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The Business has no Alex Koll this week, but we've made up for it with two very special guests: Andy Haynes and Katie Compa! Andy Haynes was raised in the shadow of Mt. Rainier on a diet of fresh salmon, wild berries, and lots of coffee. Now based in Los Angeles, Andy's diet mostly consists of stacks of money - because he's a wildly successful stand up comedian that makes so much money he doesn't know what to do with it! You may recognize Andy from his stellar stand up performances on Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, the prestigious Montreal Just for Laughs Comedy Festival, and from walking around Hollywood Blvd with dollar bills coming out of his mouth. Katie Compa was raised in DC, started comedy in SF, and now lives in NYC. That's a lot of places and a lot of initials! Katie was a finalist in the 2007 Battle of the Bay Comedy Competition and a semifinalist in the 2009 California's Funniest Female Competition. We're happy to have her back in t...

Sup LA? How you been, girl? See you missed us real bad. Well, dry those eyes Shygirl because The Business LA is back Friday February 10th at 8pm! We're starting this year off right: a month and ten days after it started! Helping us usher in this year of Dragons and Me zo-Apocalyptic Mysteries is none other than Kyle Kinane and Louis Katz! Tickets are $10 at the door BUT... They are only $8 online with NO SERVICE FEE! GET TICKETS HERE: http://nerdmeltla.com/ tickets/ index.php?event_id=151 The show is at 8pm at Meldown Comic's Nerdist Theater in Hollywood. As you may remember, we had a rendezvous with Kyle Kinane way back in of 2011, but he caught the Demon Flu and disappeared into a fever dream of Dorrito farts. But we're cashing in our rain-check (Kinane-check, if you will) and using hand sanitizer to ensure he'll come give you the laughfluenza (ok, I'll stop). You should know take the time to know Kinnae if you don't but here is a starti...

Surprise! Sheng Wang is on The Business this week. Fresh off a weekend of dominant performances at Sketchfest, Sheng Wang returns to The Business this week. You may have seen him at the Punch Line, at Kevin Allison's RISK! storytelling show, or in line at Arinell's Pizza. Mr. Wang is a native of Houston, Texas, but came of comedy age in the Bay. His Comedy Central half-hour special premiered last year, and he's also appeared on Live At Gotham and toured with the Comedians of Comedy. He's a frequent guest to the Business, where he has also exhibited his photography. Is there anything this dude can't do? We've also got Chris Garcia, Caitlin Gill, Sean Keane, and Bucky Sinister rounding out the lineup. Admission is still five dollars, and you can bring in your own burrito if you like - I'm pretty sure Sheng will be bringing in his.

I say Tobe-Nato, you say Tobe-Nahto. Well, you're wrong, because it's Nato! As in Nato Green, doing a hot six minutes at The Business this Wednesday, along with Joe "Smokey Joe" Tobin doing an extended feature set. This show was certified 96% fresh on Rotten Tobe-Natos, a nd the National Weather Service issued a Tobe-Nato warning for most of Northern California! Are we mixing up our puns? Maybe! Joe Tobin is a writer, comedian, and Flyers enthusiast. He performs at comedy clubs all over the land, and he's received critical acclaim for his work with The Joe Tobin Orchestra. He's never booed Santa Claus at a sporting event, but he would understand if you did. Nato Green is a co-founder of Laughter Against The Machine, the creator of Iron Comic, and was recently voted San Francisco's Foodiest Dad! We've also got Chris Thayer, Caitlin Gill, Sean Keane, and fresh off a sold-out tour of Los Angeles, Chris Garcia! As always, admission is just...

U.S. newspapers are increasing their use of co-opetition practices, that is, cooperating with competitors to reduce costs, create synergies, or reduce risk in new markets. Such activities are permissible if they are not designed to create cartels or control prices for advertising or circulation. The latest example occurred this week when the Boston Herald announced an agreement with the Boston Globe for its competitor to print and deliver the Herald . The move creates cost savings for the Herald by allow it to cut printing, trucks, and delivery personnel, while simultaneously creating production and distribution economies and an additional revenue stream for the Globe --a win-win for both companies. Such service agreements do not violate antitrust laws because the papers remain independent, set their own prices, and create their own content. If papers were to engage in such actions they would have to apply for an antitrust exemption under the Newspaper Preservation Act (see John C...

The Business welcomes two first-time guests to the show, and welcomes two new Businessmen to our regular lineup. Or should we say - BusinessWOMEN. Well, a Businessman and a Businesswoman - Caitlin Gill and Chris Thayer! And our two guests are Clare O'Kane and George Chen. Clare O'Kane is a rising comedian and actress making her way on the scene. She often performs with the infamous Sylvan Collective, and has acted at the Edinburgh Festival. She starred in the film "Bloodrape" as "Evelyn," and IMDB credits her as a Researcher for "An Audience With Elton John," a TV special produced when she was eight years old. George Chen is a Bay Area bred writer and musician. His credits for talking at you include Porchlight Storytelling Series and the Living Room Salon at SF MOMA. He organized a comedy show on a bus and in a comic book store. He's writing this while watching a Species marathon. Chris and Caitlin have performed on The Business...

Frank (center) and friends As readers of this blog know, I have no love for Frank Stronach, or for what he's done to racing. I've discussed some of his more egregious conduct here , here , here  and here , just for starters. Stronach is already the highest-paid executive in his adopted country of Canada, where he emigrated from his native Osterreich. Now Frank has come up with yet another approach to separating racing fans and would-be thoroughbred owners from their money. On December 28, 2011, companies controlled by Stronach filed six registration statements with the US Securities and Exchange Commission; each registration was for a separate corporation, each named for successful Stronach horses: Awesome Again, Red Bullet, Ghostzapper, Macho Uno, Perfect Sting and Ginger Punch. Each of the corporations proposes to sell $4,050,000 worth of $10 shares to the public. The balance of each corporation's total capitalization of $4,500,000 will be held by another Stronach entity...