Thursday morning headlines

Stocks bouncing back: Japan-related selloff might be running its course - for now. Dow is up about 130 points.

Encouraging news on nuclear plant: They're now saying that power may be restored within a few hours. That's a huge deal because it would allow the cooling mechanisms to operate. (Business Insider)

Drop in jobless claims: More good news - applications for benefits fell 16,000 to 385,000, and the more reliable four-week average dropped to the lowest level since July 2008. (Bloomberg)

L.A. inflation shoots up: Consumer prices in February jumped 2.3 percent in the last 12 months, the highest year-over-year increase since October 2008. As expected, food and transportation prices were way higher. (OC Register)

State legislators start slashing: More than $7 billion has been cut so far, including reductions in welfare-to-work grants, mental health services, and local transit. They're still wrestling on whether to eliminate redevelopment agencies, and they have yet to take up Brown's proposal for a special election. (Sacramento Bee)

Californians support public pension rollback: Strong majorities support capping public pensions, increasing worker participation, and hiking the minimum retirement age, according to a Field Poll. And by a narrow majority, voters support altering pension formulas for current employees. From the Sacramento Bee:

Although organized labor and its political muscle have been taking the blame for perceived pension excesses, a plurality of voters aren't ready to toss unions overboard. That opinion splits largely along party lines. Nearly six in 10 Democrats surveyed support labor unions, while 57 percent of Republicans believe unions do more harm than good.

Feds shell out nearly $9 billion for failed banks: That's the amount paid out by the FDIC to cover losses on loans and other assets since the financial crisis erupted. The payments involve loss-sharing agreements that shield buyers of the banks from bad loans. From the WSJ:

The payments to date are smaller than FDIC officials anticipated, and they say it would cost much more to liquidate the mountain of bad loans at fair-market value. The FDIC said Wednesday that it couldn't be more specific about its previous estimates for future payouts because the agency continually revises those estimates based on new loss-share deals and claims submitted under existing arrangements.

NYT announces pay-wall plan: Beginning March 28, visitors can read 20 articles a month without paying. After that, they'll have the option of buying one of three pay packages -- $15 for a month of access to the Web site and a mobile phone app; $20 for Web access and an iPad app; and $35 for an all-access plan. (NYT)

Nordstrom moving to Americana at Brand: The chain store will be vacating its space at Glendale Galleria in favor of developer Rick Caruso's shopping center. The agreement with Seattle-based Nordstrom Inc. will result in a three-level, 135,000 square-foot store expected to open in the fall of 2013. (LABJ)

Diet Coke passes over Pepsi: That's the first time Diet Coke reached the number two position (topped only by Coke). From the WSJ:

Pepsi-Cola commanded only a slight lead over Diet Coke in 2009, when each brand had slightly less than a 10% market share among carbonated soft drinks. That year, regular Coke won the cola wars with a 17% market share, according to Beverage Digest, a trade publication and data service.

Best and worst states for e-commerce: Delaware, Mississippi, New Hampshire, West Virginia, and Oregon are the best, according to a new survey, because they have the lowest shipping costs, fastest shipping times, and cheapest sales tax. California is among the five worst states. (All Things Digital)

Another drop in newspaper ad sales: Actually, it was the only media category that saw a decline in 2010, according to Kantar Media. National newspapers were up 2.7 percent, but locals were down 4.6 percent. (NYT)