Friday morning headlines

Market rally fades: Another directionless day. Dow is down 5 points.

Weak jobs report: As posted below, both California and L.A. saw an increase in unemployment and a drop in payroll jobs.

Consumer confidence up a smidge: Reuters/University of Michigan index now at 57.8 from 55.7 in July. But the numbers are still very weak. (Calculated Risk)

Supermarket workers prepare to strike: The earliest a walkout would happen is 7 p.m. on Sunday, but union officials could still hold off if progress is made over the weekend. From the LAT:

Greg Conger, president of UFCW Local 324 in Orange County, said union officials felt they had no choice but to take this step. "It's time to bring these negotiations to an end," Conger said. "The talks have been going at a glacial pace. "If the employers don't snap out of it, and give our members a proposal that we can live with, the only option we have left is a strike."

Lots more foreclosures for L.A.: Nearly 200,000 through next year, according to a new report that breaks them down by ZIP code, along with the decline in value of each property. From the Daily News:

Citywide, a total of 199,894 homes, with a value of $25.9 billion, will be foreclosed on by the end of 2012. Sylmar - ZIP code 91342 - is projected to be the hardest-hit area of Los Angeles, with 7,009 foreclosures, followed by Pacoima with 6,049. Van Nuys, which spans three ZIP codes, is expected to have 5,784 homes seized by lenders. The report also assesses the collateral damage of the foreclosure crisis, with plummeting home values eroding $481 million from the city's property tax revenue.

Verdicts reached in Gundlach/TCW case: They'll be read this morning at 8:30. At issue are the circumstances behind the firing of bond trader Jeffrey Gundlach. (LAT)

Gas prices flattening out: An average gallon of regular in the L.A. area is $3.958, down less than a penny from last week, reports the Auto Club.

Was Solyndra better off without the loan guarantee? The Fremont-based solar-panel maker might have been hurt by the $535 million government deal, reports the WSJ.

The new factory built with Department of Energy funds foisted fixed costs on a company already struggling through an industry shake-out, [say investors with knowledge of the company's operations]. What's more, the debt paradoxically made raising more money difficult. Once the government demanded priority in the event of failure, private investors were less likely to prop up the company. One Solyndra investor said that, in retrospect, "the worst thing that happened to Solyndra was the loan."

Regents consider still-higher tuition: They deferred on a proposal that would have mandated 8-16 percent annual increases for the next four years, and instead considered other options. From the SF Chronicle:

The idea was that a steady flow of tuition hikes would help pay these costs. Tuition would rise more in years when the state gave less, and vice versa. In the worst-case scenario - if the state provided no increase - basic tuition would rise by 16 percent a year, reaching $22,200 by fall 2015, not including mandatory campus fees, room and board. That's 81 percent higher than the current $12,192.

Disney Channel head resigns: Carolina Lightcap had been on the job less than two years. She'll be replaced by Gary Marsh, who had been president of entertainment and chief creative officer for Disney Channels Worldwide. (LAT)