Friday morning headlines

Stocks back in the red: After Thursday's 72-point gain, the Dow is back in negative territory, down about 90 points.

Consumers pick up spending: But August's 0.5 percent increase was largely due to having to pay higher gas prices. Meanwhile, incomes barely grew. Not a great combination. From AP:

"The US personal income and spending data for August are worse than the headline figures suggest and indicate that subdued jobs growth is hitting incomes," said Paul Dales, senior U.S. The increase "was largely due to extra spending caused by the surge in gasoline prices." High unemployment and weak wage growth have kept Americans from spending more freely, which has held back growth. Consumer spending drives nearly 70 percent of economic activity.

Gas prices trending down: Average gallon of regular in the L.A. area is $4.136, according to the Auto Club, down a couple of pennies from last week. That's elevated for this time of year.

Consumer sentiment edges higher: But September's Thomson Reuters/University of Michigan's index was down from its preliminary reading and did not meet expectations. (Reuters)

B of A settles: The banking giant has agreed to pay $2.43 billion as part of a class-action lawsuit related to its acquisition of Merrill Lynch. Plaintiffs alleged that Bank of America executives made false or misleading statements about the health of both companies. (AP)

Eroding support for tax hike: Only 55 percent of registered voters back Gov. Brown's ballot measure, a drop from 59 percent in May, according to a USC Dornsife/LAT poll. From the Times:

The findings suggest that voters are leery of sending more cash to Sacramento in the wake of a financial scandal at the parks department, spiraling costs for a multibillion-dollar high-speed rail project to connect Northern and Southern California and ill-timed legislative pay raises. Brown's measure would temporarily raise income tax rates on high earners for seven years and boost the state sales tax by a quarter-cent for four years in a bid to avoid steep cuts in funds for schools and other programs.

Council to vote on stadium plan: Passage of the proposed facility (stadium and revamped convention hall) is widely expected. (CBSLocal)

Ralphs settles:: The grocery chain will pay more than $1.1 million in connection with allegations that it overcharged customers on deli and other weighed food products. (CNS)

Planning Commission approves NBC Universal makeover: If passed by the City Council, the overhaul would greatly expand TV and movie production facilities, as well as add to the Universal Studios theme park and CityWalk. Plans for an office tower and 3,000 homes on the Universal City property were scrapped. (Daily News)