Thursday morning headlines

Mixed market: Some nervousness about tomorrow's unemployment report for December, but some optimism about today's retail numbers. Dow is up about 10 points in early trading.

Retail revival: December sales turned out to be stronger than expected, helped along by last-minute shoppers. That bumps up the profit picture for many chains. From AP:

As merchants reported results Thursday, warehouse club operator Costco Wholesale Corp., Target Corp., Macy's Inc. and Children's Place Retail Stores Inc. all reported increases. Even Sears Holdings Corp., which operates Kmart and Sears, Roebuck and Co., eked out a small gain and offered fourth-quarter guidance that's sharply above Wall Street estimates. Macy's Inc. and Limited Brands are among retailers raising profit outlooks.

Big game payout: Hotels and restaurants in the Pasadena area have been filled with Texas and Alabama fans, temporarily boosting the local economy until they all go home tomorrow. I'll be talking about the game's economic impact on Larry Mantle's "Airtalk" later this morning.

Rents down: L.A.-area landlords slashed rents by 5 percent in 2009, according to research firm Reis Inc. Other sharp drops were reported in San Jose, Vegas, NY and OC. (WSJ)

Bankruptcies up: California saw a 58.8 percent increase in personal bankruptcy filings in 2009, a jump largely attributed to the high levels of consumer debt. From the WSJ:

Makoto Shuttleworth, a California bankruptcy lawyer, said his clients four years ago were almost exclusively renters. Homeowners in financial trouble could almost always take care of their debts by selling their home or turn its equity into cash via refinancing, he said. As real-estate prices collapsed, Mr. Shuttleworth saw more homeowners come through his doors, most with steady incomes. Today, with the unemployment rate at 10%, he is seeing more clients whose debts have piled up after losing their jobs.

Low-wage earners robbed: New UCLA study says they're regularly paid less than minimum wage and often work off the clock. From Daily News wires:

The study done at UCLA's Institute for Research on Labor and Employment found that workplace violations in Los Angeles County are unusually high, with 30 percent of respondents saying they were paid less than the minimum wage of $8 per hour for their previous week of work. Nearly 80 percent of respondents who worked more than 40 hours the week before the survey said they were not paid for overtime.

Netflix agrees to delay: The movie subscription service will wait 28 days until after Warner Bros. releases are first sold on DVD before making them available. Rentals don't provide as much profitability as sales. (LAT)

Checking anemia drugs: The FDA will review two Amgen products, Epogen and Aranesp, after another clinical trial suggested that high doses might cause strokes. Also being reviewed are drugs made by Johnson & Johnson. (NYT)

Studying MGM numbers: More than a dozen potential bidders have signed confidentiality agreements in advance of a Jan. 15 deadline to make offers. They include Warner Bros., Lionsgate and AT&T. (THR)

Changes at Cerrell: Longtime president Hal Dash takes over as chairman and CEO and the L.A. public affairs firm. Co-founder Joe Cerrell is chairman emeritus. (Business Journal)