Friday morning headlines

Mixed market: Perhaps the Facebook opening will fuel an overall upturn later in the session. For now, the Dow is up a few points.

California jobless rate inches lower: April's rate was 10.9 percent, down from 11 percent the previous month. That's still third-highest, after Nevada and Rhode Island. More later.

JPMorgan's CEO blessed trading methods: But Jamie Dimon didn't monitor how those trades were executed, and when he saw the extent of the losses he couldn't breath, the WSJ reported.

The activity originally was designed to provide an economic hedge for the bank's other holdings, executives say. It expanded, particularly after J.P. Morgan in 2008 bought troubled lender Washington Mutual, which held riskier securities and assets that required hedging. In recent years, some of the group's trading morphed into what essentially amounted to big directional bets, and its profits and clout grew. Last year, Mr. Macris dropped risk-control caps that had required traders to exit positions when their losses exceeded $20 million.

L.A. gas prices stabilize: An average gallon of regular is $4.405, according to the Auto Club, a 17-cent jump from a week ago. The wholesale market has leveled off, though it's unclear whether prices are headed down.

Full City Council gets budget: They'll begin deliberating today and continue on Monday. Vote is expected next week.

Proposal to hire more parking cops: The part-time officers would bolster the depleted workforce. From the Daily News:

Villaraigosa's budget, set for consideration by the City Council today, would add 50 part-time traffic officers, on top of the 100 part-timers hired last year. The city raised $9 million last year with the 100 officers and predicts it will raise an additional $4 million this year with 50 more. Hiring more traffic officers would reverse years of declining city-issued citations, while raising more revenue for the city, Los Angeles Department of Transportation officials argue.

More troubles for California courts: The governor's May budget revision includes a $544 million cut to the judicial system. That's on top of earlier reductions that have resulted in layoffs and courtroom closures. From the SF Chronicle:

"We're rationing justice," Chief Justice Tani Cantil-Sakauye, the leader of the state Supreme Court and the nation's largest judicial system, said the next day. After four consecutive years of state funding reductions totaling $653 million, she said, courts up and down the state have shuttered civil courtrooms that hear disputes over child custody, mortgages and layoffs. Repairs of aging, unsafe courthouses have been postponed. Clerks' offices where people file legal papers are closing early. Services for those who can't afford lawyers, like self-help kiosks for family law, have been reduced. If the Legislature approves Brown's court funding proposal, Cantil-Sakauye said, "the bottom is going to fall out. We've done all that we can."

Carl's Jr. parent files IPO: Carpinteria-based CKE is looking to raise $100 million in an initial public offering. The company had been publicly held and then was taken private two years ago when it was bought by private equity firm Apollo Management. (LAT)