Tuesday morning headlines

Stocks bounce back: Earnings from Coke and IBM are probably helping - even though bank results are decidedly mixed. Dow is up 130 points.

Murdoch testifies: He denies any culpability in the scandal, but man, he looks soooo old and out of touch. From the NYT:

Slapping the table to underscore his points as he spoke to the committee, Rupert Murdoch said The News of the World, the tabloid at the center of the scandal, represented about one percent of his company's global business. "I employ 53,000 people around the world who are proud, ethical, distinguished people," Mr. Murdoch said.

Don't count on Murdoch's board: All the speculation about the News Corp. CEO being forced out may be wishful thinking. As NYT columnist Andrew Ross Sorkin writers, the board "might as well be named 'Friends of Rupert.'"

"This is a board that qualifies for an 'F' in every category," Nell Minow, a member of the board of GovernanceMetrics International and founder of the Corporate Library, a governance firm, said without any hesitation. "It is the ultimate crony board."

B of A reports big loss: Second-quarter results were impacted by an $8.5 billion settlement with investors over claims that the bank had sold poor-quality mortgage bonds. From AP:

The Charlotte, N.C. bank has been hamstrung by litigation and demands from investors who want Bank of America to buy back the bonds that it sold years ago. In the quarter, the bank set aside an additional $1.9 billion to fight litigation bringing the total mortgage-related charges in the second quarter to $20.7 billion. The bank does not disclose the total amount reserved for litigation costs.

Goldman Sachs misses estimates: But second-quarter profits more than doubled from the year earlier. (NYT) Wells Fargo, meanwhile, beat analysts' estimates. (NYT)

Get ready for some football!: Team executives are being told to prepare for a new agreement, which could be ratified by the NFL owners as early as Thursday. (LAT)

Redevelopment agencies file suit: They claim that the state can't squeeze them out of $1.7 billion in order to fix the budget. Cities also oppose the phasing out of redvelopment money, calling it a jobs killer. (Sacramento Bee)

Gas prices up a penny: An average gallon of regular in the L.A. area is $3.844, according to the government survey.

Karatz's son joins mayor's office: Matt Karatz is being promoted to deputy mayor for the Office of Economic and Business Development, taking over the position previously held by Austin Beutner. Karatz, whose father is former KB Home CEO Bruce Karatz, had been brought on by Beutner. (Daily News)

Grocery law revived: The state Supreme Court upheld a 2005 L.A. ordinance aimed at protecting workers when businesses change hands. From the LAT:

The Los Angeles law affected grocery stores of at least 15,000 square feet. New owners were required to hire previous employees, excluding managers, for at least 90 days after the operation reopened. Grocers sued, contending that other laws, including state health and safety regulations and federal labor laws, prevented localities from weighing in on such matters. Justice Kathryn Mickle Werdegar, writing for the court, said the Los Angeles law did not violate constitutional guarantees or interfere with other laws, including labor provisions.