Wednesday morning headlines

Stocks open lower: Might be a breath-catching day after Tuesday's big gain. Dow is down about 20 points in early trading.

UCLA's mixed message: Latest report from the Anderson Forecast looks for continued slow growth and high unemployment. (see earlier post)

Senate debates health care: Hold onto your hats - this is likely to get blustery, with lots of Republican amendments. (WSJ)

Bill attacks inequality: Health care reform might narrow the huge gap between rich and poor, writes NYT columnist David Leonhardt.

Beyond the health reform's effect on the medical system, it is the centerpiece of his deliberate effort to end what historians have called the age of Reagan. Speaking to an ebullient audience of Democratic legislators and White House aides at the bill-signing ceremony on Tuesday, Mr. Obama claimed that health reform would "mark a new season in America." He added, "We have now just enshrined, as soon as I sign this bill, the core principle that everybody should have some basic security when it comes to their health care."

Whitman's spending spree: The billionaire candidate for governor has a slim lead over Jerry Brown, but it comes at quite a price: More than $27 million and this is only March. That breaks out to $358,439 a day, $14,935 an hour, $249 a minute. (LAT)

No change in CEO perks: New report shows that 382 corporate bosses received club membership fee benefits in 2008-09, compared with 372 in 2007-08. Among the top spenders: Mattel CEO Robert A. Eckert, who was reimbursed $150,000 for a country club initiation fee. (LAT)

SEC's porn problem: Agency has about a dozen employees who appear to be sex-crazed: They've tried to view pornography on government computers at least 8,273 times, according to Gawker. (Note that the SEC has thousands of employees).

Cruise rebound: Carnival reports an 8 percent increase in bookings over the next three quarters, despite price increases. Up to now, cruise lines have been cutting prices to fill ships. (Reuters)