Tuesday morning headlines

Stocks edging higher: Looks like the market anticipates encouraging words from the Fed chairman later today. Dow is up about 75 points.

Wall Street waiting for Bernanke: The Fed chief might provide some clues on how he views the economy when he speaks today at the International Monetary Conference (12:45 p.m.). (AP)

Key White House official is resigning: Austan Goolsbee is stepping down as chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers after nine months on the job. He'll return to the University of Chicago. From the WSJ:

Mr. Goolsbee was one of several liberal economists on Mr. Obama's team at the start of the administration, and he was the only one left after the departure of his predecessor at the Council of Economic Advisers, Christina Romer, and Vice President Joe Biden's economic adviser, Jared Bernstein. Mr. Goolsbee turned out to be more of a pragmatist than Ms. Romer and Mr. Bernstein.

Second mortgages causing trouble: Four out of 10 homeowners who took them out are underwater on their loans. That's more than twice the rate of owners who didn't take out seconds. From the WSJ:

It's not clear how much cash withdrawn from homes during the boom was used to acquire luxuries such as expensive automobiles, and how much went to basic necessities, including tuition expenses, or renovations intended to raise a property's value. What is clear is that home-equity loans, which account for about 10% of the U.S. mortgage market, have been a headache for homeowners and lenders alike. Second mortgages refer to any loan taken out on a property that is subordinate to the first mortgage, and include home-equity loans or lines of credit.

Wrangling about financial overhaul: It's one thing to pass legislation that reins in the banking sector. It's quite another to turn that legislation into regulation. From the NYT:

The rules are mandated by the Dodd-Frank financial regulatory law and range from curbs on executive compensation to consumer banking protection provisions to more transparency in the trading of derivatives, those complex financial instruments that contributed to the 2008 financial crisis. So far, 28 of the financial overhaul rule-making deadlines have been missed, according to Davis Polk, a law firm that is tracking the rules. Of the 385 new rules to be written, the law firm says, regulators have completed only 24 requirements; they were supposed to have taken 41 such actions by now. "There's an attempt to kill this through delay," said Michael Greenberger, a law professor at the University of Maryland and a former official at the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, which is in charge of writing batches of the rules.

New support Brown's budget plan: Yet one more business group - the California Retailers Association - is endorsing the governor's extension of sales, income and car taxes. The state Senate expected to begin voting on the budget this week, but there's still no indication that Brown will win over the few Republicans required for passage. (Sacramento Bee)

Airport Commission awards concessions: Jimmy Shaw's Loteria Grill and the Monsieur Marcel bistro will be going to Terminal 5 under a 10-year deal with Delaware North Cos. (Daily Breeze)