Wednesday morning headlines

Mixed market: Lots of economic reports this week, none of them very conclusive about where we're headed. Dow is up slightly in early trading.

Shopping update: November was a good month for electronics and online sales, but clothing and jewelry continued to struggle, according to SpendingPulse. The chains themselves announce November numbers on Thursday. (NYT)

Searching for jobs: Times are tough - nearly 11,000 people have applied for 400 jobs at the W Hollywood Hotel, and 3,500 have applied for 550 openings at the Ritz-Carlton near Staples Center. From the LAT:

John Husing, an independent economist with Economics & Politics Inc., said the turnout for hotel jobs in Southern California reflects the overabundance of workers with limited education searching for jobs in the service sector. He said 45.5% of Los Angeles County adults older than 25 have no college education and are primarily limited to blue-collar or service-sector work. Other Southern California industries that have historically supplied jobs for such workers, including the construction, manufacturing and cargo industries, are shedding even more jobs than the hotel industry, Husing said.

Layoff relief: Private employers eliminated 169.000 jobs in November, fewer than the 195,000 jobs lost the previous month, according to ADP, but somewhat higher than analysts had expected. The full U.S. jobs report comes out on Friday. (WSJ)

Wells to shut branches: The 122 California locations are mostly old Wachovia offices that are smaller and less prominently located than nearby Wells Fargo branches. After the closures, Wells will have more than 1,000 branches in the state. (LAT)

Northrop may back out: The L.A.-based defense contractor doesn't like the specs for a $35 billion contract to make refueling tankers because they supposedly favor competitor Boeing. From Politico:

The threat jeopardizes the Pentagon's efforts, particularly under President Barack Obama, to ensure competitive bidding in weapons programs. Ensuring a head-to-head fight for the KC-X aerial tankers has been particularly difficult. A deal to lease the planes from Boeing ended in 2004 amid corruption charges, and a sole-source award to Boeing to build the planes had to be reopened. Whether Northrop will follow through on its threat, however, is an open question.

Why GM dumped Fritz Henderson: He was the right guy to take the company through Chapter 11, but apparently not the right one to reshape the automaker. Some explanations in an NPR report.

Comcast-NBC deal faces scrutiny: Look for the cable giant to offer the feds some concessions in order to avoid antitrust problems -- most likely assurances to maintain local news coverage and grant competitors access to content. (Wash Post)

Tribune Co. gets relief: A bankruptcy judge agreed to give the media giant (and LAT parent) until Feb. 28 to submit a Chapter 11 reorganization plan - and it could be extended after that. A group of creditors objected to the extension and had wanted to submit their own reorganization plan. (AP)

Dubai and Grand Avenue: The state-run investment company Dubai World has a stake in the downtown project, but developer Related Cos. says there's no reason for concern. The project has been much-delayed because of the tight credit market. From the Daily News:

Bill Witte, president of The Related Companies of California, which is building the Grand Avenue project, said the problems in Dubai aren't delaying the project. "Istithmar, the Dubai entity who has been the equity investor in Grand Avenue, has already contributed significant funds to the project," Witte said. "We have no reason to believe their commitment has changed and frankly we have already spent all the money to get the project ready for construction. It's the market and timing that is holding us back."

Free tickets: Another reminder that the Drucker Business Forum's next breakfast is with Justin Fox, Time's business and economics columnist. It's Thursday at 7:45 a.m. (forum starts at 8:30). Let me know if you're interested.