Tuesday morning headlines

Stocks up a bit: Very little action, even with decent economic news this morning. Dow is up about 30 points.

Jump in consumer confidence: Index for August was higher than what economists had been expecting. But the number is still well under what would be expected in a healthy economy. (AP)

L.A. home prices edge higher: They rose 0.6 percent from May to June, according to the Case-Shiller numbers, and 9.2 percent from June 2009 to June 2010. Among the 20 metro areas surveyed, only Vegas had a month-over-month decline. From press release:

"Even with concerns about near term developments, we recognize that the housing market is in better shape than this time last year," [says David M. Blitzer, Chairman of the Index Committee at Standard & Poor's]. "Further, California's cities have moved from some of the hardest hit to three of the four leading cities based on year-over-year gains."

Hedge fund manager is downbeat: Dan Loeb, a big Obama supporter in 2008, says that Washington's actions "seem designed to fracture the populace by pulling capital and power from the hands of some and putting it in the hands of others." From the NYT:

"Many people see the collapse of the subprime markets, along with the failure and subsequent rescue of many banks, as failures of capitalism rather than a result of a vile stew of inept management, unaccountable boards of directors and overmatched regulators not just asleep, but comatose, at the proverbial switch," he wrote. "It is easy to see why so many people have concluded that the entire system is rigged."

GOP tidal wave: Republicans over Democrats 51 percent to 41 percent in Gallup's latest tracking poll, the largest lead in the history of a midterm generic ballot for Congress.

Heading out on Labor Day: The holiday weekend will see a 4 percent increase in the number of Southern Californians who plan to travel by car, says the Auto Club. From the LAT:

Despite the healthy increase, the number of people planning to travel at least 50 miles from home with an overnight stay this year is still nearly 4% below the average number for Southern Californian vacationers from 2000 to 2009, the Auto Club said. Still, the numbers point to an overall increase in travel spending nationally, a sign that the travel industry is rebounding from the recession and Americans are gaining confidence in the economy, according to the U.S. Travel Assn., which promotes travel in the United States.

Gas prices keep dropping: Good time to get away. An average gallon of regular in the L.A. area is $3.078, according to the government survey, down about 6 cents from the previous week.

UC retirement system faces $20 billion shortfall: That's after years of the schools and employees not paying into the program (it was believed to be over-funded). A panel recommends several steps that include raising the minimum retirement age for new hires and reducing some benefits. (LAT)

Mel Gibson would still draw: Only 20 percent of those polled said they were less likely to see one of his movies as a result of the nasty taped conversations with girlfriend Oksana Grigorieva. Seventy-six percent say the scandal has had no effect. (Entertainment Weekly)