Fair Value

The U.S. International Trade Commission ruled 4 to 1 today that American businesses have been hurt by mobile telephones from Japan sold here at less than "fair value." Paula Stern, who chairs the commission, said imports from Japan had captured three-quarters of the American market. Because of the finding, the U.S. government will impose a special "dumping duty" on the Japanese phones that will raise their price in this country to the price of comparable American mobile telephones.

New legislation in Sacramento aims to protect car buyers from being overcharged at used-car lots by requiring the dealerships to post the fair market value on each vehicle they sell. The goal, Assemblyman Bob Wieckowski (D-Fremont) said, is to help inform consumers who otherwise have no idea what a fair price for a vehicle is before agreeing to buy it. Although the bill applies to all lots selling used cars, he said AB 1534 is aimed specifically at Buy Here Pay Here dealers, which sell to people with low income and bad credit.

Re "It's the jobs, stupid," Opinion, Jan. 8 Gregory Rodriguez misses a salient point: Illegally entering the United States is a violation of U.S. law. Making illegal immigration a felony prevents the government from rewarding criminal behavior with citizenship. The assertion that there are jobs that Americans simply will not perform is an asinine idea on its face. Would you mow your neighbor's lawn for $50,000 a month? Of course you would. Would you do it for $20 a week? Of course not. So the problem isn't the job, it's circumventing market forces to determine the fair value of the job. JOHN BOYDSTUN Woodland Hills

A controversial change in accounting rules this year has allowed banks to claim billions of dollars in additional earnings simply by tweaking their bookkeeping, greatly enhancing the appearance that the industry is returning to health. A study by an accounting expert found 45 financial firms reported higher first-quarter earnings because of the change. The total benefit exceeded $3 billion. Some large firms, including Prudential Financial Inc. and Bank of New York Mellon Corp.

To the wife of the Tournament of Roses volunteer who relied on free tickets to fulfill her wish of experiencing the Stanford band [Viewpoint, Jan. 8]: Good choice. You got fair value. If you overpaid, it wasn't by much. I did not attend this year's parade, but I am proud to disclose that I was again in the stands cheering my Badgers. To paint all of us as smelling worse than Limburger cheese is unfair, wrong and simply inhospitable. First of all, Limburger is a gift of the farm.

The Commerce Department said it has made a preliminary determination that martial arts uniforms from Taiwan are being sold in the United States at less than fair value. As a result of the finding, cash deposits or bonds to offset the price advantage will be imposed on the imported uniforms, which include tops, pants and belts. If the preliminary finding is upheld and the U.S. International Trade Commission determines that the lower-priced imports harm U.S. manufacturers, the Customs Service will be instructed to collect the final anti-dumping duties.

TO Patrick Goldstein: I saw your open letter to Writers Guild West President Patric Verrone ["Do the Right Thing, WGA," Jan. 22], and it gave me a great idea that will save you a lot of time and trouble in the future. The next time your contract with the L.A. Times is up, we will have Gil Cates negotiate your deal. He won't ask you what you're expecting or hoping for or anything, he'll just pick a number that you should work for every day for the next three years or more. And if it turns out that Gil Cates is hopelessly in bed with management and hands you a number far below what you think you deserve . . . well, we don't want to hear a lot of complaining, Patrick.

A controversial change in accounting rules this year has allowed banks to claim billions of dollars in additional earnings simply by tweaking their bookkeeping, greatly enhancing the appearance that the industry is returning to health. A study by an accounting expert found 45 financial firms reported higher first-quarter earnings because of the change. The total benefit exceeded $3 billion. Some large firms, including Prudential Financial Inc. and Bank of New York Mellon Corp.

The bill introduced by state Sen. John Burton ("Bill Proposes Power Line Purchase," Feb. 7) is nothing short of expropriation of the utilities' transmission assets to help pay for the energy the consumers of California have used and will continue to use in the future. The senator's statement, "If [utilities] expect to get money from the ratepayers, the ratepayers have to get something from them. I give you a dollar, you give me a hot dog" is good populist rhetoric, but it misses the point.

So the boarded-up, foreclosed house across the street finally sells at a fire-sale price, saddling the entire block with a new reality: Prices are falling, and so are property values up and down the block. Right? And that means property taxes on that block should be reduced accordingly, right? Er, wrong, according to the assessor's office in Riverside County. For the purposes of property tax assessment, the office does not count all foreclosure resales as true comps. To be clear, I'm not talking about trustee auctions on the courthouse steps; I'm talking about the second foreclosure sale, when the bank lists the house and sells it on the open market.

The Financial Accounting Standards Board, pressured by lawmakers to change the fair-value rule blamed for worsening the financial crisis, proposed permitting companies to use "significant judgment" in valuing assets. Companies would be able to apply the revised rule to their first-quarter financial statements, FASB Chairman Robert Herz said Monday during a meeting at the U.S. accounting rule maker's Norwalk, Conn., headquarters.

So the boarded-up, foreclosed house across the street finally sells at a fire-sale price, saddling the entire block with a new reality: Prices are falling, and so are property values up and down the block. Right? And that means property taxes on that block should be reduced accordingly, right? Er, wrong, according to the assessor's office in Riverside County. For the purposes of property tax assessment, the office does not count all foreclosure resales as true comps. To be clear, I'm not talking about trustee auctions on the courthouse steps; I'm talking about the second foreclosure sale, when the bank lists the house and sells it on the open market.

TO Patrick Goldstein: I saw your open letter to Writers Guild West President Patric Verrone ["Do the Right Thing, WGA," Jan. 22], and it gave me a great idea that will save you a lot of time and trouble in the future. The next time your contract with the L.A. Times is up, we will have Gil Cates negotiate your deal. He won't ask you what you're expecting or hoping for or anything, he'll just pick a number that you should work for every day for the next three years or more. And if it turns out that Gil Cates is hopelessly in bed with management and hands you a number far below what you think you deserve . . . well, we don't want to hear a lot of complaining, Patrick.

Re "Initiative Could Undermine Bond Issues," Oct. 18 After mulling over this article and reading it for the third time, I can only conclude that too many entities in the state have little or no regard for personal property. Should we not receive market value for our homes or businesses when the state, county or city determines that the property will make it more money if it is razed for a big-box store or is in the way of freeway expansion? SALLY GRAVES West Covina

Re "It's the jobs, stupid," Opinion, Jan. 8 Gregory Rodriguez misses a salient point: Illegally entering the United States is a violation of U.S. law. Making illegal immigration a felony prevents the government from rewarding criminal behavior with citizenship. The assertion that there are jobs that Americans simply will not perform is an asinine idea on its face. Would you mow your neighbor's lawn for $50,000 a month? Of course you would. Would you do it for $20 a week? Of course not. So the problem isn't the job, it's circumventing market forces to determine the fair value of the job. JOHN BOYDSTUN Woodland Hills

Many U.S. mutual funds are not using a "fair value" pricing method that market regulators have been urging the fund industry to adopt for years as a way to combat abusive market timing, officials said Wednesday. Nearly a third of 960 mutual funds surveyed by the Securities and Exchange Commission hadn't used "fair value" pricing in the 20 months ended last September, the SEC said.

Insurance companies "total" millions of vehicles every year, giving policyholders a lump sum that is supposed to represent the true market value of their wrecked cars and trucks. In many cases, however, motorists charge that their insurers low-ball them. With billions of dollars at stake, determining the value of totaled vehicles can sometimes become contentious. All too often, motorists say, settlements fall far short of the prices of comparable vehicles for sale in the used-vehicle market.

Donating your car can benefit a charity -- and your tax return. To maximize the benefit for the charity and for yourself, keep these things in mind: 1 - Make sure you're donating to a 501(c)(3) charitable organization if you want a tax deduction. You can look up the charity by searching its name on the Exempt Organizations Select Check at irs.gov or by calling (877) 829-5500. You can look up the group's tax filing at guidestar.org. 2 - You get the tax benefit only if you itemize expenses on your return.

Intel Corp. said Thursday that it planned to buck a Wall Street trend by not counting stock options as an expense, as the world's largest semiconductor maker said there was no accurate way to account for them. Intel, following in the footsteps of Cisco Systems Inc. and Microsoft Corp., insisted the current debate is "misdirected." "There is no good valuation model to determine the fair value of unexercised employee stock options," Intel Chief Financial Officer Andy Bryant said.

Re "'For Sale': A Base's Future," Editorial, May 5: Your editorial said the U.S. Navy plans to sell the base property to recoup costs associated with moving troops and equipment to other locations. According to my recollection, the Navy was going to give El Toro to Orange County for use as an airport. Then, when the airport proposal started to fade, we started reading the Navy was going to sell El Toro. Currently, the military is being given a nearly blank check to spend money because of 9/11.