On Today's Air Talk we'll dissect the surge in California home prices, the debt crises facing the EU, a review of the new Cars Land at Disney's California Adventure Park, a new data system developed at USC to statistically track and improve movements on a basketball court, a discussion on whether or not Facebook is good for advertisers and a conversation with legendary composer Marvin Hamlisch. Plus, the latest news
Housing prices, sales and mortgage rates going up
Is the five-year slump finally over? In May, the Southland saw a sharp uptick in both housing prices and the number of homes sold. Sales are up over 20 percent from a year ago, with the median price jumping 5.4 percent. This reflects the national picture as well.
What’s behind the good news? Several factors: near record low mortgage rates, declining foreclosures and a general perception that the housing market has fallen as low as it can go are spurring previously gun-shy buyers to take the plunge. But if you’re on the fence, you might not want to wait too long – Freddie Mac reports that mortgage rates are starting to inch up as well. Are hard times finally over for the housing market?
Guest:
Stuart Gabriel, director, Richard S. Ziman Center for Real Estate at UCLA and Arden Realty Chair and Professor of Finance, UCLA Anderson School of Management
Andrew LePage, analyst with Dataquick Information Systems
The European economy and its impact on the U.S.
Europe’s economy is more fragile than ever. With a recent election in Greece and uncertainty over whether or not the country will stay true to the terms of its bailout, now Spain and Italy are proving to be major areas of concern for the continent.
In Spain, the 10-year bond yield, which is often used as the mark of a country’s economic creditworthiness, rose to near a record 7 percent, a dramatic increase. And this comes on the heels of being knocked down three notches by Moody’s. Madrid took in about $125 billion in loans from investors, but the worry is that the country will not be able to repay the debt. Italy then reacted to this, and their 10-year bonds jumped to 6.1 percent. Matched with an overall debt of $2.4 trillion, further economic instability would be tragic for the country.
As a direct result of these uncertainties, European stocks fell across the board. But what’s happening on this side of the pond? How will the U.S. stock market handle this situation? Less money in Spain and Italy means less Spaniards and Italians traveling to the United States. What role does international tourism play in all this? And what about U.S. companies which manufacture products in Asia? Are Europeans still buying?
GUEST
Peter Coy, Economics Editor, Bloomberg Businessweek
Disney California Adventure’s new Cars Land opening this week
In 2007, Disney announced a $1.1-billion renovation to its California Adventure park. Now, nearly five years later, the new additions will finally be opening to the public on June 15. Included in the overhaul is the crown jewel, Cars Land. The 12-acre mock-up of the fictional town Radiator Springs from Disney Pixar’s 2006 animated film, Cars.
The new land features three new rides, a restaurant, and several snack stands all themed for different locations in the movie and set against the 125-foot Cadillac Range. The new attraction is expected to draw droves of visitors for at least a few months, meaning long lines for those who need to see it now.
So what, if anything, will Cars Land do for California Adventure’s reputation, visitor volume, and pocket book?
GUESTS
Robert Niles, Editor, ThemeParkInsider.com; Niles has been on the new rides
Pro basketball’s version of 'Moneyball'? Two computer scientists are crunching the numbers to change the game
Professional basketball players are working hard as the NBA Finals progress. But behind the scenes, two researchers at USC’s Information Sciences Institute have been working for months to analyze the statistics and data for an entire season of 10 NBA teams.
Rajiv Maheswaran and Yu-Han Chang are collecting a host of information using SportVU optical tracking data. The system takes real time footage captured by video cameras installed in select basketball courts and condenses it into data files, which can then be interpreted and analyzed by the duo.
With the raw data collected by SportVU, Maheswaran and Chang are able to track anything from spatial dynamics and ball trajectories to player velocity and movement.
What patterns have they found thus far? How will their analysis affect the game?
GUESTS
Yu-Han Chang, Research Assistant Professor, USC Viterbi School of Engineering’s Information Sciences Institute
Rajiv Maheswaran, Research Assistant Professor, USC Viterbi School of Engineering’s Information Sciences Institute
Facebook advertising: a boost or bust for business?
Status updates and jealous-making vacation pics aren’t the only things vying for your attention on Facebook. Just over to the right, Zappos is offering markdowns on the latest sandals and The W Hotels has sample beds on sale. But do you ever click on those ads?
Most Facebook users probably say no. But Facebook Inc. is touting a new study they claim shows that advertising on the social networking site is effective. Perhaps the company is trying to boost its status on Wall Street, after its botched initial public offering. Last year, Facebook made most of its $3.7 billion in revenue from advertising. But it has a long way to go before it can justify its stock market value of about $58 billion.
Marketers “like” the site’s 1-billion users, which translate into 2-billion eyeballs, in marketing parlance. But do those ads really pay off for companies? General Motors, for one, has its doubts. The automotive behemoth, which is the third-largest U.S. advertiser, recently announced it’s yanking its Facebook ads.
Will other big companies follow? Is online marketing failing to live up to its purported potential? If people aren’t clicking through, might the ads still be working subliminally? Or are they just expensive and annoying?
GUEST
Andrew Rohm, Associate Professor of Marketing at Loyola Marymount University. He teaches a specialist class in social media marketing
Mike McGuire, Vice President of Research, Media Industry Advisory Services at Gartner - an information technology research consultancy
Legendary composer Marvin Hamlisch returns to the Pasadena Pops
As spring officially turns to summer, Southern California’s musical landscape will change too. Next weekend, the Pasadena Pops orchestra will move into its new summer concert venue at the Los Angeles County Arboretum and Botanica Garden in Arcadia. The season kicks off with legendary composer Marvin Hamlisch at the podium.
Hamlisch will lead a program built around his 1978 Broadway musical, “They’re Playing Our Song,” featuring performances by Robert Klein and Lucie Arnaz. Hamlisch’s life in music stretches all the way back to his days at Julliard, where at the age of 7, he was the youngest student ever accepted. Since then, his contributions to the world of music and entertainment have been dizzyingly extensive. His celebrated compositions include scores to movies like “The Way We Were,” “The Sting” and “Ordinary People.” Hamlisch also composed the unforgettable score for the 1975 Broadway musical “A Chorus Line,” earning him both a Tony Award and a Pulitzer Prize.
But those aren’t the only awards the highly prolific maestro has taken home. Hamlisch is actually one of only twelve entertainers to be an EGOT, or the winner of all the top four entertainment prizes (Emmy, Grammy, Oscar and Tony). As if that’s not enough, he’s also a charismatic font of musical history and memorable tales who has dedicated his life to bringing people together with music. Hamlisch joins Larry in studio to talk about his extensive career and his latest projects with the Pasadena Pops.
GUEST
Marvin Hamlisch, Award-winning composer, conductor, pianist; Principal POPS Conductor of the Pasadena POPS Summer Concerts at the Los Angeles County Arboretum in Arcadia, California