Tuesday morning headlines

Stocks back up: After yesterday's 140-point loss, gains are modest so far, with the Dow up about 25 points.

Oil settles down: Crude is trading at around $106 in NY trading, down several dollars from its recent highs. (AP)

Japan's auto production remains slow: More than a month after the earthquake, Honda, Nissan and Toyota are making cars at only half their normal levels. From the NYT:

That is mainly because many of the 20,000 to 30,000 parts that go into a Japanese car come from the earthquake-stricken region in northeastern Japan, where numerous suppliers were knocked off line. Unless part makers can resume production soon, the auto companies might have to shut down once again. "We cannot continue for a long time," said Ko Katayama, the general manager at Honda's factory here, declining to specify how long production could continue. "Sooner or later, it's going to run out."

Hiring day at McDonald's: The fast-food giant has 3,000 openings for crew and management positions at its Socal locations. It's part of a company-wide effort to hire 50,000 people. (OC Register)

No budget woes for L.A. County: Which means no need for layoffs, furloughs or major program cuts. From the LAT:

At the county Hall of Administration, officials credited years of tight-fisted budget decisions. [County Chief Executive William T Fujioka] praised the five-member Board of Supervisors for resisting moves to dramatically increase spending during boom years while denying generous retirement benefits to its employees in the last decade, even as other governments did so. "The real reason why we're in the position we are in ... is the fiscal discipline of our board," Fujioka said, crediting the long tenure of the officials who employ him.

Transit projects threatened by budget cuts: Both the 405 widening and completion of the Orange Line bus extension could run out of money. From the Daily News:

The future of those two projects, along with the first phase of building the Expo light-rail line, relies on the sale of state bonds that were approved by voters in 2006. But Gov. Jerry Brown and state lawmakers already have canceled one round of bond sales scheduled for this spring and L.A. County officials fear that another round planned for the fall could be put on hold, too, if a series of state tax extensions are not approved by voters this year. Together the two bond sales would have provided about $573 million to L.A. County.

LAX projects benefiting economy: The $4.1 billion modernization effort is expected to generate thousands of jobs that will pay $2.6 billion in wages over the next several years, according to a report by the Los Angeles County Economic Development Corp. From the Daily Breeze:

LAX's ongoing modernization is comprised of 25 different projects, including the $1.5 billion expansion of the Tom Bradley International Terminal, which will provide more contact gates capable of accommodating the Airbus A380 jetliner, while also doubling the building's size to 2.1 million square feet by December 2012. The airport also is in the process of spending $270 million to replace outdated elevators and escalators throughout the airport, while another $438 million is going toward a new utility plant that will generate power for the entire central terminal area.

Plane leasing firm raises $802.5 million: Air Lease Corp., which was recently formed by L.A. billionaire Steven Udvar-Hazy, sold 30.3 million shares at $26.50 each. The company buys planes and rents them to airlines. (LAT)

NASA hands out development money: Hawthorne-based SpaceX is one of four companies that will be working on ways to ferry astronauts to the space station. Also getting money is Boeing, which develops spacecraft in Huntington Beach. (LAT)

LACMA goes shopping: The L.A. museum made eight acquisitions, valued at $2.7 million. Among them is Christian Marclay's 2010 video hit "The Clock," a 24-hour-long movie-montage. (LAT)