Friday morning headlines

Stocks inch higher: Modest response to the strong jobs report, as well as encouraging signals from Greece. Dow is up 50 points.

Broad gains in jobs report: February's growth was spread throughout many industries, including manufacturing. But some economists want to see what happens in March and April, which is when last year's recovery fell apart. From the NYT:

Some economists cautioned that the jobs report might be inflated because of the abnormally warm winter, which has allowed for more construction than usual and a change in consumer spending habits, meaning that in essence February may have robbed April of its normal boost in activity. "Because of the warm winter, there's a question of how much consumption got pulled into the winter months -- hence, you don't get the normal uptick in spring activity," said Steven Blitz, the chief economist at ITG, a research firm.

Mortgage settlement provides extra dividend: The $25 billion agreement worked out between banks and state governments included a side deal that will allow more than 200,000 B of A customers to have their mortgage balances sharply reduced. From the WSJ:

The side deal is unique to Bank of America and was the product of negotiations covering both mortgage originations and servicing, according to a senior Obama administration official. The expanded program could allow Bank of America to avoid paying $350 million in penalties tied to the foreclosure settlement and half of a separate $1 billion penalty related to a settlement of false claims filed on loans backed by the Federal Housing Administration, if the bank meets certain targets. Many of the write-downs will be made on loans originated by Countrywide Financial Corp., which Bank of America acquired in 2008, and then packaged into securities.

Gas update: Tiny bump from Thursday - an average gallon of regular in the L.A. area is $4.382, according to the Auto Club. Prices have been hovering around this mark for several days.

Americans resume borrowing: Household debt (that means mortgages, credit cards, and auto and student loans) rose in the fourth quarter for the first time in three-and-a-half years. (Reuters)

Donation limits raised: Candidates for mayor and other citywide offices can accept $1,300 per donor per election cycle, up from $1,000. City Council candidates can accept $700, up from $500. From the LAT:

The plan will go into effect immediately, giving candidates in the March 2013 election the opportunity to hit up donors who had reached the maximum on their contributions under the previous limits. Commissioner Valerie Vanaman said the changes would give candidates more money to withstand the onslaught of unlimited independent expenditures that typically come from special interests.

New owner of New Republic: Facebook co-founder Chris Hughes is buying a majority stake in the nearly 100-year-old magazine. Terms not disclosed. (NYT)

Taylor Swift top moneymaker: The singer made more than $35 million in 2011, according to Billboard. U2 was second with $32 million. Kenny Chesney, Lady Gaga and Lil Wayne rounded out the top 5. Rankings are based on tours, albums sales and publishing royalties.