Monday morning headlines

Wall Street slumber: All the indexes are hovering around the line, with the Dow up slightly in early trading.

Waiting for financial reform: Sen. Chris Dodd's plan to overhaul the U.S. financial system is not expected to include a stand-alone Consumer Financial Protection Agency that had been proposed by Obama. From the LAT:

Instead, Dodd is likely to propose a new consumer agency, with a director appointed by the president and confirmed by the Senate, that would be part of the Federal Reserve, according to an industry official closely following the issue who spoke on condition of anonymity because the plans were not final. The agency would be an independent entity in the central bank, not reporting to the Fed board, but the agency's decision could be vetoed by a new council of financial regulators.

Small biz blues: Survey finds that about 31 percent of California small business owners believe the economy is better than it's been in the last 12 months and 41 percent say it's worse. (OC Register)

Questions about Prius: Federal investigators can't explain last week's report of sudden acceleration on a San Diego freeway. Toyota will have something to say later today. (AP)

Surfing the news: More than half of the people who read news online rely on two to five sites, according to a Pew Research study. Also, just 7 percent of those surveyed said they would be willing to pay for access to a news site. (NYT)

SAG makes peace: Board members of the actors guild voted to resume a joint bargaining agreement with AFTRA. Negotiations on a new contract are expected to begin this fall. (LAT)

Aerospace jobs after all? Local suppliers are expected to get some business if Boeing wins a multi-billion dollar contract for building planes that refuel military airplanes in midflight. Northrop, which dropped out of the bidding, would have added many local jobs. (Business Journal)

Men are overconfident: When it comes to investing, guys think they know what they're doing when they often don't, according to a new study from Vanguard. Women are more willing to admit that they're not aware of something. From the NYT:

Staying the course and minimizing costs -- selling high and buying low, if you trade at all -- are the classic characteristics of good long-term, buy-and-hold investors. But during the financial crisis, the Vanguard study showed, men were more likely than women to trade -- and to do so at the wrong times.