All posts from L.A. Times - Business

The custom sedan's $285,000 starting price is not the only thing separating it from the masses. Its rich interior appointments and solid-yet-agile ride put it in a league of its own. "I love that car," sighed the rookie valet at the Huntley Hotel in Santa Monica.

An attempt to reopen a wood processing plant that closed two years ago seems to be going nowhere, with potentially dire implications for the local port and economy.The timber industry has suffered a long decline in Eureka, an isolated community about five hours north of San Francisco.

After months of speculation, Piers Morgan, the British newspaper editor best-known to U.S. audiences as a judge on NBC's "America's Got Talent," has finally completed talks to take over Larry King's weeknight talk show on CNN.

The company includes criticism of its own workers but defends the design of the well. In public hearings, it had already tried to shift some blame to rig owner Transocean Ltd. and cement contractor HalliburtonOil giant BP PLC said in an internal report released Wednesday, before a key piece of evidence has been analyzed, that multiple companies and work teams contributed to the massive Gulf of Mexico spill that fouled waters and shorelines for months.

HP's lawsuit says Mark V. Hurd could leak company secrets to Oracle and his employment there would violate noncompete clauses.Intensifying an increasingly bitter feud between two technology heavyweights, Hewlett-Packard Co. went to court Tuesday to try to prevent its former chief executive, Mark V. Hurd, from taking a top post with Silicon Valley rival Oracle Corp.

Hassan Astani, who began the project in 2004, hopes to open the 30-story Concerto near Staples Center before he runs out of money. But a group of investors in charge of Astani's loan has other plans.The last decade's great condominium construction boom is over in downtown Los Angeles — with the exception of one battered builder still crawling toward the finish line.

The health insurer violated state law nearly 1 million times from 2006 to 2008 after it was bought by UnitedHealth Group, the Department of Insurance says. California regulators are seeking fines of up to $9.9 billion from health insurer PacifiCare over allegations that it repeatedly mismanaged medical claims, lost thousands of patient documents, failed to pay doctors what they were owed and ignored calls to fix the problems.

Companies could save $200 billion by writing off capital investment. The president also announces a $50-billion spending plan for roads, runways and railroads.President Obama this week will call for tax incentives that would allow businesses to write off 100% of new capital investment through 2011 — moves that the White House says could save businesses $200 billion over two years.

Beginning Monday, Stewart will provide eight hours of programming each weekday to the cable channel, which has had trouble finding a recipe for success.Martha Stewart has a knack for transforming dated rooms into design showpieces. Now she's undertaking another major renovation: the Hallmark Channel.

Home prices soared in recent years in the picturesque city of Hangzhou, but government fears of a U.S.-style meltdown have led to new restrictions on sales and a severe slowdown in the market.For generations, Chinese have flocked to this historic city to enjoy its centuries-old pagodas, Buddhist temples and scenic lakes surrounded by drooping willow trees.

The ousted chief executive of computer maker Hewlett-Packard is likely to serve under his friend and CEO of the business software firm, Larry Ellison, who in an e-mail had scolded HP for its decision.Mark Hurd, ousted a month ago as chief executive of Hewlett-Packard Co., is being considered for the No. 2 job at software giant Oracle Corp.

Helping businesses that invest in research and development is part of the president's broader plan for the economy. Other proposals call for increasing infrastructure spending and continuing tax cuts for the middle class.President Obama will ask Congress to pass a $100-billion plan to expand and permanently extend the tax credits for businesses that invest in research and development, part of a larger plan for spurring the economy that he is to unveil in greater detail Wednesday.