Friday morning headlines

Stocks looking for direction: Still nervous about Egypt and still trying to figure out the latest employment report. Dow is down about 20 points.

Blame the weather?: That's what some economists are doing in light of a so-so jobs report. Unemployment rate falls to 9 percent in January from 9.4 percent the previous month, but only 36,000 jobs are added to payrolls. From the NYT:

Health care, manufacturing and retail provided the strongest job growth, while construction continued to lag. Temporary help, which had been strong throughout 2010, actually lost 11,400 jobs. Some economists said January's snowstorms appeared to especially affect construction, which lost 32,000 jobs, and transportation and warehousing, which shed 38,000 jobs.

Oil hovering around $91: Shipping through Egypt's Suez Canal has not been disrupted, but investors remain antsy about political instability spreading to oil rich countries in the Middle East. (AP) Meanwhile, an average gallon of regular in the L.A. area is running at $3.371, up about 2 cents from last week, according to the Auto Club.

J.P. Morgan said to have doubted Madoff: Lawsuit alleges that senior executives questioned the legitimacy of the scamster's business 18 months before the Ponzi scheme collapsed. From the NYT:

On June 15, 2007, an evidently high-level risk management officer for Chase's investment bank sent a lunchtime e-mail to colleagues to report that another bank executive "just told me that there is a well-known cloud over the head of Madoff and that his returns are speculated to be part of a Ponzi scheme." Even before that, a top private banking executive had been consistently steering clients away from investments linked to Mr. Madoff because his "Oz-like signals" were "too difficult to ignore."

Big vote on pollution credits: The South Coast Air Quality Management District will consider a plan to implement a trading system for polluters. Critics say the proposal will count years-old pollution reductions as offsets. (LAT)

Unexpected business for Northrop: The radar-evading F-35 Joint Strike Fighter is taking so long to get in the air that the Pentagon is ordering more F/A-18 fighter jets, good news for the local aerospace industry. From the LAT:

Just last month, frustrated Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said the F-35, which is to be used jointly by the Navy, Marines and Air Force, is still not ready. To bridge the gap, he announced the Navy intended to buy 41 more F/A-18s. The move will "hedge against more delays in the deployment of the Joint Strike Fighter," he said.

Gensler moving downtown: The prominent architectural firm had been based in Santa Monica for 20 years. It's considered a coup by L.A. officials trying to attract businesses. (LAT)

Mattel sued over Bratz: MGA Entertainment alleges unfair business practices and anticompetitive conduct. From AP:

MGA claims Mattel used a "scorched earth strategy" to infiltrate confidential showrooms at industry events to copy new Bratz products, rearrange Barbie and Bratz displays at retailers, intimidate licensees and pay retailers not to buy MGA products. MGA claims Mattel uses litigation instead of competition to protect Barbie's monopoly over the fashion doll market and deprive consumers of choices.

Ralphs faces fine: The supermarket chain faces 62 criminal counts of overcharging customers, false advertising and false labeling at more than a dozen stores in L.A. County. The company pleaded no contest and faces up to $43,000 in penalties. (LAT)