Thursday morning headlines

Stocks edge lower: Not much action so far, with mixed economic news this morning. Dow is up at last check.

Foreclosures still high: California had the nation's third highest rate in August, with one in every 144 housing units receiving a foreclosure filing, according to RealtyTrac. Nevada was tops, at one out of 62. Filings are defined as default notices, scheduled auctions and bank repossessions.

Warner shakes up DC Comics: The executive who handled the "Harry Potter" franchise is being put in charge of newly named DC Entertainment. Marching orders are to better exploit properties across movie, television, interactive, digital and consumer products. From the LAT:

As superhero movies have become one of the most profitable genres in Hollywood, tensions between DC and Warner have contributed to the studio's inability to match the success of Marvel, which has scored on the big screen with such A-list characters as Spider-Man and lesser-known ones such as Iron Man and X-Men. "It almost appears as if Warner Bros. were just buying DC now and deciding what to do with it," said Gareb Shamus, chief executive of Wizard Entertainment, which publishes a magazine following the comic-book industry. "This move is going to be great for Warner because it firmly puts the characters in control of the people who make movies and television."

Rich getting poor: Well, poorer anyway. In 2007, the top 1 percent of U.S. families accounted for 23.5 percent of all personal income in the U.S. the highest level since the Roaring Twenties. By next year, the figure could be between 15 percent and 19 percent. From the WSJ:

This is among several potentially far-reaching changes wrought by the bursting of the housing and credit bubbles and the deep recession that ensued. Finance is likely to claim a smaller share of the nation's talent and make up a smaller part of the economy. The relationship between employers and employees may shift, and some workers will never fully recover from the blows they have suffered. Borrowing will be harder for many, and in any case, reducing debt instead of increasing it will hold new priority, possibly for a long while. In time, the past two years may be seen as a watershed in Americans' behavior and the nation's economic life.

Hotel occupancy looking up: New forecast expects more rooms to be full in late 2009 and 2010, but only because of heavily discounted rates. The PricewaterhouseCoopers report shows revenue being down 16.1 percent in 2009. (WSJ)

Madoff coached potential witness: "You don't have to be too brilliant" to get away with it, according to a transcript of a 2005 telephone call. Madoff was prepping someone from one of his feeder funds on how to handle investigators. He begins the conversation by saying, "Obviously, first of all, this call never took place." (AP)

Downtown project files Chapter 11: It's at 705 W. Ninth St., a 36-story luxury rental building that was expected to be completed by the end of the year. Developer is Meruelo Maddux Properties, which has already filed for Chapter 11 (the Ninth St. project wasn't included). (Business Journal)