Stocks Down 3% to 4%, after Plunging 8%. Markets Take Bath Overseas, Too
As the credit crisis spreads throughout Europe, Russia, Asia and emerging markets, U.S. stocks plummeted between 3% and 4% today (Oct. 6), after being down 8% at one point, recovering near the session close. The Russian market has been beaten …
Union-Tribune Circulation Continues To Plummet As Skepticism About Sales of Metro Dailies Increases
For August of this year, the Union-Tribune's daily circulation plunged to 266,765 from 283,437 in August of 2007, according to internal numbers given to employees. Sunday circulation declined to 332,342 in August of 2008 from 355,598 a year earlier. In …
San Diego Home Prices Down 25% Over Past Year, 31.2% from Peak
Single-family home prices continue to decline, according to Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller data released this morning (Sept. 30). Over the past 12 months, the index of San Diego homes declined 25%, fifth worst among metro areas in the compilation of 20 …
House Was Right to Reject Deceptive Wall Street Bailout. One That Comes Later This Week Must Protect Taxpayers
The concepts of democracy and free markets were the winners today (Sept. 29) when the House voted narrowly to reject the socialistic banking bailout package that was heavily- and deceptively-loaded in Wall St.'s favor. Voters were astutely, overwhelmingly against it. …
USD's Partnoy Says Government Should Buy Actual Mortgage Loans, not Derivatives
University of San Diego law professor Frank Partnoy, whose 1997 book, F.I.A.S.C.O., originally exposed the danger of derivatives, this morning (Sept. 27) offers a practical and equitable solution to the current mess in an op-ed in the New York Times. …
Report: Chinese Regulators Told Country's Banks To Stop Interbank Lending to U.S. Institutions
Finally, there has been a report that makes sense in this move to socialize the U.S. financial system. The South China Morning Post has reported that Chinese regulators told the country's banks to halt interbank lending to U.S. financial institutions …
Paulson Raked in $27 Million a Year While Heading Goldman, Says Expert Graef Crystal, Who Opposes the $700 Billion Bailout and Also Opposes Compensation Controls
Wonder why Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson is resisting pay controls on financial companies that turn over their toxic mortgage paper to the government? Well, Paulson gobbled up $27 million a year in 7.5 years as head of Wall Street's Goldman …
Reporters Say They Have Seen Singleton at U-T. But Will His MediaNews, with Hearst, Be A Buyer?
William Dean Singleton, founder of Denver-based MediaNews Group, has been prowling the halls of the Union-Tribune, reporters say. MediaNews owns or runs other S. Cal. papers such as the L.A. Daily News, Long Beach Press-Telegram, Pasadena Star-News and Daily Breeze …
Biotech Sequenom Stock Up 32% on Optimism for Down Syndrome Test
Shares of biotech Sequenom are up 31.57 percent this morning (10 a.m. Sept. 24) to $27.05, a six-year high, after the company reported additional positive results for a test for Down syndrome. Some say the test will be able to …
Blog Satirist Says Paulson's Plan for Wall St. Bailout Resembles Nigerian Letter
The political blog Daily Kos today (Sept. 24) picks up a delicious piece of satire originally printed in another blog, boingboing. Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson's outrageous scheme for bailing out Wall St. from years of an addiction to gambling with …
KLSD-AM Admits On-Air Personality Rigged Arbitron Ratings
On Friday afternoon, Bob Bolinger, president/market manager of Clear Channel in San Diego, admitted to members of the local advertising community that three family members of an on-air personality of KLSD-AM (XTRA Sports 1360), a sports talk station, filled out …
Paulson's socialistic plan to bail out Wall Street is election year fraud
Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson proposed today, September 19, a scheme by which the government would relieve financial institutions of toxic mortgage assets. The stock market zoomed late Thursday and today. The scheme would cost taxpayers up to a trillion dollars. …
More Wall Street Socialism; Insurer AIG Bailed Out by Feds for $85 Billion. Markets Like It. Will Taxpayers?
The Federal Reserve tonight (Sept. 16) agreed to a bailout of $85 billion to rescue American International Group (AIG), the big insurance company. It comes two weeks after the government buyout of Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. In both cases, …
Reporters Say Braun Leaving U-T. Several Companies Reported To Be Taking Interest in Buying It, but All Have Financial Woes
Union-Tribune staffers say columnist Gerry Braun is leaving the paper. His wife, Ruth McKinnie Braun, was one of the employees who camped out in the lobby to be able to get early forms for the latest buyout. She succeeded and …
Stocks Plunge; Insurance Giant AIG May Be Next Casualty. Era of Excessive Debt Probably Coming to Inglorious End
The Dow Jones Industrial Average plunged more than 500 points today (Sept. 15), following the bankruptcy filing of Wall Street's Lehman Bros. and Merrill Lynch's agreement to be purchased by Bank of America. Today's 4.4 percent drop is the biggest …
Wall Street Collapses of Its Own Hubris, Gambling with Borrowed Funds. Two of Biggest Houses, Merrill Lynch and Lehman, Disappearing
With the Federal Reserve and federal government calling the shots (and putting in money, but not too much), two of Wall Street's historic firms are being wiped away. Bank of America is buying Merrill Lynch for $50 billion or $29 …
Eight-Year Saga of Port's Phantom $21 Million for Ballpark Finally Ends. It's a Tale of Typical San Diego Deceit
Judge William R. Nevitt, Jr. has ruled that former port commissioner Harvey Furgatch is entitled to attorney fees and statutory costs of $683,000 in his long-running lawsuit showing that the $21 million that the port district suddenly came up with …
SEC Charges That LPL Financial Failed To Protect Customers' Privacy
The Securities and Exchange Commission today (Sept. 11) took an enforcement action against LPL Financial for failing to adopt policies to safeguard customers' personal information, hence leaving them vulnerable to identity theft. Financial services firm LPL has its headquarters in …
CCDC Kills 7th and Market Project; Chairman Maas Says Related Group May Be Victim, Attacks Local Developer
Centre City Development Corp.'s board killed the proposed project at 7th and Market this morning (Sept. 10), but was disrespectful to the previous runner-up developer, Robert Green of Encinitas, according to attorney Larry Sidiropoulos, co-owner of the nearby Clermont Hotel, …
Golf Clothes Maker Ashworth May Sell Company; Stock Plunges 21.6 Percent
Carlsbad golf clothing maker Ashworth Inc. announced late yesterday afternoon (Sept. 9) that it is "exploring strategic alternatives, including the sale of the company" -- generally, an announcement that a company is fishing for a buyer. The stock is now …