LONGTIME L.A. TV RETAILER CALLING IT QUITS

Suggesting that the economy in general and the consumer-electronics business in particular are not making the recovery that some pundits have claimed, a 62-year-old California retail chain that has specialized in low-priced big-screen TV sets is calling it quits. Ken Crane’s, which had already shut down six of its 10 stores in January, said on Sunday that it will begin liquidation sales at its other locations and cease operations within 60 days. In a statement, the company said that it had been “powerfully affected” by the slowed economy, which had resulted in a drop in sales volume even as loan money dried up. “In the past, we have been able to weather these kinds of economic storms because people tend to stay home more, tap into their home equity, upgrade their home entertainment systems, and wait for conditions to improve,” company president Casey Crane said in the statement. “Unfortunately, the combination of home foreclosures, tight lending policies and high unemployment combined to create the biggest recession in our company’s history.”