United Airlines tries to fix its reputation

Ruehl Bulan perches on the left rear exit of a United Airlines jet and flings seat cushions, three at a time, into the chilly October night.

Solar energy industry brings a ray of hope to the Rust Belt

At a recent solar energy conference in Anaheim, economic development officials from Ohio talked up a state that seemed far removed from solar panels...

Investors' doubts may cause choppy trading

Investors are heading toward the final month of the year with more questions about the economy than they had just a few weeks ago.

Sears pumps cash into stock buyback

If Sears Holdings Corp. Chairman Edward Lampert were making out his Christmas wish list, you can bet that more Sears stock would be at the top of...

Using the dark arts of land use politics to defeat NIMBYs

It is a few years since Tesco, the British supermarket group, had a tricky encounter with a population of burrowing owls in California. The small...

Collect call from a pay phone could cost a small fortune

In today's wireless world, it's hard to imagine that anyone would ever need to use a pay phone or call somebody collect. Just try asking someone...

Golf courses suffer as recession deals a bogey

From his backyard, Joseph Leggett used to look out over the green, manicured fairways of the Palm Desert Country Club golf course.

Lean years require a shift in how you give to charity

Are you detecting a tone of desperation in the charitable appeals you're receiving this holiday season?

A doctor without borders

The gig: Billionaire chairman of drug developer Abraxis BioScience Inc. and philanthropist.

FHA-insured mortgages may become more expensive and harder to get

For several years, the Federal Housing Administration has been the go-to financing resource for cash-strapped home buyers who can't come up with a big...

Old World grandeur, modern comforts

Modeled after a Tuscan hillside villa, this new custom home in Manhattan Beach features an Old World exterior with a stylish modern interior of more...

One homeowner dealt with a group problem. Who pays?

Question: I live in a free-standing town house with no common walls and only two units in the entire association. The builder left a dangerous...

Owners' willingness to 'strategically default' on loans depends largely on how far underwater they are

That some underwater owners -- whose houses are worth less than what they owe -- are walking away from their homes even though they can still afford...

Planning a family? How to prepare financially

Dear Liz: My wife and I are planning to have a child in the next couple of years, and I realize that I have no idea how to go about preparing...

Happy feat in strappy heels

Eight hours of practice and an utter lack of common sense have brought me here, poised to descend 19 steep steps to the ballroom floor of "Dancing...

California gains jobs, but unemployment still rises to 12.5%

California employers added workers to their payrolls in October for the first time in more than a year, but the state's unemployment rate ticked...

In a low-rate world, here's how savers can help themselves

You'd think that $10 trillion would merit a little more respect.

Complaints against airlines fall sharply

After hearing Jim Engle of Sierra Madre talk about the headaches he and his wife endured on a round trip from Burbank to Detroit on American...

Afternoons without Oprah

Oprah Winfrey told her audience Friday that she had made up her mind to end her hit daytime talk show in September 2011 "after much prayer and...

Growth of counterfeit drugs sparks international response

In highly orchestrated raids around the world this week, Interpol officers in Europe, drug agents in the United States and task forces from Sweden...

Candy Spelling stands firm on $150-million asking price

Eight months ago when Candy Spelling, widow of legendary TV producer Aaron Spelling, put her 4.7-acre estate in Holmby Hills up for sale, the $150-...

Electric-car maker Tesla said to be planning stock offering

Will investors get charged up over a stock offering by California electric-car maker Tesla Motors Inc.?

'New Moon' eclipsing two box-office records

"The Twilight Saga: New Moon" was on course to break two box-office records in one day.

Oprah to end her show in 2011

In another blow to the struggling business of network television, Oprah Winfrey is expected to announce on her program today that she will step down...

Getting a charge out of Nissan's Leaf

This thought came to me as I was piloting the Nissan Leaf electric vehicle prototype around Dodger Stadium last Friday: When gasoline-powered cars...