Friday morning headlines

Surprising GDP numbers: The U.S. economy only declined in the fourth quarter at an annual rate of 3.8 percent - not the 5.5 percent that analysts had expected, on average. Good news? Not necessarily. It could just mean that the economy had not yet hit bottom in the October-December period. Don't forget, too, that this is only the first estimate - there will be several GDP revisions. From the NYT:

Josh Bivens, an economist at the Economic Policy Institute said that the drop in exports was distressing because of their contribution to growth in recent years. “That’s been a real key strength to the economy,” Mr. Bevins said. “They were punching above their weight for a couple of years, but they have really collapsed.”

Watch the market: The Dow is down 100 points so far this morning.

Gas leveling off: Maybe it was all those $2+ prices being posted. The Auto Club's survey finds that the average gallon of regular in the L.A. area is $2.077 per gallon, up 1.5 cents from last week. It seems to be a tug of war between lower demand and productivity cuts.

No new drilling: The State Lands Commission has killed a deal to allow a Texas oil company to sink new wells off the Santa Barbara coast in return for shutting down all four of its offshore platforms within 13 years. The plan was pushed by local officials, residents and environmental activists. From the LAT:

Lt. Gov. John Garamendi, one of three members of the lands panel, said allowing any new drilling in state waters would suggest the state welcomes offshore drilling and send a come-hither message to other oil companies. His view was echoed by legislators from coastal districts, including Assemblyman Pedro Nava, who represents Santa Barbara. Approval would have been "a message heard very, very clearly by those who call for 'drill, baby, drill,' " said Garamendi, a former Interior Department official who is running for governor.

Buying up gold: Barrick Gold Chairman Peter Munk says he’s received an increasing number of calls from wealthy investors looking for ways to buy bullion. While that's good for the metal market, Munk says it is an "unpleasant and frightening" trend. From Bloomberg:

“That’s not where you want to be, it’s alarming,” he said today in an interview from Davos, Switzerland, where he is attending the World Economic Forum. “Do I personally believe gold will break through $1,000? It’s not a question of if, it’s a question of how soon.”

Fortunate 400: Seems like ancient history, but in 2006 the average income of the 400 richest Americans was $263 million, up 23 percent from the previous year. The group paid $18 billion in income tax on a record $105 billion in income, the lowest effective tax rate in the 15 years since the IRS began releasing this information. (NYT)

Lawyer indicted in fraud scheme: NY attorney Marc Dreier, who quickly expanded into L.A. and brought on several prominent local lawyers, is accused of cheating hedge funds and other investors of more than $400 million. Dreier is being held in prison after he was unable to post $20 million bail. (Bloomberg)

LAT turmoil: As reported by Kevin at LAO, the plan is to kill the California section and fold local news into the front section. (Unbelievable.) Publisher Eddy Hartenstein made the move over the strong objections of senior editors. More layoffs are believed to be imminent.

WSJ cuts? Portfolio's Jeff Percovici reports that the number of people targeted is 50, but some or all of those folks might be offered buyouts. Also, there are rumors of cuts at Dow Jones Newswires and of the possible closing of one or more Journal bureaus.

Queen Mary taken over: A NY investment group had loaned a locally based investment group $33 million to help purchase the ship's lease and development rights. But the local group, called Save the Queen, ran into financial trouble and defaulted on payments of that loan. Now, the NY group has bid $25,000 to assume those rights. No word on what happens next or what it means for the Long Beach tourist attraction. (LABJ)

L.A. chamber honoree: Auto Club CEO Thomas V. McKernan gets the civic medal of honor. McKernan started out at AAA in 1966 as a service representative in Pasadena. (LAT)