Thursday morning headlines

Mattel wants $2 billion: That's what the toy company believes MGA Entertainment should forfeit for building the Bratz empire on drawings and models made by a Mattel employee. A jury in Riverside will begin deliberations today in the penalty phase of the trial. "If you compete the right way you get to keep the profits; if you compete the wrong way, you have to give up your profits," said Mattel lawyer John Quinn. MGA attorney Raul Kennedy said that Mattel just wants to wipe "a competitor off the face of the Earth." (Reuters)

New day for Ticketmaster: The West Hollywood-based ticket service becomes an independent company starting today, no longer tied to the Barry Diller-operated IAC/Interactive. The move is part of Diller's plan to spin off various IAC entities, but it comes at a challenging time for Ticketmaster. It is about to lose its biggest customer, concert promoter Live Nation, which wants to sell its own tickets. Live Nation accounted for 17 percent of Ticketmaster's 2007 revenue. (LAT)

Oil jumps: What happened to $80-a-barrel crude? Oil is now trading at over $119, up more than $4 on the day. Explanations include "geopolitical factors," which means the troubles in Georgia, and a drop in U.S. gasoline inventories. Stocks are taking a hit on the rising oil. (Reuters/CNBC)

Strike at LAX?: Members of the service workers union voted overwhelmingly Wednesday night to give its leaders the authority to call for a strike, just a couple of weeks before Labor Day weekend. Airport Workers United, part of SEIU Local 1877, is made up of janitors, wheelchair attendants, baggage handlers and other service workers. They’re demanding pay hikes, more health benefits and better job training. From the Daily Breeze:

The union launched labor negotiations in July with nine private firms charged with hiring airport service workers, who earn an average of $10.50 per hour. The union's labor contracts with eight employers, ranging in length from three to five years, have progressively expired since last month. One last contract is set to expire at the end of this month.

Union leader steps aside: That would be Tyrone Freeman, president of a Service Employees International Union chapter in Los Angeles that paid hundreds of thousands of dollars to firms owned by his wife and mother-in-law. In addition, the United Long-Term Care Workers spent nearly $300,000 last year on a Four Seasons Resort golf tournament, meals at Morton's, a Beverly Hills cigar club, etc. etc. The LAT reported on all this earlier this month.

Altogether, the payments to Freeman and the home-based companies operated by his relatives, and to a former union employee totaled more than $1 million in 2006 and 2007, records and interviews show. That includes Freeman's salary and other union compensation. The workers whose dues fill the union's coffers make about $9 an hour caring for the infirm and disabled.

Steve & Barry's lives: An investment firm has bought the hip and happening clothing chain in a bankruptcy auction for $168 million. Under terms of the deal, most of the 276 stores nationwide will remain open. There is still a lot to sort out, including outstanding rents and fees to landlords, many of them in shopping malls. Socal has seven Steve & Barry's stores, according to the company Web site. (Reuters)

American Apparel in China: After months of delays, L.A.'s unconventional retailer will be opening its first store this weekend in Beijing's World Trade Center. Four more stores are expected to open this year. This is a bit of a "man bites dog" situation because AA makes its clothes in L.A. and ships them to China, which is still the world's largest apparel producer. (WWD)