Tuesday morning headlines

Very light posting today and tomorrow.

Stocks keep climbing: We'll see for how long. The Dow was up about 70 points in early trading.

How low can gas go?: Average price of regular in the L.A. area is now $2.19 a gallon, which is 23 cents lower than just one week. Last night I paid $34 to fill up my tank, compared with $73 when prices were at their peak. (EIA)

Falling home prices: The widely followed S&P/Case-Shiller index shows a 2.5 percent decline in L.A. prices between August and September and a 27.6 percent drop year over year. Nationwide, prices have not been this low since 2004.

GDP revised lower: The economy contracted at a 0.5 percent annual rate in the third quarter instead of the initial 0.3 percent estimate. Consumer slashed spending at a 3.7 percent pace, the biggest reduction since 1980. (AP)

Donations drop: Corporations, billionaires and other deep pockets are pulling back, while others, such as Bear Stearns, Lehman Brothers and Merrill Lynch, aren't even around anymore. From the WSJ:

Large donors signaling tighter times include David Koch, an executive vice president of Koch Industries Inc., an energy and manufacturing company and the largest private corporation in the U.S.; Sheldon Adelson, the Las Vegas casino mogul; and Maurice "Hank" Greenberg, the former chief executive of American International Group Inc., the large insurer. The chilled giving atmosphere arrives just ahead of the holiday season, when charities tend to reap the most donations. Lower donation totals threaten a range of organizations, from antipoverty groups to community-based meal providers and major cultural institutions.

We still love TV: Sets are turned on for an average of 8 hours, 18 minutes a day in the U.S., an all-time high. A decade ago, it was 7 hours, 15 minutes. But what about the Internet, DVRs, etc.? From the LAT:

Although about half of all consumers who have digital recorders use them to zip through commercials, [David Poltrack, chief research officer for CBS Corp.] said the devices have actually increased TV viewing. "People are using the DVR to rearrange the networks' schedules so they can watch the most popular shows," he said. "People no longer need to decide whether to watch 'CSI' or 'The Office' or 'Grey's Anatomy,' which all run Thursdays at 9 p.m.”

Redstone may sell theaters: The L.A. billionaire recently proposed to sell his family’s 1,500-screen theater chain in an effort to restructure his debt load. NYT reports that the proposal was made in a plan to his bankers.

In October, Mr. Redstone was forced to sell more than $200 million of stock in Viacom and CBS to satisfy lenders, and he has been in talks ever since to restructure $1.6 billion of bank debt backed by the value of National Amusements, the holding company that is Mr. Redstone’s vehicle for controlling Viacom and CBS. In the popular parlor game of guessing how Mr. Redstone’s debt conundrum will be resolved that is playing out in corporate suites around the media industry, the question now is how far Mr. Redstone will go in whittling down his media empire.

Lacter on radio: This morning's business chat with KPCC's Steve Julian covers the prospects of an actors strike and whether regulators were lenient on Countrywide and other thrifts. Also available on kpcc.org and on podcast.