Friday morning headlines

Will writers buy into directors deal?: Writers Guild President Patric Verrone isn't saying much ("We need to assess how this impacts our members,” he told Variety), and even the bloggers are sounding circumspect. "There are some genuine gains here, some issues that need clarification and some points of grave concern that threaten to drastically undercut writers' compensation," is the early assessment on United Hollywood. The agreement appears to provide more than what the writers were being offered but less than they were asking for (isn't that what they call a compromise?). For the WGA, it’s likely to come down to whether the DGA package includes enough new media sugar to appease the militants and allow everybody to claim victory and go back to work. (Variety)

Stimulus plans hatched: You can move things along in Washington - just stamp CRISIS on the front of the file. The White House is looking at a tax rebate (as much as $800 for individual taxpayers) and investment credits for businesses. Democrats, who are working on their own plan, also want lengthened unemployment benefits and expanded food stamps. From the WSJ:

The political momentum behind a stimulus package has been fueled in part by worried lawmakers, who got an earful about the economy from their constituents over the holiday break. That's helped to create an unusually bipartisan climate in Washington, which was plagued by inaction and political bickering for most of last year. Neither Democrats nor Republicans want to be seen standing in the way of compromise on economy-boosting measures for fear of incurring the wrath of voters worried by falling home prices, rising unemployment and high prices for gasoline, heating oil and health care.

Pump prices fall: Lower oil and wholesale gasoline prices appear to be the explanations, along with refineries having to sell off inventory in order to make room for February's switchover to a new fuel blend. The latest Auto Club survey shows that the average price of regular gasoline in the Los Angeles-Long Beach area is $3.266, which is 6.7 cents lower than last week, half a cent more than last month, and 69 cents above last year.

Amgen under investigation: New Jersey's Attorney General wants to know if the Thousand Oaks-based biotech giant violated patient confidentiality laws in its effort to sell the drug Enbrel. Two former Amgen sales reps said they had been pressured to gain access to patient data to find people with psoriasis who might be candidates for treatment with Enbrel. The two former employees say they lost their jobs because they did not engage in the practices. The company says the accusations were “completely without merit.” (NYT)

Countrywide bonuses: Retention awards have been approved for a handful of top executives, including president and COO David Sambol and CFO Eric Sieracki. The executives must stay on through at least March 15. No mention in the SEC filing of CEO Angelo Mozilo, though under his employment agreement he'll be walking away with tens of millions of dollars in retirement pay and stock holdings. (AP)

Arnold admits mistakes: The governor regrets a number of his early policy positions and acknowledges that he's been naive at times about what can and cannot be accomplished in Sacramento. In an interview with the LAT, he explained his support of a ballot initiative that loosens up term limits.

"I despised the idea of these guys being so locked in and safe and all this in their positions, and staying up in Sacramento doing deals. . . ." Now, he said, his view of term limits has changed. "I have been there for four years, and I say, 'Oh my God, this is a disaster.' "The special interests and lobbyists up there are so much more sophisticated and so much more advanced than the politicians are," the governor said. "So who is it really helping? I am seeing this firsthand. The people I finally got used to working with now will be kicked out."

U-Haul settles class action: The equipment rental giant had been accused of deceiving California customers through its reservations policy. The settlement requires U-Haul to pay customers $50 if the company fails to honor a guaranteed reservation. In the 2006 ruling, Santa Cruz Superior Court Judge Samuel S. Stevens actually barred U-Haul agents from promising "confirmed reservations" for one-way equipment rentals in California. The new deal removes that injunction. From the LAT:

Under the company policy, customers were to be told their reservation was "confirmed" and that they would be called the day before their move with instructions on where and when to pick up their equipment. According to the suit, many customers were forced to wait hours or days and travel long distances for the pickup. In his ruling, Stevens said U-Haul had used "the words 'confirmed reservation' in order to lock up customers as soon as possible and minimize the chances that customers are going to shop around."

Movie group moves to Warner space: The Motion Picture Association of America, the industry trade group representing six major Hollywood studios, is sub-leasing a 100,000-square-foot space in Encino from Warner Bros. Entertainment. Its old offices were just a few blocks away. (LAT)

Jon Peters selling properties: The hairdresser turned movie producer is asking $39.5 million for four adjoining Bev Hills parcels he bought in 1996 but never fully developed. Peters did spend 10 years engineering, landscaping and planning for the 6.25-acre hilltop parcel. Views of the city and ocean - well, you can imagine. (WSJ)