Top 10 Stories / Dec. 25-29

1. Utilities Plead Case for Rate Boost: The state’s two biggest utilities took their case for higher electricity rates to the Public Utilities Commission in three days of public hearings. Southern California Edison and Pacific Gas & Electric Co., citing dwindling cash reserves and difficulty in securing new financing, asked to raise rates charged to consumers by 30% and 26%, respectively. Edison also seeks the right to continue raising rates, as needed, for two years. An audit of both utilities continued, as regulators seek to verify whether the two companies are indeed on the verge of bankruptcy. Consumer advocates remained skeptical. Together, Edison and PG&E; say they have racked up $11 billion in “under-collections,” the difference between the wholesale prices they have paid this year and the amount they have been allowed to charge consumers.

(A Times Staff Writer)

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2. Wards Calls It Quits: Montgomery Ward, the country’s first catalog retailer, said it will close up shop after 128 years in business and numerous attempts to reinvent itself. Over the next few months, all 250 Wards stores, about 55 of which are in California, will close and the company’s 28,000 employees will be laid off. The Chicago-based company is owned by General Electric Co.’s GE Capital unit. GE said Wards’ bankruptcy won’t affect its profit. Wards Chairman Roger Goddu said weak holiday sales and a tough retail environment clinched the decision to close the long-troubled chain.

(Abigail Goldman)

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3. Holiday Retail Sales Disappoint: After a sluggish season, retail sales rebounded in the last week before Christmas--but not enough to salvage many merchants’ hopes for a happy holiday. Wall Street had been expecting a late shopping surge this year. But retailers, unnerved by full shelves and empty stores, began drastic discounts almost immediately. Analysts worried that some of the deepest price cuts, made right before Christmas, weren’t part of the long-term plan for the holiday season and could mean trouble for retail earnings. In spite of strong consumer response to the promotions, many analysts lowered their projections for the holiday season’s same-store sales.

(Abigail Goldman)

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4. Nasdaq Wraps Up Worst Year Ever: Technology investors were treated to one more bad week in what has been a miserable year on the Nasdaq Stock Market. The tech-laden Nasdaq composite index fell 1.8% for the week to 2,470.52, bringing its loss for 2000 to 39.3%--its worst performance ever. Blue chips fared better. The Standard & Poor’s 500 index rose 1.1% during the week, to 1,320.28, and the Dow industrials were up 1.4% for the week, to 10,786.85. Both yardsticks, however, ended the year in the red.

(A Times Staff Writer)

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5. Inglewood Church Buys the Forum: One of California’s largest churches acquired the Great Western Forum in Inglewood, making the 17,500-seat arena one of the largest houses of worship in the country. Faithful Central Bible Church of Inglewood paid L.A. Arena Co. $22.5 million for the building and 29-acre complex. L.A. Arena will continue to book sporting and entertainment events for the venue. The church, whose membership is predominantly African American, hopes to build a hotel and conference center at the Forum and market the complex as a center for religious revival meetings, Christian-oriented conventions and crusades.

(Jerry Hirsch)

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6. Quepasa Says Adios: Bilingual portal Quepasa.com became the first big “dot-com” targeting the Latino market to crash and burn when it announced plans to liquidate its assets. The publicly traded company, based in Phoenix, made the announcement less than a week after receiving a Nasdaq delisting notice. It joins a growing list of companies headed for the dot-com graveyard, but signs are that Latino-oriented companies--particularly those exclusively targeting Latinos in the U.S.--have had an even tougher time making ends meet.

(Lee Romney)

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7. Lucent Reveals Heavy Debt Write-Off: Lucent Technologies Inc. said it wrote off $69 million worth of debt from its customers in the latest fiscal year and set aside an additional $252 million to cover “doubtful” accounts. The leading phone equipment maker said the major part of the debt problem lay with upstart local phone service companies and wireless providers. Lucent racked up $1.3 billion in lending at the end of its fiscal year, Sept. 30. The new figures are the latest in a series of negative developments at Lucent, a former Wall Street favorite that has dropped 82% of its stock value this year.

(Joseph Menn)

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8. Networks Warned on Anti-Drug Sponsorship: The Federal Communications Commission ruled that the TV networks should have named the Office of National Drug Control Policy as a sponsor of “ER” and other prime-time shows that included anti-drug messages paid for by the government. The agency warned the networks about running afoul of payola laws but found “no basis for enforcement action.”

(Jube Shiver Jr.)

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9. Kohl’s Plans California Stores: Kohl’s Corp., a Wisconsin-based chain of moderate-price department stores that’s highly regarded by Wall Street and shoppers, is quietly scouting dozens of California locations, said officials in Anaheim, Ventura and other cities. Kohl’s has succeeded in new markets with its stylish and value-focused stores while other mid-price retailers, such as J.C. Penney Co. and Montgomery Ward, lag and fail. Kohl’s, whose westernmost store now is in Denver, declined to comment.

(Times Staff Writers)

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10. Thai Company Buys Southland Tuna Assets: A Thai food company bought out its Southern California partners and acquired control of Chicken of the Sea International, one of the nation’s oldest and largest producers of canned tuna. The sale included a San Pedro cannery, the largest tuna cannery in the continental United States. Thai Union Frozen Products paid $38.5 million for 50% of San Diego-based Chicken of the Sea from two fishing fleet operators, Tri-Marine International of San Pedro and Edmund Gann, owner of Caribbean Marine of San Diego.

(Jerry Hirsch)

* These and additional stories from last week are available at https://www.latimes.com/business.

* Please see Monday’s Business section for a preview of the week’s events.