Tuesday morning headlines

Stocks wavering: Well, at least that's better than plunging. But there's a lot of nervousness. Dow is down a few points.

New worries about Italy: The economy minister and euro officials are talking about austerity measures, but there's no indication of a breakthrough - or even what the big concerns might be. From the NYT:

Italy has begun moving into the front of investors' consciousness, but the question of how to aid Greece remains unsolved. In a letter to Jean-Claude Juncker, the Eurogroup president, the Greek Prime Minister George Papandreou complained that market turmoil was undermining his government's efforts at economic reform, and called for "collective forceful decisions" from his European partners.

Little change in small business sentiment: The National Federation of Independent Business's optimism index slipped a bit last month, largely because of concerns about future conditions. (press release)

Election Day: It's Democrat Janice Hahn and Republican Craig Huey in the runoff to replace Rep. Jane Harman. Hahn will probably win, but the race is a lot closer than many had figured. From Politico:

The battleground in this carefully carved beach district falls in the center, near Torrance, the quieter, less touristy area that is more right-leaning than its neighboring towns. This is where Huey's higher-propensity voters reside -- and if he's going to pull off the upset of the year, he will need a robust turnout from the heart of this area. Part of the reason Huey was able to upend [Debra] Bowen for the second-place slot in the primary was his ability to hoist GOP turnout to 45 percent in targeted Torrance-area precincts.

More evictions for B of A borrowers?: That's the concern after an announced settlement between the bank and investors of its mortgage securities. From the NYT:

With 1.3 million borrowers at risk of foreclosure, Bank of America has been overwhelmed by the surge in defaults, and the accord has raised hopes that this logjam will finally begin to ease. But skeptics say that previous arrangements, like another multibillion-dollar settlement by Bank of America in 2008, have barely made a dent in the problem. "The mortgage servicers have repeatedly promised to do things and then not done them," said Michael S. Barr, a former assistant Treasury secretary who now teaches law at the University of Michigan. "I think it's positive in general, but I don't expect it to be transformative of what we've witnessed from the mortgage servicers over the last four years."

Studios planned for overseas: India's Reliance MediaWorks is in partnership with Venice-based Digital Domain to open post production services in London and Mumbai. The new studios will be owned by Reliance and managed by Digital Domain. (LAT)

Vote of confidence for Dodgers GM: Owner Frank McCourt said he supports Ned Colletti, despite rumors of a possible executive change. Colletti is in his sixth season as general manager. (LAT)

Power shutdown at LAX: Airport traffic could get a little dicey this morning as DWP crews turn off power in parking lots and non-terminal areas. Something about adjustments to transformers. (AP)

Why is Amazon resorting to a referendum?: Looking to overturn a new law requiring online retailers to collect sales taxes, Amazon is bypassing the more commonly used initiative process. From the Sacramento Bee:

Referendums are used to overturn laws passed by the Legislature, and the new sales tax law would be suspended once the Amazon effort qualifies for the ballot, said Chip Nielsen, a lawyer working on the referendum. The next statewide election is scheduled for February, but a pending bill would move it to June 2012. Amazon and its allies would need to gather around 505,000 signatures to put the measure on the ballot. In a statement, a company executive portrayed the referendum as a way to restore the retailer's relationship with those 10,000 affiliates.