First time claims came in on the low side. Unexpectedly so. Which seems, paradoxically, predictable.
At any rate, 264,000 number is the lowest in 14 years, as Bloomberg reports.
There is more good news in the form of a sharp rise in industrial production.
On the other hand … there is the stock market, which opened more than 100 points off in the Dow after a day when it was down, at one point, more than 400. Then, there are the ominous signs of a global slowdown, including the possibility of a recession in Germany.
And, then, the price of oil has dropped into the $80 to $90 a barrel range which means cheap gas for commuters and truckers but skinnier margins for drillers and producers.
What is certain, amid all of this, is that there will be “experts” who never saw it coming, explaining what it all means.
Meanwhile, the money moves to safety.
