NEW YORK — Answering Wall Street’s calls for a slimmer and more focused company, Time Warner Inc.’s chief executive said Wednesday that the cable system operator in which it holds a majority stake would become a completely separate entity. Jeffrey L. Bewkes did not spell out how and when the split-off of Time Warner Cable Inc. would be accomplished. Bewkes said that he was “very optimistic” about the prospects for the cable business but that “we just believe that the two entities would ultimately be more valuable if separated.” Time Warner owns 84% of Time Warner Cable, a portion of which was spun off into a separate public company that began trading last year. For the full story visit http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-timewarner1-2008may01,0,7150381.story

Businesses may find themselves getting a bit of a break from the U.S. Postal Service come May 12. Although first-class rates are going up a penny (get your Forever stamps before May 12), commercial volume and contract prices, rebates, online price reductions, and other incentives for services such as Express Mail, Priority Mail, Parcel Select, Parcel Return Service, and International Mail will go into effect as well. “These innovative pricing incentives will make our products more attractive to all shippers, especially small businesses,” said Postmaster General John Potter in a prepared statement. “We’re pricing our products to sell in today’s competitive shipping market.” Highlights of the changes include: – Express Mail rates will now be based on zones, so customers will pay less for short-hop mailings. Online and corporate account purchases will qualify for a 3 percent savings. Other price reductions are available for those who ship quarterly minimums. – Priority Mail shippers who use electronic postage can save an average of 3.5 percent on their packages. – Parcel Select will have pricing and volume incentives for large- and medium-size shippers. – Parcel Return Service will move entirely to a weight-based pricing system, with lower prices for many lighter packages. Visit http://www.usps.com/prices for more details on all of the pricing changes.

On an 8-2 vote, the Federal Reserve lowered the federal funds rate by a quarter percentage point, to 2.0 percent, citing a high level of uncertainty about inflation. The Fed expects that inflationary pressures from rising energy and commodity prices will level out somewhat, but increasing problems in the residential real estate markets and stressed financial and credit markets are still areas of concern. The discount rate was also reduced by a quarter percent, to 2.25 percent.

Online service provider United Online has agreed to purchase global florist FTD Group Inc. In a deal worth $800 million. The buyout diversifies Woodland Hills-based United Online and gives additional revenue streams from e-commerce and retailing. “Our proven expertise in implementing marketing initiatives to drive results should enable us to leverage the FTD brand and bring FTD products to United Online’s over 50 million consumer accounts,” United Online Chairman, President and CEO Mark R. Goldston said. Under terms of the merger agreement FTD shareholders will receive cash, United Online shares and a principal amount of secured notes.

Registrations of new cars and light trucks declined by 18.6 percent in the first quarter, compared to the same period last year, according to the California Auto Outlook First Quarter 2008 Market Report. The California New Car Dealers’ Association, the organization that produces the outlook, cites a combination of consumer debt, the housing crisis and high fuel prices as contributors to the decline. “The shift from SUVs, pickups and vans towards passenger cars shows that consumers are making their purchase decisions with a cost-conscious and environmentally-aware frame of mind,” said Denny FitzPatrick, CNCDA chairman. “For those consumers who still need a larger vehicle, there are numerous manufacturer incentives being offered that ease the burden of a new vehicle purchase, as well as a wide range of fleet options that balance the need for size and fuel economy.”

IPC The Hospitalist Company has entered into agreements to provide comprehensive hospitalist services to five IASIS Healthcare hospitals in Arizona, Nevada and Texas. The new contracts broaden IPC’s already established presence in these markets, according to the North Hollywood-based physician group practice company. “IPC and its physicians are focused on providing high-quality outcomes and strong continuity of care for the inpatients they serve,” said Sandra McRee, president & COO of IASIS. “We believe this new partnership further supports our commitment to provide patients with excellent healthcare and the best possible hospital experience.” Because of IPC’s new agreements with IASIS, eight providers previously employed by Total Care Management Associates, a multi-city hospitalist group that had provided services to IASIS, have joined IPC.

Bucking the trend of banks posting losses, the Bank of Santa Clarita today reported a slight profit of $50,000 for the first quarter of 2008. Assets increased 14 percent, to $134.6 million, over the first quarter of the previous year. Total net loans for the quarter grew to $114.6 million, an increase of 18 percent over the first quarter of 2007; while interest income also increased 18 percent to $2.1 million in the same period. The bank started operations in 2004 and now has two branches with a third coming later in the year, It is the only community bank headquartered in the Santa Clarita Valley. CEO and President James D. Hicken attributed the positive performance to conservative underwriting and lack of involvement in the single-family mortgage market.

Woodland Hills-based WCB Holdings and Western Commercial Bank reported its second consecutive profitable quarter in announcing its Q1 2008 financial results. Heading into its third year of operation, the bank showed a profit of $25,000 as compared to last year’s loss of $380,000 for the same quarter. Its consolidated total assets were $104.3 million, an increase of $51.2 million over the first quarter of 2007. The feat is particularly impressive given that WCB, while a general business bank, ” probably put our flag in the ground more prominently as a real estate lending bank,” President and CEO Carl Raggio told the Business Journal in a 2007 interview. The bank’s real estate lending focuses on commercial real estate and has not offered any sub-prime products.

First quarter 2008 earnings were 60 percent lower than Q1 2007 at footwear company K-Swiss Inc. it was reported today, tumbling to $7.1 million from $18 million. Diluted earnings per share dropped from $0.51 to $0.20. It was not unexpected news for the Westlake Village-based company that saw its annual net income at 2007 year end cut in half from 2006, from $77 million to $39 million. In an interview with the Business Journal last week, executive vice president David Nichols said that the company has known that it was going to be a tough year and said that 2008 will be a time of re-tooling. “Our major stockholders know our plan,” said Nichols. “They’re not looking at K-Swiss as a short-term opportunity.” The stock closed at $15.45 per share, down 15 percent from the previous day’s close, with trading ranging between $14.60 and $15.92 on volume slightly above average.

If you overhear a shopper at your local department store saying they need five identical shirts because the person wearing them is going to be a bleeder, you’re probably listening in on a Studio Services client. Bloomingdale’s, Macy’s and Nordstrom all have special departments in their Valley stores catering specifically to costume designers and stylists who outfit film and television actors, news anchors and reality show participants. (Neiman Marcus will join the list once their Topanga store opens in September.) “We help the designers and the stylists find clothes or merchandise in our store,” said Elvira Holguin, a consultant for Macy’s Studio Services, at Fashion Square in Sherman Oaks. “We also do props.” Studio services clients are very important, said Wiley Bartine, general manager of Bloomingdale’s, also at Fashion Square. Not only are they very fashion-savvy, but he considers them to be people who can establish fashion trends. “So for us to be able to offer an opportunity for them to come in and look at our assortment, and cater to what they’re hoping to accomplish, is not only satisfying to us but it can be beneficial (to the bottom line),” Bartine said. He wouldn’t quote dollars and cents, but did say that the studio services department contributes about 4 percent to the store’s total sales. Overhead is only three employees and a very small amount of office space. Crime shows, or films with lots of special effects may need as many as eight or ten of the exact same shirt, in the same size, if the actor is going to be murdered in grisly fashion or survive a bomb blast. When this is going to be the case, “We try to run an item locator before the shopper falls in love with (a particular pierce of clothing) to make sure it is an item we can get enough copies of,” said Ellen Preimesberger, studio services manager for Bloomingdale’s, also in Fashion Square. The consultants who work in these departments also do their homework. “We read the trades,” Preimesberger said. “It helps if we know who is being cast for which roles,” so they can be ready should a costume designer or stylist come to them for assistance in finding just the right wardrobe. It also helps to know if a show has been canceled. Typically, studio services’ allows their clients to take clothes without paying for them up front, so they can get approval from directors and the like, and make sure they fit properly. It’s called “memo-ing,” and the standard is that clothes can go out for seven days before they are brought back or considered sold. “There’s a lot of paperwork,” said Holguin. “You really have to keep track of a lot of stuff and we have sometimes, I don’t know, it seems like every show in the world is going on at the same time.” There’s also a lot of trust, said Preimesberger. They rarely have to send out the repo-man. “So much of this business is based on relationships,” she said. Between them, the three Bloomie’s staff have more than 30 years of experience working with the entertainment industry. “People come in because they love Bobbe (Aiona) and Charles (Gonzalez),” she said. Being that it’s a small industry, those who don’t abide by the unwritten code of conduct discretion on the part of the sales staff; honesty on the part of the shoppers may find they are not welcome in other stores either. Most of the time, costumers avail themselves of the studio services’ off-floor office which, in Bloomingdale’s case, “looks like a living room with racks coming out of the walls,” said Preimesberger. In addition to being comfortable, this minimizes both hassles for buyers and potential disruption to the sales floor. When stylists go right to the racks on their own, interesting interactions with sales staff and consumers can occur. “It’s pretty exciting some days,” said Holguin. She went on to relate a story about a costumer from the NCIS television show who spiced up the day of an unknowing member of the sales team. The floor associate, unaware the shopper was a stylist, asked if she could help and the shopper replied, “Yes, I’m looking for this jacket and I need another one of this same size.” The Macy’s associate replied that there weren’t many available in that size and the NCIS shopper replied, “Oh, it’s okay, she’s going to die tomorrow anyway.” Laughing, Holguin said, “Her mouth just dropped. She was just completely shocked.”