Climbing

Experian Automotive's latest data on car loan delinquency rates holds bad news for the "repo man. " The auto loan industry's repossession rate plunged almost 28% in the fourth quarter of last year compared to the same quarter a year earlier and stands at just 0.46%. However, the number of borrowers delinquent in their payments for 60 days increased slightly in the quarter to 0.74% from 0.76%.  It was the first rise for either 30- or 60-day loan delinquencies in the fourth quarter since 2009.

Actress Jane Fonda bought a home in Beverly Hills last year with a feature that might seem counterintuitive for a fitness guru: an elevator. The Holmby Hills house that pop icon Michael Jackson leased has one within its 17,200 square feet of living space. So does the nearby 56,500-square-foot mansion heiress Petra Ecclestone bought from socialite Candy Spelling two years ago for $85 million. But home elevators aren't just for the super-rich anymore. Baby boomers looking to age in place are installing them to ease the burden of bad knees and growing girth.

CBRE Group Inc., the world's largest commercial real estate brokerage, finished 2012 strong and optimistic as conditions improved in many real estate markets. The Los Angeles firm said Wednesday that its commissions from property sales rose 22% in the fourth quarter compared with a year earlier, led by a 32% jump in the Americas and a 31% increase in Britain. "We are very pleased with our strong finish to 2012," President Robert Sulentic said. "Despite continued fiscal and economic uncertainty, all of our global operating regions delivered solid top-line growth in the fourth quarter.

SAN FRANCISCO -- This much is very clear: There's a lot of interest in Pinterest, one of the high-fliers of this Internet boom. The popular social networking site is in talks to raise more money at a blockbuster $2-billion to $2.5-billion valuation. That's according to the Wall Street Journal, which said the deal has not been finalized. A Pinterest spokeswoman declined to comment. Pinterest is one of a growing number of billion-dollar Bay Area start-ups. It raised $100 million in May in a deal that valued the San Francisco company at $1.5 billion.

MEXICO CITY -- Rescue workers early Friday pulled more bodies from the ruins left by a huge blast at the headquarters of Mexico's state oil monopoly, while officials remained tight-lipped about what caused the deadly explosion. The death toll climbed to 32, including 20 women and 12 men, Emilio Lozoya, the director of Petroleos de Mexico, or Pemex, said at a news conference Friday morning. More than 100 people were injured, some badly, and an undisclosed number were still missing.

The national economy remains sluggish - but don't tell the auto industry. Auto sales showed surprising strength in January, with all three domestic manufacturers - General Motors Co., Ford Motor Co. and Chrysler Group - reporting double-digit percentage gains. Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co., the two biggest Japanese brands, also posted strong sales. Overall, the industry sold more than 1 million vehicles in January, a 14.2% gain over the same month a year earlier, according to Autodata Corp.

All the right stuff seemed to be there Wednesday night at Pauley Pavilion, when the Bruins took on the rival USC Trojans in men's basketball. The recent $138-million upgrade to Pauley left it still shiny and new. The place was overwhelmed with the soft blue of Bruin colors, as it should be. It was UCLA's home game, UCLA's night. They promoted it as "Blue Out" night, and the faithful responded. All the current essentials of game-night noise and hype in big-time basketball, pro or college, were rolled out by the Bruins.

Herbalife Ltd. shares rose after a profanity-filled battle on live television between two billionaire investors with vastly different views of the Los Angeles company. Bill Ackman, who has an enormous short position on Herbalife and has called the company a pyramid scheme, and Carl Icahn, who reportedly has a long position on the company, traded personal insults during a nearly 30-minute telephone discussion aired live Friday on CNBC. Icahn called Ackman a "liar" and said: "He's got one of the worst reputations on Wall Street.

At the Apache Stages in North Hollywood this month, the Wonderful Pistachios brand filmed South Korean pop star Psy shooting its first Super Bowl commercial, with a riff on Psy's massive "Gangnam Style" YouTube video. The ad was part of Wonderful Pistachios' "Get Crackin" campaign, which has also featured boxer Manny Pacquiao, rapper Snoop Dogg and other celebrities in various nutty commercials - all of them filmed in Los Angeles. The flurry of high-profile Super Bowl spots in recent months, along with the proliferation of Web-based commercials, is helping power a surge in commercial shoots in Los Angeles, where the industry is concentrated.

Domestic airfares have been climbing steadily since 2009, and there was no letup last year. But the uptick in ticket prices was not as steep as in the last few years. Domestic airfares increased 4.2% in 2012 compared with the previous year to an average of $427 per ticket, according to Airlines Reporting Corp., an Arlington, Va., company that completes the financial transactions between 16,000 travel agents and 187 airlines. The good news is that the fare increases have been shrinking.