Entries
Slurp! Slurp! SERP Propels Felsinger's Pay
Donald Felsinger, chief executive of Sempra Energy, "is way overpaid," says Graef (Bud) Crystal, former San Diegan who is one of the world's ranking experts on executive compensation. The recent proxy statement for the San Diego-based utility listed Felsinger's total …
Economists Exult over Job Gains. Be Wary
Economists are rhapsodizing this morning (May 7) over April's rise in 290,000 jobs (224,000 after temporary Census workers are excluded). March job gains were revised upward to 230,000 from 162,000. The unemployment rate rose to 9.9% from 9.7% because, said …
Psssst! Wanna Make 4 to 12 Times Your Investment?
The Securities and Exchange Commission today (May 6) charged Dennis Lee Keating II, a former broker and part owner of Torrey Pines Securities, with swindling more than 100 investors by giving them false information in encouraging them to invest in …
Dow Plunges 348 -- but Recovers from Near 1,000 Drop
It was a wild day on Wall Street. The Dow Jones Industrial Average plummeted 348, or 3.21%. The NASDAQ was down 3.44% and the Standard & Poor's 500 down 3.24%. At one point, the Dow was down almost 1,000. The …
Stocks Crash in Panic Selling, Volatility
U.S. stocks crashed this afternoon, then bounced part of the way back. Pundits blame the Greek situation, although it is much more complicated than that. At one point, the Dow Jones Industrial Average was down almost 1,000 points. At just …
Dumanis Gives the Green Light to Corruption
Today (May 5), District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis officially stated that San Diego will be tolerant of abuse of power. Since 2008, it has been an open secret that prosecutors will not go after the establishment for any kinds of economic …
Padres's Attendance Was Better When Losing at Qualcomm
Remember when John Moores said the Padres couldn't survive economically playing at Qualcomm Stadium? This year, the team has an excellent record and is in first place in the National League West. Attendance is averaging a mere 22,381 a game. …
SanDiego.com to Be Auctioned May 7
Assets of SD Acquisitions LLC, owner of the SanDiego.com domain name, will go up for public auction at 5 p.m. Friday, May 7 at 610 West Ash Street, Suite 1405, according to DN Journal, a publication covering the domain industry. …
Saks Closing Fashion Valley Store
Retailer Saks Inc. said Monday (May 3) that is closing its Saks Fifth Avenue store in the Fashion Valley shopping center by July 17. The company statement indicated that the San Diego store was not one of the company's more …
U-T Puffs up Bridgepoint. Uh, Look Further
I suppose it was inevitable that the Union-Tribune would pen a fluff piece this morning (April 30) on Bridgepoint Education, the for-profit, online school that is the new sponsor of the Holiday Bowl, has signs hanging in Petco Park, and …
La Jolla Officials Get Advice from Li Mandri
Members of La Jolla Town Council recently took a trip to Little Italy to study the work of controversial Marco Li Mandri, head of the privately-held New City America, according to the La Jolla Light. La Jolla has been having …
Utility Customers get $400 Million from Sempra Settlement
California utility customers will get $400 million in refunds from San Diego-based Sempra Energy, stemming from the 2000-2001 energy crisis. The settlement was announced today (April 28) by Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. The deal provides $270 million to …
Local Lead Indicators Continue Rising
The lead indicators of the San Diego economy, compiled by Alan Gin of the University of San Diego, rose to 109 in March from 108 in February, continuing the uptrend that has been in force since April of 2009. Building …
San Diego Shines Amid Gloomy Housing News
"San Diego was the only market that continued to show improvement in home prices between January and February," says Standard and Poor's, reflecting on the Standard and Poor's/Case-Shiller indices released this morning (April 27). San Diego home values rose 0.6% …
Fabiani Joins Goldman Sachs Cleanup Team
San Diego Chargers spokesman Mark Fabiani has joined the crisis response team of Wall Street's beleaguered Goldman Sachs, according to Mike Allen of the online Politico.com. Allen says that Fabiani, whom he identifies as "the Master of Disaster," got on …
U-T Circulation Continues Fall. Ditto for Other Southern California Dailies
Union-Tribune Monday-Friday paid circulation dropped to 249,630 for the six months ended March 31, down from 261,235 for same period of 2009, according Audit Bureau of Circulations data released this morning (April 26). U-T Sunday circulation dropped to 310,869 from …
"VA" May Not Be What It Seems
CNNMoney.com reported this month on what it called a "new legal trick: fake hospital sites for finding clients." A writer found that dozens of websites bore names such as "VA Medical Center Palo Alto." But they had no affiliation with …
Remember: Most Scams Are Legal
Wall Street's Goldman Sachs vows to fight recent fraud charges by the Securities and Exchange Commission. In short, Goldman put together a portfolio of mortgages. A hedge fund that intended to bet that portfolio would drop in value allegedly helped …
Developers Bankrolling "Strong Mayor" Campaign
The League of Women Voters on its website (www.lwvsandiego.org) shows that real estate developers are throwing wads of money at the "Yes on D" campaign that would make the so-called strong mayor concept permanent. Among those associated with real estate …
City Threatens to Sue Promote La Jolla BID
The city attorney's office has notified Promote La Jolla, a business improvement district which has been accused of accounting irregularities and misuse of funds, that it will sue for recovery if it doesn't get $112,070 by by May 10. Rick …