Friday morning headlines

Market slows down: After jumping more than 130 points in the early minutes, perhaps fueled by a somewhat encouraging jobs report, the Dow is easing back.

Fire impact on SB biz: Folks are cancelling their weekend reservations, but hotels and restaurants might see residents who were evacuated from their homes pick up the slack. From the LAT:

At Fess Parker's DoubleTree Resort, about 170 of the 360 rooms are filled with local families, said general manager Matthew La Vine. Those guests are paying $129 a night, compared with the upper $200 range that is normal for the season. An additional 50 rooms are occupied by firefighters. The hotel is sold out, in part because of its pet-friendly policy. "We're a business and we have to make a certain amount of money, and right now, we're not making a bunch," La Vine said. "But you have to be human once in a while -- at what point would you want to gouge somebody whose house just burned down?"

Pang's "piggy bank": A court-appointed receiver says that OC money manager Danny Pang was using his investors' money for stuff like a $1 million Disney cruise for the staff, the purchase of several jets and $6.9 million in personal loans. From the WSJ:

Separately, the Securities and Exchange Commission added more details to its earlier allegations against Mr. Pang and his firm, saying in a court filing Thursday that new testimony from insiders provided more evidence the firm operated a "Ponzi-like scheme" and "routinely used funds from new investors to pay returns to existing investors."

Car dealers wait for word: GM plans to notify 1,000 to 1,500 dealers early next week that it will not renew their franchises, while Chrysler is expected to notify roughly a quarter of its 3,200 dealers as soon as today that it will tear up their contracts. From the LAT:

It amounts to a blood bath for dealers, who employ hundreds of thousands of people nationwide and pump billions of dollars into their area economies. With dealers unsure whether their names will be called, a pervasive sense of dread has crept into showrooms. "This is going to be the biggest week in the history of the U.S. auto industry as far as dealers are concerned," said Scott Silverman, an attorney at law firm McCarter & English who specializes in dealer contract law.

Activision widens franchise: The Santa Monica-based videogame company has its sights on "Guitar Hero" becoming a reality TV show and/or a real-life concert tour. The company's first quarter financials, released on Thursday, were quite strong. (THR)

Spring discounts: Investor Stanley Chais, who funneled funds to Bernie Madoff, has cut the price of his Sierra Towers condominium to $4 million, less than the $4.4 million he paid for the condo in 2007. Also, producer Jon Peters will now take $19.95 million for his three partly developed adjoining vacant lots in Beverly Hills, about half what he wanted in 2008. (WSJ)

Slight uptick for gas: An average gallon of regular in the L.A. area is $2.366 per gallon, which is 2.7 cents more than last week, according to the Auto Club. Meanwhile, oil prices hit $58 a barrel because investors are more encouraged about an economic recovery.

KFC suspends coupon offer: Response to the Oprah-assisted promotion has been so overwhelming that the fast-food chain is now giving coupon-clutching customers a rain check. KFC president Roger Eaton does some nice spinning below.