Wednesday morning headlines

FCC leaks: Companies and trade groups are being tipped off to confidential information about when regulators plan to vote on important issues, according to a report by the Government Accountability Office. Other parties - generally consumer and public-interest groups - don't get such favorable treatment. No specifics on the companies or groups that received the early info. There are already rules prohibiting such leaks, and several years back an FCC staff member was fired. (LAT).

More flight delays: Another one of those dog-bites-man stories: The nation's 20 largest carriers reported an on-time arrival rate of 71.1 percent in August, down from 75.8 percent a year ago. Through August, more than 25 percent of flights have arrived late - the industry's worst on-time performance since they started collecting this data. Aloha Airlines had the highest on-time arrival rate at 97 percent, followed by Hawaiian Holdings Inc.'s Hawaiian Airlines at 93.6 percent. Atlantic Southeast Airlines had the lowest on-time arrival rate at 55 percent. (AP)

CEO resigns: Alex Lidow, son of International Rectifier founder Eric Lidow, leaves amid an ongoing inquiry into accounting irregularities at the El Segundo-based semiconductor company. International Rectifier disclosed in regulatory filings in May that its financial statements dating back to September 2005 "should no longer be relied upon." Don Dancer will continue as the company's acting chief executive, a position he has held since Lidow was placed on leave. (LAT)

Complaints on insurance claims: Sen. Charles Grassley is asking 11 long-term care insurance companies to explain "troubling data" regarding how policyholders are paid - and about coverage being denied. Nationwide complaints about long-term care insurance rose 92 percent from 2001 to 2006. Grassley also asked the Government Accountability Office to examine how private equity ownership had affected the quality of care in nursing homes (subject of a NYT story a couple weeks back). In particular, Mr. Grassley asked the agency to examine how many nursing homes had been bought by private investment groups and how conditions had changed after those homes were acquired. (NYT)

Angels fans cut deals: Angel Stadium tickets for game three of the playoffs against Boston are going for as much as $1,500 on EBay and StubHub - and there apparently are takers (most first-round series tickets range from $15 to $125). As for Angels fans going to Fenway Park? "Most people that have tickets don't sell them," Billy Lyons, general manager of Boston Beer Works, told the LAT.

Angels officials, mindful that their fans have been prone to unload their tickets for profit, instituted a policy in 2006 that prohibits season-ticket holders from selling their tickets through the team's exchange program for more than five times face value, and limits the transactions per season to 30. The team got stricter this year, limited resales to three times face value. "We're trying to weed out people who are truly just speculating," said Robert Alvarado, the Angels' director of marketing and sales. "Before we put in the policy this year, some people were selling up to 80% to 90% of their games."

Tesco update: The British retailer plans to launch its long-awaited U.S. expansion on Nov. 8, with five convenience-type stores opening in L.A., OC and San Bernardino. Tesco already has a staff of 200 at its headquarters in El Segundo and a large distribution center. More than $500 million has been spent this year on the U.S. expansion (CEO Terry Leahy expects the new U.S. store chain to break even at the end of its second year of operation). (WSJ)

"Protect our house": The folks at Countrywide Financial - well, at least some of them - are wearing wristbans with that phrase, part of a morale-boosting effort inside the battered mortgage lender. Andrew "Drew" Gissinger III, executive managing director of residential lending, is in charge of the cheerleading effort. "It's gotten to the point where our integrity is being attacked. NOW IT'S PERSONAL!" says the transcript of a talk made last week by Gissinger. "... And, WE'RE NOT GOING TO TAKE IT!" (OK, but how do they feel about CEO Angelo "Too Tanned" Mozilo selling tens of millions of dollars of Countrywide stock this year?) From the WSJ:

Rick Simon, a Countrywide spokesman, said the transcript was sent to employees Friday. It says that employees are expected to sign a pledge to "demonstrate their commitment to our efforts," and Mr. Simon says about 11,000 have signed. Each employee who signs up receives the Protect Our House wristband made of green rubber. "We believe there's a great story about the strength of the business," says Mr. Simon.

DWP hikes approved: Under the plan, electric rates would increase 9 percent over three years and water rates would increase 6 percent over two years. DWP Commission President David Nahai said the rate hikes remain necessary to fix an aging electrical system. But opponents, most especially the Daily News, argue that the hikes wouldn't be necessary if the utility were better managed.

DWP officials have continued to defend the need for the hikes and said high demand and staffing shortages have left the DWP unable to keep up with replacing faulty and aging transformers, old poles and worn cable in a system mostly 40 years to 70 years old. In June, the DWP board adopted a $4 billion budget that includes a five-year, $1 billion upgrade program for the utility, along with the rate increase. "If these issues aren't addressed, reliability will go down," said acting DWP General Manager Robert Rozanski.

Soothing tensions?:Paramount will start reporting box office receipts for DreamWorks titles under the newly created DreamWorks-Paramount banner. Variety is suggesting that this could make DreamWorks more of an autonomous production company, which is what maestros Steven Spielberg and David Geffen have been wanting. But whether this is enough to prevent the Dream Team from bolting Viacom-owned Paramount is another matter.