L.A. Times - Business

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.

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.

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.

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.

Pace of U.S. home resales jumps

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

Rate in October climbs 10.1% from the prior month, the fastest in two years, spurred by a trio of incentives.

Home buyers last month snapped up previously owned properties at the fastest pace in more than two years, a Realtors group said Monday.

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.

Loan funds feel cash squeeze

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

Access to capital is a major hurdle facing certified community development financial institutions and prospective borrowers through the program run by the Treasury Department.

Saul Gamboa was ready to break ground on a 44,000-square-foot plant in Vernon for his growing small business, Pacific Commercial Truck Body Inc., when he realized he'd missed a key deadline and lost his construction loan.

Past working relationships can help in marketing an idea

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

Dear Karen : I am a licensed private investigator working for an insurance company. I see money wasted and have an idea to prevent it. How do I market my idea?

Peet's Coffee & Tea raises offer for Diedrich Coffee to $265 million

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

Peet's is battling with Green Mountain Coffee to acquire Diedrich, which makes the single-serve coffee pods called K-Cups used in the Keurig brewing system.

Peet's Coffee & Tea Inc., hoping for a stake in the growing single-serve coffee brewing market, has boosted its bid for Irvine wholesale roaster and distributor Diedrich Coffee Inc. by 24%.

Gasoline prices expected to remain stable during Thanksgiving weekend

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

The average price of a gallon of regular drops 2.1 cents to $2.94 in California but rises 1 cent to $2.639 nationwide.

Motorists might not be paying as little as they would like to for a gallon of gasoline, but at least prices probably will remain stable in California and across the nation during the Thanksgiving holiday weekend, a government report released Monday indicated.