November 22, 2009
MONEY TALK
Liz Pulliam Weston: 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 for that financially. How much cash should new parents try to have available? What else should we be considering?
November 8, 2009
Gondas have less wealth to share
Driving around Los Angeles, particularly around the UCLA campus, it's hard not to notice the hospitals and research centers that bear their name.
November 8, 2009
CONSUMER BRIEFS
More Americans are planning on regifting, poll finds
More Americans are planning on regifting, or passing on a gift they got from someone else, according to a Consumer Reports poll on holiday shopping. A total of 36% of U.S. adults said they would recycle a gift this year, compared with 31% last year and 24% in 2007, the survey found.
November 1, 2009
CONSUMER BRIEFS
Shoppers return to buying top brands
Signs of an improving economy might be in your kitchen or bathroom cupboards.
October 28, 2009
AUTOS
Ford moves up in Consumer Reports reliability rankings
Asian automakers once again dominate the upper ranks of Consumer Reports' annual vehicle-reliability survey, although Ford Motor Co. is making strides in improving the dependability of its cars and light trucks.
October 25, 2009
PERSONAL FINANCE
Kathy M. Kristof: Muriel Siebert calls for hedge fund regulation
Muriel "Mickey" Siebert is used to fighting for what she wants.
October 4, 2009
MONEY TALK
Liz Pulliam Weston: Balance-transfer deals are getting scarcer
Dear Liz: Can we really trust the banks anymore to adhere to the terms they offer us? I liked your suggestion about using low-interest-rate balance-transfer offers to speed up debt repayment. However, one of my credit card issuers has both increased my minimum payments and lowered my limits on my credit card and line-of-credit accounts. When I asked why, they said, "Because we can." So when they send me a set of balance-transfer checks with a 1.99% interest rate, I don't trust them to keep their word. Now I am just concentrating on paying off the balance as soon as possible and will keep the card only for emergency use.
October 4, 2009
PERSONAL FINANCE
Kathy M. Kristof: How to tap retirement assets early with a minimal tax bite
Unemployed and strapped for cash?
August 23, 2009
Cleaning up at the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach
The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach are so busy that they move more cargo than the next five largest U.S. ports combined. They're so efficient that they process more international trade in one month than most North American harbors handle in an entire year.
August 15, 2009
TOM PETRUNO
Tom Petruno: Cash-needy state meets needy cash
California Treasurer Bill Lockyer will have to borrow $10.5 billion next month. That's no small chunk of change. But the way it looks now, many investors will be lining up to hand him their money.
July 26, 2009
HOW I MADE IT: CRAIG LEVRA
Coaching the Sport Chalet team
The gig: Chief executive and chairman of sporting goods chain Sport Chalet Inc. Founded 50 years ago, the La Cañada Flintridge company today operates 55 stores in four states, with most locations in California. For fiscal 2009, Sport Chalet posted sales of $372.7 million, a 7.4% drop from a year earlier, and a net loss of $52.2 million.
July 12, 2009
HOW I MADE IT: JASON YIM
Marketing in the modern world
The gig: Founder and executive creative director of Trigger, a digital marketing agency that designs websites and games to market big Hollywood movies on the Internet and through mobile phones and other devices. The Los Angeles company employs 60 developers and 3-D artists, including 40 who work at a studio in Shanghai. The company's clients include Sony Pictures, Walt Disney Co., Cartoon Network and Paramount Pictures.
February 1, 2009
CITY TO SEA
Nibbling, sipping and kayaking
The last time my boyfriend, Aaron, and I went on a date for $25 or less, we were in high school. So we were pleasantly surprised at how much we could do for that price now.
February 1, 2009
AT THE DRIVE-IN
A night at the drive-in
In Ohio, the drive-in was a summer ritual. My mom would pile me, my brother and at least four of the neighbor kids into her faux-wood-paneled Oldsmobile station wagon and roar off into the humid dusk. Snuggled up in a pile of pillows and blankets, we'd be mesmerized by kiddie gems like "Herbie Goes Bananas." We'd stuff our faces with popcorn and other treats brought from home; weeks later, we'd still be picking kernels and smooshed gummy bears out of the Custom Cruiser's back seat.
February 1, 2009
MALIBU
Fresh seafood, good friends and a Malibu sunset
My partner, David, and I had missed celebrating the New Year with a couple of our friends, so we made plans to meet them at the Malibu Seafood Fresh Fish Market and Patio Cafe a few Sundays later to satisfy our craving for raw oysters and champagne.
February 1, 2009
HOLLYWOOD
Cheap laughs and hot dogs in Hollywood
So, a man and a woman walk into a theater with a budget of $25. . . .
February 1, 2009
SAN DIEGO
Spending time with a toddler in San Diego
Entertaining kids can cost parents a fortune.
Copyright © 2009, The Los Angeles Times
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