Bargain Hunters

Mexican stocks rebounded at the end of Wednesday's chaotic session after disenchantment over the government's economic rescue program pushed prices so low that investors jumped in to hunt for bargains. Meanwhile, the peso slid against the dollar, reflecting the lack of confidence among many currency investors in President Ernesto Zedillo's economic plan. In Mexico City, the peso lost 20 centavos and ended the day at 5.65 to the dollar. The Bolsa index closed 8.6 points lower at 2,269.87.

The Southland's housing market is flooded with cash-rich, bargain-hunting investors snapping up distressed homes and dragging down overall prices - but their presence also indicates the market could be nearing bottom. At $260,000, the region's median home price was only 5.2% above the low hit during the worst of the recession in 2009, according to San Diego research firm DataQuick. January brought a 3.7% decline in the median price, the point at which half the homes sold for more and half for less, compared with both a month earlier and a year earlier.

Bargain-hunting investors on Tuesday--or at least, the lucky ones who managed to get their stock trades executed--chased after recent industry favorites, domestic-oriented issues and some of the most badly beaten up. Meanwhile, smaller stocks--the undisputed market leaders before Monday's market plunge--took a back seat to blue chips on Tuesday. But many Wall Street pros believe that smaller stocks could soon reassert their leadership.

California home sales picked up in September from the same month last year as prices came down. Sales were up 6.7% as bargain hunters paying cash snapped up foreclosures. Sales figures remained below the average for September in Southern California and the Bay Area, according to DataQuick, a real estate information service based in San Diego. As is typical, sales were lower than in August, down 6.2%, for a total of 35,404 homes sold last month. The median price for a home sold in California in September was $249,000, down 6% from a year earlier and the same as in August.

The auctioneer's voice rang out above the murmured conversations with a staccato, "Going, going, sold!" A whack of his gavel signaled the sale of somebody's foreclosed house to a new owner, and the next round of speed-talking began. Concerns about botched paperwork that caused some major lenders to recently halt foreclosures in progress didn't dampen the enthusiasm of buyers gathered Sunday in a drab meeting room at the Ontario Convention Center to bid on bank-owned properties.

Tens of thousands of bargain hunters jammed London's shopping district today to snap up televisions, china, crystal, rugs and other holiday leftovers marked down in traditional post-Christmas sales. The City, London's financial district, was a ghost town. But department store-lined Oxford and Regent streets were crowded with parcel-laden bargain hunters. After one of the busiest pre-Christmas shopping sprees that retailers could recall, Londoners still appeared to have cash or credit to spare.

Wall Street's blue chips ended slightly higher today, aided by bargain hunters who swept into the market when stocks were showing steep losses on soaring oil prices and growing Mideast war jitters. The Dow Jones industrial average closed up 5.94 points at 2,533.17. In the broader market, the number of losing issues barely edged past gainers in thin post-holiday trading volume of 131.54 million shares on the New York Stock Exchange.

The stock market recovered from an early plunge and advanced today as investors were lured by bargain-basement prices. The Dow Jones average of 30 industrials gained 25.00 to 2,452.48. Advancing issues outpaced decliners by about 9 to 7 on the New York Stock Exchange, with 886 up, 689 down and 393 unchanged. Big Board volume totaled 201.01 million shares, against 182.69 million in the previous session. The NYSE's composite index rose 2.49 to 167.85.

Stocks staged a stunning turnaround from their morning lows Thursday, as investors appeared to quickly shake off IBM's warning of weaker earnings ahead. Although the broad market still closed lower, gains in many shares provided fodder for bullish analysts who believe Wall Street's latest slump is nearing at least a short-term bottom. The Dow Jones industrials recovered from a 214-point morning dive to close off 94.67 points, or 0.9%, at 10,297.69.

Perhaps the most amazing thing about this year's stock market rally is that value investors are still participating in it. You would expect bargain hunters to throw up their hands and flee to the sidelines with a 23% year-to-date advance for the Dow Jones industrial average. Yet many investors who follow a value strategy, including numerous mutual fund managers, continue to find cheap stocks to put into their portfolios. Stock mutual funds have only 7.5% of their assets in cash, down from 8.

At times like these in financial markets, Wall Street trots out all of the usual platitudes aimed at trying to soothe investors and avert more calamity. "It's never smart to sell into a panic. " "It's a good time to hunt for bargains. " And the classic: "You've got to hold on for the long haul. " Financial advisors use these lines partly because there are kernels of truth in them. Over the very long term the stock market has gone up, of course. And indiscriminate sell-offs can produce bargains.

A new bargain site is offering deals without locking you into travel dates.  Yuupon.com makes its debut Tuesday. "Deals run for seven days, but people can get a full cash refund up to eight days after purchasing,”  said founder Mary Song, who has been in the online travel business since 1999. "If travelers miss that initial refund window, as long as they cancel before their voucher expires, they can get a credit to their Yuupon account. "  The site will showcase eight to 20 deals a week, including deals for midrange properties.

Armed with store floor plans, stacks of coupons and money to spend, hordes of shoppers hit the malls early, late and every moment in between on Black Friday. Most important, they said they were buying more this holiday season than last. Even so, shoppers said they had no intention of spending wildly this weekend and were still determined to score the best deals out there. "We are in it to win it," said Ilene Agan, 27, who arrived at a Toys R Us in Torrance two hours before the store opened, hoping to score Barbie dolls for her daughters.

The auctioneer's voice rang out above the murmured conversations with a staccato, "Going, going, sold!" A whack of his gavel signaled the sale of somebody's foreclosed house to a new owner, and the next round of speed-talking began. Concerns about botched paperwork that caused some major lenders to recently halt foreclosures in progress didn't dampen the enthusiasm of buyers gathered Sunday in a drab meeting room at the Ontario Convention Center to bid on bank-owned properties.

Bottega Louie, 700 S. Grand Ave. The trendy restaurant/patisserie/bar/market is a terrific place to pick up a hostess or birthday gift, choosing from among all manner of pastries, gift baskets and gourmet goodies. Colorful macarons will give everyone a smile for just $8.78 for a box of 4 or $23.05 for a box of 11 . Bunkado, Inc., 340 E. 1st St. Ninja dolls, feather-light parasols, stationery, origami, if you can't find a gift or tchotcke for the lover of Japanese culture in your life, you're just not looking.

Robert De Niro slept there. So did Elizabeth Taylor and Cary Grant. But the crowd that gathered Thursday morning to buy up a piece of the Hotel Bel-Air, a longtime playground of the rich and famous, was hunting for bargains, not souvenirs. Closed Oct. 1, the Los Angeles landmark is getting a two-year, multimillion-dollar face-lift. Its owners are selling off beds, rugs, lamps and other furnishings. About 100 people lined up outside a Santa Monica storefront where the items are on display, hoping to get a little stardust on the cheap.

When Charles "Chip" Stanish, director of UCLA's Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, craves a good laugh over human folly, he knows it's just a mouse-click away, on EBay's crowded bazaar of ancient artifacts. A reddish clay pot in the shape of a man's head pops onto the computer screen in his office beneath the campus' Fowler Museum. Stanish notes its wide-eyed, gape-mouthed face and tries to stifle a laugh, but there's no helping himself.

Not long ago, a trip to the dollar store meant going on a treasure hunt through cluttered aisles not knowing what you would find: a cranberry-scented candle, a scratchy towel, a box of look-alike Oreos. But in the last few years, dollar stores have been going through a makeover, adding refrigerators and freezers, stocking more food and cleaning up the presentation. As the recession hit, the dollar stores were ready with low-price groceries to attract a newly frugal middle class.