• March 23, 2017
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The number of Americans who applied for unemployment benefits last week jumped by 15,000 to 258,000 and matched a two-month high, with fresh revisions showing layoffs a bit higher in 2017 than previously reported.

• March 23, 2017
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Treasury yields were falling on Thursday for the fifth straight session after government data showed an unexpected rise in first-time jobless claims. Investors are now turning their attention to a looming vote on the Republican bill to repeal and replace Obamacare in the House of Representatives. The latest tallies suggest it doesn’t have the support

• March 23, 2017
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Sales of newly-constructed homes powered to the highest pace in seven months in February as firm demand for housing outweighs lean supply and slightly higher mortgage rates. New home sales ran at a seasonally-adjusted annual rate of 592,000, the Commerce Department said Thursday. That was 6.1% higher than in January and 12.8% above last February’s

• March 22, 2017
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Sales in February were still 5.4% higher compared with a year ago, but the supply situation has worsened. Inventory was 6.4% lower than in February 2016. Meanwhile, the median home price rose 7.7% compared with a year ago to $228,400.

• March 22, 2017
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Treasury yields declined on Wednesday to their lowest levels in more than three weeks as congressional Republicans struggled to convince certain conservative legislators to support their plan to repeal and replace Obamacare. Yields, which fall as prices rise, were on track to fall for a fourth straight session, with the yield on the 10-year Treasury

• March 21, 2017
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It has happened — for the first time in more than three years, U.K. inflation has broken above the Bank of England’s 2% target, adding pressure on the central bank to raise interest rates to curb the rapid jump in consumer prices. At 2.3% for February, the consumer price index rose faster than the 2.1%

• March 21, 2017
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It has happened — for the first time in more than three years, U.K. inflation has broken above the Bank of England’s 2% target, adding pressure on the central bank to raise interest rates to curb the rapid jump in consumer prices. At 2.3% for February, the consumer price index rose faster than the 2.1%

• March 20, 2017
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If expected U.S. economic improvement persists, the Federal Reserve is likely to raise interest rates a total of three times in 2017, said Chicago Fed President Charles Evans, but that loose target could go up to four rate hikes this year should inflation creep higher than the 2%, or even just over 2%, that the

• March 17, 2017
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Manufacturing output gained 0.5% in February, the sixth straight monthly increase. Economist had expected a 0.3% rise in output in February. This followed a revised 0.1% decline in January, a bit faster than the original reading of a 0.3% decline. Industrial output has been in an up-and-down pattern since last fall. Compared with the same

• March 17, 2017
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Minneapolis Fed President Neel Kashkari on Friday said he dissented from the U.S. central bank’s decision to hike interest rates earlier this week because not all that much had changed in the outlook for inflation since the January meeting. While there were some signs that inflation was picking up, it was not happening rapidly, Kashkari