain was largely seasonal, warns David Blitzer of Standard & Poor's. San Diego County home values rose 0.2% in …
Bridgepoint's Major Shareholder to Sell; Stock Down
Shares of Bridgepoint Education are down 11.61% to $26.96 near the end of the July 25 trading day. The company's largest shareholder, Wall Street's Warburg Pincus, has put its entire stake -- 65% of outstanding shares -- up for sale. …
Ex-San Diegan Guilty of Real Estate Fraud Again
Former North County real estate swinger Philip Rand Lochmiller was found guilty in federal court in Denver today (July 21) of 31 counts of conspiracy, fraud, and money laundering. In 1985, Lochmiller of Lochmiller Mortgage was sentenced to three years …
UCAN Talking Merger with TURN
San Diego-based Utility Consumers' Action Network (UCAN), a watchdog organization focusing on public utilities, is talking possible merger with San Francisco-based The Utility Reform Network (TURN). Neither Michael Shames, executive director of UCAN, nor Mark Toney, executive director of TURN, …
Minkow Gets Five Years
Former San Diego pastor Barry Minkow was sentenced today (July 21) in Miami to five years in prison for committing securities fraud. While in his teens, Minkow had launched a carpet-cleaning company that turned into a $211 million fraud. He …
Appeals Court Reinstates Kelley Suit Against U-T
The 4th Appellate District has reinstated the lawsuit that former Union-Tribune editorial cartoonist Steve Kelley filed against the U-T. The suit was thrown out by Superior Court Judge Jay Bloom in November of 2009. Kelley had been fired by the …
Padres to Sell AAA Team If They Can't Find a Home
The Union-Tribune is reporting tonight (July 19) that the Padres will sell their Triple-A minor league team if a home can't be located in Escondido or someplace else in North County. The Escondido deal has been cooking for some time, …
NextWave Dodges Bankruptcy — for Now
NextWave Wireless today (July 19) got a limited waiver on its obligation to repay $129 million of debt. But the waiver expires August 1. On Monday, NextWave had said it would have to go belly up if it couldn't renegotiate …
Murdoch Gets Bad Advice from Aides, Says Local Publisher
San Diegan Bob Page, who worked for embattled publisher Rupert Murdoch for five years, says News Corp.'s Murdoch "is the smartest fox in the forest" and will probably emerge cleanly from the phone-hacking scandal involving one of his British publications, …
Bobby Vassallo Indicted for Wire Fraud
Alfred Louis "Bobby" Vassallo, who ran a major scam out of a posh La Jolla home, has been indicted criminally for wire fraud by a grand jury in the Central District of California. The indictment charges that Vassallo obtained money …
Job Gains Shockingly Low. Double-Dip?
The nation gained only 18,000 jobs in June, and May gains were revised down from 54,000 to 25,000, the federal government announced today. Economists had expected 125,000 jobs in June — a stunning commentary on the economy's weakness or possibly …
PriceSmart Stock Leaps
Shares of PriceSmart, the warehouse retailer that sells consumer goods and perishable foods in Latin America, are up 11.6% to $60.54 as the market nears its close today (July 7). Volume is very heavy. The shares are already up 140% …