California Inc.: Drop the drumstick -- it's time to go shopping!

Nov. 23, 2015 2:59 AM PT

Welcome to California Inc., the weekly newsletter of the L.A. Times Business section.

I'm Business columnist David Lazarus, and here's a rundown of upcoming stories this week and the highlights of last week.

Is the Golden State's economy looking up? It sure looked that way Friday, when we learned that employers added a net 41,200 jobs in October. The state unemployment rate fell to 5.8% — the lowest level since October 2007. For the last three years, California has added jobs at a rate faster than all but five other states.

Looking Ahead

Fire aid: Monday is the deadline to file for federal emergency money for those affected by the massive wildfires that devastated parts of Northern California in September. The Federal Emergency Management Agency has available more than $20 million in disaster aid for victims of the two blazes, in Lake and Calaveras counties. Together, the fires destroyed nearly 1,800 homes.

Uber versus drivers: Uber is back in court Tuesday to defend itself against a class-action lawsuit that seeks to designate Uber drivers as employees, not independent contractors. Uber tried last week to challenge a court ruling that the company's California drivers could sue as a group, but the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco denied the request. Lawyers now will be considering a mediation plan.

Popcorn time: After last week's debut of "The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2," movie studios are filling this week with other highly anticipated films. Pixar's "The Good Dinosaur" debuts on Wednesday, along with "Creed," a Warner Bros. spinoff of the "Rocky" franchise directed by Ryan Coogler. Arriving Friday is "The Danish Girl," a story of a transgender pioneer that's generating Oscar buzz for lead actor Eddie Redmayne.

On the road: Thanksgiving week is among the busiest travel times of the year, and Los Angeles International Airport is expected to be the nation's busiest airport. A record 2.1 million passengers are expected to fly in and out of LAX from Nov. 20 to Nov. 30, airport officials say. If you're hoping for a little calm, the smallest crowds, relatively speaking, are expected on Thursday and Friday.

The latest numbers: Your last chance to gauge the economy comes the day before Thanksgiving. That's when the Commerce Department serves up the latest statistics on consumer spending, orders for durable goods and sales of new homes — all of them probably up. Solid economic news increases the likelihood that the Federal Reserve will raise a key interest rate next month.

The Agenda

It's never too soon to go shopping, so Black Friday is now Black Thursday. Toys R Us said it will welcome customers starting at 5 p.m. on Thanksgiving, followed by Kohl's at 6 p.m. and Kmart at 7 p.m. For retailers, the last few months of the year are crucial: Some rake in 40% of their annual revenue during this time. The National Retail Federation is predicting a 3.7% increase in holiday sales.

Story Lines

Here are some of the other stories that ran in the Times Business section in recent days that we're continuing to follow:

Car crazy: There was plenty to see at the Los Angeles Auto Show, with such notable entries as the Kia Optima A1A and the Fiat 500e Stormtrooper concept car. Other highlights included "Star Wars" vehicles — unfortunately, no Millennium Falcon — and Range Rover's new convertible SUV. Then there was the latest from Bentley, billed as the "fastest and most luxurious SUV" ever. With a price tag of $300,000, that must be a truly sweet ride.

Insurance warning: Industry giant UnitedHealth Group has warned that it may quit selling Obamacare coverage across the country, raising questions about an expansion in California. The nation's largest private health insurer cut its earnings forecast, citing slower growth on public exchanges under the Affordable Care Act and higher-than-expected claims for those individual policies.

CalPERS' returns: The nation's largest public pension fund approved a plan to lower its estimate of future investment returns gradually to 6.5% — a move that will require taxpayers to pay billions of dollars more than expected over the next decades. For years, the California Public Employees' Retirement System had estimated that it would earn an average of 7.5% a year from its investments.

Just Google it: The neighborhoods of West L.A. may have gotten it first, but Google's overnight delivery service, Google Express, is now available to everyone in Southern California. Customers across the region can sign up to use the service, paying a $95 annual membership or a fee of $4.99 for each eligible order. Retailers participating in Google Express include Target, Walgreens, Kohl's and Costco.

Taco transit: Strapped in and secured to the back of a truck, the original Taco Bell, "Numero Uno," made a 45-mile journey across the border — the border of L.A. and Orange counties, that is. The boxy white 400-square-foot building with the tiny stone arches had been slated for demolition. Instead, it was met by fans and former employees as they celebrated its journey to Taco Bell headquarters.

What We're Reading

And some recent stories from other publications that caught our eye:

Terror cash: ISIS is rolling in oil money, Bloomberg says. Although U.S. air strikes were aimed at crippling the militants' production capacity, "the terrorist group is actually taking in $500 million from oil a year."

Mad Men no more: Adweek says a steady stream of advertising talent is moving from New York to Los Angeles. Deal with it, Madison Avenue: Don Draper's sporting a SoCal tan.

Eve of destruction? A timely question from the New Yorker: Will artificial intelligence bring us utopia or ruin? Here's a hint: "The people who say that artificial intelligence is not a problem tend to work in artificial intelligence."

Price is right: Can you get people to pay a dollar a day for digital news? The Boston Globe is trying such a plan. "If the Globe's repricing of digital subscriptions continues to prove itself out, we may well have a new model for reader revenue in the digital age," says Ken Doctor at Nieman Lab.

The Californians: Yes, it's a "Saturday Night Live" sketch, but Southern Californians are obsessed with their freeways. KCET wonders why we also insist on putting a "the" in front of freeway numbers — "the 10," "the 101."