Results tagged “business”

With a $1 billion net income for the 3rd quarter, Ford is forecasting "solidly profitable" future by 2011. The AP reports: "The automaker said Monday earnings were fueled by U.S. market share gains, cost cuts and the Cash for Clunkers program, which drew flocks of buyers to showrooms this summer. Ford's shares rose 58 cents, or 8.3 percent, to $7.58 in pre-market trading." The company was the only Detroit automaker that did not receive government aid or go to bankruptcy court.

Figures are in this morning for newspaper circulation nationwide, and the numbers reflect the downward trend symptomatic of a changing media landscape. Here in Los Angeles, the Times' circulation for a six-month period ending September 30th, "was at 657,467 for the Monday-Friday run," notes LA Observed, which shows an 11.05% drop from the same period for 2008.

A state report on restructure California's tax system is due today and the Associated Press, which obtained an early copy, has found that bold changes are recommended, prompting a large amount of skepticism. The AP explains some:

Users of the business-oriented social networking site LinkedIn who are based in Orange County are sick of being considered part of "greater Los Angeles." One user, Laguna Niguel's Sven Johnston, has "spearheaded the campaign to get the O.C. recognition," apart from L.A. explains the OC Register's Jan Norman in a blog post.

Without too much discussion last year, the L.A. City Council raised parking meter fees citywide to at least $1 an hour at all meters. Times were also extended, angering some businesses, especially theatres in the NoHo Arts District where patrons potentially had to leave during intermission or in the middle of the show to refill a meter. A year later, some businesses still see a drop in business with blame towards increased rates, says the Daily News:

Making the rounds in the news today is this freshly-brewed story of a new drive-through coffeehouse where the servers shun the more typical apron and khakis in favor of two very different pieces altogether: The bikini.

Looks like Burbank officials goofed on the whole letting the business community know they were taking away blocks of parking to add traffic lanes. Not only does it exacerbate the current recession for owners, but it has possible legal ramifications with the law, says Damien Newton at LA Streetsblog: "In May of 2008, when the debate over the fate of the Mayor's Pico-Olympic Plan was at its hottest, a Superior Court Judge ruled that the City of Los Angeles needed to do an environmental study of the effects on eliminating street parking before moving forward with the plan to increase capacity on the two thru-fares at rush hour. The judge specifically noted the poor public outreach done by LADOT and the City, an outreach campaign that looks like a model for good government next to Burbank's." A Burbank traffic engineer admitted outreach could have been better. There was about a 24 hours notice given.

As new media consumption goes mainstream, so goes the geekfest; this week's Twiistup includes panels featuring the likes of Brooke Burke (of Wild on E! and Dancing with the Stars fame) discussing her new-found success as an online entrepreneur and Chamillionaire (he of the many mixtapes and much Patron) talking digital music. Since 2007, Twiistup, has served as both a memorable party for the entrepreneurs and media savants and a matchmaking event for select SoCal startups and wide-eyed venture capitalists. But this week Twiistup, now in it's sixth version, is expanding to add a day-and-a-half conference with top speakers to complement a night of open bar mingling.

It's a dream come true for the woman known as OctoMom: A European production company has hired the 14 children of the OC's Nadya Suleman and papers have been signed and filed guaranteeing each kid a $250 a day salary for their upcoming work in a reality TV show, reports the LA Times. The Suleman brood, including the octuplets born amid a flurry of flashbulbs and headlines earlier this year, will begin work September 1st.

I was driving back from the Costco in Burbank one afternoon when my boyfriend turned to me and asked "Why in God's name is there a custom hat store on Magnolia? Who wears hats anymore?" I thought a second, laughed, and said -- "Hollywood!" Movie-makers will always need milliners and other manufacturers of specialty props -- right??

Apparently, not everyone loves a Happy Ending. In what could have been an upbeat tale sprung from Hollywood, a popular watering hole and eatery had their hopes up for a new life on Culver Boulevard in Playa del Rey...only to find out that they are not welcome there, according to the Daily Breeze.

As part of a city-wide, Mayor-back, and City Council-approved plan that went into effect more than a month ago, parking meter rates in San Pedro got a significant hike--in fact, the rates quadrupled, and the applicable time extended into evening hours. This left not only motorists flustered, but merchants as well, who are already facing a decline in revenue thanks to the economy.

Forget worrying about what you've packed in that suitcase you have to shell out a few extra bucks for; if you've packed on too many pounds and want to fly on United, you could be headed for shelling out a second seat's worth. The airline is now enforcing a policy that stipulates that "passengers who are unable to fit into a single seat; are unable to properly fasten their safety belt [using a single seatbelt extender; and/or] are unable to put the seat's armrests down, will be denied boarding unless they purchase an extra seat," according to cbs2.

It all started with a blogger: Last week news broke that budget airline JetBlue was thinking of pulling out of Long Beach Airport (LGB) after their CEO said as much to the blogger behind Crankyflier.com. Although formal meetings are on the books for LGB's Director, Mario Rodriguez, and JetBlue CEO Dave Barger back east later this month, the pair wound up having an impromptu lunch at In-N-Out Burger on Thursday.

Ticketmaster has been served...with subpoenas. "Four government agencies in the U.S. and Canada, including the Justice Department, are investigating the West Hollywood company's activities in reselling concert tickets," explains LA Biz Observed. The inquiry is to uncover information pertaining to their work with ticket brokers, "including the names of every broker who resells tickets on its TicketsNow site."

And that's not a bad thing. The New York Times yesterday looked into Eagle Rock's changing neighborhood dynamic, but change is not as easy as said in President Barack Obama's first college town: "The new residents brought prosperity and, the locals say, a little arrogance as well. 'They sounded the trumpets and announced a vision of something like Silver Lake or Los Feliz,' said Bob de Velasco, who runs Commercial Printing Network, a copy shop. 'But it’s not going to happen. Eagle Rock wasn’t meant to have that. Eagle Rock is an old-fashioned, atmospheric town.'" Ad to that SoCal historian D.J. Waldie: “The problem is this, if we truly believed that patronizing these places enlivened our neighborhoods, why aren’t we there — eating the omelets or shopping at the boutique?”

      

LAist stopped by the Go Green Expo today, which has been going on all weekend at the LA Convention Center in Downtown. The Go Green Expo is an opportunity for both business buyers and everyday consumers seeking eco-friendly products & services for their companies, homes, schools and children to see what kind of eco-friendly consumer goods are for sale, or will be soon, and to meet with the many exhibitors showcasing their products. LAist's News Editor Andy Sternberg sent over some pics from the convention floor to share; looks like there's some exiting stuff on the market, and many Los Angeles-based companies who can help steer us towards a greener future.

Today's Daily News takes a look at one of Los Angeles' main streets, Ventura Boulevard, and how it's faring in the current economic crisis. Not surprisingly, things are not going well for business owners whose shops are located on "the San Fernando Valley's most robust commercial strip."

Thursday marked the end of a 63-year-long road for Studio City's Sportsmen's Lodge. There was a much tears as beer flowing this New Year's Eve, as the Valley's longtime gathering place ushered in a gloomy 2009. The event drew more than 1,000 people, and, according to the Daily News "a 12-piece orchestra serenaded the crowd, which included former employees and restaurant regulars."

'Tis the season for Top Ten lists, but this one--the 14th annual Kosmont-Rose Institute Cost of Doing Business Survey released by the Rose Institute of State & Local Government at Claremont McKenna College--gives our fair city more of dubious honor. Once again, Los Angeles ranks among the "10 most expensive places in the country to do business," reports the Daily News.

Yahoo! confirmed today that they will be laying off 1,500 employees globally including "an undisclosed amount at its Burbank campus on Empire Avenue," the Burbank Leader reports this morning.

An e-mail is floating around pointing out Southern California restaurant high ranking employees or owners who donated to Yes on Prop 8, which sought to eliminate gay marriage. The author of the e-mail, who wished to remain anonymous wrote "it's wrong to penalize those whose employees were the ones that donated, of course, so this list is limited only to ownership and decision-making upper management. Still, the results are surprising. All of these results are freely available to verify yourself." As you may already know, El Coyote Restaurant on Beverly Blvd. has already been the focus of much discussion.

Electronics retailer Circuit City announced recently that they were going to close 155 stores nationally in efforts to curtail their financial woes. According to a November 3 press release, "the stores identified for closure are located in 55 U.S. media markets, of which Circuit City will exit 12 U.S. media markets." Although not exiting California, they are planning on closing 24 stores in the state, including ones locally in Industry, Compton, Foothill Ranch, Thousand Oaks, Riverside, North Fontana, Pomona, Santa Maria, and Santa Barbara.

West Hollywood based Ticketmaster has gone off and become a management company in addition to its ticket selling marketing duties. Soon to be Ticketmaster Entertainment, the company has "acquired a controlling equity interest in Irving Azoff’s music management company Front Line and install Azoff as CEO of Ticketmaster," reports Variety. The $125 million acquisition will be bought from the Warner Music Group. Some of Front Line's artists include the Eagles, Jimmy Buffett, Neil Diamond, Van Halen, Fleetwood Mac, Christina Aguilera, Stevie Nicks, Aerosmith, Steely Dan, Chicago, Journey and Guns N' Roses.

One of the first steps to fighting a problem is informing the public of what's legally right and wrong. After yesterday's meeting of the Regional Paparazzi Taskforce led by LA City Councilmember Dennis Zine, the group released this one page document highlighting laws paps break on a regular basis to score that big money shot (laws cited are state, Los Angeles, Malibu and Beverly Hills). But what's a little ticket or some short jail time when you just made $27,000 from a couple of shots? To them, it's just a cost of doing business. A downloadable version of the guide will soon be available on Zine's website.

Attracting business to (or keeping it within) Los Angeles is a good thing for the economy. Having them be green is hip and great for the future. So that's why the Community Redevelopment Agency of the city claimed one million square feet of downtown industrial land for green research, development and industrial manufacturing at the new Los Angles Clean Technology Manufacturing Center that was announced today at a press conference.

Ten cities in two separate categories are up against each other for an award naming them the most business friendly city of the year in Los Angeles County. Starting in 2006, the LA Economic Development Corporation began the Eddy Awards to "celebrate individuals and organizations that demonstrate exceptional contributions to positive economic development in the region." For example, Santa Clarita does not assess a utility user tax and Glendale has no business tax, license fees and no gross receipts tax.

As the postal worker delivered mail yesterday to businesses along Sunset Blvd., he apologized to Joe Keeper of Bar Keeper for not delivering mail on Saturday. He said that Sunset Junction Street Festival security and staff would not let him inside the festival, even with his USPS issued ID and uniform, to deliver mail to the businesses, according to Keeper.

Thanks to California's recent legalization of same-sex marriages, one of the world's largest greeting card companies has now expanded their offerings to accommodate those who wish to give the happy couples a sexuality-specific paper token of esteem. Hallmark, based in Kansas City, Missouri, has introduced new cards for same-sex couples, although they do their best to avoid overtly stating that the cards are for two people getting married. Explains the Associated Press (via the Long Beach Press-Telegram): "The language inside the cards is neutral, with no mention of wedding or marriage, making them also suitable for a commitment ceremony. Hallmark says the move is a response to consumer demand, not any political pressure."

Today is the first day that West Hollywood based Ticketmaster is on their own. Its parent company IAC/InterActiveCorp spun off the ticket seller and three other internet sites to make five separate publicly traded companies. At the end of the article posted on the LA Times' website, it has this little nugget about one of the most frustrating parts regarding Ticketmaster: "[The Company] may consider revamping how it presents fees and charges, if not reduce the actual costs, which vary from ticket to ticket but can amount to nearly half of face value.'The fee structure is too complex,' [CEO Sean] Moriarty said. 'We're hopeful that over the next couple of years we'll make it much more fan-friendly.'"