STEVE INSKEEP, host: NPR's business news starts with an assist from Magic Johnson.</s>STEVE INSKEEP, host: The basketball legend has a new business venture: he wants to be your banker. The Los Angeles Times reports that Magic Johnson Enterprises is teaming up with a Los Angeles money manager to lend to mid-sized firms.</s>STEVE INSKEEP, host: Since retiring from the LA Lakers, Johnson has been helping small business people set up in urban neighborhoods and now he's moving up the chain. Johnson's company and the TCW Group plan to lend to medium-sized companies using money from big investors.</s>STEVE INSKEEP, host: TCW says it's becoming easier for really big companies to find loans and this new venture will look for opportunities among firms that are still having trouble finding credit.
The basketball legend has a new business venture. The Los Angeles Times reports that Magic Johnson Enterprises is teaming up with Los Angeles money manager TCW Group to lend to mid-sized firms. Johnson's company and TCW plan to lend to medium-sized companies, using money from big investors.