Finances

Group of 20 finance chiefs sharpened their stance against governments trying to influence exchange rates as they sought to tame speculation about a global currency war without singling out Japan for criticism. Two days of talks between G-20 finance ministers and central bankers ended in Moscow on Sunday with a pledge not to "target our exchange rates for competitive purposes," according to a statement. That's stronger than their position three months ago and leaves Japanese officials under pressure to stop publicly giving guidance on their currency's value.

Emanuel Pleitez is loping down a South Los Angeles side street of bungalows, propelling his 6-foot, 3-inch frame toward a registered voter his campaign advance team has discovered is home. Aides, including one carrying a camera to document his long shot run for mayor, try to keep up. Once he finds the voter waiting in the front yard, he greets him exuberantly in Spanish, answers some questions, hands him a flier and moves on. Pleitez is a 30-year-old former tech executive in a hurry, who seems to believe no vote-harvesting opportunity can be passed by. He chats up Latina mothers selling snacks outside an elementary campus.

If you're thinking about getting married, it can be important to consider whether you and your intended are financially compatible. The National Foundation for Credit Counseling has identified some key issues for couples to discuss: •How much debt do each of you have? Before you tie the knot, lay it all out for your partner to see: What you owe on credit cards, vehicle and student loans, and any other debt. "Don't hide anything, as that's really getting off on the wrong foot," the foundation said.

In the late 1970s when Edward I. Koch won his first term as mayor of New York, the city was in shambles, its coffers and confidence sapped by financial crises and a paralyzing blackout. It needed a fighter and found one in Koch, a well-practiced pol with the determination - and bite - of a bulldog. He steered the city out of bankruptcy and restored its swagger, a one-man cheerleading squad who personified the witty and feisty New Yorker. The three-term mayor of New York and perennial civic combatant, who rallied and riled the city in and out of office with his tenacious style and irrepressible opinions, died Friday of congestive heart failure at New York-Presbyterian/Columbia Hospital, said his friend and spokesman George Arzt.

WASHINGTON - As former Sen. Chuck Hagel seeks to fend off critics aiming to derail his confirmation as Defense secretary, he has an incongruous ally: a Pittsburgh philanthropist who made his fortune as one of the world's top horse-race bettors. Bill Benter, a prolific donor to Democrats and liberal groups who keeps a low public profile, financed an ad campaign by a group of centrist national security veterans who hailed Hagel's "bipartisanship and independence of conscience and mind.

In the highest-profile debate so far in the Los Angeles mayoral race, three longtime city officials defended their records Monday night as two long-shot challengers accused them of putting the city on a path to insolvency. The city's chronic budget shortfalls dominated the event at UCLA's Royce Hall, televised live on KNBC-TV Channel 4. Entertainment lawyer Kevin James and technology executive Emanuel Pleitez sought to maximize the free media exposure, portraying themselves as fresh alternatives to business as usual at City Hall.

Paul Conrad's anti-nuclear war "Chain Reaction" sculpture in Santa Monica is out from under a cloud -- at least temporarily. The City Council voted Tuesday night to authorize funds to patch and secure the deteriorated sculpture and agreed to give admirers until Feb. 1, 2014, to raise funds to rebuild it. "We've now got the city on board with us," said David Conrad, son of the late sculptor and political cartoonist for the Los Angeles Times....

SACRAMENTO - Gov. Jerry Brown will deliver a State of the State address Thursday morning that lays out an ambitious and optimistic policy agenda for a state he says is on the rebound. After persuading voters to erase much of California's budget deficit with billions of dollars in new taxes, Brown is free to shift his focus from patching holes in the government's finances to a longer-term vision. He is expected to expand on his plans for shaking up public universities, shoring up water systems and boosting the state's international trade.

LA JOLLA - Phil Mickelson, an expert at applying backspin on the golf course, issued a statement clarifying comments he made Sunday indicating he might move out of California because of the state's income tax laws. "I'm like many Americans who are trying to understand the new tax laws," Mickelson's statement read in part. "I certainly don't have a definitive plan at this time, but like everyone else I want to make decisions that are best for my future and my family. Finances and taxes are a personal matter and I should not have made my opinions on them public.

Stock and bond markets in the U.S. were closed Monday for the Martin Luther King Jr. holiday, but trading took place in the rest of the world. European stocks rose while German bonds declined as European finance ministers met for the first time this year to discuss the debt crisis. The Stoxx Europe 600 Index added 0.3%, with the volume of shares changing hands 34% less than the 30-day average. In Japan, the yen rose from a two-year low, strengthening 0.5% to 89.64 yen per dollar.