Monday morning headlines

Stocks take off: Guess earnings reports are still looking good - for whatever reason. Dow is up around 100 points in early trading.

Insurers win out: Health care legislation, whatever it turns out to be, will suit the insurance industry just fine, the result of what the LAT calls "a sophisticated lobbying and strategic campaign."

There is broad agreement that the final plan will, for the first time, require Americans to buy health coverage, with taxpayer subsidies for millions who cannot afford it. For the health insurance industry, that means millions of new paying customers. What's more, there are likely to be no limits on what insurers can charge, while at the same time the plan is expected to limit competition from any new national government insurance plan that lawmakers create.

Holiday Inn goes luxe: Located across the street from L.A. Live, the hotel will soon be closing for renovations and reopen next spring as a four-star boutique property under the Luxe brand. (blogdowntown)

Leno still struggles: NBC's 10 p.m. show is now drawing one-quarter fewer viewers than the network's scripted predecessors a year ago. Among other things, that's impacting local newscasts big time. From the NY Post:

Ratings for late newscasts at NBC affiliates in 44 of the top 56 metered markets are down this year, falling an average of 13 percent in the first four weeks of the season compared with a year ago. In 10 of the top 25 major markets, the numbers are worse, with New York down 22 percent, Philadelphia off 37 percent and Miami down 30 percent.

Eisner gets backing: The former Disney CEO just bolstered his fledgling Web video studio with a minority investment from Rogers Communications, one of Canada's largest media companies. The studio, named Vuguru, will become a separate from the rest of Eisner's investments. (NYT)