Friday morning headlines

Market edges higher: A strong retail sales report has stocks moving on up as the pattern of bipolar trading continues.

Pickup in retail sales: Are Americans spending or not? Holiday sales have gotten off to a sluggish start, but retail sales for November were better than expected. Purchases of electronics and appliances rose 2.8 percent, the largest increase since January. (Reuters)

Consumer sentiment is up: The Reuters/University of Michigan index was at 73.4 in early December from 67.4 in November. But that's still quite low. (Calculated Risk)

Videogames fall again: November was another tough month: Sales fell 3.1 percent from a year earlier, and it would have been worse were it not for Activision's "Modern Warfare 2" (6 million copies sold). Overall, the industry is tracking 12 percent behind 2008. (CNBC)

Madoff anniversary: The now-legendary swindler was arrested one year ago today. As for his life behind bars in North Carolina, the WSJ tried to catch a glimpse:

Inmate No. 61727-054 shares an unlocked cell at the medium-security prison at Butner Federal Correctional Complex with a younger man named Frank. He wears khaki prison garb and has been spotted walking on an outdoor track. He plays bocce, chess and checkers. He scrubs pots and pans in the prison kitchen. The 71-year-old Mr. Madoff also is salvaging something that disappeared in the outside world the moment his fraud was exposed: respect. "To every con artist, he is the godfather, the don," says an inmate interviewed earlier this week.

Playa Vista approval: The L.A. Planning Commission signs off on the final phase of the massive Westside development. A 111-acre "village" will add homes, a shopping center, office buildings and parks. Plan still needs Council approval early next year and then it'll be up to the individual builders to get financing. (LAT)

Paramount thinks small: The Viacom-owned studio is launching a production company for movies costing less than 100K. Plan is to finance as many as 20 features beginning next year. From the LAT:

Funds for the movies -- about $1 million annually -- will be part of Paramount's existing production budget. The division does not plan to acquire completed movies at film festivals and markets, as traditionally has been the case with studios' specialized film divisions. The move comes as studios wrestle with spiraling production budgets -- Dec. 18's "Avatar," made at a cost of at least $310 million, is Hollywood's costliest movie ever -- and escalating marketing expenses just as DVD income is plummeting.

Calpers, CalSTRS ratings slip: The state's two big public pension funds are now considered riskier long-term investments, according to Moody's. The concern is that the two funds have lost so much money in the last two years that there might be future shortfalls. (LAT)

What's PCCP?: It's Pacific Coast Capital Partners, a very low-profile L.A. real estate investment firm that's about to buy two Lehman Brothers private equity funds. Lehman is being run by a firm that's disposing its assets. From the WSJ:

PCCP was founded in 1998 by William Lindsay, a former lawyer at Gibson Dunn & Crutcher, and three executives from Wells Fargo. The firm, which counts Lehman and the California State Teachers' Retirement System as investors, has $4.1 billion under management, with stakes in properties including the Fairmont Dallas hotel and Culver Studios movie-production facility in Culver City, Calif.

Paying too early: The city of L.A. is supposed to take care of its bills within 30 days, but it's sometimes writing out checks 20 days early - and that's led to a loss on money that could have been collecting interest. Controller Wendy Gruel is out with an audit. (Daily News)

Gas prices stuck in neutral: An average gallon in the L.A. area fell a whole penny from last week, to $2.931. (Auto Club)

More press for Bazaar: Jose Andres's small-plate hotspot gets a big ride in the WSJ under the headline "Restaurant of the Future?"

A tapas-style menu, a hotel location and a major focus on the bar scene are hallmarks of restaurants around the country that are best surviving the economic turmoil of the past year. These components are also likely to be the defining traits of the next generation of high-end restaurants, say many leading restaurateurs, and are already being deployed in cities across the country.