as of 04:01PM ET 2/16/2011
DJIA
12288.17
+61.53
2/16/2011 4:01:00 PM
NASDAQ
2825.56
+21.21
2/16/2011 5:16:00 PM
S&P500
1336.32
+8.31
2/16/2011 4:59:00 PM
QUOTE:
 

Top Headlines

Superior Sheet Metal & Duct at a glance

Business: Founded in 2002, Anaheim-based Superior Sheet Metal & Duct makes pipe and fittings for commercial heating, air...

 

Spotlights from the Los Angeles Times

See Arthur Frommer

See Arthur Frommer

Catch the author at the Travel & Adventure Show. Promo code: GO.

Mark your Oscar ballot

Mark your Oscar ballot

Vote for your favorites and share your picks with friends.

SHOP rewards

SHOP rewards

Join and save big when you shop for your favorite items.

Party wine sampler

Party wine sampler

Impress your guests with 6 bottles for $79.95 ($130 value).

Search Small Businesses for Sale

The latest in daily financial news, closing stock market quotes and technology trends delivered right to your inbox.
See a sample | Sign up
Business makeover: Sheet metal shop needs aggressive, low-cost sales strategy

Business makeover: Sheet metal shop needs aggressive, low-cost sales strategy

It's too quiet in the back shop at Superior Sheet Metal & Duct.

Advice: How can a new security firm get customers?

Dear Karen: How do I get customers for my new security business?

Temporary employment agencies see an uptick

Temporary employment agencies see an uptick

At Royal Staffing Services Inc., an employment agency in Westlake Village, more requests are coming in for temporary workers. And the agency...

Promissory note finders need a license in California

Dear Karen: Do I need a license to operate as a promissory note finder in California?

Tax credit for small-business hiring barely tapped

Tax credit for small-business hiring barely tapped

More than $360 million in small-business tax credits meant to spur hiring in California has been left on the table, raising concerns that...

Organization can save small firms time and money

Organization can save small firms time and money

Today is National Clean Off Your Desk Day. No joke.

How to find microfinance groups in your area

Dear Karen: I recently graduated from USC, where I started the first chapter of a microfinance organization on campus. Are there...

Bill would repeal new tax requirement for small businesses

Bill would repeal new tax requirement for small businesses

A congressional bill aimed at eliminating a tax rule that many small businesses complained was unfair to them has been introduced by Rep....

Small-business advice: How to make more international sales

Dear Karen: I want to make more overseas sales in 2011. Do I need a foreign distributor?

ABCs can make going out of business smoother and quieter

ABCs can make going out of business smoother and quieter

After three years of trying to make a success of his small Cerritos company that manufactured corrugated boxes, Ken Bowers was in deep...

Very small businesses are less optimistic about the economy

Optimism at the nation's tiniest businesses appears to have diminished in December as more owners faced cash-flow problems and planned to...

Contests are a springboard for student entrepreneurs

College students who want to start a company while still in school are getting a jump on the process by competing in contests now held by...

Small-business Q&A: The status of tax credits for hiring the unemployed

Dear Karen: Is the tax credit for hiring formerly unemployed people going to stay in effect for 2011?

More small businesses are offering health benefits to workers

Major insurers around the country are reporting that a growing number of small businesses are signing up to give their workers health...

Firm needs to help voodoo-style dolls boost sales

Connie Pentek's company might be saved by a voodoo doll.

Small-business advice: Contract negotiation tips

Dear Karen: I'm not good at negotiating contracts. Do you have any advice?

How I Made It: Scott Hauge

The job: Advocating in Sacramento for small companies. Hauge is president of Small Business California, a San Francisco...

Coffee-roasting brood keeps L.A. ethnic communities brewing

The coffee beans roasted, ground, packaged and shipped out of the F. GaviƱa & Sons Inc. factory in Vernon are as diverse as the...

Flying Pigeon LA peddles bike culture north of downtown

On the third Sunday of each month, a dozen or so people pedal out of Highland Park atop steel-frame bikes straight out of the Chinese...