Financial Markets

Uwe Boll, Worst Director Alive, to Wall Street Execs: "Don't Think You're Safe"

The perennial worst director is gunning for the bastards -- and respect

Marijuana's The Next Big Wall Street Investment?

Real estate has been a dismal bust, Facebook is a disappointment, and Apple costs too much. What's an investment mogul to do? Boy, do we have a "green" opportunity for you. Marijuana is now fully legal in two states, Colorado and Washington, following last week's elections. There are opportunities ... More >>

America's Priciest Real Estate List Almost Shuts Out Los Angeles

The East Coast media has robbed us again. Forbes magazine seems to think the nation's priciest real estate is in New York, when we all know that, despite the crazy gulf between rich and poor here, some L.A.-area land is as good as gold and California has more billionaires than just about anyplace o ... More >>

How Wall Street and Washington Conspired to Spike Gas Prices

By Pete Kotz On July 11, 2008, the price of oil rose to $147 per barrel, a record high. Gas stations engaged in hot pursuit as the price of a gallon rocketed past $4. All hell was about to break loose. The country's largest banks had already begun to implode through arrogance and ineptitude. Now t ... More >>

Obamacare Was a Republican Idea! 5 Obama Issues The GOP Once Owned

Republicans are acting like the blue-haired lady at a four-star restaurant who spies what's on the table of a minority couple nearby: "I'll definitely not have what they're having." What Republicans once ate up like Charlie Sheen at a Peruvian farmer's market they now reject as wholly un-American ... More >>

JPMorgan Chase Blocking Century City Center Development (And Thousands of Jobs)?

The Century City stop planned for the Westside subway extension is turning out to be a vortex of political intrigue. Not only is it the place where a friend of L.A. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa plans to build a 37-story high-rise (and note here that Villaraigosa holds sway over the Metro transportati ... More >>

LAPD Gun Buybacks to be Crashed by Pro-Firearms Group Sons of Liberty LA

A Second Amendment rights group called Sons of Liberty LA says it plans to protest and intervene during the city of Los Angeles' annual gun buyback program this weekend. The city plans to offer up to $200 in gift cards for weapons turned into cops at six locations across the city Saturday (PDF). S ... More >>

'Flash Occupation' of Los Angeles Banks Planned Today

And you thought the occupation of Los Angeles was over with the raid on Occupy L.A.'s City Hall lawn encampment at the end of November. Oh no. The occupy nation is getting ready to confront a series of banks today regarding their take-our-bailout-money-and-our-houses tendencies:

List of Dodger Bidders in the 2012 Sale by Frank McCourt: Wall Street Jerks and Baseball Lovers

Here's the known, and rumored, list 15 of exceedingly rich Wall Street one percenters, fabulously wealthy moguls and hardcore baseball lovers who may -- or may not -- have made secret, non-binding $1 billion bids to buy the Dodgers before the January 23, 2012 deadline expired. 1. Tom Barrack, col ... More >>

A Recipe: Joan Nathan's Moroccan Chicken with Olives and Preserved Lemons

Katie StoopsJoan Nathan's Moroccan chicken with olives​If you're planning to head to Joan Nathan's talk at the Central Library this Saturday, you could do worse than spend the days prior to the event cooking. Specifically, cooking one of the dishes from Nathan's book Quiches, Kugels, and Cousc ... More >>

8 Places in Los Angeles That Might as Well be Occupied

​ The reports that the mayor wants Occupy L.A. to leave City Hall raise the question: if they do have to leave, where would they go? The occupiers have already expanded to obvious places like UCLA and Bank of America Plaza. L.A.'s own Wall Street has been slightly occupied for years now (it i ... More >>

Occupy-Affiliated Group ReFund California Threatens Lawsuit if UC Regents Meet Behind Closed Doors

ReFund California​Protesters concerned that University of California Regents will meet behind closed doors as Cal State University trustees are accused of having done this week amid loud demonstrations are threatening legal action. ReFund California, which staged a raucous protest outside the ... More >>

L.A. City Council Moves Toward $8.4 Million Tax Giveaway to Mutual Fund Investors Yet Vows Allegiance to Occupy?

yunguyen666​The L.A. City Council is a fairly liberal bunch. It voted last month, for example, to support the Occupy L.A. movement, which holds the bailed-out, tax-loophole-rich banks and investment houses of Wall Street responsible for the Great Recession and its aftermath. But strangely the ... More >>

UCLA Students to Occupy Banks in Los Angeles' Financial District Downtown Today

Nanette GonzalezOccupy denim shorts.​Updated at the bottom: Arrests in Westwood and now the occupation of a Bank of America downtown. First posted at 12:09 p.m. Following Bank Transfer Day, a movement that started here in L.A., local college students will march on banks today to protest high ... More >>

Occupy L.A. to March in Financial District Downtown For Bank Transfer Day

Alexis Tejada​L.A. has played second fiddle to Occupy Wall Street, where the American movement started, and Occupy Oakland, where it has exploded. But on Saturday the spotlight could finally be on us. That's because National Bank Transfer Day, which has roots here, will be highlighted by the ... More >>

Kamala Harris, California's Top Cop, Pressured by Occupy Movement to Fry Big Banks Over Bad Home Loans

Kamala.​An activist platform that supports Occupy Wall Street is telling California Attorney General Kamala Harris to hold fast against pressure to make nice with major banks that allegedly committed fraud in their drive to sell home loans to folks who couldn't afford them. That, of course, l ... More >>

Occupy L.A. Anti-Bank Measure at City Hall Could Cost Taxpayers $58 Million: All-Bark, No-Bite City Council Kicks Issue Down The Road

Ed CarrascoOccupy sexy.​Ah, how typical of the L.A. City Council to hitch its trailer to a movement then, perhaps, back away when the thing has passed. We're thinking, of course, of the city's boycott of Arizona over its controversial immigration law, exceptions to which are too numerous to me ... More >>

'Occupy L.A.' Plans to Stage Rush-Hour Protests on 101 Freeway Overpass Every Day Until February

Occupy Los Angeles via FacebookNowhere, fast.​If your commute takes you under the 101 freeway's North Broadway overpass at rush hour, get ready for at least three-and-a-half more months of rowdy 99 percenters dangling their Wall Street insults all up in your windshields. Beginning today at 5 ... More >>

City Council Unanimously Passes Occupy L.A. Resolution -- Protesters Struggle to Distance Themselves From Democrats, Unions

Los Angeles TimesCity Council President Eric Garcetti shows his support.​Just now, the L.A. City Council unanimously approved a joint resolution to officially "support" the Occupy L.A. demonstration and "demand accountability and results from the banks we invest taxpayer dollars in." (Full tex ... More >>

'We Are the 53 Percent' Claims Middle Ground Between Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street, Tells Protesters to 'Suck It Up'

See also: "Occupy L.A. Now Allowed to Camp on City Hall Lawn: Why Are Politicians Sucking Up to Protesters?" Our very own Gene Maddaus created an enlightening similarities chart between Occupy Wall Street and the Tea Party yesterday. In short: Same approach, opposite ends of the spectrum. But ther ... More >>

Occupy L.A. Arrests: Police Detain 10 Protesters in Bank of America Lobby

See also: "Faces of Occupy L.A: The Student, the Actor, the Addict, the Vet." Update: The protesters were reportedly trying to cash a jumbo check for $673 billion, made out to the "People of California." Photo at bottom of post. According to a Twitter account representing multiple L.A. workers uni ... More >>

Powerful Unions Back Occupy L.A.'s Class Warfare Downtown

Those rabble-rousers that have been stirring things up downtown L.A. in solidarity with the Occupy Wall Street movement just got some powerful backers. The Los Angeles County Federation of Labor (AFL-CIO) said hell yes to Occupy L.A. in a statement released last night. Lest you forget the federatio ... More >>

Class Warfare Reaches West Coast: 'Occupy L.A.' Demonstrations Over The Weekend

Occupy L.A. Facebook​The push-back on the economic crisis from the working class and the left has now reached the West Coast. The nearly two-week-strong movement called Occupy Wall Street -- a call to arms to point fingers at bailed-out investment bankers for the real estate meltdown and subs ... More >>

California Environmental Protection Could be Watered Down Under Sneaky Law Awaiting Jerry Brown's Signature, Activists Say

Chris McCorkleDensity in downtown L.A.​Critics of over-development in L.A. are up in arms about a California law, which just needs the governor's signature to be finalized, that they argue would weaken the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) and allow cities to use years- and decades-o ... More >>

Jobs For Los Angeles Amid Lukewarm Unemployment Report, Shite Economy: Craigslist Has The Answers

Temari 09Reach for the sky, L.A.​So the unemployment rate in America is not quite as bad as we thought, and Wall Street is slightly happy but still schizophrenic. Because nearly 1 in 10 people out of work this summer is sort of okay, comparatively, and maybe better than last year, but not rea ... More >>

Hollywood Execs Such as CBS' Les Moonves Got Massive, Multi-Million-Dollar Raises Last Year

That's the way you do it ... ​Did you get a pay raise in 2010? Didn't think so. But some of the entertainment industry's biggest titans saw jaw-dropping raises -- like, so much cash they could make in rain for for years. Philippe P. Dauman of Viacom (MTV Networks, Paramount, et. al.) saw 150 ... More >>

Where the Elite Meet to Cheat and Cause Fiscal Defeat

How Wall Street Kicks L.A. Pets Out of Their Homes

Ken Roberts, KROQ Founder, Loses The Robert Taylor Ranch Mansion -- Now The Dream Home Is On The Market

​Ken Roberts, founder of KROQ and the guy who brought modern rock to L.A., has been ordered by a judge to pay a greasy Connecticut hedge fund $27.5 million. Because he can't pay, he's losing his 112-acre Brentwood estate, aka The Robert Taylor Ranch, Forbes blogger Teri Buhl reports. It seems so ... More >>

American Apparel's Stock Price Looking Up

americanapparel.net​Maybe investors are onto something. Hipster clothing brand American Apparel is looking up on the New York Stock Exchange. Shares of the Los Angeles-based clothing maker rose more than 8 percent today over Tuesday's closing price--to $1.19. That's almost double it's value of ... More >>

Pomona Cops Dodge a Bullet

Accepting severe pay cuts, a police department survives to patrol another day

'Wall Street Whitman' Video Game Launched By California Labor Federation; Mocks Meg Whitman As Job Slasher

​The California Labor Federation has taken campaign attacks to another level. Now available for online users everywhere, "Wall Street Whitman" is an interactive video game mocking gubernatorial candidate Meg Whitman's record of allegedly slashing jobs. "You're Wall Street Whitman,"the main m ... More >>

Betting On Hollywood Movies' Box-Office Gets Initial Approval By Trading Commission

​The Commodity Futures Trading Commission gave its approval this week to one of a few start-ups that plan to allow people to essentially bet on the success of movies at the box office, but the thumbs up might not last: A U.S. Senate version of financial-reform measures being considered in Cong ... More >>

Our Favorite Happy Hours

50 deal-driven places to get you and your wallet feeling a whole lot better

L.A. City Council Aims For 4,000 Total Layoffs

​The City Council on Thursday voted to order city departments to identify and layoff an additional 3,000 employees, above the 1,000 already targeted for cuts. The vote was nine in favor and three abstaining but, once again, layoffs have not been set in stone. Based on a motion by Councilwoman ... More >>

Villaraigosa Trades Gift Cards for Uzis

On Saturday, the city of Los Angeles and Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa were trading Visa and Ralph's supermarket chain gift cards for hand guns and Uzi submachine guns, with Villaraigosa declaring that the gun buyback program was making L.A. a "safer city." Uzi submachine gun"I want to thank the L.A. r ... More >>

Karma Police? Entravision, Which Pulled the Plug on Indie 103.1 Last Week, Sees its Stock Fall

This just in: SANTA MONICA, Calif., Dec. 17 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- EntravisionCommunications Corporation (NYSE: EVC) announced today that on December 15, 2008 the company received notification from the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) that the company has fallen below one of the NYSE's continued ... More >>

Jordan Belfort: The Wounded Wolf of Wall Street

Still howling

You Voted? I Voted!

The Wages of Greed

Peddling Smart Growth

Call your project “smart” — even when it isn't — and get millions in public funds.

Really Big Packages

Forget what EW says, it’s the moguls’ perks that are out of control, not the stars’

Graydon Carter's Hollywood Ending

Vanity Fair editor reportedly calling friends scumbags on eve of Oscars

Under-Siege Eisner Pulls Disney Board’s Strings

Dreaming About Big Cars and Tax Cuts

Bush’s economic plan for Lamborghini owners

Ask Mr. Gold

Get That Grid!

If California bails out the utilities, John Burton wants the state to get the power lines in return

From Lollapalooza to IPO

Festival founder Marc Geiger bets on online music