Wednesday morning headlines

Stocks extend losses: All of a sudden everybody's gloomy - or is Wall Street just taking a break? Dow is down about 50 points in early trading.

Private payrolls grow: Tack on an additional 32,000 jobs in April, according to ADP, a better-than-expected showing, while layoff announcements reached a 4-year low. The U.S. employment report is due out Friday. (Reuters)

Better chance at jobs: L.A. had 4.89 people looking for every position advertised in April, according to the Conference Board. SF was at 2.73 and the overall U.S. figure was 3.82. (OC Register)

Home loans jump: Applications increased 13 percent for the week ended April, as potential buyers wanted to take advantage of federal homebuyer tax credits that ended April 30. (Reuters)

Riots in Greece: Workers went on strike to protest tough austerity measures in the wake of the nation's economic problems. From the NYT:

The demonstrations were the first major protests since the Socialist government of Prime Minister George Papandreou unveiled belt-tightening changes on Sunday that amount to the biggest overhaul of the state in a generation. As the 24-hour strike began, German Chancellor Angela Merkel told legislators that the 110-billion euro plan to bail out Greece was "about nothing less than the future of Europe and the future of Germany in Europe."

More losses for My Space: The Bev Hills social networking site keeps struggling to refashion itself. "We've got to admit that during the last two or three years, I think we made some big mistakes," said News Corp. CEO Rupert Murdoch. (paid.Content)

Movies cost more: The average ticket price in the first quarter was $7.95, up 8 percent from a year earlier and the largest year-over-year increase since the National Association of Theatre Owners began tracking the data. Blame 3-D. (LAT)

DWP pays up: The utility has finally transferred the $73 million that it owed the city and which created such a fuss with the council. (LAT)

Cal Worthington gets loan: The Long Beach City Council will shell out $600,000 to keep the venerable car dealer in town. Worthington Ford happens to be one of the city's largest sales tax producers. (Press-Telegram)