More positive corporate earnings, coupled with slightly improved number of U.S jobless benefits have lifted market sentiment in the United States.
Market performance and U.S. data are showing positive economic activity. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 47.38 points (0.46 percent) on Thursday to close at 10,444.14, and the broader S&P 500 rose 0.4 percent to a six-week high of 1,122.97 in New York, marking the S&P’s strongest gain since early January.
The U.S government announced that new jobless claims dropped by 29,000 to 469,000 last week and productivity grew a 6.9 percent annual rate in the fourth quarter, constituting the highest one-year increase since 2002.
The U.S. unemployment rate is hovering around 10 percent and overall jobless benefits dropped by 134,000 to 4.5 million. It is important to factor the havoc snow storms would have impacted February resulting in still-pending claims to be processed, and some unemployed individuals were unable to file their claims.
In addition, the continuing claims do not incorporate the millions of people who have been eating into their regular 26 weeks of benefits as well as those receiving extended benefits up to 73 extra weeks.
Almost 5.9 million people were receiving extended benefits in the week that ended Feb. 13, up from about 5.7 million the previous week.
According to AFP, Patrick O'Hare of Briefing.com said that, “The continuing claims improvement is misleading as a sign of a strong pickup in hiring activity.”
Andrew Gledhill of Moody’s Economy.com was also pessimistic. “There has been little or no improvement in trends over the last several months.”
The Financial Times reported that some economists claim that the new jobless claims will only affect job creation and genuine economic recovery if the numbers reach 400,000. Basically, the current number of jobless claims is still significant in a pre-recession context.
Earlier this week, the U.S. Federal Reserve said in a report that the economy is growing, but too slowly to persuade companies to ramp up hiring. The job market “remained soft throughout the nation,” the Fed said Wednesday in a report known as the Beige Book.
The government is also trying to manage the unemployment pressure in the United States, with President Barack Obama authorizing a bill to extend jobless benefits, which had already expired at the end of last month. The U.S. Senate passed a $15 billion jobs package designed to stimulate hiring by offering tax advantages to business who hired new staff.
Market performance and U.S. data are showing positive economic activity. The Dow Jones Industrial Average climbed 47.38 points (0.46 percent) on Thursday to close at 10,444.14, and the broader S&P 500 rose 0.4 percent to a six-week high of 1,122.97 in New York, marking the S&P’s strongest gain since early January.
The U.S government announced that new jobless claims dropped by 29,000 to 469,000 last week and productivity grew a 6.9 percent annual rate in the fourth quarter, constituting the highest one-year increase since 2002.
The U.S. unemployment rate is hovering around 10 percent and overall jobless benefits dropped by 134,000 to 4.5 million. It is important to factor the havoc snow storms would have impacted February resulting in still-pending claims to be processed, and some unemployed individuals were unable to file their claims.
In addition, the continuing claims do not incorporate the millions of people who have been eating into their regular 26 weeks of benefits as well as those receiving extended benefits up to 73 extra weeks.
Almost 5.9 million people were receiving extended benefits in the week that ended Feb. 13, up from about 5.7 million the previous week.
According to AFP, Patrick O'Hare of Briefing.com said that, “The continuing claims improvement is misleading as a sign of a strong pickup in hiring activity.”
Andrew Gledhill of Moody’s Economy.com was also pessimistic. “There has been little or no improvement in trends over the last several months.”
The Financial Times reported that some economists claim that the new jobless claims will only affect job creation and genuine economic recovery if the numbers reach 400,000. Basically, the current number of jobless claims is still significant in a pre-recession context.
Earlier this week, the U.S. Federal Reserve said in a report that the economy is growing, but too slowly to persuade companies to ramp up hiring. The job market “remained soft throughout the nation,” the Fed said Wednesday in a report known as the Beige Book.
The government is also trying to manage the unemployment pressure in the United States, with President Barack Obama authorizing a bill to extend jobless benefits, which had already expired at the end of last month. The U.S. Senate passed a $15 billion jobs package designed to stimulate hiring by offering tax advantages to business who hired new staff.
