December 5 - December 11, 2010

Saturday, Dec. 11
Mark Madoff was said to be increasingly distraught as the anniversary of his father's arrest approached.
Friday, Dec. 10
It's Austrian banker Sonja Koh, who is alleged to have played a central role in financing the massive Ponzi scheme.
The two L.A. billionaires are in talks with Universal to purchase Focus Features.
On the two-year anniversary of the Madoff scandal, it's worth laying out the ways to avoid getting snookered.
Here's both a cool and sobering look at the nation's housing woes, courtesy of Google Maps.
Receipts for November were 19.4 percent above earlier estimates. In particular, corporate and personal income taxes were way higher than expected.
The L.A.-based energy company is raising its dividend by 21 percent, another example of how it courts investors.
Consumer confidence improving, gas prices back up to 2008 levels, Mercury cuts auto insurance rates, and MSG to buy Forum.
Thursday, Dec. 9
They'll be running during rush hour between MacArthur Park and Centinela Avenue, with a mile-long gap in the Westwood area.
Nara Bancorp will buy Center Financial Corp. in a $270 million, all-stock deal that joins two Koreatown rivals.
The Census Bureau's latest report shows that 30 percent of all businesses in L.A. County are owned by women, or a total of 316,000.
In California, there are at least 300,000 people who will get no relief from the proposed 13-month job extension.
With the recovery slowly taking shape, when do companies start taking out their checkbooks?
Brown considers special election, more billionaires give away fortunes, state loses big with online shopping, and City Council restricts fast food restaurants in South L.A.
Wednesday, Dec. 8
Purchase price turns out to be $35 million, not the $47 million that's been bandied around.
Hawthorne-based Space Explorations Technologies is the first commercial company to send a rocket and capsule into space and bring the spacecraft safely back to Earth.
The governor-elect is chairing a budget forum this morning in Sacramento.
On your marks, L.A. stereotypers: A study of 30 metro areas places Los Angeles dead last when it comes to retirement readiness.
Almost 3.5 million people in the state were collecting food stamps in September, a 17.7 percent increase from a year earlier
Not according to Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke, who tells "60 Minutes" that buying government bonds is not the same thing.
Tax deal could generate jobs, Americans don't have retirement savings, jobless checks may be delayed, and Brown holds budget summit.
Tuesday, Dec. 7
She's reportedly trying to gather a group of local investors to buy out her ex-husband's stake in the team, but her ex-husband shows no intention to sell.
This morning's chat on KPCC looks at how the California economy, eighth largest in the world if it were its own country, remains potent.
The California PUC, which at one time skewed its decisions toward consumers, is much more industry focused these days.
The new three-year contract is likely to resemble the pact that actors worked out with the studios and networks.
October unemployment rates fell in about two-thirds of the major metro areas from a year earlier, but most California cities remain stuck at over 10 percent.
Extending the cuts for another two years is considered a relatively painless kind of stimulus. Same with extending jobless benefits...
Mixed bag in UCLA forecast, DWP bills could be increasing for the next 20 years, big jump in gas prices, and Schwarzenegger's last stand.
Monday, Dec. 6
Obama agrees to a two-year extension of the Bush-era tax cuts, while Congressional Republicans agree to a 13-month extension of unemployment benefits.
Jack was the dean of the Southern California economists, quoted around the world on everything from the entertainment business to the ports to aerospace.
Deloitte's annual survey of Southern California shoppers shows that cautious spending - much of it at discount stores - remains the prevailing sentiment.
Fiji Water, the bottled water company that's part of the L.A. billionaire's empire, is acquiring Justin Vineyards & Winery in Paso Robles.
But hey, it's all right because all the rich folk are going to use their tax savings to create jobs!
Companies are hiring private detectives to go after employees who call in sick and then head off to the golf course.
It was in 1982 that the top 1 percent of income earners began seeing their share of the nation's income take off after decades of relative stability.
Borders investor interested in Barnes & Noble buyout, state lawmakers to talk budget in special session, and Michael Jackson's glove goes for $330,000.
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