Friday morning headlines

Gas crosses $4.50: Well, $4.543 a gallon, to be exact. That's the average price for self-serve regular in the L.A. area, according to the Auto Club, which is an astounding 20.3 cents higher than a week ago and $1.26 higher than a year ago. California has seen more than its share of price runups, in part because of increased trading in California wholesale gasoline futures. Of course, there are so many reasons cited for the jump in gas prices that it's hard to keep up.

Jump in inflation: Like duh, what would you expect when gas prices soar more than 20 cents in one week? The consumer price index increased 0.6 percent in May, the most since November, after a 0.2 percent gain the prior month. That's sure to raise the prospects of higher interest rates by late summer or fall. For companies, the dilemma is whether to eat their higher costs or pass them on to their customers. It looks like we're seeing a little bit of both. (Bloomberg)

Foreclosures up again: Here's a claim to fame: Seven of the 10 U.S. cities with the highest foreclosure rates are in California: Stockton, Merced, Modesto, Riverside-San Bernardino, Vallejo-Fairfield, Bakersfield and Sacramento. That’s right - they're all inland communities where homeowners were caught up in the subprime mess (though some analysts say that foreclosures are showing up in higher-priced communities). Statewide, one in every 183 households received a foreclosure filing. That compares with one in every 483 U.S. households. (Bloomberg)

What about a recession?: The latest WSJ survey of economists finds that half say the U.S. is in one and half say it's not. All told, the economists put the odds of a recession in the next 12 months at 61 percent, lower than the 73 percent odds they gave in April but higher than the 42 percent figure in January.

Bratz designer testified: Carter Bryant says he was drawing plans for the dolls while still working at Mattel, an admission that could bolster the toy company's copyright infringement case. Bratz manufacturer MGA Entertainment has alleged that Bryant came up with the idea for the doll during a period when he wasn't employed by Mattel. From the LAT:

While employed by Mattel, he said, he fine-tuned the drawings, including adding color. He said he also fashioned a mock-up Bratz model. "I used some Ken boots," he said. "I think it was a Barbie body." While still at Mattel, he said, he had meetings with other companies about the Bratz dolls, including one that [MGA CEO Isaac] Larian attended. Bryant said he signed a "confidential information and inventions" agreement both times he was employed by Mattel. The agreement covered "developments, designs, know-how, data" and other items and stated that the employee wasn't permitted to "assist in any manner any business competitive" with Mattel. Bryant said he "didn't understand everything about" the agreement at the time and that "no one went over the specific paragraphs."

Paying for sodas: You knew this was bound to come down: US Airways will begin charging its coach passengers $2 for sodas and fruit juices on domestic flights, and raise the $5 charge for alcoholic drinks to $7. Don't be surprised if the other carriers follow suit. Actually, the complimentary beverage has almost become an anachronism in an age when most everything inside a cabin is up for sale. (Dallas Morning News)

Changes for Anheuser-Busch plant?: InBev's $46 billion takeover bid for the U.S. brewing giant has raised the obvious questions about what might happen to the Van Nuys facilities. The short answer is nobody knows, but InBev officials are taking pains to emphasize that they want to grow A-B (which, of course, is what they always say during these corporate courtships). There are no plans to move the St. Louis headquarters. (Daily News, FT)

Jackson coming to Vegas?: L.A.-based private equity firm Colony Capital, which happens to own the Vegas Hilton, is in talks with Michael Jackson concerning a long-running gig in Sin City. It also wants him to sell his Neverland Ranch, which the firm has an interest in (you might recall that Jackson was in default on a $23 million loan). "We've been having discussions with Mr. Jackson about a recapitalization and refinancing of Neverland in addition to various other business opportunities and mutual interests," Colony CEO Tom Barrack tells the WSJ.

Since Mr. Jackson's 2005 acquittal on child-molestation charges, various entertainment-industry executives have pursued some kind of splashy comeback for him. For the most part, the singer hasn't played along. In February he backed out of a planned performance during the Grammy Awards telecast. Around the same time, he also declined a proposal to perform for 10 nights at a London arena. People who have spoken to Mr. Jackson say he has simply not felt up to the rigors of performing after his lengthy legal ordeal.

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The current situation is the latest twist in a long-running saga that peaked three years ago. Funding his high-flying lifestyle with loans like the one backed by Neverland, he simultaneously stopped working and racked up millions of dollars in lawyers' bills to fight child-molestation charges. The singer was acquitted in 2005 by a jury in Santa Maria, Calif. But he is still carrying almost $400 million in debt secured by his extensive music-publishing holdings, in addition to the smaller loan backed by Neverland. Since then, according to people close to Mr. Jackson, he has cut back his personal spending somewhat.

MySpace makeover: The News Corp. social networking site gets a redesign that includes upgrades to its navigation, user-profile editing and search applications. The new look, which has been in the works for six months, will be introduced next Wednesday with changes to the home page. (Variety)