Thursday morning headlines

Big gain for stocks?: You just never know these days. The Dow is up more than 200 points after 90 minutes of trading.

Greenspan testifies on Hill: The former Fed chairman is describing the current financial crisis as a "once in a century credit tsunami" that policymakers did not anticipate (including him). Greenspan, of course, has been blamed by some for helping create the catastrophe. From AP:

He said that he and others who believed lending institutions would do a good job of protecting their shareholders are in a "state of shocked disbelief." And Greenspan also blamed the problems on heavy demand for securities backed by subprime mortgages by investors who did not worry that the boom in home prices might come to a crashing halt. "Given the financial damage to date, I cannot see how we can avoid a significant rise in layoffs and unemployment," Greenspan said. "Fearful American households are attempting to adjust, as best they can, to a rapid contraction in credit availability, threats to retirement funds and increased job insecurity."

Foreclosures are trimmed: California legislation from early September appears to be one reason for the drop. The law requires lenders to make contact with borrowers at least 30 days before filing a default notice. Still, the state has accounted for almost one-third of the country's foreclosure filings in the third quarter, with a 1 in every 189 housing units receiving a filing last month. (Bloomberg)

Downey's good/bad news: The Newport Beach thrift reported a better-than-expected quarterly loss of $81.1 million, but operating expenses rose 64 percent, to $102.7 million, because Downey owns so many foreclosed homes. There's been lots of concern about the thrift’s future, given its edxposure to those bad loans. (OCBJ)

Schwarzenegger, Buffett bullish: One rich guy and one very, very rich guy says that things are going to be all right. Speaking at the big women's conference in Long Beach, both the governor and the investor were a little shy on specifics. "This country works," Buffett declared. Added Schwarzenegger: "There's one thing that we always know about America: It will always come back." I for one am relieved. (Press-Telegram)

Lottery sales down: Revenue fell $260 million, or 8 percent, for the fiscal year ended June 30. That’s $106 million less for schools this year – and you could bet that the current fiscal year will see a drop as well. (LAT)

Redstone speaks: He tells the WSJ's Merissa Marr that there's "not a chance" he'll sell CBS or Viacom in order to cover the $1.6 billion debt load at his family holding company, National Amusements. Redstone is trying to work out a deal with lenders. As for his divorce filing, he said "It was a long time coming," and that "We intend to remain good friends."

Actors talks to resume: With the help of a federal mediator, the Screen Actors Guild and the media companies are expected to return to the negotiating table, Variety reports. But there's skepticism on whether any break in the impasse is in sight.

Politically, the studios can’t afford to shun the request for a mediator as they would risk giving SAG leaders ammo in their efforts to convince members that they need to strike to force a better offer from the congloms. But even if the majors do come back to the table, they’ve made it clear that they have no intention of sweetening the deal that has already been accepted by the Directors Guild of America, Writers Guild of America and SAG’s rival, the American Federation of Television and Radio Artists. In fact, the AMPTP has continued to hint in its public statements that given the economic slowdown hitting the biz, the deal template ironed out months ago with other guilds may need revision — in a manner that it would make it even less palatable to SAG.

Murdoch not happy: He objects to portions of Michael Wolff's upcoming biography, especially any suggestion that he's embarrassed by Fox News. Murdoch, who got hold of an early draft, told Wolff that there are "some extremely damaging misstatements of fact." Wolff suspects the objections have to do with corporate politics (but doesn't he own the place?). (NYT)

Ticketmaster gets Irving Azoff: The West Hollywood-based ticketing service is merging with Azoff’s firm, Front Line Management, and putting him in charge of the combined company. It's a big deal because Azoff handles Christina Aguilera, the Eagles, Jimmy Buffett - among many others - and that clout will help in its fledgling battle with Live Nation. From the WSJ:

Until recently, Live Nation was a concert promoter whose sole business involved staging live events. In the past year, however, it has announced plans to start a ticketing service to compete with Ticketmaster. And it has begun signing artists such as Jay-Z and Madonna to lucrative long-term deals in which Live Nation will oversee a wide array of the acts' business interests, including touring, ticketing, merchandising and, in some cases, recording.

Tightening at Hearst: Harper’s Bazaar closed its L.A. and SF sales offices on Tuesday and hired an outside firm to handle ad sales on the West Coast. No numbers available. (WWD)