Friday morning headlines

Stocks drifting lower: Still looking sluggish. Dow is down about 40 points.

CA jobless rate unchanged: November unemployment was 12.4 percent, as it was in October, and the state added just 1,600 jobs. But the rate in L.A. County shot up to 12.9 percent from 12.6 percent in October. (LAT)

House passes tax deal: Not happily, but at least it's finally done. Obama will sign it today. (NYT)

California's uninsured keeps climbing: Nearly 7 million people in the state are without health coverage, according to the California Healthcare Foundation. From the report:

Although increases in Medicaid coverage partially offset the decline, more than 20% of Californians remain uninsured. California has both a lower percentage of individuals with employer-sponsored coverage and a higher proportion of uninsured than the rest of the nation. California also has the largest total number of people without insurance -- 6.8 million -- of any U.S. state.

Another jump in bankruptcies: L.A. County had 4,551 individuals and businesses filing in November, a 30 percent jump from a year earlier. (OC Register)

Travel to pick up during holidays: The Auto Club is looking at a 3 percent increase over last year. As usual, the vast majority will travel by car, and the favorite destination is Vegas.

Gas prices keep climbing: An average gallon of regular in the L.A. area rose 2.3 cents, to $3.26, according to the Auto Club.

Settlement nears in Madoff case: The deal being worked out will add at least $7 billion to the cash available to compensate victims, the NYT reports. An announcement is expected later today.

The settlement will conclude the trustee's case against the estate of Jeffry M. Picower, a Palm Beach philanthropist and longtime Madoff investor who died in October 2009. The figure represents the difference between the cash that Mr. Picower put into his Madoff account and the amount that he withdrew over the life of the fraud, according to litigation filed last year by the Madoff trustee.

Chinese automaker cuts deal with L.A.: The city housing authority will be using 10 fully electric vehicles from BYD as part of a pilot program. BYD plans to locate its U.S. headquarters in L.A. (Daily News)