Friday morning headlines

Moving on up: Not sure how the okay-but-not-great jobs report factors into this morning's trading, if at all, but the Dow is up about 85 points in early trading.

Good or bad job news?: Lots of interpretations because there's no way of knowing the impact of last month's snow storms back east. If you believe the storms had a big effect on employment, a loss of 36,000 jobs is good news. If you believe the effect was minimal it's bad news. (NYT)

Fickle consumers: Confidence remains low, but February's retail numbers indicate an interest in more expensive items instead of just the deep discount stuff. From the WSJ:

The turnaround has caught industry observers by surprise. More than three-quarters of the retailers who delivered February results Thursday did better than analysts had expected. Overall, sales at stores open a least a year, a closely watched retail measure, rose 4.1% from the same month a year earlier, according to Retail Metrics Inc. "It certainly looks like consumers are feeling a little bit better about their situation," says Ken Perkins, president of Retail Metrics. "They're coming out of hibernation."

Desperate for work: Theme parks are being inundated with applications from older, experienced folks in search of a job, even one that pays little more than the minimum wage. From the LAT:

The new wave of theme park job seekers increasingly includes white-collar workers, such as office managers, loan processors, sales associates and restaurant managers, according to hiring supervisors at several parks. Being overqualified doesn't rule people out for getting hired, they said. "We are getting a lot of people who, in a normal economy, would be considered overqualified," said Joe Selph, manager of staffing and training at Universal Studios Hollywood.

Oil nears $81: Investors are betting - again - that as the economy improves, demand will pick up. (AP)

Big jump in gas prices: An average gallon of regular in the L.A. areas is $3.027 per gallon, according to the Auto Club, up 7.4 cents from last week. Prices typically pick up as spring approaches.

iPad delivery date: The Wi-Fi version will go on sale April 3, and the 3G wireless version will be available in late April. You can pre-order beginning next Friday. (NYT)

Tribune creditors sue banks: They're claiming that Sam Zell's deal to buy the media company with $8 billion in loans was inevitably going to lead to bankruptcy. From Bloomberg:

The banks knew that the buyout "would render Tribune insolvent and, ultimately, drive it into bankruptcy," attorneys for the bondholders wrote in their complaint. The bondholders want to change the repayment order among Tribune's creditors so that they will be paid before those lenders.

MediaNews plan approved: A bankruptcy judge signed off on a reorganization plan for the holding company for the Dean Singleton-controlled media company, which owns the Daily News, Daily Breeze and other papers. Under the plan, almost $1 billion in debt will be forgiven and in return dozens of lenders with have an ownership stake. (AP)