February 2012 Archives

Spectrum Club Sells to Gold's Gym

| | Comments (0) |

By unloading its Texas operations, Spectrum will be able to focus more on its California properties.

Read the Spectrum article.

Profile on a Quadricycle Driver

| | Comments (0) |

If you hear voices of laughing half-drunk people zipping down Hermosa Avenue, Derek Collins may be at the center of that blur of excitement.

Read about the Hermosa's quadricycle.

MUHAMMED EL-HASAN: The IRS is Here to Help

| | Comments (0) |

Many if not most people hate the IRS. But the tax man is trying to be helpful.

Read this week's Business Casual.

MUHAMMED EL-HASAN: Honda's Legal Pains

| | Comments (0) |

The woman who beat Honda in small claims court says Honda could lose $2 billion as a result. The worst-case scenario could be even worse.
Read Business Casual to learn more.

Forecast: Region's Economy to Grow ... Slooooowly

| | Comments (0) |

Los Angeles County will see unemployment drop to an average of 11.5 percent this year from last year's mark of 12.2 percent as the economy continues its recovery, according to a forecast to be released on Wednesday.

Read more about the forecast.

MUHAMMED EL-HASAN: From Food Stamp Pres to Local Recipients

| | Comments (0) |

When Newt Gingrich calls President Obama the "food stamp president," that feeds on a Republican red meat issue. But how do food stamp recipients feel about their plight?
I talked to two such people for this week's Business Casual column.

Here's how I started the column:

Food stamps have been in the news lately after Republican presidential hopeful Newt Gingrich called Barack Obama the "food stamp president."

Gingrich was taking a swipe at the president by saying Obama's policies were causing people to depend on food stamps. The insult carried an added dig because of the negative connotation of food stamps as a vehicle for mooching off the public dime.

With that thought in mind, I spent part of Thursday morning with John and Rose Bossi, a San Pedro couple who recently became food stamp recipients.

Read more of Business Casual.

Mattel Raises Toy Prices

| | Comments (0) |

No surprise here considering the rising prices of commodities.


(Reuters) - Prices of Mattel Inc toys like Barbie dolls and Hot Wheels cars have gone up as the company tries to compensate for increasing costs for materials like resin and rising wages in China.

The world's largest toy company, which sees input, labor and transportation costs rising in 2012, said on Tuesday that it had raised prices at a mid-single-digit rate on January 1 with the goal of keeping gross margins at around 50 percent.

Read more on Mattel.

MUHAMMED EL-HASAN: Why Won't They Call Me Back?

| | Comments (0) |

For a restaurant to get rid of a vendor is harder than it sounds.

Read about my adventures in owning a restaurant in this week's Business Casual.

Here's an excerpt of the column:

Dressed in a miniskirt, the sales lady was as friendly as could be. She left her cellphone number and told me to call any time for any reason.

She would help us with a problem even if she happened to leave the company for another job. Now that's what I call dedication.


VIDEO: SpaceX Test Fires Dragon Engine

| | Comments (0) |

SpaceX's Elon Musk may be one of the most ambitious people alive today.

About this Archive

This page is an archive of entries from February 2012 listed from newest to oldest.

January 2012 is the previous archive.

March 2012 is the next archive.

Find recent content on the main index or look in the archives to find all content.

Powered by Movable Type 4.25

About Biz Waves

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 muhammad.el-hasan@dailybreeze.com

Subscribe to RSS feed

Advertisement