latimes.com - /business

GM's deal to sell Saab falls through

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 08:47:00 -0800

Swedish automaker Koenigsegg Group cancels its proposed acquisition of the General Motors unit, marking another failure by GM to trim its roster of automotive brands.

General Motors Co.'s plan to sell its Saab unit to a specialty Swedish automaker has collapsed, frustrating yet another attempt by GM to prune its roster of automotive brands.

Index shows moderate gain in home prices in September

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 07:48:00 -0800

The Standard & Poor's/Case-Shiller index is up 0.3% from August in 20 U.S. cities. The index is down 9.4% from September 2008.

Home prices in 20 U.S. cities ticked up modestly in September, marking the fifth consecutive month of improvement, according to a closely watched national index released this morning.

Earnings rise in U.S. banking industry, but bad assets could push them back down

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 08:44:00 -0800

The FDIC says net income grew $2.8 billion in the third quarter, but end-of-the-year writedowns could cause it to drop in the fourth quarter. The number of troubled banks -- 552 -- is at a 16-year hig

The financial health of the U.S. banking industry improved slightly during the third quarter, with commercial banks and savings and loans posting net income of $2.8 billion. But the sector remains troubled, highlighted by the continued rise in the number of institutions in danger of failing, the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. said today.

Reports on consumer confidence, GDP tug at stocks

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 09:00:00 -0800

NEW YORK -- Stocks retreated from 13-month highs after a lackluster reading on consumer confidence and a report showing slower economic growth sapped the market's optimism.

Commerce Department says economy grew only 2.8%

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 05:47:00 -0800

The figure is lower than last month's estimate of 3.5% and indicates that recovery from the recession is likely to be lethargic.

The economy grew at a 2.8% pace last quarter, as the recovery got off to a slower start than first thought.

National Geographic Channel has a curious brand of grammar

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

As Miss Teen South Carolina reminded us so memorably in 2007, "Some people in our nation don't have maps. . . ." So true. But you can't blame the National Geographic Society. For more than a century, the House That Grosvenor Built has been one of the world's most ambitious educational and scientific organizations. These are the people who brought us unforgettable documentary films about Jacques Cousteau and Robert Ballard, Jane Goodall and Dian Fossey. The society's flagship publication, National Geographic magazine, remains the platinum standard of glossy-book journalism: lucidly written, beautifully photographed and humanely informed, a study in elegance.

Restaurants brace for a sour season as consumers lose appetite for dining out

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

The number of people visiting restaurants has plunged for four quarters in a row, according to NPD Group. Some higher-end establishments are offering discounts for holiday parties.

Adele Cabot and her husband used to dine out three or four times a week, regularly spending $75 to $100 at a sushi bar sampling rainbow rolls and yellowtail nigiri sushi.

Row 44's in-flight Internet service gets off the ground

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

The Westlake Village firm, which is outfitting airlines with inexpensive satellite-based devices that allow passengers to stay connected, may succeed where Boeing failed.

Billions of dollars and scores of top engineers with the world's largest aerospace company couldn't get it to fly.

Proposal to allow breakup of huge banks gains momentum

Tue, 24 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800

In the U.S. and abroad, support grows for giving regulators the authority to preemptively dismantle giant financial institutions whose collapse could cripple the economy.

Momentum is growing in the U.S. and abroad to deal with the problem of gigantic financial institutions deemed too big to fail by breaking them up before they can threaten the economy.

2 million Stork Craft, Fisher-Price cribs recalled after four infants die

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 17:57:00 -0800

Hardware in the drop-side cribs can break, allowing children to become trapped and suffocate, a recall statement says.

More than 2 million drop-side cribs built by Stork Craft Manufacturing Inc. are being recalled in the U.S. and Canada after the deaths of four infants.