Apple developing wristwatch device that runs on iOS, reports say

The cycle of speculation that Apple plans to build some kind of wristwatch or other wearable computing device kicked into high gear this weekend after a pair of reports claimed to confirm that such a device was under development. 

First, the New York Times reported that it had confirmed with multiple sources that Apple "is experimenting with wristwatch-like devices made of curved glass."

That story was followed by another report from the Wall Street Journal saying it had also confirmed that Apple "is experimenting with designs for a watch-like device that would perform some functions of a smartphone."

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There were no additional confirmed details about what such a gadget might do, what features it would specifically offer, how much it would cost, or even when it might hit the market. 

Speculation about a possible iWatch has been ebbing and flowing for several years now. In December, a Chinese blog claimed it had confirmation that such a device was under development. And this week, former Apple designer Bruce Tognazzini wrote an expansive blog post suggesting what such a device might do. 

He believed Apple was the perfect company to address the numerous design flaws, such as bulkiness and short battery life, that have made adoption of other such devices slow. 

"The first thing Apple has to do is address traditional drawbacks in smartwatch design, something they are qualified to do," he wrote. 

One other notable nugget from the New York Times story: Steve Jobs had told another reporter that he had very much wanted Apple to build a car:

"In a meeting in his office before he died, Steven P. Jobs, Apple’s co-founder and former chief executive, told John Markoff of The New York Times that if he had more energy, he would have liked to take on Detroit with an Apple car."

The idea of dueling Apple and Google cars battling it out for the future of our roadways may be the stuff nerd dreams are made of. 

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Follow me on Twitter @obrien.

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Entrepreneur Brian Lee is business partner to the stars

The gig: Lawyer-turned-serial-entrepreneur Brian Lee, 41, is pulling double duty as the chief executive of two celebrity-backed e-commerce websites: ShoeDazzle, co-founded with Kim Kardashian, and Honest Co., co-founded with Jessica Alba. The companies are headquartered in Santa Monica and offer customers monthly subscription plans in addition to typical a la carte shopping for shoes and baby products, respectively.

ShoeDazzle has more than 15 million registered users and last year posted $100 million in revenue, up 80% from 2011; it has raised $66 million from investors including venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz. Honest Co., launched a year ago, has yet to release membership or financial numbers but has raised $27 million.

From Seoul to L.A.: Lee was born in Seoul. When he was 1, his family immigrated to Huntington Beach, where he grew up.

As an 8-year-old, Lee mapped out his trick-or-treating route on Halloween so he could collect as much candy as possible. When he got home, he separated his loot into Ziploc bags, which he sold at school for 25 cents each.

"Cost of goods: zero. Profit margins: 100%, outside of my own little labor," he said. "I probably did that for five years."

He now lives in Marina del Rey with his wife, Mira; their 4-year-old son, Davis; and their 1-year-old daughter, Madison.

Education: Bachelor's degree in business economics from UCLA in 1993, J.D. from UCLA School of Law in 1996.

Bold cold call: After practicing law for a few years, Lee came up with the idea for LegalZoom, which offers self-help legal documents such as divorce and bankruptcy forms, prenuptial agreements and wills. He wanted a high-profile name to represent the start-up, and decided to approach O.J. Simpson defense attorney Robert Shapiro.

Lee got Shapiro's number from 411 and called him at 10 p.m. "He picked up the phone and said, 'Hi, this is Robert Shapiro, how can I help you?' and I said, 'Well, my name is Brian Lee and I have a business opportunity I'd like to run by you.'... I think he heard the desperation in my voice and he said, 'You've got two minutes.'"

LegalZoom, based in Glendale, launched in 2001.

Online shoe shopping: ShoeDazzle was inspired by Lee's wife, who one day returned from a shopping spree on Robertson Boulevard with a pair of pricey designer shoes. When Lee asked her why she didn't just go to Loehmann's or DSW, she said discount chains didn't provide the type of personalized, one-on-one service that small boutiques did. Lee set out to replicate that experience online and met Kardashian through Shapiro, who is a family friend.

ShoeDazzle launched four years ago as an online subscription business, with members viewing a customized showroom of shoes based on a personal fashion quiz and choosing one new pair to receive every month for $39.95 including shipping.

Taking back the reins: In November, Lee became CEO of ShoeDazzle for a second time. He returned after the departure of Bill Strauss, who scrapped the company's subscription-based business model last year, leading to speculation that the company wasn't doing well.

In his first 100 days on the job, Lee laid off about two dozen employees and hired celebrity fashion stylist Rachel Zoe as the company's chief stylist; ShoeDazzle also began introducing one new shoe style every day. This month the company will roll out an optional $9.95-a-month VIP membership program that includes free shipping, early access to sales, discounts and an extended return policy.

Since a site relaunch in January, orders have increased 30% and repeat visits are up 12%, Lee said. The company sells as many as 250,000 pairs of shoes per month.

From shoes to babies: Lee was approached by Alba when the actress wanted to start an eco-friendly baby products line. Honest Co. sells diapers, shampoo, sunscreen and household items online that are nontoxic and made with organic ingredients.

Caffeine junkie: As the CEO of two companies, Lee arrives at Honest Co. offices by 7 a.m. every day and is there until 9:30 a.m. He then heads over to nearby ShoeDazzle, where he stays until 5 p.m. or so. Then it's back to Honest Co. until about 8 or 9 p.m.

"I drink seven Coca-Colas a day," he said. "Regular Coke, which is really bad for me."

Advice to entrepreneurs: "Believe in the idea with 100% certainty," Lee said. "But also don't be scared to change that idea and pivot very quickly. Because as an entrepreneur, nothing ever goes to plan."

For instance, Lee said that in the early days of LegalZoom, the company created do-it-yourself software programs such as Estate Planning in a Box that it hoped to sell at Staples and OfficeMax. When LegalZoom realized that Internet-based downloading was the future, it dropped those plans.

"We spent a lot of resources on it," he said, "but we weren't afraid at all to just cut it."

andrea.chang@latimes.com

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Stocks close higher; S&P 500 highest since Nov. `07

The Standard and Poor's 500 edged up to a five-year high Friday, extending a rally that started in January.

The S&P 500 rose 8.54 points to 1,517.93, closing 0.3 percent up for the week. The index is at its highest since November 2007 and has advanced for six weeks, the longest streak of gains since August.

The Dow Jones industrial average rose 48.92 points, or 0.4 percent, to 13,992.97. The Nasdaq composite climbed 28.74 points, or 0.9 percent, to finish the week at 3,193.87.

The Dow had its best January in almost two decades, and closed above 14,000 on Feb. 1 for the first time since 2007. The index is up 6.8 percent so far this year; the S&P 500 is up 6.4 percent.

A last-minute budget deal in Washington to avoid the “fiscal cliff” of tax hikes and spending cuts helped powered the rally, as did as optimism about the housing sector and gradual improvements in the jobs market.

The S&P 500 finished the week higher despite logging its biggest daily decline in almost three months Monday following worrying news from Europe.

The index fell 1.2 percent that day as bond yields in Spain and Italy rose on concern that the region's politicians will drag Europe back into crisis. European Central Bank President Mario Draghi's cautious comments about the region's economy also weighed on markets Thursday.

“Everybody seems to be saying this market needs to correct,” said Robert Pavlik, chief market strategist at Banyan Partners. “Nobody wants to be in it, but nobody wants to be out of it.”

Largely positive corporate earnings reports and a report that showed that the U.S. trade deficit narrowed sharply in December provided more fuel for the market's advance Friday.

The trade deficit fell nearly 21 percent in December from November to $38.6 billion, the smallest in nearly three years, as exports rose while oil imports plummeted. The smaller trade gap means the economy likely performed better in the final three months of last year than first reported last week.

“The trade balance was surprisingly very good,” said Phil Orlando, chief market strategist at Federated Investors.

The government estimated that the U.S. economy contracted at an annual rate of 0.1 percent in the last three months of 2012. Orlando estimates that may now be revised to growth of 0.5 percent.

Shares of LinkedIn, the online professional networking service, jumped $26.39, or 21.3 percent, to $150.40 after the company reported fourth-quarter results late Thursday that beat analysts' forecasts. AOL soared $2.31 to $33.72 after the Internet company said its quarterly revenue grew for the first time in eight years, helped by strength in worldwide advertising.

Currently, analysts are expecting earnings for the fourth quarter of 2012 to rise 6.5 percent for S&P 500 companies, according to data from S&P Capital I&Q. That's an increase from the 2.4 percent growth rate recorded for the preceding quarter.

Stocks have benefited as investors poured a net $4.1 billion into stock mutual funds since the start of the year, according to data provided by Lipper.

“I'm very encouraged by the fact, that finally, for the first time in many years, individual investors seem to be participating in this,” said David Kelly, chief global strategist at J.P. Morgan Funds.

The yield on the 10-year note, which moves inversely to its price, fell one basis point to 1.95 percent.

Trading volume was light as Wall Street braced for what is forecast to be the largest winter storm in more than a year. Up to 2 feet of snow forecast along the densely populated Interstate 95 corridor from the New York City area to Boston and beyond.

Among other stocks making big moves;

— Microchip Technology, a semiconductor maker, jumped $2.45, or 7.2 percent, to $36.39 after its earnings beat estimates. The company said it was seeing “exceptionally strong” bookings.

— Moody's slumped $3.62, or 7.7 percent, to $43.37 even after reporting that fourth-quarter net income jumped 66 percent and revenue blew away expectations. Many are expecting the ratings agency will be the next target of the Justice Department, which filed a suit against rival Standard & Poor's for its actions before the housing market collapse.

— Activision Blizzard, which makes “Call of Duty” and other video games, rose $1.35, or 11.2 percent, to $13.41. The company posted sharply higher earnings and revenue in the fourth quarter, surpassing Wall Street's expectations.

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BlackBerry's new phone is off to a good start in Britain and Canada

The BlackBerry Z10 went on sale in Canada on Tuesday and sales are up more than 50% from previous BlackBerry phone launches. (Frank Gunn, Associated Press / February 5, 2013)

By Salvador Rodriguez, Los Angeles Times

February 8, 2013

The long-awaited BlackBerry Z10 won't be available in the U.S. until March, but it's already out in other countries and sales are hot, according to the maker.

BlackBerry's Z10 touch-screen smartphone has gotten off to a better start in Britain than any of its previous models, the company said.

To be precise, the Z10 is "selling almost three times better" than previous BlackBerry models have in their first week, according to a Bloomberg report that cites BlackBerry Chief Executive Thorsten Heins as the source.

The Z10 is also doing well in BlackBerry's homeland of Canada, with sales up more than 50% from previous BlackBerry phone launches, Heins said.

That's great news for BlackBerry, which is relying on the Z10 and its new Blackberry 10 operating system to remain relevant in the smartphone market.

But the Z10's big test will come next month when the Z10 makes its debut in the U.S. It will be carried by AT&T, Verizon Wireless and T-Mobile.

None of the companies have given release dates for the phone, but Verizon has said the phone will be available for $200 with a new contract.

salvador.rodriguez@latimes.com

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Crimes against tourists are latest blow to Mexico tourism

Police say five masked and armed men broke into a bungalow and raped six Spanish tourists.

By Hugo Martin

February 6, 2013, 2:03 p.m.

Despite past assurances that tourists are safe in their country, Mexican tourism officials are again faced with trying to explain away another report of crime against foreign visitors.

The latest incident took place in the resort town of Acapulco, where six Spanish tourists on vacation were raped Sunday by masked gunmen.

Unlike many crimes involving drug violence in the country's interior states, the rapes took place near the beach, where the tourists were renting bungalows near four-star hotels.

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Mexico's secretary of tourism issued a statement expressing sympathy for the tourists and said local authorities would investigate the crime.

Crime tied to drug violence has reduced the number of tourists from the U.S. to Mexico in recent years but Mexican tourism officials have responded by targeting travelers from countries such as Russia, Brazil, Peru and Colombia.

Despite the violence, Mexico predicts it will host 24.7 million foreign visitors in 2012, surpassing last year's record of 23.4 million.

But the latest crime report will only make it harder for Mexico to shrug off the incidents of crime in tourist towns as isolated and rare, experts say.

"It doesn't matter if Mexico is safe or not because the perception is they are not," said Carl Winston, director of the school of hospitality and tourism at San Diego State University.

But some travel agents say they have not seen a drop off in tourists from the U.S. booking trips to Mexico.

Coastline Travel Advisors in Garden Grove is in the process of booking a group of 30 people to visit Loreto in Baja California.

"We haven't had anyone afraid to visit Mexico or ask if it is safe," said Kate Malczynski, a spokeswoman for the company. "Our agents know what is best and what areas are safe."

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Mexico tourism grows thanks to non-U.S. visitors

Texas warns students on spring break to avoid Mexico

22 Carnival Splendor cruise ship passengers robbed in Mexico

Follow Hugo Martin on Twitter at @hugomartin

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State seeks back taxes from small-business shareholders

SACRAMENTO — For almost two decades, California has provided a hefty tax break for residents owning shares of small businesses that keep most of their workers and assets in the state.

Not anymore. A court has thrown out the incentive, and now, to the frustration and anger of about 2,000 taxpayers, the state tax collector wants the money back, plus interest.

The Franchise Tax Board is going after four years' worth of these tax breaks. It recalculated the back taxes of people who benefited and mailed out a holiday surprise.

"It's a surreal situation," said Brian Overstreet of Healdsburg in the Sonoma County wine country. He said investors learned they owed taxes only in late December when the board sent out letters telling them the so-called qualified small-business capital gains tax incentive had been deemed unconstitutional.

"California is not a banana republic," said one critic, state Sen. Ted Lieu (D-Torrance). "California government should not punish innocent, law-abiding taxpayers retroactively just because it may have the power to do so."

Lieu says the state's move is questionable. In a strongly worded letter to the board, he called a staff decision to ask for the back taxes "an incredibly dangerous precedent" that could discourage businesses from locating in California.

Lieu is demanding that the board reverse its decision. He buttresses his argument by citing a number of U.S. Supreme Court decisions as a legal basis for a reversal.

The board says it's owed about $120 million in taxes plus accrued interest for earnings from Californians who sold stock in such small companies from 2008 through 2011.

In contention is a 1993 state law, which created the tax break for investors in companies with gross assets of less than $50 million. The law cut the tax rate on capital gains — profits made on stock sales — in half, to 4.5% from 9%.

But to ensure the tax break would boost the California economy, lawmakers mandated that at least 80% of the companies' payroll costs and assets had to be located in the Golden State.

And that's how the statute fell afoul of the U.S. Constitution — 19 years after it became law. In August, a state appeals court, ruling on a lawsuit brought by an investor whose stock holdings didn't meet the 80%-in-California test, invalidated the law because it interfered with interstate commerce: granting a special benefit to stockholders in California small businesses that investors in similar out-of-state companies couldn't get.

Tax officials argue that the court's finding gave them no choice but to demand retroactive taxes.

"If the statute is invalid, it can't be enforced," said board spokeswoman Denise Azimi. "To cure discrimination we have to treat all taxpayers alike."

The only way to keep the tax break and still satisfy the court would be to drop the requirement that the small-business investment be primarily in California, making the incentive available to all investors, regardless of a company's location, she said.

Such a change can be done only by the state Legislature's passing a new version of the 1993 law, the board's attorneys insist.

That's the plan being put together by California Business Defense, a just-organized group, backed by the Bay Area Council, an alliance of large, high-tech companies from the San Francisco-Silicon Valley region.

"A lot of people are just waking up to the fact that this is happening," Overstreet said. "We want to recraft the issue and hand it back to the FTB to do what they do, which is to enforce the law."

So far, Overstreet and the business group have gained support from a couple of lawmakers. Assemblyman Bob Wieckowski (D-Fremont) has submitted draft legislation aimed at preserving the tax break to the Legislature's attorneys that could be introduced as a bill this month.

For his part, Lieu argues that the Franchise Tax Board could fix the problem without passage of new legislation.

"The FTB staff is wrong, wrong, wrong to say this issue requires action by the Legislature," he said. "The FTB staff is misleading the public."

The board, which comprises the state controller, the director of the Department of Finance and the chairman of the state Board of Equalization, has the authority to grant the tax break to all investors, Lieu asserted. It should reverse its demand for retroactive taxes, which Lieu says violates the due process requirement of the U.S. Constitution.

"It's wrong to sock it to these taxpayers," he said, "after they relied on the law the way it was written."

marc.lifsher@latimes.com

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CVS' Medicare drug program causing headaches for enrollees

Deborah Shapiro decided a few months ago to switch her prescription drug coverage from her former employer's plan to Medicare. The Medicare literature made clear that she could save hundreds of dollars on the various drugs she and her husband required.

Shapiro, 76, of Woodland Hills, studied her options carefully and decided to enroll in SilverScript, the Medicare-approved drug program run by CVS Caremark.

That turned out to be not such a good decision after all.

Shapiro was one of many seniors who found themselves facing inexplicably large bills that CVS refused to negotiate. As a result of cases like hers, CVS was sanctioned last month by Medicare, which means the company can't enroll new people in SilverScript until it cleans up its act.

The federal Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services said in a letter to CVS' SilverScript subsidiary that its inability to process prescriptions correctly "poses a serious threat to the health and safety of Medicare beneficiaries."

The federal agency blamed the problems on "widespread data system failures" that have "created disruptions in tens of thousands of Medicare beneficiaries' access to prescription medications."

SilverScript handles the drug requirements of about 4 million Medicare beneficiaries.

In Shapiro's case, she told me that she'd ordered a 90-day supply of an estrogen pill that was supposed to cost $85. Instead, SilverScript sent her a 30-day supply running $70.61.

Shapiro said she got the runaround from three separate CVS supervisors until a company representative finally insisted that she had to take what she was given and pay the amount CVS was demanding.

She said the company deemed the $70.61 bill a "transition fee" from her former drug insurer, which, as it happens, was also run by CVS.

"They need to charge me a transition fee from CVS to CVS?" Shapiro said. "That makes no sense."

CVS blamed its SilverScript troubles on "an enrollment system conversion" that "brought about an increase in call volume and issues related to claims processing."

"We take these issues very seriously and are committed to working swiftly with [Medicare] officials to address their areas of concern," said Jon Roberts, president of CVS' pharmacy benefit management business.

He also said the company will work to resolve any issues for patients that have come up as a result of the problem. Presumably that means Shapiro and others can expect their sky-high drug bills to be revisited in a more accommodating manner by CVS service reps.

Medicare says it received 2,340 complaints about SilverScript in just the first two weeks of January — a rate four times greater than for all other Medicare-approved drug programs combined.

The agency said in its letter to CVS that the sanction will remain in place until officials are "satisfied that the deficiencies upon which the determination was based have been corrected and are not likely to recur."

This isn't CVS' first brush with regulatory scrutiny. As I've reported, the company is now being investigated by federal and state authorities for having refilled prescriptions and billed insurers without patients' approval.

CVS has blamed such incidents on overzealous pharmacy managers and said the practice doesn't represent company policy. But internal emails and documents I've obtained suggest the unauthorized refills were more widespread than CVS would have customers believe.

The U.S. Justice Department also is looking into whether CVS violated a $17.5-million settlement reached with federal authorities in 2011 over allegedly falsified claims to Medicaid programs in California and nine other states.

The Justice Department is working with the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. California and New Jersey regulators also are probing CVS' refill practices.

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Love, money and the online dating industry

At the heart of the new book "Love in the Time of Algorithms" is a philosophical question: does the billion-dollar dating industry, whose currency is the perpetual promise of new relationships, signal the death of commitment?

It is the question posed to Sam Yagan, chief executive of free dating website OkCupid, by the book's author, Dan Slater. "That's really a point about market liquidity," replies Yagan, a graduate of Harvard University and Stanford Business School, and a self-confessed "math guy" who says he knows nothing about dating.

Justin Parfitt, a British dating entrepreneur, answers the question more bluntly. The industry is thinking: Let's keep this customer coming back to the site as often as we can, he said, "and let's not worry about whether he's successful. There's this massive tension between what would actually work for you, the user, and what works for us, the shareholders. It's amazing, when you think about it. In what other industry is a happy customer bad for business?"

These responses represent the dissonance between the romantic ideal of love held by many customers and the approach of the entrepreneurial nerds who set up the match­making sites. The disparity is well drawn in this lively book by Slater, a former legal affairs reporter for the Wall Street Journal, who had racked up quite a few of his own cyber dates by age 31, following the demise of a long-term relationship.

A book on the dating industry would be soulless without tales of the customers — the cyber daters. Published by Current, "Love in the Time of Algorithms: What Technology Does to Meeting and Mating" is strewn with stories of blossoming romances, bed-hoppers and borderline sociopaths.

There is Carrie, a single mom in New York, who clicks the box for "full figured," saying that while she is bigger than Kim Kardashian, she is not as big as "big and beautiful." (In the search for love, these things matter.) After several false starts with men who find the "kid thing" a sticking point, Carrie meets her match in a Puerto Rican computer technician who's an atheist.

There is also Jacob in Oregon, who knows he can afford to take things slow with the pharmacist because he can always have sex with another online date. Or, as he likes to think of it: "There's always a pepperoni pizza in the trunk."

The writer delves into his own personal history — his parents met in the 1960s through a pioneering computer dating service. His father's comments, that "these days they're all over the Internet. I think they're mostly for desperate people, though," indicate the stigma that has dogged the industry.

Slater's account of the history of the cyber dating industry — from huge clunky old computers to modern complex computer algorithms — is well detailed. And he brings out the fierce rivalry between free and paid-for sites and the new possibilities for finding a date across the street using smartphones and innovative "freemium" sites.

The stated aim of this book is how online dating is "remaking the landscape of modern relationships," which is an ambitious goal for 240 pages. The sweep is huge: Nigerian scammers preying on the lonely; paunchy middle-aged men trafficking poor young South American and Russian women; math geeks competing for a share of the love market; and adult babies seeking matronly diaper-changers.

The author also brandishes so many ideas — a bit of behavioral economics here, a bit of biological determinism there — that it is hard to focus when so much is competing for the reader's attention. It is a dizzying attempt to demonstrate the author's mastery of the zeitgeist.

In the final chapter, Slater writes that he has tried to avoid "passing judgment on all the many behaviors, new and old, facilitated by the date-o-sphere". Yet this well-reported romp through the digital love marketplace would have benefited from a slightly more domineering author.

Emma Jacobs is a columnist for the Financial Times of London, in which this review first appeared.

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Deering Banjo in a groove

It all started with the Kingston Trio.

One day in 1963, a San Diego kid and his friends got their hands on an album by the popular folk group. Greg Deering, 12 at the time, recalls studying the musicians on the cover and thinking, "I've got to get a banjo" — not out of love for the twangy instrument but mainly because his pal already had a guitar.

Fifty years later, Greg, his wife, Janet, and daughter Jamie preside over the bestselling banjo-making business in the U.S.

From a small Spring Valley factory, the Deering Banjo Co. is having its best year ever, defying the U.S. skills gap and California's manufacturing doldrums. It has expanded and trained its own workforce and expects to top $4 million in sales for the year ending June 30.

Greg Deering, 62, is the creative force behind the banjo design and the machinery used to build them. Janet Deering, 58, handles operations. Daughter Jamie Deering, 34, might have the most fun job: liaison with the company's big-name roster of professional musician customers.

Over the company's 38-year history, it has developed a loyal following from the likes of Taylor Swift, Keith Urban, the Dixie Chicks, Steve Martin and Mumford & Sons. Artists who play Deering banjos rolled up 13 Grammy nominations this year.

Two of Deering's fans illustrate how the company has managed to ride the banjo's renaissance as an instrument that crosses several musical genres as varied as country, reggae and indie rock.

"It's great working with a family company, an American company that really cares about the artist and making top-quality banjos," said Jeff DaRosa, singer, bassist and banjo player for the Dropkick Murphys, the Boston-based Celtic punk band.

Scotty Morris, lead vocalist of the contemporary swing revival band Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, called Deering Banjo "the quintessential American instrument builder."

"When I call Deering, I talk to a Deering, and I like that almost as much as I love the instruments they build," Morris said.

That kind of reputation combined with specially crafted manufacturing tools and a skilled, veteran workforce has helped the company weather the recession and cheap competition from China. Deering has been able to expand its workforce in a way that other companies have not, growing to 42 workers from 30 a year ago.

Although the nation as a whole has been adding manufacturing jobs, all California has done is reduce the rate of decline, said John Husing, principal of Redlands-based Economics and Politics Inc.

The most recent statistics available show that California ended 2012 with 1.23 million manufacturing jobs, down sharply from nearly 1.9 million in 2000 and marginally below the nearly 1.24 million in December 2011.

If you ask the Deerings what their greatest challenge has been, the answer has been running the business in California, particularly during a run-up in workers' compensation insurance premiums that began under Gov. Gray Davis.

"That nearly put us out of business. We're still paying off some of those debts," Greg Deering said, adding that the company has remained in California mostly because the family considers it home.

"And because we are stubborn. We are so stubborn," Janet Deering said.

Greg Deering credits his father, who worked in the Southern California aerospace industry, for developing his eye for design.

"He started me out on model airplanes when I was 2," Deering said. "He turned me loose on my own, making models when I was 5. At age 7, he bought me my first set of drafting tools."

But it wasn't until he was a student at San Diego State that he realized just what his father had done for him. There was an assignment to cut a board of certain dimensions from a rough block of wood. He was done with the assignment quickly and began working on a banjo. Weeks later, he realized the other students were still working on the block of wood.

"That was when it clicked for me," he said, later adding, "my father was a very intense mentor for me. He was teaching me how to be a craftsman."

Read More..

Dow closes above 14,000 for the first time since 2007

The Dow Jones industrial average closed above 14,000 for the first time since 2007. (John Moore / Getty)

By Andrew Tangel

February 1, 2013, 1:12 p.m.

NEW YORK -- The Dow Jones industrial average closed above 14,000 for the first time since October 2007, as stocks continue a rally this year.

The Dow gained 149.21 points, or 1.08%, to close at 14,009.79 in trading Friday.

Stocks were lifted Friday by a host of data pointing to a continued recovery in the U.S. economy. 

The federal government reported early Friday the economy added 157,000 jobs in January, as the unemployment rate ticked up to 7.9%. Manufacturing, consumer confidence and construction data also boosted optimism.

Investors have found more reasons this year to get back into equities. President Obama and Congress helped defuse potentially drastic tax increases and spending cuts threatened by the so-called fiscal cliff. Economists warned the cliff, if left unaddressed, could push the economy back into recession.

The Federal Reserve has also been keeping interest rates to historic lows with multiple rounds of monetary stimulus. That has pushed investors into riskier investments like stocks.

ALSO:

Foreclosures decline nationally in December

Washington Post looking to move headquarters

Outages hit Bank of America electronic and phone banking

 

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fbURL = fbConstruct.join(''),

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''
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shareTip.innerHTML = shareHTML;
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Peregrine Financial founder is sentenced to 50 years in prison

Peregrine Financial Group Inc. founder Russ Wasendorf Sr., whose once-highflying company came apart with high drama last year amid federal charges, has been sentenced to 50 years in prison for stealing $215 million from investors and concealing the theft for 20 years.

U.S. District Judge Linda Reade told Wasendorf at a hearing in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, that he knowingly caused "staggering losses" to investors, employees and creditors that grew larger over 20 years.

Reade said Wasendorf, 64, lacked the courage to stop his fraud sooner and admit that his company was a failure from its inception in the early 1990s.

She also said the collapse of Peregrine Financial Group had rippled across the financial industry, affecting regulatory agencies and the nation as whole.

"By imposing a substantial sentence, the court sends a message that white-collar criminals may serve long prison sentences for stealing money from other people," Reade said.

Wasendorf appeared frail at the sentencing on Thursday. His attorney said he'd lost a substantial amount of weight while being held in jail.

Before the sentencing, Wasendorf issued a broad apology for the damage he caused and said he would accept any sentence imposed.

Wasendorf pleaded guilty in September to misusing at least $100 million to cover business losses at his Cedar Falls brokerage, which did business as PFGBest, and a variety of personal expenses. This week, he agreed with prosecutors that he caused $215 million in losses. Reade ordered Wasendorf to pay that amount in restitution, but said it was "highly unlikely" the victims would ever be compensated in full.

He admitted that he hid the theft from colleagues and regulators by making phony financial statements for nearly two decades.

Wasendorf was found unconscious outside the company's headquarters in July after attempting suicide in his vehicle by connecting a tube to his exhaust pipe. He left a startling suicide note confessing to the fraud, saying he started stealing because his "ego was too big to fail," that he did not feel bad about duping regulators he believed were overzealous and that he had learned to make "convincing forgeries" of bank and financial statements using printers and scanners.

Regulators discovered that PFGBest could not account for more than $200 million in customer funds it was supposed to be holding, and the firm filed for bankruptcy protection. Some 24,000 customers were unable to access their accounts and still have not been fully reimbursed. Customers who opened accounts to trade commodities have received between 30% and 40% of their money back, while customers who traded foreign currency have received nothing because that activity has less legal protection.

Wasendorf used their money to build up a business empire that included a publishing company, a corporate jet, the nicest restaurant in Cedar Falls and a family charity known for making donations to universities and hospitals.

Customer money also helped build what was perhaps the biggest symbol of Wasendorf's home-grown success with a firm he started in a basement 30 years ago: PFG's $20-million headquarters, a three-story glass building that opened in 2009 and included a gym, a day-care center, a Montessori school and a restaurant. The building now is largely empty and up for sale.

Read More..

State fines Chevron $1 million for Richmond refinery fire

Firefighters douse an Aug. 6 fire at a Chevron Corp. refinery in Richmond, Calif. The fire led the state Division of Occupational Safety and Health to issue 25 citations against Chevron. (Aric Crabb / Contra Costa Times / August 7, 2012)

By Marc Lifsher

January 30, 2013, 2:52 p.m.

SACRAMENTO -- California safety officials ordered Chevron Corp. to pay nearly $1 million in penalties for safety violations that led to a massive fire last summer at a refinery at Richmond in the San Francisco Bay Area.

In all, the state Division of Occupational Safety and Health issued 25 citations against California's biggest oil company, including 11 "willful serious" and 12 lesser "serious" violations related to the Aug. 6 blaze, the state said.

The fine, which could be appealed by Chevron, is the highest in Cal-OSHA history, the agency said.

"Ensuring worker safety is the employer's responsibility," said Christine Baker, director of the state Department of Industrial Relations, which oversees Cal-OSHA. "Refineries must take the steps needed to prevent incidents like the August Chevron fire. Failure to do so can pose great dangers to workers, surrounding communities and the environment."

Chevron said it intends to appeal some of the state citations. "Chevron takes our commitment to safe operations seriously," the San Ramon, Calif., company said in a statement. "Although we acknowledge that we failed to live up to our own expectations in this incident, we do not agree with several of the Cal-OSHA findings and its characterization of some  of the alleged violations as 'willful.'"

Chevron at the time of the fire reported that one employee suffered a minor injury. About 200 local residents sought medical help, complaining of respiratory problems.

ALSO:

Huge fire continues to rage at Chevron refinery in Richmond

Chevron refinery fire may spur jump in gas prices

Chevron's refinery, Richmond's peril

Read More..

Amazon revenue up 22% to $21.3 billion during holiday quarter

Amazon.com Inc. saw big sales during the holiday season, reporting Tuesday that fourth-quarter revenue rose 22% to $21.27 billion from the same quarter a year earlier.

But the Internet retail giant's sales and earnings missed Wall Street's estimates. Profit for the three months ended Dec. 31 declined 45% to $97 million, or 21 cents a share, compared with $177 million, or 38 cents, in the year-ago quarter.

Analysts had expected the e-commerce company to post revenue of $22.26 billion and earnings of 27 cents a share.

Nonetheless, Amazon shares surged in after-hours trading, rising more than 9% to $284.11 at 1:50 p.m. Pacific time. During regular trading before earnings were released, shares closed down $15.69, or 5.7%, at  $260.35.

For the current quarter, Amazon expects sales to be between $15 billion and $16.6 billion, representing a 14% to 26% growth from the first quarter of 2012.

Amazon said that for the second year in a row, its tablet was the most popular item for customers, with the Kindle Fire HD the "No. 1 best-selling, most gifted and most wished-for product" across the company's merchandise lineup.

"At year-end, Kindle Fire HD, Kindle Fire, Kindle Paperwhite and Kindle held the top four spots on the Amazon worldwide bestseller charts since launch," the company said.

The Seattle-based company is holding an earnings call with analysts at 2 p.m. Pacific time.

ALSO:

Apple to roll out 128 GB iPad

Yahoo revenue rises under Marissa Mayer

Facebook update adds voice messaging, video recording

Read More..

Yahoo revenue rises under CEO Marissa Mayer, beats expectations

Marissa Mayer, chief executive of Yahoo since July, at the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, last week. (Laurent Gillieron / Associated Press / Keystone)

By Jessica Guynn

January 28, 2013, 2:27 p.m.

Marissa Mayer has put an end to a prolonged slump in Yahoo revenue.

Fourth-quarter revenue rose 2% to $1.35 billion, Yahoo's first full-year revenue increase in three years.

It was the first full quarter under new Chief Executive Mayer, who joined the tech giant from Google in mid-July. Mayer has sparked hopes that she can turn around the beleaguered company.

The company's fourth-quarter net income declined 8% to $272 million, or 23 cents a share. The earnings would have been higher if not for one-time accounting charges.

"I am pleased with our results and our progress," Mayer said during a conference call with analysts.

She said the company is focused on growth but also on profitability.

The fourth-quarter results topped Wall Street expectations. Shares rose 2% to $20.75 in after-hours trading.

Cantor Fitzgerald analyst Youssef Squali said the results were "generally in line with muted expectations."

ALSO:

Yahoo's stock surges after CEO raises investors' hopes

New Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer's other big news: She's pregnant

Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer tells employees her turnaround strategy

Follow me on Twitter @jguynn

Comments are filtered for language and registration is required. The Times makes no guarantee of comments' factual accuracy. Readers may report inappropriate comments by clicking the Report Abuse link next to a comment. Here are the full legal terms you agree to by using this comment form.

';
shareDiv.innerHTML = templateHTML;

/* append the new div to the end of the document, which is hidden already with CSS */
document.body.appendChild(shareDiv);

/* Store the div in both a regular JavaScript variable and as a jQuery object so we can reference them faster later */
var shareTip = document.getElementById('shareTip'),
$shareTip = $('#shareTip');

/* This extends our settings object with any user-defined settings passed to the function and returns the jQuery object shareTip
was called on */
return this.each(function() {
if (options) {
$.extend(settings, options);
}

/* This is a hack to make sure the shareTip always fades back to 100% opacity */
var checkOpacity = function (){
if ( $shareTip.css('opacity') !== 1 ){
$shareTip.css({'opacity': 1});
}
};

/* Function that replaces the HTML in the shareTip with the template we defined at the top */
/* It will wipe/reset the links on the social media buttons each time the function is called */
var removeLinks = function (){
shareTip.innerHTML = templateHTML;
};

/* This is the function that makes the links for the Tweet / Share functionality */

var makeURLS = function (link, message){
/* Here we construct the Tweet URL using an array, with values passed to the function */
var tweetConstruct = [
'http://twitter.com/share?url=', link, '&text=', message, '&via=', settings.twitter_account
],
/* Then join the array into one chunk of HTML */
tweetURL = tweetConstruct.join(''),

/* Same story for Facebook */
fbConstruct = [
'http://www.facebook.com/sharer.php?u=', link, '&src=sp'
],

fbURL = fbConstruct.join(''),

newHTML = [
''
],
shareHTML = newHTML.join('');
/* Load in our new HTML */
shareTip.innerHTML = shareHTML;
};

/* Since the shareTip will automatically fade out when the user mouses out of an element */
/* we have to specifically tell the shareTip we want it to stay put when the user mouses over it */
/* This effectively gives the user a 500 ms (or whatever) window to mouse */
/* from the element to the shareTip to prevent it from popping out */
$shareTip.hover(function(){
$shareTip.stop(true, true);
$shareTip.show();
checkOpacity();
}, function(){
$(this).fadeOut(settings.speed);
});

/* This function handles the hover action */
$(this).hover(function(){
/* remove the old links, so someone doesn't accidentally click on them */
removeLinks();

/* If there's already an animation running on the shareTip, stop it */
$shareTip.stop(true, true);

var eso = $(this),
message,
/* Store the width and height of the shareTip and the offset of the element for our calculations */
height = eso.height(),
width = eso.width(),
offset = eso.offset(),
link;


link = eso.children('a').attr('href');
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if (link.search('http://') === -1){
link = 'http://www.latimes.com' + link;
}
link = encodeURIComponent(link);

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if (offset.top

Read More..