Economist Who Correctly Called Downturn Leaves Bank of America
This announcement sounds like an economist getting punished for having the courage and intelligence to be right. David Rosenberg, economist for Merrill Lynch, (and for Bank of America after it purchased the Wall Street firm), is leaving the bank to …
Geithner Caves in to Blackmail; Participants in Financial Rescue Package Won't Have Pay Limits
Sunday evening (March 22), President Obama uttered some intelligent words: Wall Street was overpaid, he said, noting that 25 years ago, Wall Streeters made 20 times what teachers make, and now it's 200 times (an understatement, but who's counting?Then the …
Owner of Plane that Crashed in Montana Appears to Have San Diego Connections
Reader document sleuth Matt Potter has traced the apparent San Diego connections of the owner of the plane that crashed in Montana. Records show that the owner of the plane is Eagle Cap Leasing of Enterprise, Oregon. President of the …
Florida Marlins Agree to Share Profits with Governments if Team Sold
The Florida Marlins professional baseball team, begging for a big government subsidy for a new ballpark, agreed this week to split its profits with the City of Miami and Dade County if the team is sold within nine years of …
Councilmember Frye Says City Budget Deficit Actually Much Higher; Also Derides Bond Issuance
Councilmember Donna Frye, consistently the only member of the body to have a grasp of economics, today (March 20) sent a letter to Mayor Jerry Sanders, stating that the actual budget deficit could be $60 million, not the $45 million …
San Diego Unemployment Rises to 8.8% in February, but Narrowly Trails National Rate
San Diego County's unemployment rate rose to 8.8% in February, up from a revised 8.7% in January and up sharply from 5% a year ago. California's unadjusted rate is 10.9% and the nation's 8.9%. San Diego has had a higher …
U-T Heads Will Be Chopped More Severely; Economics Dictates It
Union-Tribune employees expected another mass axing in February. It didn't come. But an even larger head-chopping than expected will inevitably come. Here are some numbers that I have gleaned. U-T annual revenue is at most $250 million and probably closer …
Union-Tribune Sold to Private Equity Group Teaming with Black Press, Long-Time Rumored Buyer
The Union-Tribune announced this morning that it has been sold for an undisclosed price. The buyer was announced as a Beverly Hills private equity firm, Platinum Equity. However, a member of the Platinum Equity "team" is Vancouver's Black Press, whose …
Copley Slashes Retiree Health Benefits
Copley Newspapers today (March 17) announced deep cuts in health care coverage for retirees. In trying to lure certain employees to take buyout offerings the last several years, the company had promised to pay 75 percent of medical coverage until …
Newspapers Should Go Totally Online, Says Writer for Business Week Magazine
"To stop the red ink, newspapers need to get rid of the ink altogether. It's high time for online-only operations." This is what Rick Wartzman, director of the Drucker Institute at Claremont Graduate University, wrote for Business Week Magazine this …
Next Will Come No-Newspaper Markets, Says New York Times Story
"In 2009 ad 2010, all the two-newspaper markets will become one-newspaper markets, and you will start to see one-newspaper markets become no-newspaper markets," says an analyst for Fitch Ratings in this morning's (March 12) edition of the NY Times. The …
No Plea Deal for Madoff; Could Spend Remaining Days in Prison
There will be no plea agreement for notorious New York Ponzi schemer Bernard Madoff, a prosecutor said in Manhattan court this afternoon. Because of certain procedures last week, skeptics worried that Madoff, who has confessed to running a $50 billion …
Sempra's Federal, State Relationships in the Spotlight
David Hayes, President Obama's nominee to be deputy interior secretary, hasn't lobbied the department in more than two years, as required, but filings reveal he has continued to represent companies with business before the department, according to Politico.com. Hayes was …
Most Newspaper Chains' Stocks Down At Least 90% in Last Year
Here's how much the market has knocked down newspaper stocks in the last 52 weeks. I picked 10 representative newspaper stocks; half of them are significantly diversified into other media. The list includes the cream from a quality standpoint: Washington …
Hedge Fund Disasters Lead to Resignation of Chief Investment Officer of County Retirement Fund
David Deutsch, chief investment officer of the San Diego County Employees Retirement Association, resigned today (March 5), as a result of bad hedge fund experiences and performance. Formerly, the county had 20 percent of the portfolio in hedge funds. That …
County Unemployment Surges to 8.6% in January; Jobs Down 28,300 in Month
The San Diego County unemployment rate jumped to 8.6% in January from a revised 7.5% in December and 5.1% a year earlier. The state's rate is 10.6% and the nation's 8.5%. The county lost 28,300 jobs, or 2.2%, in the …
EDC PR Machine Takes Credit for NY Times Fluff Piece
Here is the first paragraph of a release this morning (March 4) from the Economic Development Corp. (EDC). "San Diego Regional EDC's media relations program is gaining momentum, with a feature article in the Wednesday, March 4, 2009 issue of …
If 3 Major Dailies Are Worth $22 Million, What Is U-T Worth?
There is a Dallas company named AH Belo Corp. that owns 3 major daily papers: the Dallas Morning News, Press-Enterprise of Riverside, and Providence Journal. The company has little debt: in fact, it has almost as much cash as debt. …
USD 29th in Undergrad Business Education, Says Business Week
The University of San Diego's undergraduate business school has risen sharply to 29th in the U.S., according to the annual ranking of Business Week Magazine. Last year, USD's B school was ranked 47th. USD gets a grade of A-plus for …
KUSI's McKinnon Still Interested in Union-Tribune Purchase, but Industry Turmoil Slows Any Deal
Michael McKinnon, whose McKinnon Broadcasting owns 82.5 percent of KUSI-TV, is still interested in putting together a group of buyers for the U-T, I have learned from a reliable source. Last summer, not long after the paper went on the …