Wednesday morning headlines

Little help for consumers: Gas prices have plunged nearly 75 cents a gallon since the middle of June, but there's not been much relief beyond the pump. As reported by the NYT, Procter & Gamble plans to maintain the 7 percent to 10 percent increase in prices it charges retailers for items made with ingredients derived from oil.

“Everybody still feels there is too much uncertainty to be clear about what action they should take,” said Ali Dibadj, an analyst at Sanford C. Bernstein, who specializes in companies that use oil-based raw materials in making a variety of consumer products. “They won’t immediately drop their prices.”

By the numbers: The average price of gas in L.A. is $3.882 a gallon, according to the government's latest survey, down from $3.951 last week. That's still more than a buck higher than a year ago. Meanwhile, oil is trading at around $108 a barrel.

Palin the businesswoman: This might come as a shock, but it’s not a pretty picture. The Republican VP nominee failed to disclose her stake in an Anchorage car wash when she was running for governor, as is required. The business itself didn't pay fees or submit paperwork. Here’s the kicker: The warning letter was written on state letterhead, which carried Palin's name at the top, next to the state seal. (Washington Post)

Abu Dhabi in Hollywood: Not satisfied with last year's $1 billion deal to make movies and video games with Warner Brothers, Abu Dhabi Media is starting a new subsidiary that will spend another $1 billion more on feature-length films. There have been a bunch of recent partnerships between Hollywood and Middle Eastern governments, the latest way for the studios to find suckers…. er, that would be investors, to finance films. From the NYT:

Some hedge funds that invested in slates of films found themselves stung when movies flopped at the box office. Other funds have been hurt by the credit crisis. But entertainment executives, by and large, do not consider money from the oil-rich Middle East as a replacement for slowing hedge fund dollars. Because of cultural and religious issues, financing from the Middle East, especially those from a government used to controlling the media, is unlikely to come without restrictions.

"Cops" on set: They wear LAPD uniforms and carry guns and sit next to CHP-type motorcycles. But most of these "movie officers" are not working police officers. That means that they're not accountable to the department. So Police Chief William Bratton wants the LAPD to take over the job of handling security on movie sets - except that Hollywood isn't happy about it. From the LAT:

Union officials, production workers and studio executives say such a change would raise filming costs and create scheduling bottlenecks that could further erode the local movie and TV production industry. In the last decade, L.A. has seen a steady outflow of feature film projects to other states and countries, many of which offer lucrative production rebates that aren't available in California.

John Malone maneuvers DirecTV: The plan is to spin off its Liberty Media's entertainment unit, which owns half of the El Segundo-based DirecTV and all of Starz Entertainment, into a separate company (Malone controls Liberty). As noted in DealBook, it's a move away from Liberty trading as three separate tracking stocks. The problem with tracking stocks is that they don't represent companies, but business units within the main company.

Greg Maffei, president and chief executive of Liberty, said the move “will create a stronger currency and allow greater flexibility to pursue our strategic objectives” — which sounds like a hedged way of saying that Liberty Entertainment could be better-positioned to make acquisitions. There has been lots of recent speculation about whether DirecTV and Dish Network (formerly known as EchoStar) might try to revisit the merger that regulators shot down in 2001.

SAG update: The Screen Actors Guild sent its 120,000 members a newsletter that summarizes SAG’s position in the current standoff with the networks and studios, along with some questions to be filled out on a returnable postcard. SAG says it's a way to inform members of the companies' contract offer, but the companies say that the questions and information are skewed. SAG's contract expired June 30 and actors continue to work under its terms. (Variety)

Asia expansions: Videogame publisher THQ Inc. is opening an office in Shanghai in order to pursue development and partnerships. Later this year, the Agoura Hills company launches a free-to-play, micro-transaction game designed specifically for Asia. Also, shoe maker Skechers USA will expand its wholesale distribution in Hong Kong and Macau through a new partnership. LABJ stories are here and here.