Entries
Lead Indicators Flat; Private-Sector Employment Zooms
The October lead indicators of the San Diego economy have been flat at 110 for the fourth consecutive month, according to Alan Gin of the University of San Diego, who compiles the report. The indicators were 109.7 in June and …
If Anschutz Buys 35% of Chargers, Say Bye-Bye
According to NBC Sports, Toronto-based sports personality Bob McCown of the Fan 590 reports that Philip Anschutz "has or will" purchase 35% of the Chargers. Billionaire Anschutz is angling to build an NFL stadium in downtown Los Angeles, and recently …
Escondido's Pfeiler Fined $200 for Chargers Junket
Lori Pfeiler, long-time Escondido mayor who did not attempt to get another term this year, has been assessed a $200 penalty by the state's Fair Political Practices Commission. She failed to report transportation on a private plane and lodging allegedly …
San Diego Home Values Dropped in September
U.S. home prices dropped 2% in the third quarter ended Sept. 30, compared with a rise of 4.7% in the second quarter, according to Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller data released this morning (Nov. 30). San Diego home values declined 1% in …
What's Wall Street Worth? Little, If Anything
John Cassidy of the New Yorker has an excellent piece in the Nov. 29 edition, titled "What Good Is Wall Street?" Cassidy answers the question with well-constructed logic: Wall Street is worth little. Wall Street will claim that it finances …
Partnoy Quoted in Great Movie "Inside Job"
Frank Partnoy, University of San Diego law professor and international expert on derivatives, is quoted several times in the excellent movie, "Inside Job," a documentary which relates in clear terms the rape of American citizens by the big banks and …
Suit Filed Against Midnight Backroom Deal
A complaint was filed in Sacramento Superior Court Friday to set aside the late-hour, hush-hush deal that gives Centre City Development Corp. authority to boost its borrowing power as a way to make way for the downtown Chargers stadium proposal …
County Unemployment Drops in October
San Diego County unemployment dropped to 10.2% in October from a revised 10.7% in September, according to the state Employment Development Department. The county gained 5,600 jobs between September and October, but dropped 1,100 from a year earlier. The biggest …
Chatfield Admits Hiding Money through Swiss Bank
San Diegan Jeffrey Chatfield, a financial consultant who purportedly helped private companies go public, pleaded guilty in Washington DC today (Nov. 18) to filing a false tax return related to a Swiss bank account he maintained at UBS, a big …
Believe the Grand Jury. Do NOT Believe the Mayor's Office
A donnybrook is rumbling louder and louder in San Diego. The City revealed that it won't have its financial report for fiscal year 2010, ended June of this year, until June of next year, or six months late. The City …
Nov. 2 Memo Doesn't Mention Computer Glitch
Last evening, as reported below, the City said that its audit would be delayed half a year and it was suspending bond sales because of computer problems. The statement was not believable on its face. Now a new internal document …
City Delays Audit, Halts Bonds. Blames Computers. Hmmmmm
The City of San Diego today announced that it will hold a lottery. The winner gets the Coronado Bay Bridge. Well, San Diego didn't really say that, but it did the next most disingenuous thing: it said with a straight …
Another Local Ponzi Schemer Headed to Slammer
Mohit A. Khanna was sentenced to 41 months in prison today (Nov. 15) in U.S. district court for running San Diego's favorite road to riches: a Ponzi scheme. Khanna's Mak 1 Enterprises offered monthly returns ranging from 8% to 50%. …
It's Not Just Chargers Who Would Fleece Insolvent Political Entity
San Diego is recognized by many as the large U.S. city that is the most likely candidate for bankruptcy. Yet the city's pro football team, the Chargers, would like the insolvent city to subsidize a stadium for the team's billionaire …
LA Times Cites San Diego Public Corruption
In a front page story today (Nov. 12), the Los Angeles Times states, "Audits of city finances often cover up serious problems...independent audits that public agencies in California are legally required to obtain frequently fail to flag cases of fraud …
Channel 10 Airs Mayor's Deposition in Crime Case Tonight
Tonight (Nov. 10) at 11 p.m., Channel 10 will air videotape portions of the deposition of Mayor Jerry Sanders in the Kessler vs. San Diego case. On Oct. 19, Superior Court Judge John S. Meyer turned down the City's attempt …
For-Profit College CEOS Rolling in Dough, Including Bridgepoint
Bloomberg News has a comprehensive story this morning (Nov. 10) on huge sums of money that officials of for-profit colleges rake in. Look at these numbers from a pay/performance standpoint: the graduation rate for first-time, full-time candidates for four-year degrees …
Boycott U-T, Says Arts Writer
After it laid off iconic visual arts critic Bob Pincus last summer, the Union-Tribune tried to appease indignant people in the arts community by asking local artists, art scholars and professionals to make blog posts -- for free. Yesterday (Nov. …
DeMaio Blind to One Thing: Greed
Councilmember Carl DeMaio came out today (Nov. 12) with his plan to solve the City of San Diego's backbreaking financial problem. I read his plan. It made me think about that great, sneering, cynical line in Samuel Beckett's "Waiting for …
Bailouts of ailing states has ALREADY Begun
While everybody wonders whether the federal government will have to bail out insolvent states, the process has already begun. Writing in the Wall Street Journal Nov. 3, Meredith Whitney, the top bank analyst on Wall Street, pointed out that "state …