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...

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...

Recession is in play at California's tribal casinos

This is what a recession looks like at Southern California's tribal casinos: Nearly every seat at the 25-cent slot machines is filled. Gamblers wait...

Foreclosures will keep rising through 2010, report says

Home foreclosures are likely to keep climbing through all of next year despite stabilizing housing prices in some areas, a major lender group said...

Ailing Lakeside doctors group rescued by Heritage of Northridge

A major physicians group in the San Fernando Valley, struggling with the rising cost of medical care, has joined another Southern California...

CalPERS board members endorse new lobbying rules

Board members at California's huge state pension fund offered support Thursday for a plan to register as lobbyists the controversial middlemen hired...

'New Moon' may shine bright at box office

Edward and Bella are set to take the second-biggest bite of the year out of the box office.

House panel backs audits of Federal Reserve

A House committee voted overwhelmingly Thursday in favor of a measure opposed by the Obama administration that would subject the Federal Reserve to...

7 accused of investment fraud in Inland Empire

Three Riverside County businessmen and four associates were criminally charged Thursday after prosecutors said they sold false investments and...