Tuesday morning headlines

Wall Street advances:. After last week's hiccup, the Dow is again nearing the 12,000 mark as investors move their attention away from Egypt.

Egyptian economy on life support: Foreign commerce, tourism and banking activity have all but halted. From the NYT:

The protests' crippling effects could give Mr. Mubarak and his new cabinet perhaps only a few weeks to re-establish order before shortages, rising unemployment and a deep crisis set in, economists said. "It might give impetus to more demonstrations and more riots in the streets," said Ahmed Galal of the Economic Research Forum in Cairo. "I think the challenge is going to be in the next couple of weeks, and it is going to mount in a week or two."

Oil markets settle down: The price of crude is actually down a few cents this morning, though that could change if protests spread to other countries in the region or the flow of oil through the Suez slows. (WSJ)

What about the U.S. economy? Higher oil prices could slow down the recovery, though it seems we're aways off from that happening. From the WSJ:

"The increase in oil prices we've seen largely reflects better global growth," said James O'Sullivan, chief economist at MF Global. "Even if oil prices rise $10 or $15 because of this crisis, it's not going to make or break overall growth."

Gas prices slightly higher: An average gallon of regular in the L.A. area is $3.392, up a penny or two from last week, according to the government's survey.

Brown facing big hurdles: Last night's State of the State address seemed to establish the battle lines. From Dan Walters:

Brown's Solomon-like plan faces two very high political hurdles - and a very tight time frame to boot. One is a Legislature dominated by very liberal Democrats and very conservative Republicans. The former are feeling heat from advocates for the poor, elderly and disabled who oppose the billions of dollars in permanent "safety net" spending cuts Brown wants, while the latter are being pressed by anti-tax groups to oppose tax extensions. Outwardly, nothing Brown said Monday appeared to change any minds.

Farmers Insurance cuts stadium deal: The $700-million naming rights agreement, set to be announced this morning, would be a major step towards getting the NFL back to L.A. Or so the boosters claim. From the LAT:

The deal would provide AEG's proposed project a crucial chunk of contractually obligated income, starting at $20 million for the first year and escalating incrementally every year after, according to individuals familiar with the negotiations but not involved in them. The stadium would be named Farmers Field. Announcing a naming-rights deal for a stadium that has not been built, on a site that has not been approved, for a team that has not been acquired is unheard of.

Cancellations out of LAX: Today's big storm in the Midwest is already creating a mess, with dozens of flights to Chicago, Kansas City and Milwaukee either delayed or canceled. (KTLA)

Fewer driver on toll roads: Blame the economy - trips on California Highway 73 are down 19 percent from the beginning of the recession in 2007 through June 2010. The 91 Express Lane has fared a bit better. (LAT)

Running out of Web addresses: Last batch of existing Internet protocol addresses is being doled out this week. From the WSJ:

While there is a new Internet addressing system ready to go that greatly expands the number of addresses, it isn't compatible with the existing system. So in June, Google, Facebook, Yahoo Inc. and others will switch over to the new addresses for one day in the first wide-scale test of the new network, dubbed IP version six, or IPv6. A permanent shift to a new Internet addressing system is still years off. But it is now inevitable, said Lorenzo Colitti, an engineer at Google who is helping to oversee the search company's transition to IPv6.