Business

The Federal Reserve's latest quarterly survey of bank lending practices shows credit conditions are improving somewhat for business borrowers -- but not for consumers. About 40% of domestic banks reported tightening credit standards for commercial and industrial loans to business borrowers in the last few months, down from 65% in the January survey, the Fed said Monday.

In this time of consumer money troubles, numerous debt settlement companies promise to make debts disappear. But New York Atty. Gen. Andrew Cuomo on Thursday called debt settlement "a rogue industry" and issued subpoenas to a law firm and 14 companies, including five in California, as part of an investigation of their business practices.

When most postal rates rise on Monday -- among other things, mailing a first-class domestic letter will cost 2 cents more -- Washington will be depending on businesses like PouchSmart Inc. of Santa Monica, which still considers the post office to be the best option for delivering its products. PouchSmart designs flexible pouch packaging with a resealable spout, such as a single-serve juice container. Its products can also be used in other applications, such as a squeezable applesauce pouch.

In the heady days of corporate travel, employees who had to take long flights, particularly overseas, could get their employers to spring for more comfy business-class seats. They're expensive, but companies figured it was better than losing a big contract or hurting a relationship because their employees weren't attentive after a restless flight squished in coach.

The Internal Revenue Service had a moment of clarity Tuesday and backed off from its plan to crack down on personal use of office cellphones -- sort of. Just last week, the agency stirred up a hornets' nest of bad publicity by announcing it would ramp up enforcement of a long-standing -- and largely ignored -- federal law requiring that personal calls made on company cellphones be taxed as income.

Twelve years after Los Angeles adopted a lower tax rate to attract Internet and multimedia companies, the cash-strapped city is telling many tech businesses that they don't qualify for the discount and billing them millions of dollars in additional taxes. Shopzilla.com, a comparison-shopping website based in West Los Angeles, was slapped with $2.74 million in additional taxes. Now it's considering moving to Santa Monica, a couple of blocks away.

Employers vs. labor? Airlines vs. passengers? Investors vs. companies? When it comes to business lawsuits, Supreme Court nominee Sonia Sotomayor can be hard to pigeonhole. Although Sotomayor's opponents paint her as an activist with a liberal bent, many legal experts say her record is far from that of an ideologue on business issues. In 1995, as a U.S. district judge, she favored the Major League Baseball players against the owners.

Wilbur D.Curtis invented the globular glass coffeepot, that staple of coffee counters everywhere, in 1940. Since then his son and grandsons have turned Wilbur Curtis Co. into a manufacturing concern that earns revenue approaching $100 million by turning out commercial coffee brewing equipment from a sprawling factory in Montebello.

Next year's budget is just about wrapped up at C28 Inc., a small business in Corona that designs and sells edgy Christian-themed clothes and jewelry for teens. C28's budget process isn't just an exercise in guessing sales and costs for 2010. It involves a hard look at what would happen if sales rose, fell or held steady. "Nobody likes surprises in business," said Kevin Miller, chief financial officer at the retailer and wholesaler, which employs 85 people and does about $12 million in annual sales.

The Golden State won't let its businesses go easily, especially not to Nevada, if one California lawmaker has his say. A week after the Nevada Development Authority ran a series of advertisements urging California companies to jump ship, Assemblyman Jose Solorio (D-Santa Ana) is retaliating. "I was pretty outraged by the nastiness of their tone," he said. "It's one thing to compare states in a factual way, but when you're doing nasty ads veiled in humor which dehumanize Californians, that's over the top."