Thursday morning headlines

Stocks move higher: The somewhat better-than-expected growth figures (see post below) provide an early boost. Dow is up about 80 points in early trading.

GDP reaction: As you might guess, it's mixed - and restrained. Economist Kathleen Stephansen tells Bloomberg Television:

"A lot of this is thanks to government support. We still have major headwinds for the consumer. That worries me. The consumer, in fact private demand in general, is not ready yet to pick up the growth baton from the government."

Jon Hilsenwrath at Real Time Economics also cautions about personal spending:

A very large chunk of that came from car sales, which accounted for a full percentage point of the overall increase in GDP for the quarter. The car sales increase was driven in large part by the temporary cash-for-clunkers program. After surging in July and August, retail car sales dropped 10.4% in September, suggesting the auto sector won't provide such a big boost again any time soon.

OC on the mend: Expect employers to start hiring again next spring, according to UCLA's economic forecast for Orange County, but there won't be any significant local job growth until 2011. From the OC Register:

Economists think the housing market is recovering with fewer distressed sales and higher prices for conventional homes next year. Residential construction is also expected to rise. Commercial real estate, however, is likely to continue to suffer for a simple reason: fewer workers means less demand for office space.

Extending homeowner credit?: Still a work in progress, but Senate negotiators have reached a tentative deal to extend that tax credit for first-time homebuyers - up to $8,000 - and offer a new credit of up to $6,500 for some existing homeowners. But passage is apparently not a done deal. (Bloomberg)

Disney saves the day!: That's the slant on the Mouse House announcing a new production facility in Santa Clarita. The complex, located on the northwest corner of the company's Golden Oak Ranch, will address a shortage of soundstages in the L.A. area (a topic that gets scant attention next to all the dire reporting about runaway production). From the LAT:

Richard Ballering, executive director of production for ABC Studios, said the project would address the studio's shortage of production facilities. The network can have as many as 16 to 23 television productions taking place during the height of pilot season. With only seven soundstages on the Walt Disney Studio lot, production ends up scattered at facilities throughout the region, he said.

Good news for Long Beach: The $680 billion defense budget signed by President Obama includes funding for up to 10 new Boeing C-17s, though it's still not clear how many will be ordered. More C-17s mean an extended life for Boeing's Long Beach assembly plant - and more jobs. (Press-Telegram)

UTube smash: Sunday's Webcast of U2's Rose Bowl concert has received close to 10 million video streams. No way to know, however, what that means in terms of actual viewers. From Media Memo:

For some context, consider that last week's episode of "The Mentalist" on CBS (CBS) drew 11.8 million viewers, which made it the 20th-ranked show in the US. But the fact that YouTube is even playing in those leagues gives you a sense of the site's reach.

Sign of the times: Costco is now accepting food stamps. "The rules are different today," CEO Jim Sinegal told the Seattle Times. "People who were in good shape financially all of the sudden are needing some assistance."