Friday morning headlines

Stock slide: Zig-zaggy kind of day. Dow was down more than 40 points in early trading and now it's up about 25.

GDP revised upward: But the annual growth rate of 5.9 percent - up from the initial estimate of 5.7 percent - falls short of what some economists had expected. And growth is likely to slow down considerably this year. (AP)

Amazing stat: More than two out of three Californians sold their homes last year because they couldn't pay their mortgages, according to a survey by the California Association of Realtors. In 2008, it was 1 in 5 sellers. (OC Register)

Carl's Jr. parent to be sold: Private equity firm Thomas H. Lee Partners LP has agreed to buy Carpinteria-based CKE Restaurants for $619 million, including the assumption of about $309 million of net debt. Stockholders would be selling at a 24 percent premium, though CKE has through April 6 to get a better deal. (Bloomberg)

State insurers subpoenaed: Attorney General Jerry Brown and the state Assembly want more financial information from CA's seven largest health insurance companies: Aetna Health, Anthem Blue Cross, CIGNA, Health Net, Blue Shield of California, Kaiser Permanente and PacifiCare. From the Sacramento Bee:

Brown, expected to announce his candidacy for governor in the next two weeks, said the information will aid an investigation into "possibly illegal" rate increases. "We have been looking at these companies for a number of months and are very concerned that some of them are unjustly raising premiums and denying payment of legitimate claims," Brown said in a statement.

L.A. Council surrenders $$$$: Each of the 15 members are giving up 800K in their respective slush fund accounts ($12 million) to beef up the city's emergency reserve. Normally the money would go to special projects in each district. The mayor had been asking for $40 million. (LAT)

More travel delays: This will be another tough day to get back east - today's snowstorm is already resulting in batches of flight cancellations this morning. Check out LAX for the latest schedules.

LAX plans rental car facility: Well, if there's enough money - the airport has only collected $47 million for the $800-million project, so officials are looking tack on more fees to get the needed mullah. (LAT)

Is tomato executive a flight risk?: Bail hearing is scheduled today for former SK Foods Chief Executive Frederick Scott Salyer, who prosecutors say had been trying to make arrangements to flee extradition. Salyer's attorney says his client is not a flight risk. (LAT)

Gas prices heading up: An average gallon in the L.A. area inched up this week, according to the Auto Club, and there may be more of where that came from. Many other areas of the country have seen sharp increases.

Freedom board named: Five independent directors will serve with interim CEO Burl Osborne to lead the company after it exits bankruptcy. Freedom is the parent of the OC Register.

Today's talk shows: On KPCC's "Airtalk": Would you rather -- take a 10% pay cut or furlough days to save your coworkers? Or fire them? On KCRW's "To the Point": Why are new jobs so scarce? What will be the impact on the social fabric of such intractable unemployment?