Monday morning headlines

Wall Street extends gains: In early trading the Dow is over 8300 and up 165 points for the day. We're still waiting for the dead cat.

Home prices not that low: Don't be misled by what's going on in Riverside - asking prices are still plenty high in many parts of L.A. And bidders are lining up. From the LAT:

Real estate brokers and investors say would-be buyers misunderstand how the drop in housing prices has affected desirable neighborhoods. Just because an abandoned house in a troubled part of San Bernardino County might be going for $200,000, it doesn't mean you can get a nice place in Sherman Oaks for that amount -- or even twice that amount. House hunters are trying to pounce on deals from sellers they expected to be frantic -- if not curled in the fetal position. What they're finding instead are bidding wars as low interest rates and pent-up demand in traditionally stable or chic areas have kept prices up -- not as high as the market's peak, but not nearly as low as they had hoped.

Driving habits change: Californians consumed 1.21 billion gallons of gasoline in January, down 22 million gallons, or 1.8 percent, from the previous January. Gas consumption has been falling for the last three years. From the LAT:

Agency statistics show the pattern began between January and September 2005, when the average gas price climbed from $1.96 to $3.06. That was California's first brush with $3-a-gallon gas. It lasted just two weeks in 2005, according to the Energy Department's weekly survey of filling stations, but it was long enough to trigger behavior changes.

Buffett's not-so-hot forecast: He doesn't hold out much hope for better results from Berkshire Hathaway in the near term. "We will continue to do quite well in our insurance and utility operations. We won't do well in other operations," he said during the company's annual meeting in Omaha. (Bloomberg)

Charlie Munger on newspapers: The Berkshire vice chairman calls the industry's implosion "a national tragedy....These monopoly daily newspapers have been an important sinew to our civilization, they kept government more honest than they would otherwise be." Buffett had some things to say as well. From the WSJ:

"For most newspapers in the United States, we would not buy them at any price," he said. "They have the possibility of going to just unending losses." As long as newspapers were essential to readers, they were essential to advertisers, he said. But news is now available in many other venues, he said.

Roosevelt sues over billboards: The landmark Hollywood hotel alleges that city laws governing supergraphic ads and digital billboards are unfairly enforced and violate the constitutional right of free speech. The hotel was denied permission to post a giant sign. (AP)