Investment

CITY HALL — Amid the doom and gloom of the international credit market and fears of a recession, City Council members got a dose of good financial news Tuesday: Returns on city investments are up. While the size of the city’s investment portfolio grew $10 million over the past year to $484 million, the most telling columns on the spreadsheets were those on interest earnings, up $3.1 million to $18.8 million for the year, city Treasurer...

People who have questions about 1031 tax deferred exchanges, tenant in common ownership, leveraged real estate retirement portfolios and creative financing techniques, will not want to miss a free seminar that is being held at the La Cañada Country Club on Tuesday, May 22 at 6 p.m. "The Conroy Team's seminar was filled with valuable information that was delivered in a very comfortable setting with no sales pressure whatsoever. After the seminar, I asked for a no cost, no obligation personal consultation and found their advice and follow through to be excellent.

GLENDALE — Propelled by rising short-term interest rates in the municipal bond market, the city's investment portfolio is on pace to eclipse last fiscal year's earnings by $3 million, officials said on Tuesday. As of March 31, the end of the third quarter, the city had $491 million invested in various federal and state bonds, up $2 million from the second quarter, and up $17 million for the fiscal year, said City Treasurer Ronald Borucki, who submitted the Quarterly Investment Review to the City Council on Tuesday.

GLENDALE ? A lawsuit filed against a Glendale chiropractor over an alleged $300,000 investment fraud scheme will go to trial Monday. Glendale resident and retired architect Gregor Zargarian first filed the lawsuit in 2005 against Sarkis Mesrobian ? a chiropractor with offices in Glendale and Santa Monica ? and two others for allegedly stealing $300,000 that was paid to Mesrobian under the guise of an insider stock purchase, according to court documents. The civil case will go to jury trial Monday in Glendale Superior Court after it failed a final attempt at mediation last week, said Mary Der-Parseghian, an attorney representing Zargarian.

Local salesmen gets national recognition Administaff Inc., a Kingwood, Texas-based provider of human resources services for small- and medium-sized businesses, recently named Eddie DeOchoa from its Glendale sales office as the 2006 top volume-producing sales consultant. DeOchoa, who is one of approximately 245 Administaff sales consultants, brought on the most work-site employees in 2006, the company announced on Monday. This is the fourth consecutive year DeOchoa has earned the top volume recognition and the ninth year of employment with the company.

I gave money to a candidate for the first time in my life just the other day. It's not the first time I've given money for political causes — usually a little here or there just to keep my feet in it, so to speak. This time, I gave real money to someone I want to win. Kind of an investment. An investment in Glendale's future. It's no secret why. I want something. And I think this guy represents the best shot I have at getting it. You see, I own a small, 812-square-foot house in Adams Hill with beautiful views of downtown and the Verdugo Mountains.

DOWNTOWN — Despite a high office-vacancy rate, local and county business leaders forecast a favorable investment climate in Glendale on Thursday at the city's "Invest in Glendale" seminar. More than 250 business representatives and potential investors converged at the Alex Theatre for the presentation, which included a keynote address by Jack Kyser, chief economist at the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp. "People are fretting about high vacancy rates, but your office lease rate [the price per square foot of office space]

BURBANK ? Burbank Water and Power, and other Southern California municipal power facilities, have reneged on plans to extend their contracts with a Utah-based coal plant that provides Burbank with almost half of its energy resources, but the source of which remains a significant environmental pollutant. The Burbank City Council voted on Oct. 24 to renew its contract with Intermountain Power Agency, a coal-driven plant that has as served as a cost-effective power source in Burbank for more than 20 years.

BURBANK AIRPORT DISTRICT — Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger visited the Hilton Burbank Airport and Convention Center on Monday to sign two pieces of legislation intended to put pressure on leaders in Sudan to halt government-sponsored genocide in the Darfur region. The first law, Assembly Bill 2941, will prohibit the state's pension programs — the California Public Employees Retirement System and the State Teachers Retirement System — from making investments in corporations with business ties to Sudan.