Jobless Claims Drop, Retail Sales and Productivity Climb - Buy and Hold Plus

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Investors got a triple shot of good economic news this morning.

The Labor Department reported that initial unemployment claims dropped by 20,000. First time claims for unemployment benefits came in at 512,000 for the week ending October 31 . Continuing claims also dropped, falling by 68,000 to 5.75 million.

The consensus estimate for initial claims was 522,000, with estimates ranging from 510,000 to 535,000 . Thus, the actual number came in on the optimistic side of analyst estimates.

The news, while good, wasn't all positive. Only two governmental bodies, Indiana and Puerto Rico , showed a drop in claims of more than 1,000. That was countered by the 12 states that showed an increase of more than 1,000 claims, led by California's 14,394.

The drop in initial claims, however, prompted some economists to say that the recovery has taken hold and that the trend for unemployment claims is downward. This indicates that the job market , while still weak, is strengthening.

Those who are not among the 7.2 million people who ...

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