Wednesday morning headlines

Stocks soar: Action by the world's central banks to ease the debt crisis has Wall Street in a strong buying mood. It seems like an overreaction - but in a good way. Dow is up more than 400 points.

Central banks intervene: Basically, they've increased the availability of dollars around the world, which should help shore up the European financial system. From the NYT:

The move made clear that regulators increasingly are concerned about the strain that the European debt crisis is placing on financial companies. European banks in particular are facing difficulty in borrowing through normal channels the money that they need to fund their obligations. The cost for European banks to borrow in dollars in the open market has climbed to the highest level in three years, and the European Central Bank borrowed $552 million from the Fed last week to meet the rising demand for dollars from European banks.

China eases lending curbs: Another big global story. The government has taken steps that will encourage banks to resume lending. That could held rekindle growth, which has been lagging of late. From the NYT:

Real estate developers, small businesses and other borrowers have been complaining strenuously in recent weeks of weakening sales and scarce credit. Prices have dropped up to 28 percent for new apartments in some Chinese cities this autumn, real estate brokers have been laying off thousands of agents as transactions have dried up, and export orders have slumped.

Big jump in private-sector jobs: Payrolls shot up by 206,000 in November, the largest monthly gain in nearly a year and way beyond expectations. The government issues its full employment report on Friday. (Reuters)

Occupy L.A. update: Mayor Villaraigosa and Chief Beck will hold a press conference at 10 a.m. to discuss last night's raid. Also, see earlier post.

Paramount sued for fraud: The studio is being accused by one of its financing partners of withholding profit from movies that include "Mission: Impossible 3" and "Jackass 2." From the LAT:

The lawsuit accused Paramount of fraud and breach of contract but didn't specify the amount of damages that the Melrose 2 investors are seeking. A spokeswoman for Paramount said that the studio had paid back Melrose 2 nearly 90% of its investment and that the differences in the two sides' positions are modest.

City contract to company with Arizona ties: Could L.A. be violating its boycott of Arizona businesses? Honeywell International, which gets the $88 million contract, isn't based in the state, but it has a big presence there. The award is to overhaul computer systems at the city's wastewater treatment plants. (CNS)

100 airline bankruptcies since 1990: That's according to the Air Transport Association, with yesterday's filing by American being the 100th. That doesn't even include the Chapter 7 liquidation of Eastern Airlines in 1991. (USA Today)