Tuesday morning headlines

Stocks backing off: Keep repeating... Markets go up, markets go down. Today might be the day for profit taking. Dow is down about 60 points.

L.A. home prices eke out small gain: Not great, but not horrible. Prices were up 0.3 percent between May and June, according to the Case-Shiller Index, but down 3.4 percent from a year earlier. Many other metros fared better on a month-to-month basis. From press release:

"Looking across the cities, eight bottomed in 2009 and have remained above their lows. These include all the California cities plus Dallas, Denver and Washington DC, all relatively strong markets," [said David M. Blitzer, Chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Indices].

Consumer confidence plummets: Not a huge surprise give what happened in August - the Conference Board's monthly index fell almost 15 points to 44.5, its lowest level since April 2009. A reading above 90 indicates the economy is on solid footing. (AP)

Vernon survives: The state Senate voted against dissolving the financially troubled city - what had been a legislative priority for Assembly Speaker John Perez. From the Sacramento Bee:

Democrats were torn between the powerful speaker's legislation and a counter-proposal by Sen. Kevin de Leon, another Los Angeles Democrat and sometimes rival of Perez who last week proposed a laundry list of reforms the city should make in order to stave off disincorporation. He and other city supporters worried about the loss of as many as 55,000 jobs in the industrial haven near downtown L.A.

Tighter rules proposed on ballot measures: Among the ideas being considered by Democratic lawmakers is the banning of initiatives in primary elections. Instead, they would go before voters in November general elections, which typically have higher participation. From the LAT:

Republican critics of the proposal call it a political move driven by organized labor, aimed at thwarting a pair of ballot measures targeted for June 2012 -- one that would place limits on state spending and another that seeks to curb political donations by unions. The spending measure already is on the June ballot, and backers of the union-dues measure are gathering signatures in hopes of qualifying for the spring election.

Wal-Mart skirts online sales taxes too: The retailer's website offers hundreds of products from a third-party retailer that are sold without collecting taxes when state residents buy them. It's a bit awkward for a company that's been leading the attack against Amazon for refusing to collect sales taxes. (LAT)

Supermarket talks continue: The three major chains and the United Food and Commercial Workers met Monday under the auspices of a federal mediator. No indication of what progress has been made, but union leaders say they want to keep talking until a new contract is hammered out. (Press-Enterprise)

DreamWorks Animation moves into China: The Glendale-based studio has cut a partnership deal with the Chinese internet company Youku to distribute its "Kung Fu Panda" films online. No financial terms announced. (The Wrap)

Big drop in bankruptcies: Business and individual filings in L.A. County fell almost 17 percent in July compared with a year earlier. OC was down 17.5 percent. (OC Register)