Unemployment Claims Up Slightly; Business Spending Increased

Over the past week, 21,000 more Americans claimed unemployment benefits, the Labor Department reports. Like most economic news, that's the bad news. The good news, reports the AP, is the that the four-week average is down 2,500, which "still signals a healthier job market."

The Commerce Department also has some good news on the economy: Orders for durable goods rose 3 percent, last month.

The AP reports that this marks a gain for the second straight month. The AP adds:

"Perhaps the best evidence of that was a 2.9 percent increase in so-called core capital goods, such as computers and machinery. That pushed total orders for the category to a record $68.9 billion.

"Economists pay most attention to so-called core capital goods because they are often viewed as a good way of gauging business investment plans."

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