Monday morning headlines

Maguire is ousted: As expected, the prominent downtown landlord has been replaced as CEO of Maguire Properties by another well-known L.A. real estate executive, Nelson Rising. Maguire also loses his board seat, but will be given the title of "chairman emeritus" (ouch). Actually, he still holds 16.6 percent of the company's stock, though much of it is in unredeemed "operating partnership" units. The board also indicated that a sale of the company is unlikely for now. From the WSJ:

In an interview Sunday, Mr. Rising said it was too early to present details of his plans to turn Maguire around. "We have to deal with the debt burden," he said in explaining why the dividend was being suspended. In coming weeks, he plans to spend time meeting shareholders and learning about the properties, especially the company's troubled Orange County office buildings.

Microsoft still interested: What has to be one of the dullest corporate takeover battles in memory is continuing - sort of - with word that Microsoft has proposed some sort of advertising arrangement with Yahoo. Microsoft says the arrangement wouldn't be an acquisition of all of Yahoo, but that it "reserves the right to reconsider" the possibility of an outright bid. Zzzzzzz. (WSJ)

Munis still tax-exempt: Investors can breathe easier - the Supreme Court upheld the states’ long-standing practice of exempting interest on their own bonds from being taxed while taxing residents for interest on bonds issued by other states. The states have said that throwing out the exemption system would have a devastating impact on finances. The vote was 7-2. (AP)

Daily coop faces probe: The feds are looking into allegations that the Dairy Farmers of America has manipulated milk and cheese prices. They also are reviewing a secret transfer of cash to a former director. It's unclear - some would say it’s doubtful - that the alleged manipulation had any major role in the recent price hikes of dairy products. From the WSJ:

What has most riled dairy farmers, though, is the co-op's disclosure to its members May 7 of a secret $1 million payment to a former board member. In an extraordinary letter to members and a subsequent conference call with dairy trade publications, DFA's new chief executive, Richard P. Smith, said the former chief executive, Gary Hanman, arranged an improper and "unauthorized transfer of money," concealed through a DFA affiliate in 2001. Mr. Hanman, who retired in 2006 at age 71, helped drive the consolidation of the dairy industry, leading the merger of four large co-ops to create DFA in 1998. The letter said that DFA's "past and present board members were not involved in this wrongdoing, and the current board and management team only recently became aware of it."

Jury selection in Bratz trial: This is the battle of the toy giants - Mattel and MGA - over allegations that a Mattel doll designer took his drawings for the super-popular Bratz line to the competing company. Mattel will allege that the designer, Carter Bryant, signed an agreement that gives Mattel the rights to those sketches. Opening arguments are next week. (LABJ)

NASA study expected: This is a $1.4-million contract to look into safety issues involving LAX's north runway. The Board of Airport Commissioners is expected to sign off on the study today, just a few months after a similar deal fell apart. NASA will spend the next year studying five different options for the runway and then conduct a series of simulations aimed at projecting airline traffic through 2020. (Daily Breeze)