Wednesday morning headlines

Tribune deal gets interesting: It'll almost certainly go through in the next few days, but the Chicago Tribune reports that the company’s banks are squawking about having to finance the rest of the deal. In normal times, banks would have no problem lining up outside investors and thus leverage the financial risk. But given the company's uncertain future, not to mention the ongoing credit crunch, Tribune bankers would have to offer outsiders the kind of terms that wouldn’t pencil out. So they're left doing the deal themselves, which means holding onto not-so-great credit. Meanwhile, Tribune CEO Dennis FitzSimons is ready to step down as soon as the deal is complete - no doubt the first of many Tribune boys to slip away. But for a price: the LAT reports that Fitz will leave the building with $40 million.

NBC's game plan: With the writers strike going nowhere fast, the networks are firming up their alternative schedules. Besides the usual reality offerings, NBC will be filling its prime time line-up with reruns from the USA channel - as well as shows produced outside the U.S, with staffs of non-guild writers. That, along with the return of Leno and Conan, could provide some financial cushion for a while. The other networks are considering similar moves. From the WSJ:

Until now, the networks had been expected to soon run out of fresh episodes of their most popular prime-time shows, forcing them to revert to unscripted fare such as reality and game shows, which often draw lower ratings. But NBC said it has a slate of never-before-seen episodes of new and returning scripted shows for January and February, including "Lipstick Jungle," "Medium" and "Law and Order: Special Victims Unit." Because of the strike, the network has only partial seasons of all the shows, meaning it will still run out of new material by early spring unless the strike is resolved. To fill the void, starting in March the network will air reruns of "Monk" and "Psych," two USA dramas -- one about an obsessive-compulsive detective, the other about a fake-psychic detective -- on Sunday nights in prime time.

Bruckheimer playing games: The big-time Hollywood producer is announcing a deal with MTV to develop videogames that will be based on fresh concepts rather than his roster of hits ("CSI," "Pirates of the Caribbean," etc.). MTV has been looking to step up its videogame involvement (it announced plans to invest more than $500 million in its interactive business over the next two years). Not many Hollywood producers have had success in games, but that could change as the two types of content continue to overlap. (NYT)

Turnaround on defaults?: November's 201,950 foreclosure filings were down 10 percent from the previous month, but up 68 percent from a year earlier. California, Florida and Ohio had the most filings and Nevada had the highest foreclosure rate. RealtyTrac, which supplies the data, includes default notices, auction letters and bank repossessions in its overall filing number. From Bloomberg:

California, the most populous U.S. state and the most expensive real estate market, had five cities whose foreclosure rate was among the top 10 in the nation, RealtyTrac said. Stockton ranked first with one filing for every 99 households, Modesto was second with one for every 104 households and Merced was third with one for every 106 households. Vallejo-Fairfield ranked sixth and Riverside-San Bernardino was ninth.

Home for the holidays: The Auto Club is saying that year-end travel will be flat from as year ago, perhaps reflecting higher gas prices. As usual, most Socal travelers will go by car (air travel is down slightly).

New insurance plan: The nation's insurers will introduce a series of steps today that they say will make it harder for policies to be cancelled or coverage denied to people with pre-existing medical conditions. The steps would also limit the premiums that could be charged. Is this a preemptive strike at a time when the idea of government-mandated health insurance is finally gaining some traction? From the NYT:

It is far from certain whether any of the specific proposals will be enacted or states will finance the cost of broader coverage. But the industry’s position indicates a willingness to move toward a system in which everyone can find coverage. “The individual market is recognizing that we need to improve the way we do business today,” said Don Hamm, the chief executive of Assurant Health, a Milwaukee insurer, who was among the executives who drafted the proposals.