Thursday morning headlines

Stocks bouncing around: At last check, the Dow was down a few points.

Foreclosure update: Vegas posted the nation's highest foreclosure rate among major cities in the third quarter, with one in every 25 housing units receiving a filing. As usual, several California cities were in the top 10, including Modesto, Stockton, and Riverside. (Dow Jones)

Slow-go recovery: Cal State Fullerton economists say that OC will lose 12,000 jobs this year, a big reversal from their earlier projection of a 9,900-job gain. They'll be presenting their numbers at the school's economic forecast today. (OC Register)

Big day for subway: The MTA board will consider routes for a Westside extension and a downtown rail connector. From the LAT:

MTA staff is recommending that the board approve the route to the veterans' hospital because it is projected to be the best performing in terms of cost and ridership. The estimated cost of that option is $5.15 billion, if completed in 2022 and adjusted for inflation. Construction is set to begin in 2013 after the final environmental review. The extension project could take until 2036 without funding secured by the mayor's 30-10 plan, which seeks federal loans and grants to help complete 12 transit projects two decades early.

Latest election polls: Field Poll has Brown up by 10 points over Whitman, while CNN has Brown up by 7. In the Senate race, a CNN poll has Boxer leading Fiorina by five points, 50-45.

MGM battle nears climax - maybe: Creditors vote tomorrow on a plan to send the studio into bankruptcy court and come out as a much leaner operation. Trying to block that proposal is Carl Icahn, who wants to merge MGM with Lionsgate. From the WSJ:

If it wins enough support--odds appear to favor it--MGM will file for a Chapter 11 bankruptcy as soon as Sunday, and the 86-year-old company, the source of more than 200 Academy Awards for classics like "Gone with the Wind," will pass to distressed-debt investors more accustomed to reworking home-health-care firms and community banks. They aim to be ruthless about costs. They plan to outsource to another studio the task of distributing films to theaters, then focus on the television business--cutting deals with cable-TV channels, video-on-demand services and online streaming companies, especially abroad.

Sluggish electric-car sales?: J.D. Power says that only 7.3 percent of the autos sold in 2020 will be hybrid-electric and battery-electric vehicles. From the LAT:

"Many consumers say they are concerned about the environment, but when they find out how much a green vehicle is going to cost, their altruistic inclination declines considerably," said John Humphrey, senior vice president of automotive operations at J.D. Power. "For example, among consumers in the U.S. who initially say they are interested in buying a hybrid vehicle, the number declines by some 50% when they learn of the extra $5,000, on average, it would cost to acquire the vehicle."