Tuesday morning headlines

Stocks stay positive: Market vibe being boosted by a strong retail sales report. Dow is up about 60 points.

Jump in retail sales: The November increase was slightly higher than expected and marked the fifth straight month that sales were up. Clothing was an especially strong category. (Reuters)

But Best Buy disappoints: The electronics retailer's third quarter earnings, which include Black Friday, missed Wall Street estimates. The stock is tumbling. (CNNMoney)

Computer prices on the rise: They were up an average of 6 percent in November compared with last year - the sixth month in the last eight that prices increased. From the WSJ:

The cut-throat pricing of recent years has rippled through the industry, squeezing profit margins for big PC makers such as Hewlett-Packard Co. and Dell Inc. Now those firms are focusing on premium machines and seeing profit margins expand. The higher-end models are "flying off the shelves," said PaulHenri Ferrand, chief marketing officer for Dell's consumer unit.

Regents overhaul pension, health benefits: The plan makes health care more expensive for everyone retiring from the UC system, and creates two tiers of pension benefits - one for current employees that remains unchanged, and a second, less-generous one for future employees. (Sacramento Bee)

Brown meets in L.A.: The governor-elect's second town hall budget briefing will focus on education. It'll be held this morning at UCLA's Ackerman Union. (Capitol Alert)

State building sale on hold: A state appeals court will consider an effort to block the $2.3-billion sale of 11 government-owned buildings. The proceeds would be used to help plug California's massive budget deficit. (Bloomberg)

Big push for electric cars: A group of automakers, utilities and regulators wants to build charging terminals in thousands of homes, office buildings and shopping malls. From AP:

The plan recommends making installation of home charging stations affordable by offering rebates from the state and regional air quality districts. To further lower costs, the state could reduce registration fees for battery-powered cars, and utilities could offer cheaper charging rates during off-peak hours when there is less demand on the electric grid. Through the alliance, automakers can notify utilities where customers will likely plug in to prevent a "clustering" of electric vehicles charging in a neighborhood all at once and overloading the system, advocates said.

Report faults Calpers ethics: An independent examiner says stronger oversight is needed to avoid conflicts. From the LAT:

Overall, [Philip] Khinda said, the fund should move away from the practice of paying large management fees to its investment partners and instead pay fees based on financial performance. "CalPERS should insist that nearly all of the fees it pays be in the form of incentive fees," the report said, "based on the success of its external managers in investing CalPERS assets."

Promoting L.A. as film hub: The $135,000 marketing plan, dubbed Film Works, is supposed to remind everybody that Hollywood is a big deal for the local economy. (LAT)

Golden Globe nominees: "The King's Speech" leads the way with seven nominations, with "The Social Network" and "The Fighter" receiving six each. (THR)