Wednesday morning headlines

Stocks move higher: Higher oil prices but better-than-expected job gains. Dow is up about 45 points.

Oil tops $101: Continued worries about supply disruptions in the Middle East and North Africa. (CNNMoney)

Electric car is ready: Santa Monica-based Coda Automotive's first model will be made in China and sold in California later this year. (AP)

Big job gain in February...: Private employers added 217,000 positions last month, according to ADP, which is higher than expectations. The government's employment report comes out Friday. From Bloomberg:

"There's just an unambiguous signal that payroll employment has picked up," Joel Prakken, chairman of Macroeconomic Advisers LLC, which produces the figures with ADP, said in a conference call with reporters. "Employment looks like it's increasing in almost every sector of the economy."

...but more layoffs: Here's a head-scratcher: Employers announced 50,702 planned job cuts last month, the highest level since March 2010 - and a 32 percent jump from January. (Reuters)

Republicans talking to Brown: But Senate GOP leader Bob Dutton says that the meetings are not about the governor's tax extension proposal. Brown wants a two-thirds vote in the Legislature to put his plan on the ballot - and that would require a few Republican votes. (Sacramento Bee)

Apple updates the iPad: The big announcement - with or without CEO Steve Jobs - is just a couple of hours away. Everyone is expecting something slimmer and lighter, and this time including at least one camera. (Washington Post)

Music Hall stays open after all: Well, for a year anyway - theater owner Laemmle has been given a one-year extension on the Bev Hills lease. The current 15-year lease was due up in the spring. (LA Weekly)

Jaime McCourt wants to see Dodgers books: She's not thrilled that her estranged husband Frank tried to secure loans without her knowledge. From ESPN.com:

In the opening paragraph of the 52-page filing, Jamie's attorneys charge that Frank has "flagrant[ly] breached ... his affirmative fiduciary duties to promptly, voluntarily, and fully disclose" financial information about the Dodgers to his ex-wife, and that he has stonewalled her efforts to get it. Among other things, they have asked the court to order Frank to give them access to the team's books. They are seeking more information about the nature of the embattled owner's debt, and what he's doing to try to raise the money necessary to keep the team in his control.