Trade

When the Supreme Court - in our view wrongly - ruled that corporations had a constitutional right to spend their money to influence elections, it also said that disclosure of such expenditures "permits citizens and shareholders to react to the speech of corporate entities in a proper way. " In that spirit, the Securities and Exchange Commission should heed a petition drive to require publicly traded companies to disclose their political spending to...

The Dodgers have gotten more offense out of their pitchers than their third basemen. That makes any news about Chase Headley pertinent to the Dodgers. The new ownership group of the San Diego Padres had been practically invisible all season, until Executive Chairman Ron Fowler popped up Wednesday to tell U-T San Diego the team soon would offer Headley a contract that would make him the richest player in franchise history. "Indentured servitude went out a long time ago, so we can't force him to stay here," Fowler said.

Silicon Valley has wielded its growing political clout at the state Capitol to kill a digital privacy bill that would have given consumers access to information about them being collected online. Had the Right to Know Act become law, California would have been the first state to take direct aim at an online industry that stockpiles and trades in a wide range of personal data about nearly every adult in the United States. In a major defeat for consumer groups and privacy watchdogs, AB 1291 will instead become a two-year bill, effectively putting it into a deep freeze until next year.

WASHINGTON - Early last month, state lawyers and election officials around the country dialed into a conference call to talk about how to deal with the flood of secret money that played an unprecedented role in the 2012 election. The discussion, which included officials from California, New York, Alaska and Maine, was a first step toward a collaborative effort to force tax-exempt advocacy organizations and trade associations out of the shadows. The unusual initiative was driven by the lack of progress at the federal level in pushing those groups to disclose their contributors if they engage in campaigns, as candidates and political action committees are required to do. "There is no question that one of the reasons to have states working together is because the federal government, in numerous arenas, has failed to take action," said Ann Ravel, chairwoman of California's Fair Political Practices Commission, who organized the call with officials from about 10 states.

OAKLAND - Teams have made a habit of turning Angels castoffs into All-Star closers ( Fernando Rodney ) and reliable setup men ( Darren O'Day , Joel Peralta ), but in 6-foot-7 right-hander Dane De La Rosa , the Angels may have a reliever who can turn the talent tide back toward Anaheim. De La Rosa kicked around the minor leagues for 10 years, playing three seasons of independent-league ball, and Tampa Bay had little need for him when it traded De La Rosa in the final week of spring training to the Angels for Steven Geltz , a pitching prospect with a low ceiling, literally - he's 5-9. But since his April 9 recall from triple-A, De La Rosa, who mixes a 94-mph fastball with a big curve and changeup, has emerged as a key piece in an injury-ravaged bullpen, taking a 2.31 earned-run average in 11 appearances into Monday night's game.

Michele and Russell Poland's credit was shot, but they managed to buy their suburban dream home anyway. After a business bankruptcy and a home foreclosure, they turned to a rare option in this era of tightfisted banking - a subprime loan. The Polands paid nearly $10,000 in upfront fees for the privilege of securing a mortgage at 10.9% interest. And they had to raid their retirement account for a 35% down payment. Most borrowers would balk at such stiff terms. But with prices rising, the Polands wanted to snag a four-bedroom home in Temecula near top-rated schools for their 5-year-old son. By later this year, they figure, they'll be able to refinance into a standard loan.

At an otherwise tame candidates' forum, City Atty. Carmen Trutanich again pounded his rival, Mike Feuer, for an unusual campaign contract that Trutanich said amounted to an unlawful manipulation of city election laws. "You have to ask yourself why anyone would lie to get $300,000 in matching funds," Trutanich thundered while waving a sheaf of documents that the former prosecutor said proves his case. "He's lying to you now and he will continue to lie if you elect him. " Feuer, a former state Assemblyman and City Council member, disputed Trutanich's assertion, assuring an Encino audience late Wednesday that the contract had passed scrutiny with the city's Ethics Commission.

Skechers USA Inc. appointed a new auditor Wednesday to replace its former accounting firm, KPMG, which was rocked by an insider trading scandal and resigned earlier this month. The Manhattan Beach shoe maker's board of directors named BDO USA as its new independent auditor. BDO is expected to re-audit Skechers' financial statements for the last two fiscal years. KPMG resigned as the shoe company's auditor in April after one of its partners, Scott London, was accused of leaking inside information on five public companies to a friend in exchange for cash and jewelry.

Star cornerback Darrelle Revis was traded from the New York Jets to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers last weekend for the 13th overall pick in this week's draft and a conditional fourth-round pick next year. Revis has been rehabbing the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee after tearing it in September and is entering the last season of his four-year contract signed in 2010. The four-time Pro Bowl selection had been the subject of trade rumors since the start of the off-season. Writers from around Tribune Co. discuss which team got the better end of the deal.

SACRAMENTO - California's air quality officials soon may be adding a new phrase to their bureaucratic vocabulary: " le rechauffement climatique . " That's French for global warming. The California Air Resources Board on Friday linked its program for cutting greenhouse gas emissions and curbing climate change with one in the French-speaking, Canadian province of Quebec. The merger starts Jan. 1. On April 8, Gov. Jerry Brown certified the two cap-and-trade systems as compatible.