WASHINGTON — The unemployment rate rose past 5% last month and the economy lost more jobs than expected, the Labor Department reported today, deepening the growing consensus among economists that the country is in a recession. The jobless rate reached 5.1% in March, its highest level since the job losses that followed Hurricane Katrina in September 2005. Employers reported that nonfarm payrolls shrank by 80,000 jobs — the sharpest drop in five years. That followed losses of a net 76,000 jobs each in January and February, for a total contraction of 232,000 jobs over three months. Mark Zandi, chief economist for Moody’s Economy.com, said the most worrisome news was not just the losses but the fact that they were spread throughout the economy. For the full story visit http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-jobs5apr05,1,4607031.story

When Final Four action begins Saturday, fans who want to watch the games live online will have to head to CBSSports .com, which owns exclusive online rights to the NCAA men’s basketball tournament. Or to ESPN.com, SI.com or even Facebook. This year, for the first time, CBS is allowing hundreds of websites to add a button that, with one click, sends visitors to the streamed games. But fans can move back again, seamlessly, as UCLA graduate student Mike De Land did on Facebook during the early rounds. For the full story visit http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-streaming4apr04,1,5779928.story

Virtual communications technology company Fix8 received $2 million in funding from a Korean wireless company. In addition to the financing from SK Telecom, Sherman Oaks-based Fix8 will develop 3D avatar technology for SK. Fix8 closes its initial round of funding having raised $5 million. “We are proud to partner with a world-renowned telecom company that shares in our commitment to delivering innovative solutions for virtual communications across Internet, TV and mobile phones,” Fix8 CEO Linh Duy Tang said.

A new editor for the Daily News will be named on April 7 following the departure of Ron Kaye from the position. Kaye leaves some five weeks after cuts reduced the editorial staff by 20 percent. In e-mails posted by Kaye and Daily News Publisher Doug Hanes at the LAObserved website there was no indication if Kaye was fired or resigned. “You have made this into a real newspaper with a soul and passion and creativity and shown your commitment to discover how this newspaper, any newspaper, can survive in the digital age,” Kaye wrote. “I know it can be done and I wish you all the best in whatever you, wherever the road leads you.” Kaye was named as editor of Woodland Hills-based paper in August 2005. In his email to the staff, Hanes said a successor will be named the morning of April 7.

The Glendale Planning Commission gave its approval for DreamWorks Animation for an expansion project at its Flower Street campus. The entertainment company plans to more than double the size of its facility with a six-story addition, the Glendale News-Press reported. The planning commission recommended to amend a development agreement between DreamWorks and the city that limited the height of any buildings, the News-Press reported. “It’s appropriate to amend the agreement to reflect the current zoning code,” Development Services Director Philip Lanzafame was quoted in the News-Press. The Glendale City Council is scheduled to vote on the recommendation on April 22.

A federal judge has approved an investigation into Countrywide Financial by bankruptcy investigators, the Wall Street Journal reported. Judge Thomas P. Agresti of the Federal Bankruptcy Court in Pittsburgh on Tuesday allowed the examination of the Calabasas-based mortgage firm’s processing systems by the Office of the United States Trustee to discover if it systematically abused borrowers. The Office of the United States Trustee is a Justice Department arm that polices bankruptcy filings Judge Agresti denied Countrywide’s refutations that an investigation would be a step down a slippery slope toward an investigatory “free for all” of other lenders. The judge cited the trustee’s demonstration of “a common thread of potential wrongdoing” in several bankruptcy filings involving Countrywide. Countrywide acknowledged some errors, but denied that mistreatment is systemic in its handling of mortgages. Agresti is the presiding judge for 293 bankruptcy cases involving accusations of misconduct by Countrywide.

NEW YORK — NBC got a jump start on its competitors Wednesday, unveiling a 2008-09 prime-time lineup that leans heavily on heroic tropes and classic tales of adventure. Six weeks before the four other television broadcast networks roll out their schedules, NBC said it was picking up 12 new shows, including dramas based on the stories of King David, Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Robinson Crusoe, Merlin and the 1980s series “Knight Rider.” For the full story visit http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-nbc3apr03,1,5002477.story

For kids — and parents too — it may be the ultimate play land: a 10-square-mile, $64-billion zone with amusement parks by Six Flags, DreamWorks Animation and Universal Studios, plus museums, shopping and 55 hotels. At twice the size of Walt Disney World in Orlando, Fla., this is a place where it’s hard to imagine getting bored. But if you do, you’ll be able to head to a nearby collection of water attractions situated on an island the shape of a killer whale — all planned by Busch Entertainment, the masterminds behind SeaWorld. For all this American-style entertainment, though, be prepared to travel far: The world’s most ambitious theme park project, Dubailand, is being built in the United Arab Emirates. For the full story visit http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-nuparks3apr03,1,4627799.story

WASHINGTON — The number of new people signing up for unemployment benefits last week shot up to the highest level in more than two years, fresh evidence of the damage to a national economy clobbered by housing, credit and financial crises. The Labor Department reported that new applications filed for unemployment insurance jumped by a seasonally adjusted 38,000 to 407,000 for the week ending March 29. The increase left claims at their highest point since Sept. 17, 2005, following the blows of the devastating Gulf Coast hurricanes. “This report supports the view that the jobs market is deteriorating toward recessionary conditions,” said T.J. Marta, a fixed-income strategist at RBC Capital Markets. For the full story visit http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-econ4apr04,1,6315557.story

Lightning II jet, marking the transition from demonstration to production of the Joint Strike Fighter, the defense giant announced. Assembly work on the aircraft’s center fuselage began March 24 at Northrop’s Palmdale Manufacturing Center, with the loading of an all-composite air inlet duct into a special tooling structure called a jig. The assembly of the center fuselage “is significant because it shows the F-35 program is successfully transitioning from the system development and demonstration phase into the production phase,” Janis Pamiljans, Northrop’s F-35 program manager, said in a statement. For the full story visit http://www.dailynews.com/ci_8774367