Thursday morning headlines

Stocks still falling: Looks like more profit-taking after the recent gains. Dow is down 85 points.

Gas update: Coming up on two weeks of basically flat prices. An average gallon of regular in the L.A. area is $4.384, down less than half a penny from Wednesday, according to the Auto Club.

Jobless claims hit 4-year low: Weekly filings fell 5,000, to 348,000. Applications have steadily declined since last fall, suggesting a pick-up in job growth. (AP)

Mortgage rates top 4 percent: It's the first time rates have hit that level in more than three months. (AP)

Housing shows signs of life: Still a work in progress, say analysts, but less of a drag on the recovery. From the WSJ:

The spring selling season, traditionally the busiest period of the year, appears to be off to its best start in five years. Sales of existing homes in January and February were at their highest level since 2007, according to data out Wednesday, though sales in February edged down by 0.9% from January on a seasonally adjusted basis. The decline in real-estate prices has slowed its pace, making Americans less cautious about spending and potentially more disposed to buy a home. For the first time since 2005, investment in residential real-estate, including home building and renovation, has contributed to U.S. economic output for the past three quarters.

Huge advance sales for "Hunger Games": They're up to $15 million, reports THR, and could hit $20 million before tonight's midnight premiere.

Shakeup at Sony: Michael Lynton, CEO of Sony Pictures Entertainment, will be getting more responsibilities as part of the reshuffling. Sony's film and TV businesses have been one of the few bright spots in recent years. (FT)

Blocking Walmart's move to Chinatown: Council members are proposing a temporary ordinance that would prohibit building permits from being issued for "formula retail" stores. That would include Walmart. From the LAT:

Wal-Mart is seeking to open a 33,000-square-foot market and pharmacy in a vacant ground-floor commercial space at Cesar Chavez and Grand avenues. But the plan has come under fire from labor and advocacy groups that oppose the company's wage scale, benefit plans and nonunion workforce. Reyes said his proposal, scheduled for a vote Friday, would safeguard Chinatown's small businesses. He said he may rewrite it so that it also addresses the increased traffic that is expected once Wal-Mart opens.

Anthem to trim rate hikes: The state's biggest for-profit health insurer now says some of its rates will increase 8.2 percent, on average, which is down from an earlier request of 10.4 percent. But many families still could see premiums jump as much as rise 20 percent, starting in May. (LAT)

Slower growth for women-owned businesses: A fairly modest 21 percent increase over the past decade, compared with 22.2 percent for California and 28.6 percent for the nation, according to a report from American Express OPEN. States with much higher growth rates include Georgia, Nevada, and North Carolina. (OC Register)