Does Your Broker Claim the Real Estate Devastation Is Almost Over? Statistics Say It May Be Half Over
The real estate downturn is nowhere near over, say savvy economists and followers of the industry. And San Diego's plight is among the nation's worst. According to Case-Shiller data, San Diego prices are plunging at a 31.5 percent annual rate …
Ten Trillion Reasons Why Federal Reserve May Have Bailed Out Bear Stearns
Here's a bombshell from the March 22 edition of The Economist magazine: "With positions in credit-default and interest rate swaps worth a notional $10 trillion, the idea of [Bear Stearns's] sudden collapse was chilling -- and nobody wanted to put …
David Perez Loved His Katrina Publicity, but Has Quietly Left Company in Tatters
In September of 2005, San Diegan David Perez got glowing national publicity for rounding up airplanes to fly victims of Katrina to safety. However, as the Reader pointed out at the time, there were some mice in Perez's basement: he …
Jenny Craig Sent Out Tainted Meat from Chino Slaughterhouse, but Notification Inadequate
San Diego-based weight loss specialty firm Jenny Craig sent its customers Salisbury steak and meatloaf meals made with beef from Chino's Westlands/Hallmark, the slaughterhouse whose abuse of crippled cows, caught on a hidden camera, created a stir and led to …
Fed Completely Ignored Moral Hazard in Bailing Out Bear Stearns. Were the Fed's Moves Legal?
Over the weekend, the Federal Reserve committed $30 billion to facilitate the takeover of ailing Wall Street firm Bear Stearns by JP Morgan Chase. On Friday, the Fed had provided a bailout to Bear through Morgan. The Fed has utterly …
Stunner: JP Morgan Buys Bear Stearns for $2 a Share. Earlier in Last Year, It Sold for $159. Federal Reserve To Subsidize Purchase
Wall Street's JP Morgan agreed to buy ailing brokerage Bear Stearns for $2 a share Sunday. That comes to $236.2 million. Bear has a new building worth at least $1 billion. Assuming that building is part of the deal, JP …
Fear That Bear Stearns May Not Be Able To Honor Credit Default Swaps May Be Reason for Federal Reserve Bailout
On Friday (March 14), the Federal Reserve arranged a bailout of Wall Street's Bear Stearns. Immediately, I suspected that other financial institutions are wary that Bear can't make good on credit default swaps, complex derivatives in which one party agrees …
Peters Hustles to Hustings; Long-Delayed 2005 Audit Delayed Again
The City's 2005 certified financial audit has been delayed for a long time. The mayor's office says it's an urgent matter. On Tuesday, it was to be considered by council. But Mayor Jerry Sanders's toady, Council President Scott Peters, had …
Why Financial Reform of Near-Bankrupt City May Be Impossible: Aguirre Jeered Yesterday by Business, Labor Moochers
The City of San Diego is bleeding financially because of corporate welfare mendicants who suck money out of the coffers, and City workers who enjoy excessive salaries and benefits. The treatment given City Attorney Mike Aguirre, who is trying to …
Typically, U-T Editorial Touts Sanders; But Account Differs Sharply from U-T News Story. Paper Refuses Comment
On March 9, the Union-Tribune wrote an editorial that, as usual, lauded Mayor Jerry Sanders. "Reform at last," gushed the editorial, praising Sanders's new plan for purportedly fixing the pension system. "Taxpayers would save $25 million the first year," effervesced …
Dalliances with Hookers Can Get You the Hook from Top Private Sector Job, Too
New York Governor Eliot Spitzer is expected to resign as a result of his involvement with a prostitute who charged $5,500 an hour. Since he was moving money around in a possibly illegal way, Spitzer could get some hard time …
Hundreds Trying To Get Money Back from Real Estate Operation
Hundreds of investors are trying to get their money back from Corporate Funding Financial of America, formerly of B Street downtown, now purportedly located on India Street. The company bills itself as a trust deed investment firm, promising investors 10, …
Blackwater Drops Bid for Training Facility in Potrero
Chalk up a victory for the tiny town of Potrero in East County. Blackwater Worldwide, the controversial mercenary firm, wrote a letter to the county today (March 7), saying it is withdrawing its application for the 824-acre facility, which was …
Former Insurance Commissioner, Now a Cop, Under Investigation Again
Chuck Quackenbush, former California insurance commissioner who resigned under fire in 2000, is back in trouble again. As the Reader revealed in August of 2006, Quackenbush is now a deputy sheriff in Lee County, Florida; his salary has plunged from …
Aguirre To Announce Wednesday That He Will Run for Second Term
At noon at the Cabrillo Monument on Wednesday, March 5, City Attorney Mike Aguirre will announce that he is running for a second term. A ten-person committee, "community leaders from around the city," he says, will be working with him …
Municipal Bond Market Chaotic as City Council Looks at 2005 Financial Report
The city council will look at the long-delayed 2005 financial report today (March 3). Mayor Jerry Sanders still insists the City can return to the municipal bond market. But that market is roiling. Friday, hedge funds were forced to dump …
Stadium Subsidies Provide All of Pro Sports' Profits, According to Author
David Cay Johnston, New York Times tax reporter, is out with an eye-opening book, "Free Lunch: How the Wealthiest Americans Enrich Themselves at Government Expense (and Stick You with the Bill)." The book quotes Neil deMause of Fieldofschemes.com saying that …