U.S. Jobless Claims At Five-Month High; Import Prices Fall

[Purveyor]

Source: Reuters

The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits rose to a five-month high last week, but this likely does not signal a deterioration in the labor market as the underlying trend remained consistent with tightening conditions.

Other data on Thursday showed cheaper crude oil and a strong dollar keeping imported inflation pressures subdued in November. The reports did not change views the Federal Reserve will raise interest rates next Wednesday for the first time in nearly a decade.

"As we approach the end of the year, jobless claims have a tendency to be more volatile due to seasonal adjustment issues around the holidays. The message remains that the pace of layoffs is very low," said John Ryding, chief economist at RDQ Economics in New York.

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased 13,000 to a seasonally adjusted 282,000 for the week ended Dec. 5, the highest level since early July, the Labor Department said. The four-week moving average of claims, considered a better measure of labor market trends as it strips out week-to-week volatility, rose only 1,500 to 270,750 last week.



Read more: http://www.reuters.com/article/us-usa-economy-idUSKBN0TT1OP20151210#gRitxqrwMuEb2YDG.97

[forest444]

1. Could big business be deliberately slowing the economy ahead of the elections next year?

Call me cynical; but would anyone seriously put it past them anymore?

[yeoman6987]

2. That God elections are not tomorrow

Between terrorism and some negative financial news, it would not be good. Thankfully 11 months to go.

[forest444]

3. Oh, yes. October surprises have a funny way of happening whenever Democrats are the incumbent party.

Iran's unexpected pulling out of negotiations over the hostages in September/October 1980 (when Poppy Bush and Bill Casey were seen holding still-unexplained talks with Iranians in Spain).

The USS Cole incident, October 12, 2000 - the day before the Cheney/Lieberman debate, which many pundits considered Gore's last, best shot at retaking the lead he had recently lost. It goes without saying that the incident dominated the debate, and thus played perfectly into Cheney's hands (and with Cheney, happenstance is usually a very bad bet).

And, of course, Benghazi. Caused by a deliberately incendiary video created by a right-wing pastor (Terry Jones) with known CIA links, published on September 11 (2012), and then on top of that the disclosure of the CIA safe house to terrorists who just happened to be at the ready.

Way too many coincidences - and that's just the known coincidences. Who knows what a true investigation into these events would turn up!