Tuesday morning headlines

Stocks extend gains: Upbeat earnings reports from Alcoa and CSX are probably helping. Dow is up more than 120 points in early trading.

Financial reform nears passage: Looks like support from two Republican senators will seal the deal. A vote could happen this week. (LAT)

Improving outlook: Commercial real estate remains in the doldrums, but a turnaround is approaching in L.A. and San Diego, according to a UCLA Anderson Forecast report. Orange County, which got hit hard by the meltdown in the mortgage lending business, is still in bad shape.

Small business discouraged: June optimism index falls after posting gains for several months. "Hiring and capital spending depend on expectations for growth in future sales, so the outlook for improved spending and hiring is not good," said William Dunkelberg, chief economist of the National Federation of Independent Business. (Calculated Risk)

Tough finding a job: For every position advertised online in L.A., there are 7.5 unemployed workers, according to Juju.com. That places Los Angeles in 45th place nationally out of 50 cities surveyed. San Jose ranked second, at 1.6 workers per online job.

BP installs cap: Now the company will be testing the pressure to determine if the seal can hold. From the NYT:

If the tests on the well show the pressure rising and holding -- an indication that the well is intact, with no significant damage to the casing pipe that runs the length of the well bore to 13,000 feet below the sea floor -- BP, working with government scientists, could decide to leave the valves closed, effectively shutting off the well like a cap on a soda bottle.

Gas prices should remain steady: No big changes are in store through the summer. An average gallon in the L.A. area is $3.123, virtually unchanged from last week, according to the government report..

CKE sale completed: The parent company of Carl's Jr. has been acquired by an affiliate of private equity firm Apollo Management in a $694 million deal. CKE's management team will continue to run day-to-day operations. (Bloomberg)

About those airline fees: Checking in bags or getting more legroom could boost the cost of a ticket by more than 50 percent, according to a new study. (LAT)

Late-night viewership down: Leno lost a million viewers in April, May and June compared with a year earlier, and Letterman is off as well. From THR:

"Late-night talk shows have been around since the 1950s, and you wonder if they are getting passe with the viewing public," said Brad Adgate, an analyst with Horizon Media. Competition is a factor. Johnny Carson in his prime never had to worry about a Jon Stewart or George Lopez. Or video games and the Internet. Or, for that matter, his own network. At 11:35 p.m., more people now watch programs saved on their digital video recorders than either Leno and Letterman, the Nielsen Co. said.

Print has a pulse: Magazine ad pages and revenue increased for the first time since 2007. Automotive drove the increase, though financial and real estate also rebounded. From the NY Post:

In the second quarter, however, at least 20 magazines had ad page increases of more than 30 percent. They include titles across a wide array of categories: Vanity Fair, up 30.3 percent to 311.44; the Atlantic, up 35 percent to 142.62; and ESPN Magazine, up 42.9 percent to 372.21. Even long suffering Money is up 32.3 percent to 164.77.