Yeayyyy. Good news. "Factory activity gains speed, jobless claims drop."

[No Elephants]

Factory activity gains speed, jobless claims drop



By Jason Lange

WASHINGTON | Thu Jan 24, 2013 11:03am EST

(Reuters) - Factory activity grew the most in nearly two years in January and the number of new claims for jobless benefits dropped to a five-year low last week, giving surprisingly strong signals on the economy's pulse.

Financial information firm Markit on Thursday said its preliminary Purchasing Managers Index for manufacturing rose to 56.1 this month, its best showing since March 2011. A reading above 50 indicates expansion.

A separate report from the Labor Department showed initial claims for state unemployment benefits fell by 5,000 to 330,000, the lowest since January 2008 when the 2007-2009 recession had just begun.

Together, the data suggest the economy entered the new year with some underlying momentum despite an ongoing political battle in Washington over fiscal policy.

"The economy is structurally doing a little bit better," said Michael Strauss, an economist at Commonfund in Wilton, Connecticut.

Analysts polled by Reuters had expected Markit's "flash" factory gauge to slip and looked for claims to rise to 355,000.

The unexpectedly strong U.S. data helped U.S. stocks to rise, reversing early declines caused by disappointing revenues reported by Apple Inc. Better-than-expected economic news from the euro zone and China also supported stocks.

Economists have cautioned about reading too deeply into this month's figures on jobless claims, which tend to be volatile around this time of the year because of large swings in the model the government uses to iron out seasonal fluctuations.

Still, claims have fallen for two straight weeks, suggesting employers do not yet see tax hikes enacted this month as a big threat to consumer demand.

A four-week moving average for new claims, meant to provide a better sense of underlying trends, fell 8,250 to 351,750, the lowest since March 2008.

http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/01/24/us-usa-economy-idUSBRE90E0KL20130124

Tax hikes were all over the news after the election, big time. Spending by the job creators was up in December anyway

The kabuki gets more and more transparent by the day.

[Enthusiast]

1. They aren't doing a very good job of covering up the kabuki.

Especially on yesterday's filibuster cave.

[Divine Discontent]

2. yeah, that was disappointing to say the least...

but good to hear the news on jobs.

[No Elephants]

3. Reid could not get support for filibuster reform from his own caucus.

After his had to compromise with his own caucus, the change was hardly worth fighting with Republicans over anyway.

Neither major political party was to be held accountable for its inaction. And individuals certainly don't want to be held accountable for their votes. Things like secret holds, keeping a bill from going to a vote, and the filibuster lets both sides keep passing the buck to the other major Party. Both sides love the filibuster. Hence, no one caved.

[Divine Discontent]

4. true, they were thinking about the future and using the filibuster.

it's frustrating nonetheless. I hope we get control of the House in '14. Gonna be a hard fought uphill battle.