Tuesday morning headlines

Lots of catching up to do. A combination platter of this morning's news, along with items from the three-day weekend.

Viacom shakeout: Tom Freston resigns as CEO of Viacom, the latest number two guy to Sumner Redstone to call it quits (and there have been many). In his place the company appointed Philippe Dauman, who has worked closely with Chairman Redstone over the years. This isn't a huge surprise: Freston was nowhere to be seen when Redstone dumped Tom Cruise last month. Viacom stock is also down. So is Viacom in play? That's the early scuttlebutt on Wall Street, considering that Dauman is viewed as more of a mergers and acquisitions guy than someone familiar with programming.

BMG auction: The WSJ reports that Warner Music Group Corp., Viacom Inc. and Universal Music Group are among those bidding for BMG Music Publishing. Viacom and Warner are teaming up with private equity groups, while Universal Music is going at it alone. Universal, by the way, is not part of the GE colossus but a unit of France's Vivendi Universal.

Working stiffs: Lots of Labor Day weekend stories about the plight of the American worker. Corporate profits may be strong, but workers have generally experienced stagnant wages and limited job growth, with inflation outpacing earnings, according to a report by the California Budget Project. Low-wage workers earned 0.9 percent less than in 2003, after adjusting for inflation. Here's the full report.

The NYT does a nice job exploring how Social Security numbers are being used by illegal immigrants to get a job - not to ransack somebody's savings. They estimate that eight to nine million earnings reports are filed by the IRS in which the name does not match the Social Security number.

Also in the NYT is a look at how entry-level wages often trail inflation, making it hard for folks recently out of college to pay off old student loans, much less consider buying a house. Outsourcing to other countries and a slowdown in tech are considered two big reasons why wages have not gone up more.

In the Daily News, Rick Orlov explores Maria Elena Durazo's low-key approach in trying to stabilize the L.A. County Federation of Labor. It's certainly been a rocky stretch: The death of longtime federation head (and Durazo's husband) Miguel Contreras, followed by the resignation of Contreras' successor, Martin Ludlow, after disclosure of a federal campaign violation probe. Durazo took over after that. A top priority for her is adding members in the service industry.

Hubris honors: Don't tell Allstate that insurance rates are too high in California. The insurer wants to raise premiums for homeowner coverage 12.2 percent. Just a couple of months ago, Insurance Commissioner John Garamendi ordered Allstate, State Farm, Farmers and Safeco to justify their current homeowner rates, noting that the four companies paid out claims of less than 50 cents per premium dollar. Never mind that - Allstate said it needed to charge more to cover the threat of natural catastrophes.

After the jump: Condos cooling, Antonio's secret plan and lots of movie stuff