Monday morning headlines

Stronger economy, but...: The latest WSJ survey of forecasters has gross domestic product growing at an annualized rate of 2.6 percent during the second half of the year and 2.9 percent in 2008. That's decent, if unspectacular, growth (GDP was 3.3 percent in 2006) – and with that growth comes renewed concerns about inflation, which could lead to higher interest rates. One in five forecasters saw a resurgence of inflation as the greatest risk facing the economy - more than twice the proportion from six months ago. And economists are paying more attention to food inflation, which has become more pernicious than the benign core inflation numbers that knock out the volatile food and energy costs.

Greenspan getting ink: His offer for Dow Jones will almost certainly be turned down, but L.A.-based Brad Greenspan, former CEO of the onetime parent company of MySpace, is making his presence know - as usual. And the investment bankers representing the Bancroft family are taking Greenspan seriously enough to have a meeting with him. He's leading an investment group (although he won’t divulge his backers) that wants to buy 25 percent of Dow Jones for $60 a share - a proposal that Greenspan says would guarantee editorial independence for the WSJ. (NYT)

iPhone sales: So maybe you decided to wait until the weekend rush was over to get an iPhone. Well, forget about it - at least as of this morning. Only two Apple stores in California still has the phone in stock, according to the company's Web site (nothing in Socal). Besides availability, a big problem seems to be connectivity. Some purchasers have had trouble getting onto the AT&T cellular network (rather than activate the phones in the store, buyers are required to activate them through the Internet). From the NYT:

Glenn S. Tenney, a computer industry consultant in San Mateo, Calif., said that he had spent more than three hours on the phone on Saturday, mostly on hold, only to be told that AT&T requires that he switch his account to a more expensive plan designed for the iPhone. He said his phone had still not been activated and that he was planning to insist that AT&T honor his existing account. “If they wanted to have exceptions to what they advertised, they should have said so,” he said. "It seems like false and misleading advertising, or bait and switch — I’m not sure which."

Malpractice disclosure: A task force of the State Bar of California is proposing that lawyers be required to tell their clients whether they carry malpractice insurance (about 20 percent of the state's 150,000 lawyers don't, many of them sole practitioners). Opponents say the the requirement could force all lawyers to buy such insurance and pass on the costs to clients. Legal malpractice cases worth $2 million or more jumped 60 percent between 1996 and 2003. Most legal malpractice claims result from personal injury and real estate cases, according to the study, and close to 70 percent of these suits were lodged against small firms. The proposed rule would have to be approved by the State Bar's Board of Governors and the California Supreme Court. (LAT)

Port progress: Contract talks keep going between shippers and the office clerical unit of the International Longshore and Warehouse Union. The local gave its unanimous approval Friday night for a strike if negotiations were not settled by midnight Saturday, when the old three-year contract officially expired. But both sides agreed to stay at the table, as long as they made progress. The local has around 1,000 office clerks who handle documentation and paperwork for the shipping containers moving into and out of the ports (they're separate from the ILWU's marine clerks who supervise the loading and unloading of cargo). (LAT)

Quiksilver troubles: The Huntington Beach-based company, known mostly for its skate and surf wear lines, really messed up with its 2005 purchase of Rossignol, which makes snowboards and skis. Some analysts considered it an unlikely fit at the time, and then came last winter’s record-low snowfalls in North America and Europe. Not exactly great for sales. Last month, Quiksilver posted its first quarterly loss since 1992. Now there's talk about the company dumping Rossignol, even if it's at a loss. From the WSJ's Heard on the Street:

Quiksilver itself has hinted that it may be looking for a pathway off the slopes. During a conference call last month, Quiksilver Chief Executive Robert McKnight Jr. indicated that he is now considering "all the strategic possibilities" for its flagging brand. "We're looking at every possible alternative concerning the hard goods," he said. "Everything is on the table." Regardless, Quiksilver already has made other moves meant to curtail the damage. It has set in motion significant production cuts for Rossignol, and, even before the difficult winter, it had begun steps to close a major factory in Europe, a move set to be finished this summer. Mr. McKnight also has trimmed Rossignol's presence on the Continent significantly, bringing its offices down to just three from 17.

Gore's special delivery: It turns out that the former vice president managed to snare an advance copy of "The Sopranos," which was even tougher to come by in the days before airing and an iPhone was last week. As reported by the NYT, Gore had to be on a plane on the night of the final episode, so he asked Paramount Chairman Brad Grey for a favor. Grey had a steel case containing a copy of the episode delivered to the tarmac where Gore’s plane sat in Chicago. Gore could not open it until the plane was in the air, when he was instructed to call Grey’s office for the numeric code.