Tuesday morning headlines

Market down a bit: Wall Street seems to have entered a pretty tight trading range. After yesterday's gain of almost 100 points, the Dow is down about 90 points.

Moderate dip in home prices: The Case-Shiller Index for April still showed significant but not record-setting price declines - and that's a good thing. The L.A. area saw a price drop of 0.9 percent from the previous month and a 21.3 percent decline from a year earlier. By contrast, Vegas was down 32.2 percent and Phoenix was down 35.3 percent.

Waiting for IOUs: Either lawmakers and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger miraculously come up with a budget compromise today or Controller John Chiang starts issuing IOUs. From Capitol Alert:

Both houses likely will be in session all day and into the evening, but look for the real action at the negotiating table in the Governor's Office. A key issue is $3.3 billion in budget savings that have to be approved by midnight -- in the current fiscal year -- or will be lost forever. Democrats are pushing the cuts to schools and redevelopment agencies to be approved by midnight, but the GOP and the governor want a full package before signing off.

More charges in Madoff case?: AP reports that 10 more people could be charged, though it's not known who they are or what the allegations might be. So far, only Madoff and an accountant have been criminally charged.

GM in court: Just 30 days after filing for Chapter 11 protection, the automaker seeks approval to sell its assets to a government-backed entity that is the linchpin of its turnaround plan. Dozens of objections have been filed in the case, but some have already been resolved or withdrawn. From Reuters:

"I think it is going even perhaps more smoothly than Chrysler, which is kind of interesting considering how much bigger G.M. is than Chrysler," Stephen Lubben, a bankruptcy professor at Seton Hall Law School in New Jersey, told Reuters. "Chrysler cleared the path for it and they're using pretty much the same strategy."

Still mum on Jobs: The Apple CEO is back in his office a few days a week, but the company is not saying much beyond that. From the WSJ:

In the past, some ailing executives also haven't volunteered information about their health or revealed their reduced work schedules as a result of their illness. In 1992, Steven J. Ross, who was then chairman and co-CEO of Time Warner Inc., died after a year-long battle with prostate cancer. The media giant said Mr. Ross was still running the show during much of that time. He actually was working from home only a few hours a day, a friend later said. Time Warner has declined to comment on the Ross situation.

E. Coli in Nestlé samples: The FDA found traces of the deadly strain of bacteria in Toll House refrigerated cookie dough produced at a company plant in Virginia. Glendale-based Nestlé USA voluntarily recalled 30,000 cases of its refrigerated cookie dough on June 19. From the Washington Post:

Nearly all the victims, most of whom are female and younger than 19, reported eating raw cookie dough in the days before the onset of symptoms. Health officials still do not know how E. coli 0157, a bacterium that lives in cattle intestines, ended up in a product that seems so unlikely to contain it. The risk usually associated with cookie dough is salmonella, a bacterium that can be found in raw eggs. None of the ingredients in the dough -- eggs, milk, flour, chocolate, butter -- is known to host E. coli 0157.

HK Disneyland to expand: Disney will invest $450 million as part of a plan to add three theme areas and 30 attractions. From AP:

In the works for two years, the expansion plan is part of an effort to turn around a park criticized for failing to meet attendance targets, being too small and lacking high-profile rides. Hong Kong is also under pressure to increase the theme park's appeal to compete with a proposed Disneyland in Shanghai, which could open in the coming years, and would siphon off Chinese tourists.

Dip in gas prices: Don't spend it all in one place, but an average gallon in the L.A. area fell by about two cents, to $3.005, according to the government's survey. The slide might not last long because oil is back up to over $70 a barrel.

Broadcom raises offer: The OC chipmaker is upping its bid for cross-town rival Emulex to $912 million, nearly 20 percent higher than the earlier price. The company had rejected that proposal as inadequate and filed suit seeking to block Broadcom's hostile bid. (LAT)

Pay cut at Register: It's an across-the-board 5 percent reduction, effective July 13. Other cost-cutting measures were considered and rejected, including additional furloughs in the last two quarters of the year and further layoffs. (OC Register)

Lacter on radio: This morning's business chat with KPCC's Steve Julian looks at the feeder investment funds used by Bernie Madoff and the ongoing problem of white-collar crime in L.A. Also at kpcc.org and on podcast.