Wednesday morning headlines

Stocks still upward: Strong earnings reports from Apple and Morgan Stanley keep raising expectations for a recovery. Dow is up about 16 points.

New hope for Chrysler?: The beleaguered car company has lost another $4 billion since coming out of bankruptcy protection almost a year ago. But it also reported a small operating profit in the first quarter. (NYT)

SEC goes after banks: At issue is the way financial firms mask the risks they take by temporarily lowering their debt levels before quarterly reports are due out. From the WSJ:

That practice, if done intentionally to deceive, already violates SEC guidelines, an official said. But now, the SEC is weighing requiring stricter disclosure and a clearer rationale from firms about their quarter-end borrowing activities. The agency may also extend these rules to all companies, not just banks.

City Hall lacking credibility: Conflicting accounts of the budget crisis, especially with regard to layoffs, have left everybody wondering what the real story is. From the LAT:

[Councilman Bernard] Parks and others, however, questioned whether Tuesday's budget, for the fiscal year starting July 1, was any more accurate than past projections. The budget expects as much as $200 million from a series of financial strategies for leasing parking structures and borrowing against the city's parking meters. Parks, one of the council's biggest budget hawks, questioned the validity of the mayor's layoff number, saying it seemed too low. He also warned that the mayor should not assume such a large windfall from the city's parking assets.

Live Nation sued: German ticket service CTS says that Ticketmaster's sales and distribution operations had caused a breach of contract as a result of the merger with Live Nation. (NYT)

Weinsteins wouldn't own Miramax: Even if Disney accepts their bid, Bob and Harvey will not be taking over the independent movie company. The new owner would be Ron Burkle's Yucaipa Cos., which is financing much of the deal. An agreement might be struck by the end of the week. (WSJ)

Hollywood exchange approved: Federal regulators signed off on a second market that allows speculators to bet on expected movie box office receipts. But as in the earlier case, the feds withheld permission to actually begin trading. From AP:

The two online trading forums would be similar to futures markets common for commodities such as corn and pork bellies. Although goods are rarely exchanged directly through such markets, they let sellers reduce risks by locking in prices ahead of time. In the case of movie futures, those with a financial stake in the movie may choose to sell contracts, and bring in some revenue in case they fear a movie will do poorly at the box office.

Clean trucks trial opens: The issue is whether the Port of Los Angeles can legally limit the types of drivers entering terminals. A trucking association that's challenging the Clean Trucks Program says no. From the Daily Breeze:

"By far, the most intrusive element is the owner-operator ban because this will dramatically change how work is done at the port," said the ATA's attorney, Robert Digges, during opening statements. Port of Los Angeles officials argue that that they should be allowed to establish their own set of rules for trucks operating on their property, including the employee mandate.