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Biz Waves is a one-stop Web hub for business news and content from the South Bay region of Los Angeles County and beyond.
The primary contributor is:
Muhammed El-Hasan, a business reporter at the Daily Breeze since 2000, covers aerospace and everything else about business in the South Bay. Muhammed previously reported at the San Bernardino Sun and the community news division of The Orange County Register. He also worked as a researcher in the Jerusalem bureau of the Los Angeles Times in 1996-97. But his career highlight as a young man was driving a forklift at a Gardena company near Hawthorne, where he grew up.
You can email Muhammed at dailybreeze.com
« February 2008 | Main | April 2008 »
OSI Systems, the Hawthorne-based maker of security detection and healthcare equipment, won a $7.3 million contract from the US Army for multiple relocatable Gamma Radiographic Detection Systems.
Known as the Rapiscan GaRDS, this product line detects hidden contraband, including weapons, explosives, weapons of mass destruction, drugs and undeclared goods.
The systems bought by the Army are to be deployed in multiple undisclosed international locations.
Torrance-based Toyota Motor Sales USA recognized 78 science teachers nationwide during a weekend conference by doling out $550,000 in total grants through the Toyota TAPESTRY: Grants for
Science Teachers program.
The awards were given at the National Science Teachers Association National
Conference on Science Education in Boston.
Of the $550,000 granted, 50 teachers received up to $10,000 each and 28 received grants of up to $2,500 each. More than $8 million has been awarded to 986 teams of teachers in the program’s 18-year history.
Sadly, none of this year's winning teachers were from the South Bay.
On Aprl 1, the California Association of Realtors will roll out two new programs to help Realtors select the proper forms to use for real estate transactions.
Forms Advisor and Forms Tutor will offer online forms management to members of the association.
The association already offers WINForms.
Go to car.org for more info.
Virgin Blue International Airlines will launch non-stop service between Australia and Los Angeles later this year under a new open-skies agreement, LA Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa announced today.
The new open-skies agreement deregulates international air travel that will draw more airlines flying over the Pacific and Atlantic.
Let's hope the deregulation lowers the sky-high prices for air travel.
What about Yahoo for men?
(CNET) Yahoo launched a new Web site aimed at women on Monday. The site, called "Shine," will feature original blogs and content from major publishing partners including Conde Nast, Hearst, and Time.The site is Yahoo's latest foray into vertical sites, which include the popular Yahoo News and Yahoo Finance, as well as Sports and Entertainment, and the much less popular Yahoo Tech and Yahoo Green. Shine is also Yahoo's first targeting a specific audience and not just a topic.
Here's 10 money lessons from top March Madness teams, courtesy of TheStreet.com
1. Good Coaching Creates Success
2. Team Play Is Important
3. Having a Star Player Also Helps
4. Defense Is as Important as Offense
5. Free Throws Count
6. It's Little Mistakes That Kill
7. Making a Game Plan Is Essential
8. Set Plays Are Essential
9. Tempo Can't Be Ignored
10. Staying Calm Wins Games
Read the full story.
Not as painful as losing the Air Force tanker deal, but a loss nonetheless.
(Bloomberg News) Lockheed Martin Corp. and its partners beat a Boeing Co.-led team for a $766 million contract to supply the U.S. Defense Department with advanced radios.Lockheed and BAE Systems PLC, General Dynamics Corp. Raytheon Co. and Northrop Grumman Corp. will develop the airborne and maritime Joint Tactical Radio Systems, a satellite radio platform for aircraft and ships.
I care about this story because we're planning a trip in the summer. And the airline prices are on fire.
PHOENIX (AP) -- Your ginger-ale doesn't come in a glass anymore on most US Airways flights. On Delta you'll find yourself in a thinner, lighter seat. If you fly JetBlue cross-country, you'll get a dainty bag of 100-calorie crisps in place of the original snack box of cookies, crackers and spreadable cheese.With jet fuel prices so high, airlines have no choice but to scour their planes for ways to lighten the load. There's no room for even the smallest bits of dead weight, from redundant wing lights to extra wires in the walls. Manufacturers also are using lighter materials in plane construction.
"The pressure is immense" to cut weight, said John Heimlich, chief economist for the Air Transport Association of America, an industry trade group. "Every penny more per gallon adds $195 million to the industry's expenses per year.
"You simply cannot make all of that up with fare increases."
Jet fuel, which the Energy Department's Energy Information Administration tracked at $3.17 per gallon in New York on Tuesday, has doubled since the beginning of 2007. It outpaced labor as the biggest airline expense three years ago. As of September 2007, fuel made up 27 percent of operating expenses for U.S. airlines, according to the latest data from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics.
The industry has struggled to keep up. Carriers have increased fares, cut capacity, parked their gas guzzler planes, charged customers to check a second bag, trimmed staff and pushed as many passengers as possible to automated kiosks.
Airlines also try to exert some control over fuel expenses through hedging, a practice of capping fuel prices months or years in advance with long-term contracts.
But hedging is still a gamble.
"Reducing consumption is a certainty," Heimlich said. "You're always going to win by consuming less energy."
To that end, carriers have pulled out unused ovens, magazine racks and trash compactors during the past few years. Some removed paper manuals in the cockpit and installed electronic maintenance logbooks.
Fort Worth, Texas-based American Airlines created a Fuel Smart Team in 2005 as fuel prices started to go up. Tom Opderbeck, American's manager of strategic programs, said the team tried to cut weight in places that customers wouldn't notice.
The team capped electrical outlets in the lavatories and cut the power converters from the wall. It took out phones in seat backs and removed the heavy telephone wiring that was folded inside.
"I always think we've come to the end of the list, but we keep on finding new items" to remove, Opderbeck said.
The weight-savings measures were unrelated to the grounding this week of MD-80 planes operated by American, a company spokesman said Friday. American and Delta Air Lines both had to cancel flights after Federal Aviation Administration inspectors questioned whether the airlines had properly performed a modification. A $10.2 million civil penalty imposed by the FAA on Southwest Airlines this month also was unrelated to fuel-saving measures.
Last year, American replaced its silverware on business and first class with another set that was made from a lighter metal.
"Every little bit helps, especially for an airline like American Airlines that flies over 750,000 flights a year," Opderbeck said.
American Airlines burned 2.8 billion gallons in 2007. After the recent weight cuts, the carrier estimates it will conserve about 111 million gallons this year.
Tempe, Ariz.-based US Airways had similar ideas when it redesigned aircraft interiors following its 2005 combination with America West Airlines.
Sherri Shamblin, US Airways vice president for InFlight Services, said management realized it could save fuel by simply replacing meal carts with ones that weigh 12 pounds less.
"Twelve pounds is significant when you run anywhere from six to 35 carts on an airplane," Shamblin said. The lighter carts will save the airline $1.7 million a year in fuel costs, she said.
Management decided last month to continue to lighten its meal service by getting rid of glassware on domestic flights. Its east coast flights already had switched to plastic. But on western flights previously run by America West, first-class passengers were still handed beverages in glass flutes and tumblers, Shamblin said.
"We actually were going to put glassware back on the east in first class until fuel continued to keep rising," she said.
US Airways officials wondered if replacing glass with plastic would bother passengers. But in customer surveys "glassware didn't come up on the list" of what was important on their flight, Shamblin said.
Still, US Airways will keep glasses for its premium Envoy class service during trans Atlantic flights.
JetBlue's aircraft are 1,079 pounds lighter after removing extra trash bins, flight kits, supplies and seats -- "all the little things that, when combined, make a decent difference," JetBlue spokesman Bryan Baldwin said.
The weight loss will save the carrier roughly $16,000 for a three-hour flight, he said.
A lot of airlines are also trying to fly differently to be more fuel efficient. They're carrying less water and putting less gas in the tank if the plane doesn't need it to make the trip. They also plug in planes to ground power as soon as the plane lands.
Southwest Airlines cut fuel costs simply by flying more direct routes. The Dallas-based carrier equipped planes with life vests during the past two years, allowing pilots to fly over bodies of water and shave miles off of their flights.
All of these changes have helped airlines boost their fuel efficiency, Heimlich said. But he's not sure how much more fuel conservation airlines can do. As fuel prices continue to rise, he said, carriers are parking many of their planes and cramming customers into the remaining flights.
"The place to cut now is simply the quantity of service: The number of flights, the number of seats," he said. "In other words, the only thing left to cut is the amount of supply itself."
Will a deal help the troubled airline industry?
MINNEAPOLIS (AP) -- Northwest Airlines Corp. has proposed to Delta that the airlines move ahead with their combination without a prearranged deal with pilots, a person with direct knowledge of the situation said on Friday. The person, who asked not to be named because of the sensitivity of the situation, said Delta Air Lines Inc. hasn't rejected the idea.Neither airline would comment on the development, but Delta said in a statement that it supports "industry consolidation as a vehicle to ensure Delta remains an industry leader." It said it is continuing to look at strategic alternatives.
The usual approach in airline combinations has been to have pilots work out a joint union contract afterward. Delta and Northwest took a different approach in their merger talks, figuring that if they could obtain full pilot agreements in advance they would reap the benefit of a combined airline much sooner.
With that in mind, pilots were in line to get raises. But the two groups couldn't agree on seniority, which determines who flies more desirable aircraft and routes.
Now, the rising cost of oil has put all airlines under intense financial pressure. Since the talks began, Delta and Northwest have announced plans to reduce capacity this year, and Atlanta-based Delta has announced plans to eliminate 2,000 jobs.
The person who spoke about the talks said the absence of a seniority agreement means there won't be as much money for pilot raises.
Northwest's move could be intended to spur pilots to renew efforts to make a deal on seniority. Northwest pilots have said they'd be willing to let an arbitrator decide seniority. Delta pilots have rejected the idea.
Dave Stevens, chairman of the Northwest branch of the Air Line Pilots Association, issued a statement saying a successful merger will need the agreement of the pilots of both airlines.
"We will reserve our judgment and support until the economic and contractual elements of an agreement have been negotiated," he said. "Any merger must be in the best interests of our customers and the employees, not just the shareholders."
A spokeswoman for Delta's pilots had no comment.
Those shareholders have seen the value of Delta and Northwest investments shrivel. Both have lost about half their value since mid-February, suffering from rising oil prices and fading hope that they would combine. Both recovered from lows on Friday after the reports that Northwest was pressing the issue of combining. Northwest rose 30 cents, or 3.5 percent to close at $8.76. Delta rose 26 cents, or 3.1 percent, to close at $8.61.
There's no limit to the ways people can make money.
(Reuters) The moon could become a final resting place for some of mankind thanks to a commercial service that hopes to send human ashes to the lunar surface on robotic landers, the company said on Thursday.Celestis, Inc., a company that pioneered the sending of cremated remains into suborbital space on rockets, said it would start a service to the surface of the moon that could begin as early as next year.
The cost starts at $10,000 for a small quantity of ashes from one person.
Read the full story.
Here's what Honda did:
HONG KONG (MarketWatch) -- Honda Motor Co. reported Friday the number of cars that rolled of its global production lines in February rose 10% from a year earlier, with total vehicle production totaling 332,563 units, a monthly record. The automaker said February output establishd records for the month in the U.S., Europe, Asia and China. Production in Honda's domestic market in Japan eased 8%, the only major region to record a decline. For the first two month of this year global output has climbed 8.9% to 673,325 units.Read the source.
Barney, the big purple dinosaur, is coming to Torrance to celebrate his 20th super-dee-duper birthday.
The cuddly T-Rex with his own children’s television show is in the midst of a nationwide tour to mark two decades since Sheryl Leach, a former school teacher, created the toy -- in 1987, which would actually make this Barney's 21st year, but we won't quibble with details.
From 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, a life-sized Barney will be at the Torrance Toys R Us, at 22035 Hawthorne Blvd., to meet with children, who will be able to make their own birthday cards for him.
The Barney tour is sponsored by toy company JAKKS Pacific in partnership with Toys “R” Us and Children’s Miracle Network.
Barney, the big purple dinosaur, is coming to Torrance to celebrate his 20th super-dee-duper birthday.
The cuddly T-Rex with his own children’s television show is in the midst of a nationwide tour to mark two decades since Sheryl Leach, a former school teacher, created the toy -- in 1987, which would actually make this Barney's 21st year, but we won't quibble with details.
From 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, a life-sized Barney will be at the Torrance Toys R Us, at 22035 Hawthorne Blvd., to meet with children, who will be able to make their own birthday cards for him.
The Barney tour is sponsored by toy company JAKKS Pacific in partnership with Toys “R” Us and Children’s Miracle Network.
Latest from SpaceX:
Space Exploration Technologies Corp. (SpaceX), the Hawthorne-based developer of low-cost rockets, conducted the first three-engine firing of its Falcon 9 medium to heavy lift rocket at its Texas Test Facility outside McGregor, on March 8, the company said Thursday.At full power the engines generated over 270,000 pounds of force, and consumed 1,050 lbs of fuel and liquid oxygen per second.
This three-engine test again sets the record as the most powerful test yet on the towering 235-foot tall test stand. A total of nine Merlin 1C engines will power the Falcon 9 rocket.
The test series continues with the addition of two engines for a total of five, then finally the full compliment of nine engines. With all engines firing, the Falcon 9 can generate over one million pounds of thrust in vacuum - four times the maximum thrust of a 747 aircraft.
“The incremental approach to testing allows us to closely observe how each additional engine influences the entire system,” said Tom Mueller, Vice President of Propulsion for SpaceX. “This ensures that we obtain as much data, knowledge and experience as possible as we approach the full nine engine configuration. To date we have not encountered any unexpected interactions between the engines.”
Did anyone see the Wall Street Journal story Wednesday about how stocks have been underperforming for nearly a decade? Here's a taste of the story.
Over the past 200 years, the stock market's steady upward march occasionally has been disrupted for long stretches, most recently during the Great Depression and the inflation-plagued 1970s. The current market turmoil suggests that we may be in another lost decade.The stock market is trading right where it was nine years ago. Stocks, long touted as the best investment for the long term, have been one of the worst investments over the nine-year period, trounced even by lowly Treasury bonds.
The Standard & Poor's 500-stock index, the basis for about half of the $1 trillion invested in U.S. index funds, finished at 1352.99 on Tuesday, below the 1362.80 it hit in April 1999. When dividends and inflation are factored into returns, the S&P 500 has risen an average of just 1.3% a year over the past 10 years, well below the historical norm, according to Morningstar Inc. For the past nine years, it has fallen 0.37% a year, and for the past eight, it is off 1.4% a year. In light of the current wobbly market, some economists and market analysts worry that the era of disappointing returns may not be over.
You may not remember him, but you must remember his contribution to the world.
By DENISE PETSKI, Associated Press WriterHerb Peterson, who invented the ubiquitous Egg McMuffin as a way to introduce breakfast to McDonald's restaurants, has died, a Southern California McDonald's official said Wednesday. He was 89.
Peterson died peacefully Tuesday at his Santa Barbara home, said Monte Fraker, vice president of operations for McDonald's restaurants in that city.
He began his career with McDonald's Corp. as vice president of the company's advertising firm, D'Arcy Advertising, in Chicago. He wrote McDonald's first national advertising slogan, "Where Quality Starts Fresh Every Day."
Peterson eventually became a franchisee and was currently co-owner and operator of six McDonald's restaurants in Santa Barbara and Goleta, Fraker said.
Peterson came up with idea for the signature McDonald's breakfast item in 1972. He "was very partial to eggs Benedict," Fraker said, and worked on creating something similar.
The egg sandwich consisted of an egg that had been formed in a Teflon circle with the yolk broken, topped with a slice of cheese and grilled Canadian bacon. It was served open-faced on a toasted and buttered English muffin.
The Egg McMuffin made its debut at a restaurant in Santa Barbara that Peterson co-owned with his son, David Peterson.
Fraker said that, although semiretired, Peterson still visited all six of his stores in the Santa Barbara area until last year when his health began to deteriorate.
"He would talk to the customers, visit with the employees. He loved McDonald's," Fraker said.
Fraker, who said he worked with Peterson for 30 years, said "he was amazing as far as giving back to the community."
"He embraced the community and the community embraced him," Fraker said. "We loved the man."
Peterson is survived by his wife, son and three daughters.
A public memorial service will be held April 23 at All Saints by the Sea church in Montecito.
You may not remember him, but you must remember his contribution to the world.
By DENISE PETSKI, Associated Press WriterHerb Peterson, who invented the ubiquitous Egg McMuffin as a way to introduce breakfast to McDonald's restaurants, has died, a Southern California McDonald's official said Wednesday. He was 89.
Peterson died peacefully Tuesday at his Santa Barbara home, said Monte Fraker, vice president of operations for McDonald's restaurants in that city.
He began his career with McDonald's Corp. as vice president of the company's advertising firm, D'Arcy Advertising, in Chicago. He wrote McDonald's first national advertising slogan, "Where Quality Starts Fresh Every Day."
Peterson eventually became a franchisee and was currently co-owner and operator of six McDonald's restaurants in Santa Barbara and Goleta, Fraker said.
Peterson came up with idea for the signature McDonald's breakfast item in 1972. He "was very partial to eggs Benedict," Fraker said, and worked on creating something similar.
The egg sandwich consisted of an egg that had been formed in a Teflon circle with the yolk broken, topped with a slice of cheese and grilled Canadian bacon. It was served open-faced on a toasted and buttered English muffin.
The Egg McMuffin made its debut at a restaurant in Santa Barbara that Peterson co-owned with his son, David Peterson.
Fraker said that, although semiretired, Peterson still visited all six of his stores in the Santa Barbara area until last year when his health began to deteriorate.
"He would talk to the customers, visit with the employees. He loved McDonald's," Fraker said.
Fraker, who said he worked with Peterson for 30 years, said "he was amazing as far as giving back to the community."
"He embraced the community and the community embraced him," Fraker said. "We loved the man."
Peterson is survived by his wife, son and three daughters.
A public memorial service will be held April 23 at All Saints by the Sea church in Montecito.
Barney, the big purple dinosaur, is coming to Torrance to celebrate his 20th super-dee-duper birthday.
The cuddly T-Rex with his own children’s television show is in the midst of a nationwide tour to mark two decades since Sheryl Leach, a former school teacher, created the toy -- in 1987, which would actually make this Barney's 21st year, but we won't quibble with details.
From 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, a life-sized Barney will be at the Torrance Toys R Us, at 22035 Hawthorne Blvd., to meet with children, who will be able to make their own birthday cards for him.
The Barney tour is sponsored by toy company JAKKS Pacific in partnership with Toys “R” Us and Children’s Miracle Network.
Barney, the big purple dinosaur, is coming to Torrance to celebrate his 20th super-dee-duper birthday.
The cuddly T-Rex with his own children’s television show is in the midst of a nationwide tour to mark two decades since Sheryl Leach, a former school teacher, created the toy -- in 1987, which would actually make this Barney's 21st year, but we won't quibble with details.
From 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, a life-sized Barney will be at the Torrance Toys R Us, at 22035 Hawthorne Blvd., to meet with children, who will be able to make their own birthday cards for him.
The Barney tour is sponsored by toy company JAKKS Pacific in partnership with Toys “R” Us and Children’s Miracle Network.
Barney, the big purple dinosaur, is coming to Torrance to celebrate his 20th super-dee-duper birthday.
The cuddly T-Rex with his own children’s television show is in the midst of a nationwide tour to mark two decades since Sheryl Leach, a former school teacher, created the toy -- in 1987, which would actually make this Barney's 21st year, but we won't quibble with details.
From 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, a life-sized Barney will be at the Torrance Toys R Us, at 22035 Hawthorne Blvd., to meet with children, who will be able to make their own birthday cards for him.
The Barney tour is sponsored by toy company JAKKS Pacific in partnership with Toys “R” Us and Children’s Miracle Network.
Barney, the big purple dinosaur, is coming to Torrance to celebrate his 20th super-dee-duper birthday.
The cuddly T-Rex with his own children’s television show is in the midst of a nationwide tour to mark two decades since Sheryl Leach, a former school teacher, created the toy -- in 1987, which would actually make this Barney's 21st year, but we won't quibble with details.
From 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, a life-sized Barney will be at the Torrance Toys R Us, at 22035 Hawthorne Blvd., to meet with children, who will be able to make their own birthday cards for him.
The Barney tour is sponsored by toy company JAKKS Pacific in partnership with Toys “R” Us and Children’s Miracle Network.
Barney, the big purple dinosaur, is coming to Torrance to celebrate his 20th super-dee-duper birthday.
The cuddly T-Rex with his own children’s television show is in the midst of a nationwide tour to mark two decades since Sheryl Leach, a former school teacher, created the toy -- in 1987, which would actually make this Barney's 21st year, but we won't quibble with details.
From 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, a life-sized Barney will be at the Torrance Toys R Us, at 22035 Hawthorne Blvd., to meet with children, who will be able to make their own birthday cards for him.
The Barney tour is sponsored by toy company JAKKS Pacific in partnership with Toys “R” Us and Children’s Miracle Network.
Barney, the big purple dinosaur, is coming to Torrance to celebrate his 20th super-dee-duper birthday.
The cuddly T-Rex with his own children’s television show is in the midst of a nationwide tour to mark two decades since Sheryl Leach, a former school teacher, created the toy -- in 1987, which would actually make this Barney's 21st year, but we won't quibble with details.
From 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, a life-sized Barney will be at the Torrance Toys R Us, at 22035 Hawthorne Blvd., to meet with children, who will be able to make their own birthday cards for him.
The Barney tour is sponsored by toy company JAKKS Pacific in partnership with Toys “R” Us and Children’s Miracle Network.
Barney, the big purple dinosaur, is coming to Torrance to celebrate his 20th super-dee-duper birthday.
The cuddly T-Rex with his own children’s television show is in the midst of a nationwide tour to mark two decades since Sheryl Leach, a former school teacher, created the toy -- in 1987, which would actually make this Barney's 21st year, but we won't quibble with details.
From 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, a life-sized Barney will be at the Torrance Toys R Us, at 22035 Hawthorne Blvd., to meet with children, who will be able to make their own birthday cards for him.
The Barney tour is sponsored by toy company JAKKS Pacific in partnership with Toys “R” Us and Children’s Miracle Network.
Barney, the big purple dinosaur, is coming to Torrance to celebrate his 20th super-dee-duper birthday.
The cuddly T-Rex with his own children’s television show is in the midst of a nationwide tour to mark two decades since Sheryl Leach, a former school teacher, created the toy -- in 1987, which would actually make this Barney's 21st year, but we won't quibble with details.
From 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, a life-sized Barney will be at the Torrance Toys R Us, at 22035 Hawthorne Blvd., to meet with children, who will be able to make their own birthday cards for him.
The Barney tour is sponsored by toy company JAKKS Pacific in partnership with Toys “R” Us and Children’s Miracle Network.
Barney, the big purple dinosaur, is coming to Torrance to celebrate his 20th super-dee-duper birthday.
The cuddly T-Rex with his own children’s television show is in the midst of a nationwide tour to mark two decades since Sheryl Leach, a former school teacher, created the toy -- in 1987, which would actually make this Barney's 21st year, but we won't quibble with details.
From 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, a life-sized Barney will be at the Torrance Toys R Us, at 22035 Hawthorne Blvd., to meet with children, who will be able to make their own birthday cards for him.
The Barney tour is sponsored by toy company JAKKS Pacific in partnership with Toys “R” Us and Children’s Miracle Network.
Barney, the big purple dinosaur, is coming to Torrance to celebrate his 20th super-dee-duper birthday.
The cuddly T-Rex with his own children’s television show is in the midst of a nationwide tour to mark two decades since Sheryl Leach, a former school teacher, created the toy -- in 1987, which would actually make this Barney's 21st year, but we won't quibble with details.
From 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday, a life-sized Barney will be at the Torrance Toys R Us, at 22035 Hawthorne Blvd., to meet with children, who will be able to make their own birthday cards for him.
The Barney tour is sponsored by toy company JAKKS Pacific in partnership with Toys “R” Us and Children’s Miracle Network.
This comes from the "anti-regulation" president.
By JEANNINE AVERSA, AP Economics Writer 26 minutes agoThe crash of Wall Street's once mighty Bear Stearns underscores the need to bring investment houses under the kind of federal oversight that has long been given to commercial banks, Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson said Wednesday.
In a speech to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Paulson said the Bush administration will soon release just such a blueprint in an effort to promote a smoother functioning of financial markets.
For months the financial markets — rocked by the double blows of a housing and credit crises — have been suffering through extreme turmoil, threatening to plunge the U.S. economy into a deep recession. The modern U.S. financial system is a complex web of financial players — institutions and individuals and practices that are subject to different rules and regulations. Commercial banks, long a financial bedrock, are subject to regulations and supervision.
"This latest episode has highlighted that the world has changed as has the role of other nonbank financial institutions and the interconnectedness among all financial institutions," Paulson said. "These changes require us all to think more broadly about the regulatory and supervisory framework that is consistent with the promotion and maintenance of financial stability," he added.
In extraordinary actions aimed at preventing a meltdown of the U.S. financial system, the Federal Reserve recently backed JP Morgan's takeover of Bear Stearns and agreed to provide an important multibillion dollar financial lifeline for the deal. In addition, the Fed, in the broadest use of its lending authority since the 1930s, said it would let squeezed Wall Street investment houses go directly to the Fed for emergency loans. That has long been a privilege just for commercial banks.Paulson said he "fully supported that action" but said it also raises important policy considerations about the oversight of investment houses.
The secretary said that commercial banks' access to the Fed's emergency lending "discount window" has traditionally been accompanied by regulatory oversight and supervision. "Certainly any regular access to the discount window should involve the same type of regulation and supervision," Paulson said, in an apparent reference to the Fed's temporary extension of this emergency lending to investment houses.
And he suggested that the Fed collect as much information as necessary on investment houses to "make informed lending decisions." He said the Fed is currently working to do that. Paulson suggested the Fed, the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission also continue to work to build a framework on this.
"The combination of these steps should provide the Federal Reserve with a structure and the information that it would need to make liquidity backstop loans during periods of market instability to nonbanks," Paulson said.
These steps, he said, "would enable the Federal Reserve to protect its balance sheet, and ultimately protect U.S. taxpayers," he said.
Although he praised the Fed's decision to temporarily provide an short-term loans to investment houses, Paulson said it would be "premature to jump to the conclusion that all broker dealers or other potentially important financial firms in our system today should have permanent access to the Fed's liquidity facility."
At this time, the Fed's action "should be viewed as a precedent only for unusual periods of turmoil," Paulson said.
Fielding questions after his speech, Paulson said that "innovation always precedes regulation in our economy" and suggested that oversight needed to catch up.
Once again Paulson defended the government's role in coming to the aid of Bear Stearns — which has been criticized by some Democrats and others as akin to a federal bailout.
"Bear Stearns found itself facing bankruptcy," Paulson said. "The Federal Reserve acted promptly to resolve the Bear Stearns situation and avoid a disorderly wind-down. It is the job of regulators to come together to address times such as this; and we did so. Our focus was the stability and orderliness of our financial markets."
Paulson said the administration will explore ways to help struggling homeowners at risk of losing their homes. But he was cool to some of the proposals put forth by Democrats on Capitol Hill, saying that "most are not yet ready for the starting gate."
In addition, he rejected the need for a "systemwide solution" to deal with homeowners who have no equity in their home. That's when one's mortgage eclipses the value of their home.
Fed Chairman Ben Bernanke recently urged lenders to help distressed homeowners by lowering the amount of their loans. He offered this because so many homeowners have little or no equity in their homes, giving them little financial incentives to stay in them.
The former president of its El Segundo-based Integrated Systems sector helped Northrop snag the Air Force tanker deal that Boeing was favored to win.
By Edmond LococoMarch 25 (Bloomberg) -- Northrop Grumman Corp. and former executive Scott Seymour just exchanged parting gifts: He helped give the underdog contractor a win on a $35 billion Air Force refueling tanker contract, and Northrop gave him $300,000.
Seymour's payment is a ``special completion award'' for running the Integrated Systems unit that led the tanker bid, Century City-based Northrop said in a regulatory filing Tuesday.
Seymour's retirement, announced Sept. 19, became effective Feb. 29, the same day Northrop won the contract over Boeing Co., which had supplied the Air Force tankers for more than half a century and was the unanimous pick to win in a Bloomberg analyst survey. Seymour had already received a cash bonus of $800,000 for his 2007 performance, the company said in a Feb. 26 filing.
Read the whole story.
The former president of its El Segundo-based Integrated Systems sector helped Northrop snag the Air Force tanker deal that Boeing was favored to win.
By Edmond LococoMarch 25 (Bloomberg) -- Northrop Grumman Corp. and former executive Scott Seymour just exchanged parting gifts: He helped give the underdog contractor a win on a $35 billion Air Force refueling tanker contract, and Northrop gave him $300,000.
Seymour's payment is a ``special completion award'' for running the Integrated Systems unit that led the tanker bid, Century City-based Northrop said in a regulatory filing Tuesday.
Seymour's retirement, announced Sept. 19, became effective Feb. 29, the same day Northrop won the contract over Boeing Co., which had supplied the Air Force tankers for more than half a century and was the unanimous pick to win in a Bloomberg analyst survey. Seymour had already received a cash bonus of $800,000 for his 2007 performance, the company said in a Feb. 26 filing.
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Bill Rancic, winner of the first season of Donald Trump's "The Apprentice," and Armando Montelongo, of A&E's "Flip This House," will be featured as keynote speakers at the California Entrepreneur Summit this Saturday at the Torrance Marriott.
The conference will be from 9 am to 3:30 pm.
The two celebrities wil share their trade tips and "secrets" on how to navigate the real estate market.
Their Torrance appearance is part of a four-day Sourthern California series.
Rancic, if you've forgotten, passed up a chance to manage Trump's golf course in Palos Verdes. Instead, Rancic chose to manage construction of a Trump development in Chicago.
I lost interest in "The Apprentice" after the second season.
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Trustees for the government's two biggest benefit programs warned that Social Security and Medicare are facing "enormous challenges" with the threat to Medicare's solvency far more severe.
The trustees, issuing their once-a-year analysis, said the resources in the Social Security trust fund will be depleted by 2041. The reserves in the Medicare trust fund that pays hospital benefits were projected to be wiped out by 2019.
Both those dates were the same as in last year's report. But the trustees warned that financial pressures will begin much sooner when the programs begin paying out more in benefits each year than they collect in payroll taxes. For Medicare, that threshold is projected to be reached this year and for Social Security it is projected to occur in 2017.
Both programs are expected to come under increasing pressure as 78 million baby boomers start retiring and drawing benefits.
"The financial difficulties facing Social Security and Medicare pose enormous challenges," the trustees said in their report. "The sooner these challenges are addressed, the more varied and less disruptive their solutions can be."
Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, one of the trustees, warned of a fiscal train wreck unless something is done.
"Without change, rising costs will drive government spending to unprecedented levels, consume nearly all projected federal revenues and threaten America's future prosperity," Paulson told a news conference where he and the other trustees released the report.
President Bush, who wanted to make overhauling Social Security a top priority in his second term, tapped Paulson to lead that effort. However, Paulson has been unable to forge a consensus with Democrats, who took control of Congress in 2006. He has complained that he is getting tired of playing "solitaire."
Democrats contend that Bush lost valuable time after his 2004 re-election pushing a plan to allow younger workers to direct their payroll tax contributions into private accounts, an idea that went nowhere in Congress.
Reaction in Congress divided along party lines with Republicans saying the new report was an urgent call for action while Democrats accused Republicans of using the report as an excuse for making Draconian cuts in benefits.
For the second year, the report contained a Medicare funding warning that will require the next president to submit soon after he sends his first budget to Congress next year recommendations for dealing with a shortfall in Medicare taxes and projected benefits.
Bush submitted the first of these required responses in February. He recommended among other things that wealthier Medicare beneficiaries pay higher monthly premiums for prescription drug coverage. Under the 2003 law that provided for drug benefits under Medicare, the president is required to submit cost-saving proposals to Congress if the trustees project Medicare will need to rely on general revenue for more than 45 percent of its funding in any future year.
Administration officials said Tuesday that Bush's recommendations, along with proposals to slow Medicare's growth included in the budget, would make a significant dent in the program's shortfalls. However, Democrats have attacked the proposals, making the prospect for legislation this year unlikely.
House Ways and Means Committee Chairman Charlie Rangel said Congress "will do what we have to in order to restore long-term financial stability to these programs."
But many analysts think the whole debate will be left for the next president to take up with Congress, given the difficulty of making changes in such politically sensitive programs as Social Security and Medicare during an election year.
While the Social Security trust fund will have resources until 2041, the more critical date in terms of government revenues will occur in 2017. In that year, Social Security, which has been providing billions of dollars in surpluses to the government for over two decades, will start having to pay out more in benefits than it will receive that year in payroll taxes.
At that point, the government will have to start replacing the money it has borrowed from the Social Security trust fund. It can do that only by increasing borrowing from the public, raising taxes or cutting other government programs. The elimination of the Social Security surplus is a key reason that experts are projecting sizable budget deficits in future years.
In 2041 when the Social Security trust fund is exhausted, the program will be collecting enough in payroll taxes to pay 78 percent of current benefits. That is up from an estimate of 75 percent last year. The improvement came in part from an increase the report made in the number and type of immigrants, both legal and illegal, who will be arriving in the country in future years. The higher number boosts the number of people paying into Social Security.
Ducommun Inc., the Carson-based aerospace contractor, said today that its Gardena subsidiary, Ducommun AeroStructures, was awarded a long-term contract to make titanium blade erosion caps that provide protection for blades on the CH-47 Chinook Helicopter.
The contract, valued at about $23 million, will last through 2010.
The contract was awarded by Boeing Philadelphia, which manufactures new and refurbished CH-47 Chinook Helicopters for all branches of the U.S. Defense Department.
All work will be performed in Gardena.
The Los Angeles office of Hines REIT purchased the Raytheon and DirectTV buildings at 2200 and 2230 E. Imperial Highway in El Segundo from an affiliate of Lexington Realty Trust for $120 million, or about $218 per square foot.
In addition to the two office buildings, the transaction included a 1,200-square-foot, 10-story parking structure. The two top floors of the structure consist of 140,175 square feet, which is leased by Raytheon.
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SEOUL (Reuters) - Toyota is likely to miss its groupwide global sales target for this year, hit by slowing sales in major markets and a firming yen, an executive vice president said on Thursday.
"Frankly speaking, sales in the U.S., Europe and Japan are showing signs of slowdown. It will be difficult to meet the group's sales target of 9.85 million, although emerging markets such as China and Russia are active," Tokuichi Uranishi, executive vice president of Toyota, told reporters in Seoul.
The sales target is 5 percent higher than sales in 2007.
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NEW YORK (Reuters) - Consumer confidence took an unexpectedly sharp hit, dropping to a five-year low in March, the Conference Board said on Tuesday, as expectations for the future tumbled to their lowest in 34 years.
Consumers continued to fret over job prospects, the Conference Board said, as the labor market continues to tighten amid an economic slowdown brought on by the worst housing slump in a generation.
The Conference Board said its index of consumer sentiment fell in March to 64.5 -- its lowest since March 2003 -- from an upwardly revised 76.4 in February.
The median forecast of economists polled by Reuters was for a reading of 73.5 in March. February's index was originally reported at 75.0.
The Conference Board, a private business and research organization, said its expectations index fell to 47.9 -- its lowest since January 1974 -- from an upwardly revised 58.0 in February.
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The median home price in the South Bay dropped 7% in February, compared to a year earlier, according to the California Association of Realtors.
San Pedro was down 12.4%, while the PV Peninsula was down only 0.4 percent.
Torrance was down 5.3 percent.
Read about it in Tuesday's Daily Breeze.
Kelly Timko used to have only one job.
Then she took on a second.
Now the Torrance resident has acquired a third job.
And she still finds time to sleep.
Timko, 35, recently launched Uptown Tots, a home-based business that sells infant clothing made from 100 percent organic cotton as well as the Topple Stopper, a Velcro strap Timko developed that secures baby's toys and bottles to a stroller.
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Used-car seller CarMax offered these car-buying tips to check if a vehicle with flood damage:
- Check for a moldy smell inside the car.
- Check for rust under the brake or gas pedals.
- Look for dirt or rust under the dashboard and floormats.
- Look for corrosion, water marks, or a thin brown line on the exterior of the vehicle.
- Ask questions about an older car with a brand new interior or carpeting.
- Check to see if the electrical system works.
- Feel the carpet for dampness.
- Inspect the bolts and screws under the seats for evidence of rust.
- Check the undercarriage for excessive rust.
- Check the VIN number with AutoCheck or Carfax to see whether a flood claim has been filed or a salvage title has been issued on the vehicle.