Tuesday morning headlines

Stocks sharply higher: Investors are trading off the headlines, and off the European markets, and both are looking better. The Dow is up 230 points.

Some hope on European debt: Chancellor Angela Merkel says Germany will provide all the help it can to stabilize Greece - and the Greek prime minister promised that Athens would live up to its commitments. Both are encouraging signs, but there's a lot of opposition in both countries. (NYT)

L.A. housing market still weak: Home prices from June to July rose 0.2 percent from the previous month (a bit worse than most of the other metros surveyed) and fell 3.5 percent from a year earlier, according to the Case-Shiller Index. From press release:

"With July's data we are seeing not only anticipated monthly increases, but some fairly broad improvement in the annual rates of change in home prices," says David M. Blitzer, Chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Indices. "This is still a seasonal period of stronger demand for houses, so monthly price increases are expected and were seen in 17 of the 20 cities. The exceptions were Las Vegas and Phoenix where prices fell, while Denver was flat. The better news is that 14 of 20 cities and both Composites saw their annual rates of change improve in July.

Mortgage guarantees lowered: Bad news for high-priced housing markets like L.A. FHA borrowers in L.A. OC will see loan limits drop to $625,500 from $729,750, From the LAT:

The loan limit determines the maximum size of a mortgage that the Federal Housing Administration, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac can buy or guarantee. So-called nonconforming jumbo loans that are offered by the private mortgage market typically require bigger down payments and carry a higher interest rate, driving up monthly payments for borrowers.

Finances taking a hit: One in two California voters say their financial well-being is worse off than a year ago, according to a Field Poll. "Pretty gloomy stuff," said Field Poll director Mark DiCamillo. "The length of these negative reports is now becoming historic." From the Sacramento Bee:

Field also found that 91 percent of voters say that California's economy is in bad shape. Forty-two percent believe that things will stay the same over the next year, while 30 percent say it will worsen and 26 percent think it will improve.

L.A. deficit deeper than expected: Next year's shortfall is growing to $200 million, $4 million more than projections from a few months ago. It's the result of rising costs and less-than-expected revenue. (Daily News)

Port plan turned down: The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that the Port of Los Angeles cannot require freight haulers to hire all their drivers as employees. That provision, said the court, was primarily based on a desire to impact wages rather than administer the Clean Trucks Program. From the Daily Breeze:

The appeals court ruling dealt a blow to Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, a former labor organizer who was a driving force behind the so-called employee mandate. Opponents have argued that the provision would allow the International Brotherhood of Teamsters to rapidly expand by organizing employed drivers. Independent drivers cannot join the union.

LAX traffic is up again: More than 5.9 million travelers passed through the airport in August, a 5.3 percent increase from a year earlier. Year to date, traffic has risen 5.6 percent. (Daily Breeze)

Queen Mary has new operator: A Newport Beach firm, Evolution Hospitality, assumes control of the ship, replacing Delaware North Co., which had been in charge for two years. (Press-Telegram)