Thursday morning headlines

Shaky market: There are reports that the Federal Reserve is again pumping more money into the system, so we'll see if that stabilizes things. For now, everything is down, with the Dow off more than 100 points after two hours. Countrywide is making big news with its efforts to shore up the amount of cash it has on hand by getting a group of 40 banks to provide an $11.5 billion credit facility. "Everyone is waiting for the other shoe to drop,'' Quincy Krosby, chief investment strategist at the Hartford, told Bloomberg. "There is certainly concern. We need to get more information from the financial organizations.''

Good primers: NPR had two excellent reports on Wednesday's "All Things Considered" about the credit crunch and the troubles with Chinese exports. They're here and here.

MGM finance deal shelved: Hollywood has been victimized by the credit crunch. Goldman Sachs and Deutsche Bank, which were trying to raise up to $1 billion to finance films for the film studio, withdrew their commitment to underwrite the deal. The financing has not been abandoned, however, with the banks moving from an underwriting commitment to a "best efforts" commitment. But the underwriting withdrawal means the deal will be delayed. (Financial Times)

Port deal approved: The L.A. City Council has pretty much cleared the way to move a hazardous tank farm off San Pedro's waterfront. A $17 million settlement with Westway Terminal Corp. gives the company 18 months to begin tearing down the tanks to relocate. The terminal's location, just south of Ports O' Call Village, had generated lots of concern among San Pedro residents and had held up plans to overhaul the waterfront. (Daily Breeze)

Sunset deal is done: The 15-acre Sunset-Gower Studios has been sold to Hudson Capital, a Los Angeles investment company. The new owner will invest in further improvements to the site, such as the commissary, production facilities and offices. Hudson will also finish developing a six-story office building on the studio lot. The deal was first reported in June. (LAT)

Home depot loses battle: The L.A. City Council is requiring the retail chain to go through an extensive environmental review for a new store in Sunland-Tejunga. That doesn't stop the project, but it certainly delays it. The company had waged a pretty intense lobbying effort to secure a quick-and-easy over-the-counter permit. From the LAT:

The vote brought an end, at least for now, to an acrimonious land-use fight in the northeast San Fernando Valley that had touched on race, immigration and the city's business climate. For more than a year, supporters and opponents have taken to websites, talk radio and the council chamber's floor as they debated the proposed store, which would occupy a 93,000-square-foot structure on Foothill Boulevard. The two sides worked furiously to make their case until the very end. Opponents, sensitive over accusations that their cause was anti-Latino, brought with them a religious leader involved in the sanctuary movement for illegal immigrants. Lobbyists for Home Depot went further, arguing that a vote against the hardware chain could hurt the city's effort to address global warming -- by discouraging businesses from adding fuel-efficient air conditioning systems.

Dumping tainted toys: What do you do with all those millions of cars, dolls and magnets that have been recalled? Mattel said it was working on a "responsible approach" (no details). If they're just put in the trash, will they end up in landfills, where they could possibly leach toxins into the groundwater? Many retailers such as Wal-Mart Stores Inc. offer the option of returning the recalled toys to stores, but they prefer shoppers send them back to manufacturers in packaging the maker provides in exchange for a refund. From AP:

Lead-painted toys fall under the category of products that would need to be destroyed or properly disposed of, according to the Consumer Product Safety Commission in Washington, D.C. But plenty of other toys - such as the millions of toys including Batman and Polly Pockets that Mattel recalled this week because of hazardous magnets - don't necessarily have to be destroyed. Still, they could present future legal risks if they pop up in a Salvation Army store or other resale site. The magnetic toys were recalled because their small, powerful magnets could harm children if they're swallowed.