Thursday morning headlines

Settling down: This is shaping up to be a very volatile day on Wall Street. The Dow opened down 200 points, then recovered much of that loss and now is drifting down again. At last check, the index was off about 50 points, but this thing is moving all over the place. As they used to say in old-time radio, "Please stand by...." AP

Local angle: This might quickly change given the last few days, but Cal State Fullerton's latest index of leading economic indicators shows that Socal growth will strengthen in the next three to six months. A strong job market and continued consumer confidence will help offset weakness in home building, according to the report. Unfortunately, one of the seven components used in the index is the S&P 500 stock index, which has taken a 4 percent or so hit this week. LAT Meanwhile, a report by the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp. is playing up the region's "creative economy" - arts-based industries that include entertainment, auto design, digital media and the performing and visual arts. This creative economy accounted for about 1 million jobs, generating $140 billion in sales in Los Angeles and Orange counties. LAT

Downloading miscreants: The record industry's main trade group is mailing letters to 20 USC students who supposedly have been bootlegging songs on the Internet. If the students don't stop bootlegging, the letters warn, they'll be sued. A total of 400 warning letters have been sent to students at 13 universities. The settlements would require the person to agree not to illegally download music and pay some sort of settlement fee. There's been an increase in the number of files being exchanged on Internet file-sharing networks - many of them originating at colleges. LAT

Amgen troubles: Shares of the Thousand Oak-based biotech company were down around 3 percent this morning - some of that due to the sour market and some of it due to yesterday's disclosure that the SEC is looking into a study involving Amgen's popular Aranesp anemia drug. There already have been concerns over a recent study that linked Aranesp to an increased death risk in anemic cancer patients. Questions have also been raised about whether another big Amgen drug, Epogen, contributed to cardiovascular problems in kidney disease patients. From AP:

Merrill Lynch analyst Eric Ende said Aranesp use could fall sharply, by nearly a third through 2010, if an upcoming trial confirms Aranesp's connection to deaths in small cell lung cancer patients. "Based on conversations with doctors, we believe Aranesp use is already declining due to safety concerns," he said. "Doctors have shifted their risk/benefit assessment from giving the drug freely because it is safe, effective and provides profits for the doctor to wondering about the drug's safety and being concerned about potential medical liability."

The SKG effect: Sumner Redstone must be beaming this morning. Viacom Inc.'s fourth-quarter net income nearly quadrupled, in part because of last year's acquisition of DreamWorks. The company's film business, which includes Paramount and its new DreamWorks unit, made $86.3 million in the quarter, compared with a $39.6 million loss the year before. FT

Spinach protection: Bureaucrats and farmers remain split on how best to protect the public from E.coli and other nasty bacteria. Growers have proposed to set their own voluntary standards on the shipping and handling of leafy greens, but some legislators question whether a voluntary compliance program will do much good. Both sides will meet privately today to try and reach a compromise. Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger doesn't favor solving the problem through government regulation. Contra Costa Times

Nightly news wars: Lots of coverage about the expected firing of John Reiss, executive producer of NBC's "Nightly News with Brian Williams." The network said that a change had been in the works for weeks, but the scuttlebutt is that NBC was freaking out over steadily higher ratings over at ABC (CBS and Katie Couric continue to trail badly). The news was first reported by Radar magazine earlier in the week. LAT

Lattes at McDonald's?: And cappuccinos, too. The fast food giant is installing large black machines that dispense vanilla lattes, iced mochas, caramel cappuccinos and other specialty coffee drinks. It's not known whether the plan is to sell espresso drinks at all locations, but they're already being offered in some parts of the country. From the WSJ, which had the story this morning:

The move promises to create a major new competitor in the industry pioneered by Starbucks. The Seattle-based coffee chain transformed espresso from a niche Italian drink into a popular American ritual by offering it in an appealing atmosphere and sweetening it with flavorings and whipped cream. Last month, Starbucks Chairman Howard Schultz warned in a memo to executives that fast-food chains and other competitors were poaching Starbucks's customers. McDonald's offering would make espresso drinks cheaper and available to a broader swath of the population at its more than 13,700 locations across the country. At stores where it is already serving the drinks, McDonald's has priced most of them between $2 and $3. By comparison, many of Starbucks's espresso-and-milk drinks sell for more than $3.

Container bill returns: State Sen. Alan Lowenthal has introduced a revised version of his $30 container fee bill that would provide infrastructure improvement and clean-air programs. As with his previous efforts, the new legislation is opposed by retailers and ocean carriers, who say it would divert cargo to other ports and drive up prices on consumer goods. A similar bill was vetoed last year by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Press-Telegram