Wednesday morning headlines

Stocks moving higher: News is generally upbeat this morning as market watchers wait for word from the Fed later today about the economy. For now, the Dow is up about 130 points.

More shoppers?: Both the NYT and WSJ say retailers are encouraged about October sales (chain stores will have numbers tomorrow). Of course, year-ago comparisons have only limited value because 2008 was so horrible. From the Times:

"Things are better than they were a year ago," said Michael McNamara, vice president for research and analysis at SpendingPulse, an information service by MasterCard Advisors. "But we're still below where we were two years ago." The latest sales figures come from his organization, which estimates sales for all forms of payment, including cash, checks and credit cards. They show, for example, that sales of women's apparel increased 0.6 percent in October, the first positive figure since August 2008.

TV ad demand improving?: Viacom CEO Philippe Dauman says prices on the scatter market (that's where commercials are sold at the last minute) are much higher than the rates sold in advance over the summer. From the WSJ:

After months of pulling back, advertisers may end up spending more money in the holiday season than last year, some ad buyers say. "Inventory's very tight on some networks, especially in November or early December," Chris Boothe, president and chief operating officer of Publicis Groupe SA's Starcom USA, said in an interview Monday.

Still losing jobs: Friday is the big report on October employment, but ADP, the big payroll firm, reports that private-sector employees cut 203,000 jobs in October, slightly higher than expected. (CNNMoney.com)

Big drop at Time Warner: The media giant reports a 38 percent decline in third-quarter profit, much of it due to weak results at AOL (in the process of being spun off) and at its magazine units (in major cost-cutting mode). The movie and TV units saw earnings rise but revenue fall. (AP)

Bankruptcies way up: L.A. had more of them at the end of the third quarter than any other metro area in the nation, according to Equifax. Four of the top five were in CA. (OC Register)

New bubbles forming: Central banks are pouring so much money into global markets that there's concern about overvalued real estate - not so much in the U.S., but in Asia, where the recovery has been swifter. From the WSJ:

A luxury flat in the tony Midlevels district is expected to sell for US$55.6 million, or $9,200 a square foot, said developer Henderson Land Development Co. Elsewhere, a bidder at a city-run auction to operate food stands at February's Lunar New Year celebration recently paid a record US$63,225 for the right to occupy a 400-square-foot stall to sell fish balls and other snacks. Prices in the auction of 180 stalls were up 33% from 2008.

Mouse House in China: Disney will get to build its theme park in Shanghai after government officials finally sign off on a deal that has been years in the making. From Bloomberg:

The park will include a Magic Kingdom-style theme park with characteristics tailored to the Shanghai region, Disney said in its statement. It will occupy an area of about 7 square kilometers (1,700 acres), the state-run Xinhua News Service said. "The cultural implication is significant as Disney theme parks represent a certain kind Western thinking," Chinese University hotel and tourism management associate professor Leung Wai-kin said in a phone interview. "It doesn't mean the government agrees to it but at least it's comfortable with it."

Movie-making in Hungary: Raleigh Studios, which owns 12 sound stages in Hollywood and manages 14 in Manhattan Beach, is developing facilities on the outskirts of Budapest. Hungary, like so many countries, has been trying to lure filmmakers with low-cost labor and tax breaks. (LAT)