Wednesday morning headlines

Markets wobble: Still lots of concern about Greece, but the Dow is up about 35 points after better-than-expected earnings from Comcast, Corning, Northrop, and Dow Chemical.

Waiting for Fed statement: There's next to no chance that interest rates will be increased later this morning, but Federal Reserve policymakers will issue a statement that should offer some insight into how they view the economy. (WSJ)

Yields on Greek bonds soar: They're now at 26 percent, which puts the country on the brink of financial collapse. There were mixed signals from Germany and the IMF on how quickly the crisis can be resolved. Want to see what happens when a government goes into default? Just keep your eye on this. (NYT)

On the Goldman hearings: Here's Maureen Dowd's take in the NYT:

You know you're ethically compromised when Senator John Ensign scolds you about ethics. The Nevada Republican is under investigation by the Senate Ethics Committee and the F.B.I. for chicanery surrounding an affair with a staffer. His wealthy parents paid off the mistress and her husband, who was also on Ensign's payroll.

Foreclosure scorecard: Banks have fewer homes to unload right now, but the number is likely to grow over the next couple of years, according to a study by Barclays Capital. Inventory is expected to peak in January 2012. (WSJ)

Wal-Mart thinking small: The retail giant is considering an expansion into big cities, focusing less on warehouse-sized Supercenters and more on smaller stores. No details, but a senior executive pointed to a prototype that has drive-through lanes where customers can pick up online purchases. (WSJ)

WellPoint profit soars: The Indianapolis-based parent of Anthem Blue Cross (yep, those are the folks trying to jack up rates) says that a weaker-than-expected flu season helped lower medical costs. (AP)

Insurers stop dropping the sick:WellPoint and Anthem Blue Cross will no longer cancel coverage, a practice known as rescission. From the LAT:

The practice resulted in some people losing coverage through no fault of their own, often over trivial bits of health history that had nothing to do with the claims that triggered the investigations. Amid the heightened scrutiny, rescissions have been in decline since 2006. Rescission is "on life support, and they're about to pull the plug," said plaintiffs lawyer William Shernoff.

Industrial space still tight: The L.A. vacancy rate for warehouses, factories and the like was just 3.4 percent in the first quarter, way lower than the national rate of almost 11 percent. (LAT)

Rick Caruso teams up: The L.A. real estate mogul has formed a joint venture with financial firm TPG Capital to invest as much as $750 million in retail and mixed-use properties. From the LAT:

Few commercial properties have traded hands since the recession began, but Caruso thinks the market will change in favor of buyers soon as property loans come due and pressure mounts on banks and property owners to face up to their losses and let go of real estate they can't afford.

Big year for college enrollment: Seven out of 10 high school graduates nationwide entered colleges or universities last fall, the highest percentage ever. I'd bet the L.A. numbers are far lower, at least based on past studies. (Kansas City Star)

NY to charge for filming: TV and film productions will have to pay permit fees, a first for the city. From AP:

To be sure, $300 is a barely noticeable budget line in most multimillion-dollar television and screen projects, and most major cities - including Los Angeles, New York's major film competitor - already charge permit fees. But the change is an about-face in policy for a city that has long prided itself on uniquely providing free permits and other perks to lure projects to shoot in the iconic Big Apple.