Newsletter: California Inc.: Court to weigh in on how much work is too much

Welcome to California Inc., the weekly newsletter of the L.A. Times Business Section.

I’m Business columnist David Lazarus, and here’s a rundown of the stories coming up this week and the highlights of last week.

One story with big ramifications: Friday’s announcement that President Trump is taking aim at financial regulations. He ordered a review of the Dodd-Frank Wall Street reform law and a rethinking of a conflict-of-interest rule for retirement advisors that was set to go into effect this spring. Wall Street liked what it heard. The announcement and a solid January jobs report led the Dow to its biggest gain in nearly two months.

LOOKING AHEAD

Work rules: On Tuesday, the California Supreme Court will consider how often workers should get a day off. California law requires one day’s rest in seven, but it’s unclear on three points: Do the seven days have to fall in the same work week, or is it any seven days in a row? What if one of those days is not a full day of work? And what if the employee wants to work seven days in a row? The case originated with Nordstrom employee Christopher Mendoza, who sued the retailer in 2009.

Disney financials: Walt Disney Co. will announce its fiscal first-quarter earnings Tuesday. The Burbank company is coming off a strong year at the box office, buoyed by hits such as “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story,” “Zootopia” and “Finding Dory.” It finished ahead of all other studios in the domestic box-office race. Last week, Disney agreed to pay $100 million to settle a suit brought by animators and visual effects workers who alleged that several Hollywood companies had entered into an anti-poaching pact that kept pay down.

New boss: Toy giant Mattel will get a new chief executive Wednesday. Margaret Georgiadis, formerly president of Google in the Americas, is taking over the helm of the El Segundo company. She is replacing Christopher Sinclair, who was CEO for two years and will now serve as executive chairman. Georgiadis arrives amid a turnaround at Mattel. After several years of lackluster performance, sales have revived for key brands such as Barbie, Fisher-Price and American Girl.

Pot panel: A state panel studying banking issues in California’s burgeoning marijuana industry will hold a public meeting Friday in Los Angeles. Because the federal government regards the drug as illegal, most banks will not accept money from marijuana-related businesses. The Cannabis Banking Working Group, created by state Treasurer John Chiang to find a solution, will meet at 10 a.m. at the Southern California Assn. of Governments office at 818 W. 7th St.

THE AGENDA

Monday’s Business section notes that President Trump took little time unsettling the agriculture industry. First, the freshly inaugurated president withdrew from the Trans-Pacific Partnership treaty. Then, there was talk of financing the border wall with a 20% tax on “imports from deficit countries, like Mexico.” This presents a conundrum for the industry, which provided Trump with key electoral support in swing states but is dependent on exports that could be crippled by a trade war. But the state with the most to lose is none other than trade-dependent California, the leading agricultural state by revenue.

STORY LINES

Here are some of the other stories that ran in the Times Business section in recent days that we’re continuing to follow:

Snap IPO: You’ll soon be able to invest in Snapchat. Snap Inc., the company behind the popular app, filed documents for what is expected to be the biggest initial public offering ever for a Los Angeles company and one of the highest valued in U.S. history. The exact date of the IPO has not been decided, though shares could be available as soon as early March. But columnist Michael Hiltzik warns that average investors should be wary of the hype.

Moving on: Nestlé has become the latest major corporation to find a new home outside Southern California. Nestlé USA, a subsidiary of Swiss consumer products giant Nestle S.A., is moving its headquarters from Glendale to Rosslyn, Va. Nestle has 1,200 employees in Glendale. About 90% of them are eligible to be relocated; 750 jobs are moving to the Washington area and 300 are moving to Ohio.

No studio sale: Sony is promising to fix — not sell — its struggling movie studio. Sony’s chief financial officer, Kenichiro Yoshida, said the Japanese electronics and entertainment giant would turn around the Culver City studio. “There is no chance we will sell,” he said. The announcement appeared aimed at calming investors who have grown increasingly worried about the health of Sony Pictures Entertainment.

Corporate activism: More companies are jumping into the political debate. Though corporate America is typically reluctant to take sides, some chief executives, including Starbucks’ Howard Schultz and Google’s Sundar Pichai, have spoken out or taken action after President Trump’s temporary travel ban on some immigrants and refugees. The ban has made Hollywood anxious, as the entertainment industry relies on international talent. The Trump administration has appealed a ruling by a federal judge who temporarily blocked the ban last week.

Power play: California has a big — and growing — glut of electricity that is costing ratepayers a pretty penny, an investigation by the Los Angeles Times has found. The state’s power plants are on track to be able to produce at least 21% more electricity than it needs by 2020, based on official estimates. And that doesn’t even count the soaring production of rooftop solar panels. Critics say inept decision-making by state utility regulators who have ignored repeated warnings about the looming glut is to blame.

WHAT WE’RE READING

And some recent stories from other publications that caught our eye:

Inside NAFTA: Bloomberg looks at the meandering manufacturing path of a single lowly capacitor to demonstrate how critical the North American Free Trade Agreement has become. “Its journey illustrates how U.S. manufacturers rely on numerous border crossings and thousands of miles of travel to produce goods at the low cost and high quality that customers demand.”

It’s all good: Why aren’t more Americans concerned about President Trump’s business conflicts? The New Yorker says the president’s backers are willing to forgive a lot. “He evidently thinks that his supporters won’t care. If history is any indication, he’s almost certainly right.”

Great White North: Dozens of chief executives of Canadian technology companies are encouraging their country to offer immediate entry visas to people affected by Trump’s border crackdown, reports Bloomberg. The executives, who signed a letter to Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, believe that Canada could get a “leg up” on American companies by accepting foreign talent that the U.S. is turning away.

Risky policy: Automotive News says Trump’s “America First” approach is bad for business. “‘America first’ is more than just banal,” an editorial says. “It’s a dangerous negotiating posture that only invites our trading partners to adopt ‘Mexico first,’ ‘Canada first,’ ‘China first’ and even ‘America last’ policies.”

Dogs on a plane: With a growing number of animals coming aboard planes, the U.S. Department of Transportation is trying to crack down on people who might be abusing the system, reports the Wall Street Journal. Owners claim their companions are “service dogs” or “emotional support animals,” but with such animals exempt from airline fees — unlike pets — some fliers may be trying to pull a fast one.

SPARE CHANGE

That story about airborne critters got me thinking about the best animal movies. A lot are animated (“The Lion King,” “Bambi,” “Kung Fu Panda”). Most are lighthearted (“Benji,” “Babe”), some not so much (“Seabiscuit”). But if it had to choose, I’d say this creature feature still reigns supreme.

For the latest money news, go to www.latimes.com/business. Mad props to Scott J. Wilson for helping put this thing together.

Until next time, I’ll see you in the Business section.