Friday morning headlines

Stocks edge lower: Dow is down about 15 points in very early trading.

More tech hires: With demand picking up, companies like Google, Intel and Cisco are adding employees. From the WSJ:

"It's a very competitive job market," said Steve Cadigan, LinkedIn's vice president of people operations, who added that the company is targeting an additional 300 hires this year. In an indicator of the growing demand, tech-jobs Web site Dice.com said it now lists more than 62,000 tech positions nationwide, up nearly 22% from 51,000 a year earlier. Year-over-year growth in tech-job listings picked up in March, the first time job listings rose on an annual basis since December 2007, according to Dice.

Venture funding on upswing: First-quarter investments totaled $686.5 million in Socal, up from the previous three months ($588 million) and the year-earlier quarter ($320.2 million). OC had the most deals invested, followed by L.A. and San Diego. From Socaltech:

The energy and clean technology sector actually helped boost investments in Los Angeles, as well, with big deals for Torrance-based Amonix, which raised $64.4M in the quarter; Coda Automotive, with $25M invested; and eSolar, with $20M. Clean technology in Southern California represented $230.0M of the total invested in Q1. Other major areas of investment were Medical Devices and Equipment, with $131.46M in investments and Biotechnology, with $77.6M. Media and Entertainment was at $55.5M in investments, IT services--which includes many online advertising firms--was at $35.15M in investments.

Airports still a mess: Most of Europe's air space will remain closed today because of all that volcanic ash. That translates to more flights cancelled out of LAX, stranding thousands of passengers. From the NYT:

At 6 a.m. Friday local time, the Volcanic Ash Advisory Center reported in London, there was still "significant eruption continuing." The volcano erupted Wednesday for the second time in a month, forcing evacuations and causing flooding about 75 miles east of Reykjavik, Iceland's capital. Icelandic airports remained open because they are west of the volcano and wind was blowing the ash away to the south and east.

DWP signs off on rate hike: The utility's board voted unanimously to approve a 4.5 percent rate hike, taking effect July 1 (and adding $4 to the average bill). That clears the way for the DWP to make a $73 million transfer to the city's general fund. (DN)

Cargo traffic improves: Both the ports of L.A. and Long Beach reported big gains in March export activity, but imports (the bigger part of the total) were a mixed bag. Long Beach had a 10.8 percent increase in import traffic from a year earlier, when the port had one of its worst months ever, while L.A. saw a 2.9 percent decline. (LAT)

Better food at LAX?: The list of business owners interested in an airport concession range from chef Nancy Silverton to the Westside's Butterflake Bakery. From the LAT:

If approved by airport commissioners and the City Council in the weeks ahead, the new contracts would represent a dramatic change for an airport whose officials were once reluctant to turn LAX into anything resembling a shopping mall. "The goal is to have some real capital improvements, make our concessions more physically attractive, increase revenue and give the airport the feel of L.A.," said Alan Rothenberg, president of the Board of Airport Commissioners.

Another stadium idea?: Casey Wasserman and Tim Leiweke are exploring the possibility of an NFL stadium behind Staples Center, where the West Hall of the L.A. Convention Center is currently located. It's apparently in the very early stages. (LAT)

DVD rentals are down: First-quarter revenues fell 14 percent from a year earlier. The drop may have been due to the closing of retail stores. (LAT)

Big Macerich offering: The Santa Monica-based owner of shopping malls has raised $1.2 billion and could use some of that money to bid on properties owned by General Growth, now in bankruptcy. (DJ)