L.A. Times - Personal Finance

In prison for murder, pulling Vegas strings

Sat, 17 May 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Hoping for a new trial, an ex-cop hatched a plan to get money from his ailing grandmother's California house. FBI files say the goal was to bribe a judge. He could work the deal -- with a little help.

Among the inmates at the Clark County Detention Center in the summer of 2006 was a local celebrity, an ex-cop whose long fight to reverse his murder conviction still intrigued his hometown.

Shock effect of bad news wears off

Sat, 17 May 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Americans feel lousy about things -- the worst they've felt since Jimmy Carter was president, a new consumer confidence survey shows.

Fannie Mae scraps higher down payment requirements

Sat, 17 May 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Fannie Mae is doing away with higher minimum down payment requirements for borrowers in parts of the U.S. in which home prices are dropping.

Business, in brief

Fri, 16 May 2008 00:00:00 -0700

THE ECONOMY 30-year mortgage rates drop

Wall Street buoyed by inflation report

Thu, 15 May 2008 00:00:00 -0700

The Dow rises 66 points despite a late sell-off of technology issues. Oil falls $1.58 to $124.22 a barrel.

Stocks advanced Wednesday after a better-than-expected report on consumer prices tempered concerns about inflation.

Pasadena firm's president arrested on fraud charges

Thu, 15 May 2008 00:00:00 -0700

The woman is accused of using a real estate scam to bilk investors out of millions in a Ponzi scheme.

The FBI arrested the president of a Pasadena company Wednesday, a day after a federal grand jury indicted her on fraud charges, accusing her of operating a real estate investment scam.

Investors pool $2.1 billion for real estate fund

Thu, 15 May 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Los Angeles real estate firm CB Richard Ellis Investors said Wednesday that it had closed a $2.1-billion investment fund it will use to buy properties across the country.

Carl Icahn pondering proxy fight for Yahoo

Wed, 14 May 2008 00:00:00 -0700

The billionaire investor may try to unseat some board members to pressure the Internet company to reopen talks with Microsoft.

Billionaire New York financier Carl Icahn is weighing whether to use the large stake he has amassed in Yahoo Inc. to launch a proxy fight to unseat some of the Internet pioneer's board members, two people familiar with the matter said Tuesday.

Most Americans don't expect the economy to improve soon, poll finds

Wed, 14 May 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Only 19% of respondents see an upturn coming within the next six months.

Most Americans see little hope that the economy will improve in the next six months, and many also are decidedly pessimistic about the direction of oil prices and inflation, according to a new Los Angeles Times/Bloomberg poll.

Southern California's S & Ls suffer, survive

Tue, 13 May 2008 00:00:00 -0700

Defaults climb, shares slide for IndyMac, Downey and FirstFed.

Investors are increasingly throwing in the towel on Southern California-based savings-and-loan mortgage lenders IndyMac Bancorp, FirstFed Financial Corp. and Downey Financial Corp.