Business
California banks and credit unions offer mortgage relief to fire victims, Newsom announces
Residents whose homes were damaged or destroyed by the Los Angeles firestorms are being offered mortgage relief by nearly 270 state-chartered banks, credit unions and other financial companies, Gov. Gavin Newsom said Thursday.
The announcement follows a decision by five major banks last week to offer mortgage relief to the fire victims.
“I thank each of the financial institutions that are offering this help for Californians recovering from this catastrophic firestorm,” Newsom said in a statement. “California will continue working with all stakeholders to support survivors, expedite recovery, and provide relief.”
The relief includes a 90-day forbearance on mortgage payments and any associated late fees; no reporting of the delayed payments to credit bureaus; protection from new foreclosures or evictions for at least 60 days; and no balloon mortgage payments at the end of the reprieve.
Among the Southern California institutions participating in the program are Banc of California, Hanmi Bank, and PennyMac Loan Services.
“Banc of California … is proud to work with the state to provide relief to homeowners and businesses affected by the tragic fires,” said Jared Wolff, CEO of Banc of California, in a statement.
The help is available to qualified Los Angeles County residents in the 90019, 90041, 90049, 90066, 90265, 90272, 90290, 90402, 91001, 91104, 91106, 91107, or 93536 ZIP Codes. Borrowers must contact their mortgage servicer to obtain relief.
Last week, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, JP Morgan, Citibank and U.S. Bank announced mortgage relief programs.
The Palisades and Eaton fires have burned more than 37,000 acres, damaging or destroying over 18,000 homes and killing at least 28 people.
Other actions taken by the governor include postponing the state tax filing deadline until Oct. 15 for Los Angeles County residents. Another executive order allows homeowners to wait until April 2026 to file this year’s property taxes without penalty. Longer deferrals of up to four years are also available by applying to the Los Angeles County Treasurer and Tax Collector.
Newsom also has issued an order to protect fire victims from predatory land speculators who make unsolicited and undervalued offers. Violations can be reported to the attorney general’s office at oag.ca.gov/report.
Newsom’s latest announcement was praised by several Southern California lawmakers, including Sen. Sasha Renée Pérez (D-Glendale).
“As the state senator for the Eaton Fire-affected communities, including Altadena’s historically African-American and working-class residents, I thank the governor for responding to calls for mortgage relief. I also appreciate the financial institutions that stepped up to provide this critical support,” she said in a statement.
Business
Sony, CBS settle ‘Wheel of Fortune,’ ‘Jeopardy!’ dispute
Sony Pictures Television and CBS have struck a compromise in their hard-fought legal battle over distribution rights to the popular “Wheel of Fortune” and “Jeopardy!” syndicated game shows.
“We have reached an amicable resolution,” Sony and CBS said Friday in a joint statement. “We look forward to working together to continue bringing these beloved shows to audiences and stations around the world.”
Financial terms were not disclosed.
As part of the deal, CBS will continue to distribute the shows in the U.S. for an additional 2 ½ years — through the 2027-2028 television season. After that, Sony will control the domestic distribution rights.
Sony owns both shows and produces them on its Culver City lot.
The shows have retained their popularity and solid ratings even in the streaming age, as traditional TV has declined. They remain among the most-watched programs on television.
The dispute began more than a year ago, when Sony terminated its distribution deal with CBS and later filed a breach-of-contract lawsuit that claimed CBS had entered into unauthorized licensing deals for the shows and then paid itself a commission. Sony also maintained that budget cuts within CBS, which is owned by Paramount, had hobbled the network’s efforts to support the two shows.
Earlier this year, Sony attempted to cut CBS out of the picture, escalating the dispute.
CBS has long maintained that it had the legal rights to distribute the shows to television stations around the country. The broadcaster previously alleged that Sony’s claims were “rooted in the fact they simply don’t like the deal the parties agreed to decades ago.”
For years, CBS has raked in up to 40% of the fees that TV stations pay to carry the shows. The network took over the distribution of the programs when it acquired syndication company King World Productions in 1999.
King World struck deals with the show’s original producer, Merv Griffin Enterprises, in the early 1980s to distribute “Jeopardy!” and “Wheel of Fortune.” Sony later acquired Griffin’s company, but those early agreements remained in effect.
As part of this week’s resolution, CBS will manage all advertising sales through the 2029-2030 television season.
However, Sony will take over all marketing, promotions and affiliate relations for the shows after the current television season, which ends in mid-2026. Sony will also handle the lucrative brand integration campaigns.
In another element that was important to Sony, the studio will claim international distribution rights beginning this December.
Business
Video: How the Government Shutdown Is Affecting Air Travel
new video loaded: How the Government Shutdown Is Affecting Air Travel
By Niraj Chokshi, Karen Hanley, Leila Medina and James Surdam
November 8, 2025
Business
Presents to arrive in time for the holidays, but may be more expensive
Consumers don’t have to worry about products arriving in time for the holidays, though they may be facing higher prices, say officials at one of America’s largest ports.
Imports at the Port of Long Beach are flowing smoothly through its facilities despite the government shutdown and tariff uncertainties, port executives said. Still, they acknowledge that the volume and prices of products in the millions of containers coming through the port suggest that imports are becoming more costly and consumers are more cautious.
Until now, retailers, manufacturers and other intermediaries have absorbed much of the cost of tariffs, but that is changing as it becomes more apparent which tariffs are here to stay, Mario Cordero, chief executive of the Port of Long Beach, said Friday during a virtual news conference.
“Consumers will likely see price escalation in the coming months as shippers continue to pass along the cost of tariffs on goods, and a higher percentage of these costs will be passed on to the consumer,” he said.
Cordero, who drinks Starbucks coffee, said he’s seen the price of a cup of coffee increase by 15% and that more consumers are going to discount stores to find deals. However, potential price hikes could be offset if the United States and China strike further trade agreements.
The Port of Long Beach, a gateway for trade between the United States and Asia-Pacific, released new data that offers a glimpse into how President Trump’s on-again, off-again tariffs are affecting goods imported from key trade partners, such as China.
This week, the U.S. Supreme Court also started to hear arguments as the justices examine the legality of Trump’s tariffs.
Over the past year, the port saw a drop in the movement of containers filled with certain goods such as winter apparel, kitchen appliances and toys that people typically buy as gifts, a sign that consumers are likely wary about spending.
Still, the impact of tariffs on cargo volume hasn’t been as bad as some experts predicted. Cordero said some experts had projected that the port could see as much as a 35% drop in cargo volume.
“Clearly today, it’s fair to say that the worst scenarios some predicted did not occur,” Cordero said. “The challenges were many, and there’s no doubt that many companies and their workers suffered, but cargo volume is turning out to be just as high this year as it was last year.”
In fiscal year 2025, which runs from October 2024 to September 2025, the port surpassed 10 million 20-foot equivalent units (TEUs) for the first time, up 11% from the same period last year. TEU is a measurement used to describe cargo capacity for container ships and terminals.
While the port saw a decline in the amount of TEUs moved in October compared with the same period in 2024, Cordero said he thinks the port will end 2025 in “positive territory.”
In October, there were 839,671 TEUs moved. That’s because retailers and shippers started shipping goods earlier than normal to avoid fees and to stock up their warehouses because of tariffs.
The Port of Long Beach is an economic engine for California. Officials say it helps create 691,000 jobs in Southern California. More than 2.7 million U.S jobs are connected to the Port of Long Beach, they say.
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