Monday morning headlines

Stocks moving on up: Market opened lower, but has edged over to the plus side. Dow is up about 70 points.

More austerity urged for Greece: European finance ministers say the country has to show more progress on plans to cut spending, raise taxes and generate other revenue streams. From Reuters:

Prime Minister George Papandreou asked Greeks to support the austerity steps and avoid a "catastrophic" default, appealing for the nation to accept measures that certainly in the short-term will make life harder for most citizens. "The consequences of a violent bankruptcy or exit from the euro would be immediately catastrophic for households, the banks and the country's credibility," Papandreou said at the start of a confidence debate on his new crisis cabinet.

Oil prices keep slumping: NY crude is trading at about $92.50 a barrel, near its lowest level in months, on speculation that a weakening global economy and Greece's debt crisis will lead to reduced fuel demand. (Bloomberg)

Wal-Mart wins sex discrimination lawsuit: The Supreme Court ruled unanimously that litigation against the retail giant cannot proceed as a class action, reversing a decision by the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in SF. Now, the case only involves a handful of women, with less pressure on Wal-Mart to settle. (AP)

Charitable giving recovers a bit: Individuals, companies and philanthropic institutions increased their gifts and pledges by 2.1 percent in 2010, the first increase since 2007. From the NYT:

Still, if giving were to continue to grow at the same pace it did last year, it would be five to six years before it reached its 2007 peak of $326.57 billion. "One of the challenges charities face is whether this represents the new normal or whether, if the economy starts growing more robustly again, giving also will grow more vigorously," said Patrick M. Rooney, executive director of the Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University, which does the research and analysis that goes into the report.

Air Lease places big order: The L.A.-based aircraft leasing company, founded last year by billionaire Steven Udvar-Hazy, announced this morning that it would buy up to 33 jets from Boeing. (WSJ)

Another milestone for cable: For the first time, advertisers are paying as much for time on cable television as they are on the broadcast networks. From the WSJ:

While ad buyers say upfront negotiations with the cable networks are expected to continue until the end of the month, people close to the negotiations say that ad deals for the biggest cable channels are almost wrapped up, and that rates have risen between 9% and 16% from last year, depending on the network. The increase, they say, mostly reflects advertisers' eagerness to reach the growing audience for cable programs.

Arrests made in alleged film scam: Telemarketers made misrepresentations in allegedly bilking investors. According to the indictments, the defendants falsely promised 1,000 percent returns on independent films. (AP)

IHOP expanding into Middle East: The chain's parent company, Glendale-based DineEquity, has reached a deal with a Kuwaiti firm to launch 40 restaurants in the region over the next five years. (press release)

Oaktree Capital to go public: The L.A.-based money manager will shift its shares from a private market to the New York Stock Exchange. Oaktree manages more than $80 billion in assets. (DealBook)