Monday morning headlines

Stocks open higher: The CIT rescue might be helping. Dow is up about 40 points in early trading.

Budget deal today?: Legislative leaders and Gov. Schwarzenegger will resume talks later today. They were supposed to meet last night, but Assembly Speaker Karen Bass couldn't get up to Sacto in time. Still lots of optimism that an agreement is close. (AP)

CIT deal: Bondholders will pony up a $3 billion emergency loan to keep the large business lender up and running. The money buys time for CIT to reduce its debt load and restructure its business model. From the NYT:

Regulators felt some political pressure to intervene, because of CIT's big presence in lending to small businesses across the country and because the government had already invested $2.33 billion in the company. But officials eventually concluded that CIT, unlike the banks that were bailed out last year, posed no risk to the global financial system, leaving its fate in the hands of the private market.

Studios after Jackson film: L.A. concert promoter AEG Live and the estate of Michael Jackson want at least $50 million in exchange for the theatrical-and-DVD distribution rights to a documentary about the late pop singer. (NYT reports that Sony appears to be the top contender.) For AEG, the money would help offset the $30 million it spent to stage a series of Jackson concerts. From the WSJ:

The documentary would be largely made from about 100 hours of footage AEG shot as Mr. Jackson prepared for the 50-show run at London's O2 arena, which was to have started July 13. Included is multicamera footage taken on the night of Mr. Jackson's final dress rehearsal. Mr. Jackson died on June 25 at age 50, from causes that authorities have said were probably linked to his use of a powerful sedative. The estate and AEG opened bidding by asking the studios for $50 million, according to the people with knowledge of the talks. These people add that the deals under discussion include revenue-sharing agreements and distribution fees for the movie studios.

Bidding for publishing biz: Media mogul Haim Saban, L.A.-based Colony Capital (co-owner of the Neverland ranch), and a bunch of other financial big-shots are looking at the 50 percent share Sony/ATV Music Publishing that had been owned by Michael Jackson. From the NYT:

Sony/ATV is by far the most valuable asset in Mr. Jackson's estate, and his 50 percent stake could be worth as much a $500 million. Mr. Jackson bought the majority of the Beatles catalog in 1985 for $47.5 million, after an informal chat with Paul McCartney about the wisdom of buying song catalogs.

Commercial real estate woes: L.A. County landlords are asking for an average of $3.08 per square foot per month for Class A buildings, down 5 percent from a year ago. From the LAT:

The statistics are alarming," said Joe Vargas, senior managing director of real estate brokerage Cushman & Wakefield. "And the turnaround could potentially be some time away." The sector is deeply connected to several troubled parts of the economy, including the frozen credit markets and the small retailer who can't make his rent. As a result, companies are moving out of buildings, not into them. Tenants who continue to rent are demanding -- and getting -- discounts.

VC activity keeps falling: Only $111 million was invested in L.A. during the April-June quarter, down 34 percent from the previous three months and 74 percent from a year earlier. (LAT)

City National moves downtown: New headquarters will be 555 S. Flower Street, where the bank has had its administrative center since 2004. The Bev Hills location will continue to serve as the entertainment and wealth management divisions. (Bev Hills Courier)