Friday morning headlines

Soft market: Calm has returned for the moment. Dow is up about 30 points in early trading.

Dip in unemployment: As noted earlier, the California jobless rate was 12.4 percent in May, down a touch from the previous month. The payroll survey shows a gain of 28,300 jobs, one of the largest increases among the states. The jobless rate in L.A. County was 12.3 percent, from 12.2 percent in April. (BLS)

Hiring binge: Who says there are no jobs? Emirates Airline, owned by the government of Dubai, is looking for 3,000 cabin crew members and 700 pilots. A recruitment session is planned near SF airport next month. (OC Register)

Taking aim at austerity: NYT columnist Paul Krugman doesn't get it:

In America, many self-described deficit hawks are hypocrites, pure and simple: They're eager to slash benefits for those in need, but their concerns about red ink vanish when it comes to tax breaks for the wealthy. Thus, Senator Ben Nelson, who sanctimoniously declared that we can't afford $77 billion in aid to the unemployed, was instrumental in passing the first Bush tax cut, which cost a cool $1.3 trillion.

Lockheed bracing for cuts: More rumbles about budget austerity at the Pentagon, which could impact the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter. Fuselage is made in Palmdale. (WSJ)

U.S. cars tops in quality: Domestics edged out imports for the first time in 24 years, according to J.D. Power, with GM and Ford doing well and Toyota faltering. From the LAT:

"This is a landmark in the quality history of the auto industry," said David Sargent, J.D. Power's vice president of global vehicle research. The gains reported Thursday are a result of major initiatives at Ford and GM "to really focus on quality in both design and manufacturing started several years ago," said Xavier Mosquet, a senior partner with Boston Consulting Group in Detroit. "This didn't happen by chance."

Gold keeps climbing: A new record high - $1,257.40 an ounce. (TheStreet.com)

Gas prices steady: An average gallon in the L.A. area is $3.061, essentially unchanged from last week, according to the Auto Club.

Facebook finances: The company is not talking, but two sources tell Reuters that 2009 revenues were as high as $800 million and net profit was in the tens of millions of dollars. That's somewhat higher than previous estimates.

AEG Live looking for partner?: The L.A.-based concert company has been talking to the major music labels about taking a minority stake, the NY Post reports. Talks apparently have been going on for some time.

State fails in collecting fines: Audit finds that the Department of Public Health would "inappropriately" reduce financial penalties to some nursing home facilities cited for wrongdoing. From the Sacramento Bee:

Carole Herman of the nonprofit watchdog group Foundation Aiding the Elderly said the report confirms what she has been independently documenting for years. "The state is not collecting money from nursing homes that violate the rules, and that sends a message to the industry," Herman said. "Nursing homes have no incentive to clean up their acts, because the regulators are not doing their jobs."