Tuesday morning headlines

Stocks hover around the line: After yesterday's big gains, the wait is on this morning for a Fed announcement about rates.

Fed considers another infusion: The idea would be to pump billions of additional dollars into the economy. But economists say the central bank probably won't take any action at today's meeting. (Reuters)

Forget about double-dip: If the economy starts contracting again, it will represent a separate and distinct recession from the one that's been declared over by the National Bureau of Economic Research. From the NYT:

Nearly every indicator that the committee considers simultaneously reached a low point in June 2009, which made that month a relatively easy selection as the official turning point, Mr. Gordon said. The committee previously met in April but had decided that the data were inconclusive. In its statement on Monday affirming the recession's end, the bureau took care to note that the recession, by definition, meant only the period until the economy reached its low point -- not a return to its previous vigor.

Another big jump in bankruptcies: August filings (businesses and individuals) in L.A. County were up 57 percent from a year earlier. In OC, filings were up 19 percent. (OC Register)

Holiday hiring outlook: Between 500,000 and 600,000 workers will be added this fall, says Challenger, Gray & Christmas. The low end would match last year's weak showing; the high end would show a 20 percent increase. (OC Register)

Calpers doled out six-figure bonuses: The nation's largest public pension fund was contractually obligated to pay its top employees even as the investment portfolio was losing nearly a quarter of its value. From AP:

CalPERS spokesman Brad Pacheco said bonuses are based on the fund's performance over five years, not just the year immediately preceding the bonus, in order to encourage managers to seek long-term investments rather than short-term gains. He said bonuses in the 2008-09 fiscal year were 50 percent lower than in 2006-07 and that the market declines will continue to dampen bonuses in future years. "Incentives are part of total compensation and critical to the fund's long-term success as well as recruitment and retention of skilled investment professionals," Pacheco said in an e-mail.

Budget deadlock - Day 83: State leaders canceled a meeting Monday because Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger called in sick.

More LAX concessions awarded: A special City Council panel approved four of five food and beverage contracts at the airport, but it threw out all bids on the fifth - a victory for incumbent HMS Host, which has been contesting a recommendation by airport officials to go with another company. LAX will have to re-start the bidding. (Daily Breeze)

Internet Brands is sold: The El Segundo company that runs more than 100 Web sites on cars, careers, health, home, money and travel has agreed to be bought by private-equity firm Hellman & Friedman for $640 million. Share price of $13.35 per share represents 47 percent premium to Friday's close. From the WSJ:

Internet Brands doesn't advertise its websites, but names them to attract surfers looking for general information, such as gardens.com, doityourself.com, loan.com, mortgage101.com and ultimatecoupons.com. The small company reported second-quarter revenue of $28.1 million, up 21% from a year earlier, and net income of $4.6 million, up 80%. The company also reported a 30% increase in unique visitor growth from a year earlier.

H-P settles Mark Hurd lawsuit: After two weeks, cooler heads have prevailed. The company said its former CEO agreed to return 345,000 restricted H-P shares that he had been given as part of his exit package. (NYT)

Gas prices slip under $3: An average gallon of regular in the L.A. area is $2.99 - and it's considerably lower at some stations around town. (EIA)

Hollywood scam alleged: The SEC has accused two Atlanta men of enticing investors into buying what they thought were shares of an L.A. post-production company about to go public. Instead, the money was diverted to non-operating company, says the feds. From Forbes:

In its civil lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles, the SEC said [William A. Goldstein and Marc E. Bercoon] siphoned off $875,000. The whereabouts of the other $2.3 million was not immediately clear. But one person who really wants to know is Ali Siddiqui, a prominent Tulsa., Okla, pediatrician. During the second half of 2009, he put $1 million into the deal, making him by far the largest of the 110 investors. "I hope I can get back my money," he said.