L.A. Times - Business

Restaurants brace for dreary 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 to four times a week, regularly spending $75 to $100 at a sushi bar sampling rainbow rolls and yellowtail nigiri sushi.

Support grows to limit the size of financial institutions

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 00:52:00 -0800

Alan Greenspan, Paul Volcker and a House committee are among those advocating restrictions on size. Critics say that mega corporations need the services of mega institutions.

Momentum is growing in the United States and abroad to deal with the problem of gigantic financial institutions deemed too big to fail by breaking them up preemptively.

Gas prices expected to remain stable during Thanksgiving weekend

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 16:15:00 -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.

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?

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 18:02:00 -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.

Expect huge box office opening for 'The Princess and the Frog,' thanks to high ticket prices

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 17:56:50 -0800

"The Princess and the Frog," Disney's first hand-drawn animated feature in six years, isn't only a throwback in style. When it opens Wednesday, it also will be the first Disney animated film since "Brother Bear," its last non-CGI feature, to start in limited release in New York and Los Angeles.

Hewlett-Packard's revenue down, profit up

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 16:03:00 -0800

Hewlett-Packard Co.'s profit jumped 14% in the latest quarter, helped by cost-cutting and better results from its technology services division.

Stocks rise on home sales data, interest rate assurances

Mon, 23 Nov 2009 18:30:00 -0800

The Dow reaches a 13-month high as markets reverse a three-day losing streak.

Stocks rose sharply Monday, ending a three-day losing streak, on better-than-expected home-sales data and further signs that the Fed plans to keep interest rates low for some time.