The dollar’s rebound and oil’s tumble breathed some serious optimism into Wall Street last week. But no one knows for sure yet whether the two trends are truly antidotes for what’s been ailing the stock market. This week, investors will be focusing again on the U.S. currency and the energy markets, but also on retail industry reports to gauge consumer spending. For the full story visit www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-weekahead11-2008aug11,0,3207778.story

Many investors are hitting the brakes as they navigate a rocky economy. But veteran developer Vic Georgeno says now is exactly the time to invest in downtown Ventura, and he’s hoping that his fellow commercial property owners agree. This week, proponents will hold a series of town hall meetings aimed at getting Ventura to join a growing list of communities launching business improvement districts. Commercial property owners in such districts typically agree to tax themselves to pay for better security, maintenance, marketing and advertising to attract more customers and sometimes special events. “I absolutely, completely support it,” said Georgeno, who developed the Century Theatre complex on Main Street in the mid-1990s and owns nearly the entire city block it sits on. “Ventura is a diamond. It’s got a great downtown now. But for it to take the next step, the district is essential.” For the full story visit www.venturacountystar.com/news/2008/aug/11/ventura-businesses-may-pool-resources/

Securities regulators have stepped up their investigation of mortgage giant Countrywide Financial Corp. and its former chief executive, Angelo R. Mozilo. Bank of America Corp., which acquired Calabasas-based Countrywide last month, said in a regulatory filing Thursday that the Securities and Exchange Commission was conducting a formal inquiry of the lender and that it had responded to subpoenas from the federal agency. The filing doesn’t say what the SEC is looking at, but people close to the probe say it represents an escalation of an informal investigation launched last year and is focused on whether Mozilo violated insider-trading law and whether Countrywide’s financial disclosures misled investors. For the full story visit www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-countrywide8-2008aug08,0,998095.story

OCEANSIDE , The California Coastal Commission postponed a decision late Wednesday on a proposed 45-megawatt peaker power plant at Mandalay Beach in Oxnard, following nearly three hours of testimony and debate. Several commissioners said they’d like to have additional information about its environmental impacts, and some said the beach is no place for the project. The commission will continue the discussion at its October meeting in Ventura For the full story visit www.venturacountystar.com/news/2008/aug/08/decision-on-peaker-power-plant-put-off/

Digital technology company DTS Inc. is on track to meet its forecast revenue for the year helped along with a positive second quarter. The Agoura Hills-based firm had net income of $5 million, or $0.27 per diluted share, on revenues of $12.8 million for the quarter ending June 30. For the same period a year ago, the company had a net loss of $658,000, or $0.04 per diluted share, on revenues of $12.9 million. For the six month period, DTS posted a net income of $6.3 million, or $0.35 per diluted share, on revenues of $28 million. For the same period in 2007, the company posted a net loss of $1.4 million, or $0.08 per diluted share, on revenues of $25.5 million. Given the economic environment, the company did well in the second quarter, said DTS President and CEO Jon Kirchner. “We believe we are well on track to achieve our full year expectations of $55 to $59 million dollars in revenue,” Kirchner said.

Los Angeles would create a new position to oversee the collection of unpaid bills in a motion brought Friday by City Councilmember Wendy Greuel. The “Collections Sheriff,” as the position is being called, will follow-up and enforce collections and write-offs. The motion asks that the City Administrative Officer, the Chief Legislative Analyst, the Controller and the Office of Finance evaluate creating the position and report back in 30 days. The issue of the city not collecting on unpaid bills was brought to the council by the Valley Industry & Commerce Association whose members have testified before the Audit and Government Efficiency Committee and the full council and has met with individual council members. Collecting even a small percentage of the unpaid bills would help reduce the city’s deficit and prevent cuts in staff and services, said Mel Kohn, chairman of VICA’s Audit Sub-Committee. In June 2007, City Controller released a report finding that the city had not collected on $502 million in bills through 2006. Some of the bills dated back more than five years, the report said.

The California Department of Motor Vehicles is eliminating its Saturday operating hours this month, another victim of the state budget battle. Ordinarily, 53 DMV offices are open one Saturday morning every month, which would have fallen on Aug. 16. But the DMV has been grappling with service cuts since Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger on July 31 ordered the layoff of thousands of part-time employees, limited overtime and imposed a hiring freeze. For the full story visit www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-dmv8-2008aug08,0,6947776.story

NEW YORK — The outlook for the back-to-school shopping season looked grim today, as retailers’ July sales reports showed an increasing shift toward buying necessities like food and household supplies at discounters and away from discretionary splurges on clothing. With the benefits of the government stimulus checks fading, the big worry is how much shoppers — squeezed by high gas and food prices — will retrench in the critical months ahead. As the nation’s retailers reported monthly sales, Wal-Mart Stores Inc. and Costco Wholesale Corp. posted solid gains. for the full story visit www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-retail8-2008aug08,0,842663.story

The Glendale Galleria has pumped up its tenant roster with two new apparel stores, a new beverage provider and a new restaurant. On July 18, Marc Ecko Cut & Sew opened its first California store. The collection offers contemporary menswear. Also debuting on the 18th was Sorabol Korean BBQ & Asian Noodles. This is the second Valley location for the San Francisco-based restaurant group. Later in the fall, scents from Peet’s Coffee & Tea will begin wafting through the food court. The forerunner of Starbucks founded in 1966 in Berkeley, Calif., Peet’s provided Starbucks with coffee beans during their early years. Juno New York Shoes will also open later this fall.

VEVEY, Switzerland (AP) _ Nestle SA, the worlds biggest food and drink company, reported 6.1 percent growth in first-half net profit Thursday despite rising transport and raw materials costs and slowing bottled water sales amid criticism from environmentalists. Nestle said it earned 5.21 billion Swiss francs ($4.93 billion) during the first six months of the year, an increase of 298 million francs ($282 million) on the same period in 2007. The results beat analysts’ expectations, but Nestle shares dipped 0.6 percent to 46.90 francs ($44.40) as the company announced it has already completed more than half of a 25 billion francs share buyback. For the full story visit www.latimes.com/business/nationworld/wire/ats-ap-earns-switzerland-nestleaug07,1,5361634.story