Thursday morning headlines

Stocks stay near the line: Encouraging economic news at home; more debt worries in Europe. At last check, Europe is winning slightly. Dow is down about 20 points.

Jobless claims keep falling: Weekly filings were down to 388,000, the lowest level since April and the fourth decline in five weeks. (AP)

Debt committee running out of time: The congressional supercommittee charged with cutting $1.2 trillion over a decade is reaching a stalemate, with Republicans and Democrats pointing fingers at each other. Deadline for reaching a deal is the beginning of next week; otherwise, automatic cuts are triggered, (AP)

Occupy L.A. update: Hundreds of protesters are downtown this morning, prepared to disrupt traffic on Figueroa Boulevards. Lots of cops. From Fox 11:

Organized by Good Jobs LA, Occupy LA and other groups, the 7 a.m. march disrupted some morning rush-hour traffic in the downtown area, as the westbound Fourth Street offramp from the northbound Harbor (110) Freeway was closed by the California Highway Patrol to limit vehicles from entering the area. Protesters planned to march from Bank of America Plaza on Hope Street to the corner of Figueroa and Fourth Street, where they planned to erect tents in the intersection to block traffic.

Occupy NY update: Hundreds of protesters clashed with police as they tried to reach the NY Stock Exchange. At least 50 people were arrested. From the NYT:

Protesters had vowed to prevent traders from reaching the stock exchange on Wall Street, and some traders did appear to have a hard time reaching the building. But the stock exchange opened for trading as usual at 9:30 a.m. Many members of the group pushed through lines formed by police, waving signs and banging drums as they moved. The police started taking protesters into custody who had sat down on the street about a block away from the exchange.

Energy Secretary takes blame on Solyndra: Steven Chu testified this morning that he made the final decision on a half-billion-dollar loan to the Northern California solar company. From the NYT:

Republicans have been seeking to show that the loan was approved because a major Solyndra investor was a venture capital fund controlled by an Oklahoma oil billionaire who was a "bundler" for the Obama campaign in 2008. But in an interview on Tuesday on NPR, Mr. Chu said that he and other top officials at the department were not aware that some of the private investors who put $1 billion into Solyndra were also Democratic or Republican Party donors, and that he did not know if the career employees who evaluated the Solyndra loan were aware.

Obama secure in California: The president is ahead by sizable margins over all the Republican candidates, according to an LAT/USC poll, with Mitt Romney being the strongest potential competitor.

Restaurants dining to drop on Thanksgiving: Only 6 percent of Americans will eat out next Thursday, compared with 11 percent a year ago. Also, one in 10 say they plan to have more than one Thanksgiving meal. (LAT)