Tuesday morning headlines

Housing jitters: Homebuilder Lennar Corp., which has a big Socal presence, this morning reported a 73 percent drop in first-quarter profit and its CEO said he couldn't forecast when the market might stabilize. This was pretty much the same report offered last week by L.A.-based KB Home, which reported an 84 percent drop in earnings. Especially disturbing was that Lennar's new orders fell 27 percent - more than many on Wall Street had expected. The earnings news hasn't helped the market, which opened down this morning.

Martha will make it better: KB just announced that it will team up with Martha Stewart Living Omnimedia for another one of those Martha Stewart housing developments - this one in Lancaster. Inspired by Stewart’s personal homes in Maine and New York (the key word here is "inspired"), the 97 homes range from 1,875 to 2,968 square feet. Prices are anticipated to start in the low $300s. The collaboration with Stewart, which goes back to the Bruce Karatz days, has apparently been a good thing for KB, which has eight other developments nationwide that are based on Martha Stewart's properties.

CA foreclosures up: Percentage-wise, by quite a bit - 79 percent year-over-year and 4 percent from January. Still, the 16,273 foreclosure filings are just a fraction of the 8.2 million homes in California. Most of the foreclosure activity has been in the early stages. Meanwhile, a new poll for for the financial Web site Bankrate.com finds that 34 percent of homeowners didn't know what kind of mortgage they had and 28 percent worry how they will afford their payments. Wowser - no wonder subprime mortgage lenders did so well. Daily News

Home Depot Center expands?: Only if L.A. gets the 2016 Summer Olympics. The expansion would include a new hotel, conference center and training facility. Some of those additions already have been approved by the Cal State Board of Trustees, but Anschutz Entertainment Group, which runs Home Depot, hasn't decided whether to go forward. The U.S. Olympic Committee will choose between Chicago and L.A. on April 14. Tokyo, Rome, Rio de Janeiro and several other international cities are preparing bids of their own. The International Olympic Committee will make the final decision in October 2009. Daily Breeze

Price checks: Gas prices are up a touch in the L.A. area, according to a government survey. For the week ended March 26, the average price of a gallon of self-serve regular was $3.13, from $3.11 a week earlier. On Feb. 19, gas was $2.67 a gallon. While we're on the subject of higher prices, air fares were up an average 7.2 percent for domestic flights last year and 5.8 percent for international flights. From Dow Jones:

In 2006, the average price for a domestic ticket was $231, less than the $259 average ticket price in 2000. In the past few years, discount airlines, such as Southwest Airlines Co. and JetBlue Airways Group Inc., have gained a significant share of the business travel market, forcing traditional large airlines to lower their fares. During 2006, average domestic fares fell from a high of $247 in the second quarter to $216 in the fourth quarter, as companies paid less for their employees' flights.

We're talking gentrification: How else would you describe the departure of Crown City Loan and Jewelry, a Pasadena pawn shop, and the arrival of Tiffany & Co.? The Pasadena Star-News talks to Crown City owner Doug Robinson, who feels sad about moving to Arroyo Parkway from the corner of Raymond Avenue and Colorado Boulevard. But not that sad - Robinson owns the Greene and Greene building and plans to renovate the property (and no doubt bring in a high-class tenant).

Richard Bruckner, the city's director of development, said Old Pasadena has "retained its authentic and real qualities" even with the exit of small local businesses and the proliferation of trendy, upscale chain stores. "Much of retail has made the transition, and that reflects the rent structure, which has increased significantly ... and makes it harder for local businesses to compete," Bruckner said. "But many restaurants are locally owned and operated."

Lacter on radio: This morning's business chat with KPCC's Steve Julian covers the prospects of a supermarket strike, the reappaearance of Broad and Burkle in the Tribune Co. auction, and complaints about production companies filming downtown.