Friday morning headlines

Falling stocks: Could this be the start of a long-awaited correction? Dow is down 80 points. LinkedIn, which opened yesterday to such fanfare, is up more than 8 percent.

Gas prices keep dropping: More than a penny a day, according to the Auto Club. An average gallon of regular in the L.A. area is $4.189. Meanwhile, crude is trading at below $97 a barrel.

CA jobless rate edges lower: It's finally under 12 percent - see post below.

Parking ticket scandal?: Not only did the city have a program that allowed the mayor and other elected officials to intervene on citations, but there was seldom any paper trail to determine who made the original request. The "Gold Card" service was unearthed through an audit by City Controller Wendy Greuel. From the LAT:

All that was found in those cases were directives from transportation department managers to reduce fines or dismiss tickets, Greuel said. Overall, Greuel said it was unclear what percentage of the dismissals were done for justifiable reasons. Her office said the investigation could not pinpoint the source of all the referrals. Officials with the Department of Transportation defended the program's integrity. They said the desk was created in response to elected officials' requests to have a central point to send complaints about citations.

Brown's budget plan gets mixed review: Good on tackling the deficit problems now rather than later, according to Legislative Analyst Mac Taylor, but not so good on holding an up-or-down vote on the tax extensions. From the SF Chronicle:

He also said that the best way to incorporate tax increases and extensions into the state budget would be by direct action of the Legislature without a vote of the people to ratify them, because that would provide certainty for state programs and for Wall Street investors. If an election is held in the middle of the fiscal year and voters reject the taxes, programs that rely on state funds could face chaos. Taylor said his office recommends specific cuts or other actions that would be taken if voters reject the taxes, though Brown did not propose such specifics in his plan.

Barnes & Noble gets offer: John Malone's Liberty Media is bidding $1.02 billion for the bookstore chain - quite a turnaround from last summer when the company's couldn't find any interest. From the DealBook:

The proposal is contingent on the participation of Leonard Riggio, the chairman of Barnes & Noble, "both in terms of his continuing equity ownership and his continuing role in management," according to a statement from Barnes & Noble. The offer came from an unexpected source. Liberty Media, a media conglomerate run by John C. Malone, has historically bought stakes in cable, satellite television and interactive companies, but not in bricks-and-mortar retail -- one reason the continued participation of Mr. Riggio, a respected industry veteran for decades, could be a condition of the deal.

B&N to launch new e-reader: Maybe this helps explain Malone's interest - Barnes & Noble says the tablet will rival the Kindle. From the WSJ:

Barnes & Noble, which once lagged about two years behind Amazon on the digital books and e-reader front, must now try to lure back as many consumers as possible. "We've gone from zero to north of 25% of the digital books market since July 2009," said William Lynch, Barnes & Noble's chief executive, in an interview. "We've also sold more than 1.5 million magazine subscription orders and single copy sales on the Nook newsstand."

Katie Couric close to an ABC deal: The agreement would give her an afternoon talk show, beginning in the fall of 2012. CBS, where she has been for five years, is not expected to make a counteroffer. (LAT)

Elizabeth Taylor's mansion for sale: Her estate is asking $8.6 million for the 1.2-acre Bel-Air property. The 7,000-square-foot home has five bedrooms. Also, producer Brian Grazer is asking $19.5 million for his oceanfront home in Malibu. (WSJ)