The Burbank City Council has chosen Assistant City Manager Mike Flad as the replacement for City Manager Mary Alvord after she retires in January. As city manager, Flad will oversee 10 departments and more than 1,500 employees. Flad has served as assistant city manager since 2003, and before that was head of the Parks, Recreation and Community Services Department.

Entertainment producer and ticketing agency Tix Corp. begins trading its common shares on the Nasdaq Capital Market beginning May 8, the company announced. Studio City-based Tix Corp. operates Tix4Tonight locations in Las Vegas selling discounted tickets for shows, concerts and sporting events; and produces concerts and theatrical productions in the U.S., Canada and Europe. Being listed on the Nasdaq provides improved trading liquidity for investors and greater potential to attract a broader shareholder base, said Tix CEO Mitch Francis. For the 2007 fiscal year ending Dec. 31, the company reported a net loss of $16.3 million, or $0.70 per diluted share, on revenues of $18.6 million.

WASHINGTON — Contracts to buy previously owned U.S. homes hit an all-time low in March and businesses braced for tough times by squeezing more out of their workers in the first quarter, data released May 7 showed. The National Association of Realtors Pending Home Sales Index, based on contracts signed in March, fell 1% to 83.0, the lowest since this index began in 2001, and was 20.1% lower than a year ago. Economists were expecting the decline in these contracts, which are a good barometer of future home sales, as homeowners have been increasing skittish about buying homes in a price-declining market and as mortgage financing is more difficult to obtain. For the full story visit http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-economy8-2008may08,0,3766552.story

WASHINGTON — Mortgage lender Countrywide Financial Corp., which is under investigation on allegations that it inflated certain borrowers’ fees, acknowledged that it had made errors and pledged to take steps to improve its operations. Steve Bailey, chief executive of loan administration at Calabasas-based Countrywide, told a Senate panel that the company’s loan officers had made mistakes “from time to time.” He said Countrywide would hire an outside auditor to review its actions involving homeowners who had filed for Bankruptcy Court protection. But he disputed accusations, made by hundreds of borrowers in Pennsylvania, Florida and other states, that the company sought to collect inflated fees and other payments by filing inaccurate bankruptcy documents. The Justice Department is investigating the accusations. For the full story http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-country7-2008may07,0,5129029.story

SHERMAN OAKS – One day after talks ended with the Screen Actors Guild, contract negotiations are set to begin today between the second largest performers union and the trade association representing the largest movie and television companies. The American Federation of Television and Radio Artists represents actors and all other on-camera and off-camera talent on all forms of television programming, including such series as HBO’s “Curb Your Enthusiasm”; the CBS comedy “Rules of Engagement” and the NBC drama “Cashmere Mafia.” Its contract expires June 30, like the Screen Actors Guild’s. Representatives of the Alliance of Motion Picture and Television Producers and the Screen Actors Guild met 18 times between April 15 and Tuesday. The talks had been extended twice, most recently on Friday. For the full story visit http://www.dailynews.com/ci_9180305

The Los Angeles City Council unanimously approved May 6 a long-debated “anti-mansionization” ordinance. The Baseline Mansionization Ordinance restricts the square footage of new and remodeled single-family houses based on a formula that relates the size of the home to the size of the lot on which it sits. The measure is a response to so-called “McMansions,” huge homes that fill standard-size residential parcels from lot-line to lot-line. Most of the residential area in the Valley is zoned for lot sizes of about 5,000 square feet. Under the new standards, construction would be limited to 50 percent of an R-1 zoned lot, or 2,500 square feet; presently a home of up to 11,000 square feet on the same size lot is permissible. Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa has two weeks to sign the ordinance into law and then there is another 30-day window for legal challenges before the measure goes into effect.

Video game publisher THQ Inc. signed an exclusive agreement to release games based on the superhero-themed film from DreamWorks Animation coming to theaters in 2010. Tentatively titled “Master Mind,” the film is described by the Glendale-based animation company as a send up of the superhero genre. Agoura Hills-based THQ will release games for all console and handheld devices, wireless devices and PCs. “The superhero theme of the fall 2010 film project lends itself seamlessly to an interactive gaming adventure,” said THQ President and CEO Brian Farrell. “DreamWorks’ creative vision and humor will add another dimension to our portfolio, which we believe will help further distinguish both THQ and DreamWorks as leaders in our respective entertainment categories.”

SAN FRANCISCO — Microsoft Corp. will compete more directly with Apple Inc.’s dominant iTunes store by selling TV shows at its own online store for use on its Zune music and video player, the company said. Microsoft’s initial offering of more than 800 TV episodes for sale at Zune Marketplace will include popular shows currently unavailable at iTunes, such as NBC Universal’s “The Office,” “Heroes” and “30 Rock.” NBC Universal’s shows can’t be purchased at iTunes because of a rift with Apple over pricing. For the full story visit http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-zune6-2008may06,0,1188675.story

Internet and media services provider United Online Inc. had little growth in its net income for the first quarter when compared to the previous year. For the first quarter, Woodland Hills-based United Online reported a net income of $13 million, or $0.19 per diluted share, on revenues of $121.8 million. That is just about the same result from a year ago, when the company had a net income of $13.02 million, or $0.20 per diluted share, on revenues of $129.9 million. The company had a net growth of 322,000 pay accounts in its Classmates Media segment that shows a favorable reception to enhancements at the website, the company said. On April 30, United Online announced it was acquiring florist firm FTD Group Inc. in a deal worth $800 million.

WASHINGTON — As the House prepared to take aggressive steps to stem the wave of home foreclosures, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben S. Bernanke on Monday night endorsed the need for government intervention, saying that letting markets take their own course could “destabilize communities, reduce the property values of nearby homes and lower municipal tax revenues.” In a speech in New York, the central bank chairman reiterated his controversial call for lenders and mortgage service companies to consider cutting the principal of some customers’ loans to prevent foreclosure. For the full story visit http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-fed6-2008may06,0,5830243.story