Take a look at this AP story as found on KnoxNews.com
The Labor Department reported that new applications for jobless benefits fell by a seasonally adjusted 13,000 to 417,000 last week, the third straight week of declines. Analysts were expecting claims to rise.Separately, the department said wholesale prices plunged by a record 1.9 percent in April, compared to a 1.5 percent gain in the previous month.
Jobless benefits fall for three weeks in a row, and inflation is still in a coma.
The stock market has gained about 1200 points over the last two months in a slow, steady growth pattern that should establish new resistance levels. Both the 50and 200 day moving averages are trending upward, and the index is trading well above them.
There are some mixe indicators, like a slowly declining manufacturing sector, but even there, the overall outlook is bright. The worst appears to have passed, although analysts still caustion against over exuberance.
Based on the indicators, if the dems key on the economy and jobs in 2004, they're going to have a very hard time making gains at the polls.
Posted by Rich at May 15, 2003 1:44 PM | TrackBack