Monday morning headlines

J.P. Morgan ups bid: The new offer for Bear Stearns is $10 a share, up sharply from the original $2-a-share bid. It’s seen as a way of placating angry Bear shareholders who would be nearly wiped out by the initial bid. Not that ten bucks is any great shakes for a stock that had been trading in the 60s just 10 days ago. From the NYT:

In an unusual move, Bear’s board was seeking to authorize the sale of 39.5 percent of the firm to JPMorgan in an effort to move closer to majority shareholder approval. Under state law in Delaware, where the companies are incorporated, a company can sell up to 40 percent without shareholder approval.

Market way up: The revised Bear Stearns bid, along with a better-than-expected increase in U.S. home sales, appear to be factors.

Bear cuts in L.A.: If the deal does go through, expect a smaller local presence for the investment bank. J.P. Morgan has roughly 350 employees in L.A. and Bear Stearns has about 275 (many of them involved in the mortgage-backed securities business). That's probably a bunch more than what the merged company needs. Most of the cuts are expected to be on the Bear Stearns side. From the L.A. Business Journal:

Both companies have regional offices in Century City, with J.P. Morgan also having operations in downtown Los Angeles. According to a Business Journal industry list published last month, Bear Stearns has the 12th largest securities brokerage operation locally, including 76 registered securities brokers, 25 investment bankers and an undisclosed number of back office staff. Similar breakdowns of local J.P. Morgan employees were not available, though a company spokesman said investment banking was its primary local focus. Bear Stearns’ profitable prime brokerage unit, which provides loans and processes trades for hedge funds and has Los Angeles operations, is among the assets that J.P. Morgan is likely to hang on to after the merger.

Good news for Tiffany: The luxury retailer, often considered a bellwether for high-end consumer spending, posted a better-than-expected quarterly profit. Increased sales overseas and at new stores were the explanations.(AP)

Still spending in Malibu: Beachfront houses are on the rental market for as much as $150,000 a month, and they're expected to be snapped up by mid-April. It turns out that the troubled housing market is not nearly so troubled if you can afford to spend that kind of money. From the LAT:

A big chunk of the summer crowd is from the entertainment industry, and hobnobbing never comes cheap. Plenty of deals are made at the beach -- and if you aren't there, someone else will be. And of course, there's also the opportunity to bump into Pamela Anderson buying organic carrot juice at Ralphs or to sip a latte next to Pierce Brosnan at Starbucks. Finally, corporate money is pumping up Malibu prices as large publicity firms and companies with products to sell use summer rentals to host celebrity-studded bashes -- chock-full of product placements that wind up in photos in magazines and online.

Cashing in: Ex- Countrywide President Stanford Kurland and some former colleagues are announcing the launch of an investment firm that will specialize in distressed mortgages. That's right, the same guys who made a fortune helping to build up mortgage-lending are now looking for make another fortune on the remains. The new firm, Private National Mortgage Acceptance Company LLC, or PennyMac, will be in Calabasas, home of Countrywide. From the WSJ:

PennyMac seeks to raise more than $2 billion to buy distressed mortgages on the cheap, work with borrowers to restructure them, and then resell them as performing mortgages at a profit. A number of bottom-fishers are already wading into the mortgage market, but PennyMac is taking a different approach from most. Rather than buying slices of mortgage-backed securities, which are claims to pools of mortgages, PennyMac plans to buy whole mortgage loans -- the old-fashioned mortgages that banks routinely owned before the mortgage-securitization business came along.

Univision scores in ratings: The Spanish-language media giant is almost tied with CBS in the 18-to-34 category (L.A.-based Univision didn't have to fill holes during the writers strike since its programming slate is made up largely of Mexican imports). In total viewers, ABC, CBS, NBC and Fox are still ahead by a long shot and some analysts say that this season is anomalous because of the WGA walkout. (NY Post)

MySpace plan gains ground: The social networking site is nearing deals with Sony BMG and Warner Music Group as part of a digital-music venture. No money is expected to change hands. Instead, the labels are trading content rights in exchange for minority equity stakes in MySpace Music, which is part of News Corp. (NY Post)

WSJ makeover: The long-rumored changes to the paper's Marketplace section appear to be under way. Look for fewer business features on the first page and no columnists - except for tech-guru Walter Mossberg. Instead, the section’s front page will have more hard news biz stories. (NYT)

Slaughterhouse sentence: The worker caught on video dragging sick cows and shocking them will get six months after pleading guilty to three misdemeanor counts. Under the plea deal, Rafael Sanchez Herrera will be deported to his native Mexico after serving jail time. Herrera's former supervisor, Daniel Ugarte Navarro, pleaded not guilty to five felony counts and three misdemeanor counts of animal abuse. (AP)