Entries
SD Home Prices at Bottom, Says Forbes. Guru Robert Campbell Disagrees
Housing prices have hit bottom in five large cities that were walloped in the real estate mayhem: Las Vegas, Phoenix, San Diego, Miami, and Los Angeles, according to Forbes.com, which used data from Mountain View's Altosresearch.com. In January of this …
San Diego Gets Deflation Whiff. Real Personal Income Also Declines
New data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics show that for the first half of 2009, the San Diego consumer price index dropped 0.6% from 2008, the first decline in the local CPI since 1954, according to Kelly Cunningham, economist …
Local Lead Indicators Continue Modest Rise
The lead indicators of the San Diego economy, compiled by economist Alan Gin of the University of San Diego, in August continued the tepid rise they have experienced since February. The August index was 102.4, topping July, June, May, April, …
State Sues Beverly Hills Middleman Who Fed Money to Madoff
The attorney general's office today (Sept. 22) filed a fraud suit against Stanley Chais of Beverly Hills, who called himself a money manager. For decades, he convinced investors that he was a wizard who could beat the market by investing …
Chargers Biggest NFL Political Donors -- by Far
Since the 1990 election cycle, the San Diego Chargers have given $2.4 million to federal political candidates and committees -- topping each of the other 31 teams by a long way, according to a study released yesterday (Sept. 17) by …
SDCERS Rejects Looser Accounting. Victory for Frye, DeMaio
The board of the San Diego City Employees' Retirement System today (Sept. 18) rejected by 10-2 a proposal that would have loosened accounting standards even more, and lowered the City's payment to the system next year by more than $30 …
Local Unemployment Hits 10.4% in August
San Diego County's unemployment rate was 10.4% in August, unchanged from a revised 10.4% July. Originally, July was reported at 10.3%. San Diego's 10.4% compares with 12.1 for California and 9.6% for the U.S. Consumer spending continues to be weak …
San Diego One of Five Most Frugal Cities
The Atlantic.com has named San Diego one of the five most frugal cities in the U.S. -- thus tying for the 2009 Frugal Fannie award. The publication selected major cities whose consumers' discretionary spending is below average, and also dropped …
Convention Center Seeking "Specialist"to Ballyhoo Expansion
The San Diego Convention Center Corp. is seeking a full-time "community outreach specialist" who would, among other things, "develop community outreach and education programs for expansion project phases." Translation: propagandize for the convention center expansion. The job opening, which pays …
Bernanke Says Recession Over. Glug, Glug
Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said today (Sept. 15) that the recession is probably over. Stock market averages hit their 2009 highs. Actually, a day earlier, Janet Yellen, president of the San Francisco Fed, said the same thing: the recession …
Charles Krulak Denounces Cheney's Torture Policy
Charles Krulak, former commandant of the Marine Corps, now retired, co-authored a scathing attack on former Vice President Dick Cheney in the Sept. 11 Miami Herald. Krulak is the son of the late Victor H. "Brute" Krulak, former Marine Lt. …
Utilities Commission Denies SDG&E's Power Cutoff Plan -- Leaving an Out
The state Public Utilities Commission (PUC) today (Sept. 10) turned down San Diego Gas & Electric's plan to shut off power to backcountry residents during periods of high fire danger, and also to dodge liability for the consequences of the …
Sempra "Investigating" Reports That Its Lobbyist Bedded Down Ex-Legislator
Sempra Energy, San Diego-based parent of San Diego Gas & Electric, has issued a statement claiming that it is "investigating" recent media reports that its lobbyist reportedly slept with former Orange County Assemblyman Mike Duvall. Yorba Linda's Duvall was caught …
Consumers Pay Off Debt; Economy Will Be Weak. Wall Street Rejoices
American consumers cut back debt by $21.5 billion in July -- a 10.3% annual rate, according to the Federal Reserve. Outstanding debt is down 4.2% from a year ago. That represents the biggest year-over-year decline since 1944. American consumers are …
Be Skeptical of Today's Employment Figures
Wall Street seems to be happy that the nation lost 216,000 jobs in August when economists had expected a loss of 233,000. But be VERY skeptical of that number. Each month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics estimates jobs that have …
Orange County Register Parent to File Bankruptcy: Report
Orange County-based Freedom Communications, publisher of the Orange County Register plus 32 other dailies and 77 weeklies, will file for bankruptcy this week, according to the Wall Street Journal. A spokesman for the company said it is "continuing to work …
Professor Tells How Convention Center Stats Grossly Mislead
Heywood Sanders, professor at the University of Texas at San Antonio, and the ranking national authority on convention centers, has read the draft report by the mayor's task force purportedly studying convention center expansion, and concludes is it full of …
Convention Center Embarrasses Self, San Diego Again
In today's Voice of San Diego, Steve Johnson, flack for the convention center, calls Heywood Sanders, professor at the University of Texas at San Antonio, "a whack job." In my blog item yesterday (Aug. 28), and in today's (Aug. 29) …
Scholar Says He Is "Misrepresented" in Convention Task Force Report
Heywood Sanders, professor at the University of Texas-San Antonio, and generally considered the ranking expert on convention centers, says he has been "misrepresented" in the San Diego Convention Center Task Force's annual report that has just been issued. Sanders has …
Rancho Santa Fe Mortgage Speculator Backs Out of Saab Deal
Mark Bishop of Rancho Santa Fe has stepped down from the board of Koenigsegg Group AB, a tiny upscale Swedish automaker that plans to buy Saab from General Motors, according to the Associated Press. It has been rumored for two …