Tuesday morning headlines

Stock watch: It's a good day to keep an eye on the market. The big question is whether yesterday's 160-point loss was just a pause for profit-taking or something more serious. This morning, stocks opened down a bit and now they're up a bit - perhaps due to a report showing that U.S. sales for existing homes rose slightly in October, the first increase since February. L.A. sales were still down a lot in October.

WGA is warned: It's still almost a year before the Writers Guild contract with the studios and networks expires, but already there's been tough talk from both sides. Nick Counter, the lead negotiator for the Alliance of Motion Picture & Television Producers, said that the WGA's refusal to jump-start negotiations in January could lead to a de-facto strike. That's because studios might defer on greenlighting projects. The writers will probably want to extend the contract into 2008, which is when the SAG contract expires. Lots of luck.

Tribune talk: A Baltimore investment group looking to buy the Sun was told that Chicago-based Tribune is not ready to consider bids for individual properties. The investment group wanted to look at the Sun's financials. Tribune is apparently still talking to parties interested in the entire company (with the likelihood that a new owner would sell off a bunch of stuff).

"Living Wage" bill signed: Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa said he hopes business leaders will reconsider their plan to challenge the law, which forces LAX-area hotels to pay their workers a minimum of $9.39 an hour with health insurance or $10.64 an hour without benefits. The mayor also said there is no plan to impose the city's living-wage law on other businesses. From the DN:

Brendan Huffman, director of the Valley Industry and Commerce Association, said his group and similar organizations are concerned about the precedent. "What we're opposed to is local government telling private industry what it should be doing," Huffman said. "We think this is something that local government should not be involved in." Huffman also said a referendum is probably the quickest way for the hotel owners to challenge the measure.

Hollywood ho-hum: What if they gave a parade and only Regis Philbin showed up? This year's Hollywood Christmas Parade wasn't quite that bad (Michael Bolton and George Lopez were there too), but the LAT reports that the parade ain't what it used to be - in attendance or in big-name stars. It could be that getting to Hollywood is just too much of a hassle for those not living nearby and for those living nearby it's too much of a drag. From the LAT:

There was even confusion over how many turned out to watch. An initial LAPD estimate Sunday night placed the number at 15,000. The Hollywood Chamber of Commerce, which produces the parade, quickly disputed that, agreeing with some parade-goers that the number was laughably low. Monday afternoon, police recalculated — but admitted they couldn't really give a firm count. "Several hundred thousand is our estimate. We discussed it. It's so subjective," said Capt. Clay Farrell of the Hollywood Station.

Warfare on planes: It's between those inconsiderate jerks who recline their seats and the innocent passengers sitting behind them. I've always wondered why the airlines just put an end to all reclining so that everybody gets the same amount of legroom (the airlines are not hurting for business after all). In his weekly Middle Seat column, the WSJ's Scott McCartney reports that Southwest is reducing the maximum recline in many of its seats.

Southwest found that its seats had varying degrees of maximum recline, from two inches of movement at the top of the seat to 4.5 inches. The airline decided to standardize recline at three inches, adjusting seats as planes go in for major maintenance work. "It was impossible for a customer to use a laptop behind someone who had reclined fully in a seat that allowed four or 4.5 inches of recline," said Linda Rutherford, a Southwest spokeswoman. The airline determined that a three-inch recline provided "maximum comfort and usability," she says.

[CUT]

Like window-seat lovers and aisle-seat devotees, travelers are split into two philosophical seat-recline camps -- recliners who believe they are entitled to a little more comfort (and perhaps sleep) versus upright travelers who prefer to use their tray tables for reading or working. Battles over cabin space can get nasty, from annoying kicking of the reclined seat to heated arguments. Many tall travelers admit to trying to send a message through a seatback by repeatedly bumping and kneeing the reclining passenger in front, or holding a newspaper up high so it brushes the head of the recliner.

Lacter on radio: This morning's business chat with Steve Julian on KPCC (6:55 and 9:55) covers the stock market decline and what it might mean for the economy, the jump in port traffic and increased attendance at the movies.