Thursday morning headlines

Stocks still higher: After 90 minutes of trading, the Dow was up 200 points. But the credit markets are still stuck.

WaMu seeking buyer: The struggling thrift has approached private-equity firms Carlyle Group and Blackstone Group about some sort of sale, according to the WSJ. Included in the investor mix would be Texas billionaire Gerald J. Ford (he made a fortune when California's Golden State Bancorp was sold to Citigroup). The Journal says that the list of potential bank buyers has thinned in the past few days.

Sinking Valley prices: The August median home price in the SFV was $420,000, down from $650,000 a year earlier. "It's stunning," said Daniel Blake, director of Cal State Northridge's San Fernando Economic Research Center. If you're looking for good news, the median price was only $160,000 - in January 1996.(Daily News)

Countrywide hangover: The disgraced mortgage lender now owned by Bank of America made a $960,000 home loan to Jamie Gorelick, a former vice chairman at Fannie Mae and influential Democratic Party figure. The refinancing in 2003 was handled through a program reserved for friends of Countrywide's CEO at the time, Angelo Mozilo. Another Countrywide client: recently ousted Fannie Mae CEO Daniel Mudd, though it isn't clear whether he received special treatment. From the WSJ:

The Fannie loans -- including a series of already reported preferential loans to former Fannie chief executives James Johnson and Franklin Raines -- underscore the close connections between Countrywide and Fannie Mae and raise potential conflict-of-interest issues. Countrywide loans on preferential terms to influential figures are the subject of a federal grand jury investigation in Los Angeles, according to people involved in the inquiry. Prosecutors subpoenaed records of many of the so-called "Friends of Angelo" loans in August, lawyers and others familiar with the matter said.

Hollywood East: Otherwise known as NYC, where recently instituted tax discounts have lured a number of prime time shows to the city. Most prominent among the transplants is ABC's "Ugly Betty." All told, 19 shows are expected to be produced in NY this season, up from 12 last year. The city-based shoots contributed $957 million in spending between April 23 and Sept. 23, an increase from $452 million during the same period last year. (NYT)

Relativity, Universal reup: The four-year extension means that Ryan Kavanaugh's Relativity Media will help fund 10-15 films per year with a total deal value likely to approach $3 billion. Relativity gets to pick which movies it will back, but Universal gets to withhold a number of movies from the partnership. From THR:

Relativity has also been involved in several other slate fundings, including two big deals with Sony. Although its studio partners have been lavish in their praise of the fundings, some in the more traditional finance community have sniped that such deals yielded disappointing returns for the hedge-fund investors who ultimately backed them. Yet hedge fund and Relativity backer Elliott Associates must be happy enough: Elliott announced Monday it was providing Relativity with an unspecified additional cash infusion.

Oxy deal: L.A.-based Occidental Petroleum is buying out an exploration company's stake in two jointly operated Midwest oil and gas fields for $1.25 billion. Oxy currently owns 50 percent of the properties, which are located in Texas and New Mexico, and Colorado. (AP)

Court rejects truckers' appeal: The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals denied a motion by the American Trucking Association to block a clean trucks program for the ports of L.A. and Long Beach that's supposed to take effect next Wednesday. The ATA can still go to the Federal Maritime Commission, but that agency has so far refused to block implementation of the plan. From the Press-Telegram:

The ruling comes just as port authorities prepare to begin implementation of the truck ban, which begins Oct. 1, when all pre-1989 diesel rigs are barred from entering waterfront marine terminals. The ban continues incrementally through Jan. 1, 2012, when only trucks meeting federal 2007 emission standards will be granted access. Port and state authorities are offering subsidies of up to 80 percent to help companies buy new trucks, and the ports will begin collecting a $35 container fee in coming weeks to help fund additional trucks.

Vertical mall: Developer Jerry Snyder plans to put up a seven-story shopping center near the Red Line station at Wilshire Boulevard and Vermont Avenue. The 300,000-square-foot mall would have perhaps 100 stores and a movie complex. Snyder gets to peddle his idea on the front-page of the LAT biz section.

Already, Snyder has won the conditional support of Herb Wesson, the neighborhood's city councilman. The city's top urban planner, Gail Goldberg, said L.A. was ready for a vertical mall. Snyder and his architect, Boston-based Howard Elkus, say they hope to create a city landmark on par with the former Bullocks Wilshire department store or the Wiltern Theater -- a new architectural attraction near those classics that would attract tourists as well as local shoppers.