Economy

Officially, the Federal Reserve isn't supposed to worry about keeping stock prices flying high. But when Fed Chairman Ben S. Bernanke was asked about the market's outlook last week on Capitol Hill, he sounded like a lot of bullish Wall Street investment strategists. "I don't see much evidence of an equity bubble," he told the Senate Banking Committee in his semiannual testimony on Fed policy. Stocks "don't appear overvalued given earnings and interest rates. " More important for the markets, Bernanke pledged to continue the Fed's policy of pumping colossal sums into the financial system to support the economic recovery.

SACRAMENTO -- With the passing of a deadline to prevent billions in across-the-board federal spending cuts, economic experts and White House officials say the reductions could slow down the state's economy unless an alternative deal is reached. The across-the-board budget cuts known as sequestration could lead to cutbacks in defense, healthcare and other areas, putting California's fiscal health in danger. Jason Sisney, a spokesman for the state's legislative analyst, said the cuts could mean "a few billion dollars" less for state coffers because of the resulting slowdown in economic growth.

WASHINGTON -- The U.S. economy barely grew late last year, thanks largely to a plunge in federal defense spending that in part was likely preparation for the budget cuts under the so-called sequestration. The nation's gross domestic product, or the total value of all goods and services produced, rose by a measly 0.1% in the fourth quarter, according to the Commerce Department's latest calculations released Thursday. The government's first estimate said inflation-adjusted GDP shrank 0.1% in the final three months of last year.

Fashion's Night Out, the star-studded initiative launched at the height of the recession to help generate more sales, is going on hiatus this year. Since starting in 2009, the annual effort brought out the glitterati in heaps as thousands of retailers and designers hosted celebrities and models at parties, showcases and special shopping events. By 2012, the affair had spread to 500 cities across the country - including Los Angeles - and 30 cities worldwide. Last year's festivities attracted singer/designer Victoria Beckham, stylist Rachel Zoe, actress Jennifer Hudson and more.

In the debate over who should be the next mayor of Los Angeles, who would you suppose argues for elimination of a business tax to kick-start economic growth? Not the one-time investment banker who dropped out of the race early and says killing the business tax would leave a huge hole in the city treasury. Not the lone Republican in the field, who wants more modest business tax reform. Not a City Council fiscal hawk, also a candidate for mayor, who says cutting the tax could leave the city with a $400-million shortfall.

The delusions of tea party Republicans are about to create a lot of misery for America. The "sequester" -- the drastic set of budget cuts formerly known as the "fiscal cliff" -- seems very likely to go into effect at the end of this week due in no small part to the fact that hyper-conservative lawmakers, such as Kentucky Sen. Rand Paul, actually think it's a pretty swell idea.  Their obsessive and mistaken belief that the federal deficit is...

Hyundai Motor America is inching closer to a settlement of claims it inflated the fuel economy ratings of its vehicles. Details of the deal are still to be worked out, but the automaker is expected to reach a settlement in 38 lawsuits on the fuel economy mislabeling, which have been combined and are being heard in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles. Its corporate sister, Kia Motors America, is expected to also settle the litigation. Photos: Vehicles with overstated fuel economy claims In November, the South Korean automakers said they overstated the fuel economy on nearly 1 million late-model vehicles after the discrepancy was discovered by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which monitors the fuel economy tests by automakers.

Situated in the southeastern corner of California, bordering Arizona and Mexico, Imperial County has long depended on agriculture and cash crops that grew from the good earth. But lately the region - which carries the dubious distinction of having the state's highest unemployment rate at 25.5% - is betting its future on a different kind of farm: green energy. Spurred by a state mandate that requires utilities to get a third of their electricity from green sources by 2020, renewable energy companies are leasing or buying thousands of acres in Imperial County to convert to energy farms providing power for coastal cities - bringing an estimated 6,000 building jobs and billions in construction activity to the county.

California's defense industry is bracing for a $3.2-billion hit with the federal budget cuts that are expected to take effect Friday. But myriad other federally funded programs also are threatened, and the combined effect is expected to slow the momentum that California's economy has been building over the last year. As the state braces for pain from so-called sequestration, there are warnings of long delays at airport security checkpoints, potential slowdowns in cargo movement at harbors and cutbacks to programs, including meals for seniors and projects to combat neighborhood blight.

WASHINGTON - For the last two decades, Japan's stagnant economy has taken a back seat to China's explosive growth. But the economic agenda for Washington and Tokyo is heating up, presenting new opportunities for the U.S. and trade frictions reminiscent of the 1980s. In White House discussions Friday, President Obama and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe took up a range of security concerns, pledging solidarity in responding strongly to nuclear provocations from North Korea. Abe also assured Obama that Japan would "act calmly" in its standoff with China over islands in the East China Sea, even as he made strong public remarks later about Japan's claims to the Senkaku islets.