Monday morning headlines

Stocks take off: Strong Black Friday sales are one reason, along with a string of losses last week that have created buying opportunities. Dow is up 300 points.

Measuring Black Friday: Sales were very strong - a 9.1 percent increase from a year earlier - but the number of shoppers appeared to peter out on Saturday and Sunday. From the NYT:

Though the longer Friday hours helped bump up sales, some analysts said they might have taken away from steady shopping through the weekend. "Our perspective is that Black Friday peaked early this year and then lost some of its luster," said Alison Jatlow Levy, a retail strategist at the consulting firm Kurt Salmon. On Saturday, "the malls felt like an average busy Saturday, but not like a Black Friday extravaganza."

Today is Cyber Monday: Online retailers are gearing up for what's likely to be their biggest day of the season. From the NYT:

Many retailers have such high hopes for the day that they are trying to expand it. Toys "R" Us offered Cyber Monday deals on Sunday night, and will continue them through the week. West Elm began its promotion last Wednesday, and Target went so far as to offer Cyber Monday deals in September. Still, there are naysayers who view the day as more hype than reality. At Blue Nile, the online jeweler, the last day for free shipping by Christmas remains the biggest sales day, said Mark Vadon, Blue Nile's chairman.

Occupy update: At last check the camp remains in place, despite a 12:01 deadline to officially close City Hall Park. From the LAT:

Shortly after 6 a.m., police reopened Spring, 1st and Main streets, which had been temporarily closed in the area after some demonstrators who had been camped out at the park around City Hall spilled into the roadways. Police issued an order to disperse about an hour before. Most people complied, retreating back to the park or the sidewalks. Four people were arrested during the standoff. At one point, several protesters threw bottles and other objects at police.

Disappointing box office: Ticket sales were down 11 percent from a year earlier in what was the slowest Thanksgiving movie-going weekend in the last four years. (LAT)

Southwestern Law School to expand: The $20-million project will add 133 apartments, an outdoor courtyard and underground parking next to the school's two main buildings. (LAT)

Big day at LAX: The Monday after Thanksgiving has become one of the busiest travel days of the year, with the airport expecting more than 160,000 people. (ABC 7)

LAX traffic edges higher: More than 5.1 million travelers passed through the airport in October, a 2.7 percent increase from a year earlier. Year to date, passenger traffic is up 5.3 percent. Meanwhile, traffic out of Ontario fell 12 percent in October. (Daily Breeze, Press-Enterprise)