Contracts

As Hollywood rushes headlong into 3-D filmmaking, few companies have as much to gain -- or lose -- as RealD of Beverly Hills. The privately owned technology company with 75 employees has emerged from obscurity to become the leading provider of 3-D systems for movie theaters, outflanking established players such as Dolby Laboratories Inc. RealD's products -- which include an adapter that attaches to the lenses of digital projectors and lightweight glasses -- account for 90% of the U.S. market.

Pacific Gas & Electric Co. for decades has generated power for its customers by splitting atoms, burning natural gas and capturing the force of falling water. More recently, the San Francisco utility began turning to the sun, wind, boiling geysers and even fermented cow manure to produce electricity. Now, PG&E wants to turn to outer space. A Manhattan Beach start-up called Solaren Corp.

A.J. Burnett's new contract with the New York Yankees is not only for top dollar -- he will receive $16.5 million in each of the next five seasons, making him the sixth-highest-paid starter in baseball -- it is also concise. The agreement is a sentence long and contains neither perks nor bonuses. Which is very much an exception to the norm.

The first talent auditions for the ninth season of the Fox juggernaut "American Idol" are still two weeks away, but there is already a beauty contest going on behind the scenes. Negotiations on a new contract for Simon Cowell, the show's linchpin, chief prosecutor and animating force, are progressing quickly and could be concluded as early as this week.

The Beverly Hills financial advisory firm at the center of the investigation that derailed New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson's hopes of becoming commerce secretary has had a series of run-ins with federal and state agencies -- and a growing list of former clients is now suing it for allegedly bilking local governments. CDR Financial Products Inc.

David Beckham will return to the Galaxy in March unless AC Milan makes an offer for the English midfielder that is substantially higher than the one currently on the table. Showing a sudden ability to play hardball when needed, AEG, which owns the Galaxy, said Friday that the Italian club, a three-time world champion and seven-time European champion, had little time left to make up its mind.

Hollywood's largest actors union strongly endorsed a new film and TV contract, closing the chapter on a yearlong dispute with the major studios. The vote, which was expected to be close, drew a stronger show of support than anticipated from the membership of the Screen Actors Guild, with 78% voting for the deal and 22% opposing it. Turnout was unusually high by SAG standards, with 35% of 110,000 union members casting ballots.

Frustrated by a slow and antiquated computer system, the city of Los Angeles is weighing a plan to replace its e-mail and records retention software with a service provided by Google, a move that could allow the Internet giant to retain sensitive records transmitted by the police and other municipal agencies.

Poor planning, weak oversight and greed combined to soak U.S. taxpayers and undermine American forces in Iraq and Afghanistan, government watchdogs tell a new commission examining waste and corruption in wartime contracts. Since 2003, the Pentagon, the State Department and the U.S. Agency for International Development have paid contractors more than $100 billion for goods and services to support war operations and rebuilding.

Manny Ramirez might not be signed by the start of spring training after all. Ramirez's agent, Scott Boras, on Wednesday clarified a statement he made last week about his expectation that his client would be signed by the time camp opened. "When I talk about the start of spring training, I talk about when the games begin," he said. Players will start reporting to the Dodgers' camp on Feb. 14. Their first scheduled Cactus League game isn't until Feb. 25.