Tuesday morning headlines

Oil is over $129: That's another record. The president of OPEC was quoted as saying that his organization won't increase output before the next meeting in September. So much for the summer driving season. (AP)

Tough times: Home Depot posted a 66 percent drop in quarterly profit, which is what you would expect in the middle of a housing slowdown. Also taking a hit was Target, which just reported an 8 percent drop in quarterly earnings.

Mattel settles: The El Segundo toy maker has cut a deal with ex-employee Carter Bryant, who is alleged to have created the big-headed, pouty-lipped Bratz dolls while working at Mattel as a Barbie designer. No terms were disclosed. Mattel's case against MGA Entertainment, which makes the Bratz collection, will proceed in Riverside. Jury selection gets started today. (Reuters)

Two views on home prices: The WSJ correctly points out that some U.S. cities, including L.A., are doing relatively well amid the housing downturn. This is especially true on the Westside, which "tends to be more insulated because this is where people with money want to be," Madison Offenhauser, regional director in Los Angeles for Keller Williams Realty, tells the paper. But the LAT reports that it's only a matter of time before the high-end feels the price declines as well. The problem with the Times piece is that it doesn't seem to differentiate between the $800,000-$1.2-million, which comprise a large portion of the Westside stock and whose prices are holding up, and the super-luxury class ($5 million and up), which has been sliding for some time.

Maguire speaks: He tells the WSJ that he chose to step down as chairman and CEO of Maguire Properties in order to try to take the company private.

Maguire Properties, one of the largest office-building owners in Southern California, has been under siege for months from hedge funds that purchased a large stake in the company. They have been pressing for a sale because they felt Maguire was undervalued compared with the value of its properties. During this time Mr. Maguire, 73 years old, tried twice to buy the company himself but fell short, the first time because of disarray in the credit markets and the second time because the board no longer was interested in entertaining a sale. "Clearly the board by that time wanted to keep it public," he said. "I either had to mount a proxy fight or go along with the majority of the opinion." Mr. Maguire said he rejected both options, leaving him little choice but to step down.

Mouse House revolt: You may not be aware of this, but in conjunction with the 50th anniversary of Disneyland, a virtual version of the theme park went online. Users created avatars and explored places like Tomorrowland and Main Street. On Wednesday night, however, Disney plans to shut down the free site and that has users in a panic. From the WSJ:

Some of them are throwing themselves in front of Disney's virtual wrecking ball. One slick Web site created to help save [Virtual Magic Kingdom] has gathered nearly 20,000 signatures on its online petition, while blogs maintained by the Disney faithful continue to decry the company's move. A real-life protest to sway the Burbank, Calif., entertainment company's thinking largely fizzled, though. Only about a dozen die-hard fans picketed outside Disneyland's main gates on May 10, carrying placards and a banner riffing Disney's "Year of a Million Dreams" campaign that read, "Year of a Million Broken Dreams."

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The situation shows how sticky things can get when free, nonrevenue-generating gimmicks blossom into hits. In 2006, Disney boasted that one million avatars had been created inside VMK, though the company declines to say how many users the site actually has (individuals can create multiple characters). The site, which operates from 7 a.m. until 10 p.m. Pacific time, still boasts a few thousand daily users.

Lacter on radio: This morning's business chat with KPCC's Steve Julian looks at the business folks brought into the Pellicano trial and the latest ranking of L.A. richest residents. Available at kpcc.org and on podcast. I also had a snippet yesterday on Marketplace.