Stocks are lower as an unexpected drop in home construction raised concerns about the pace of the economy’s recovery

The Commerce Department said construction of homes and apartments fell 10.6 percent in October to an annual rate of 529,000, well below the pace of 600,000 that economists polled by Thomson Reuters had predicted.

Building permits, a key indication for future activity, slid 4 percent to an annual rate of 552,000, also below the rate of 580,000 that analysts had forecast.

There was little reaction to a report that found inflation at the retail level remained tame as rising unemployment, nervous consumers and tight credit keep prices stable.

The Labor Department said consumer prices rose 0.3 percent in October, slightly above the 0.2 percent economists expected. Core inflation, which excludes volatile energy and food prices, rose 0.2 percent, compared to expectations of a 0.1 percent rise.

A report released Tuesday on prices at the wholesale

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Labor Department statistics released today showed a marked decline in initial jobless claims, extending a run of such declines.

Initial claims are an important barometer for layoffs and hiring. A 12K decline to 502,000 from the previous week, and a drop in the 4-week average to 519,750, is a strong indicator of improvement. The 4-week average is down 20% since the highpoint earlier this year, and initial claims look like those from the beginning of this year. Despite these facts, we are still well above the accepted 450,000 benchmark, which represents the point at which the labor market is theoretically adding jobs.

Continuing claims (which trail initial claims by a week) fell 2.4% to 5.6M, also beating out the expectations of market analysts. Congress has created the largest extension program to date for jobless claims, adding a total of 73 additional weeks to the base 26 weeks of benefits,

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Stocks are higher on positive employment data

Encouraging news on the labor market buoyed stocks in early trading Wednesday as investors waited for the Federal Reserve to weigh in on the economy.

The ADP National Employment Report said 203,000 private sector jobs were lost in October, down from the 227,000 jobs lost in September. It was the seventh straight month of declining job losses.

That stirred hopes for a better-than-expected employment report from the Labor Department on Friday — the month’s most important piece of economic data.

Later Wednesday morning, the Institute for Supply Management will give an update on activity in the service sector. Growth in the service industry would add significant jobs to the economy.

The market’s main focus though is the Federal Reserve and what it has to say about the economy when it wraps up a two-day meeting on interest rates Wednesday afternoon.

Policy makers aren’t expected to raise the Fed’s

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A continued decline in initial claims for unemployment resulted in roughly 10,000 fewer than last week’s upwardly revised total of 524,000. For the fifth time now in six weeks, this figure has declined, beating the Thomson Reuters forecast by 2%, with the four-week average falling six times in a row to 531,500. The initial claims figure is incredibly important because it is a direct expression of lay-offs and the overall propensity within the labor market for hiring.

Several economic analysts have pegged the floor below 200,000 job losses for October, which would set a record for the year. However, the unemployment rate is at 9.8%, the highest in 26 years, and the labor market has lost 7.2 million jobs since December 07. Although initial claims paint a somewhat rosy picture, suggesting improvement, the labor market is still well below the 325,000 benchmark for initial claims, which is an historical indicator of

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The Dow Jones industrial average rose 61 points on Thursday as traders reacted to news that retailers last month had their first sales gain in more than a year.  A closely watched gauge of sales at major retailers rose 0.1% in September. Still, most stores posted sales declines -- though smaller than in recent months -- even as their figures are compared with last September when business plummeted as the financial meltdown ballooned.  While still tepid, it was the first monthly rise in the International Council of Shopping Centers-Goldman Sachs tally since July 2008. 

On Thursday, the European Central Bank and Bank of England left interest rates unchanged.  Sentiment also received a boost from domestic corporate borrowing, which rose for the eight straight week. 

The growing optimism surrounding consumer spending, which is crucial for an economic recovery, followed late Wednesday's good results from Alcoa.  The company surprised investors with

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A Labor Department report issued Thursday Oct. 8 shows initial claims for unemployment fell 33,000 from the prior week’s revised total to 521,000, the lowest level since the beginning of 2009. This figure was 19k less than the Thomson Reuters survey, giving some cause for hope amid a generally depressed economic outlook.

With the four-week average down to 539,750, there is strong evidence of a recovery in the labor market to many investors. The second lowest point this year being reached, on the graph of this closely watched statistic, indicates too many economists that the propensity for hiring by companies is up and that layoffs are less likely. Nevertheless the unemployment figures are still well-above the accepted 325,000 for initial claims, which signifies a robust economy.

The outstanding number of claimants also fell 1.8%, defying analysts’ expectations of a growing pool of recipients. For the week ending Sept. 19, the total

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With unemployment at a 26-year high of 9.8 percent, employers trumped expectations, cutting a whopping 263,000 jobs in September. Labor Department figures show a loss of 7.2 million jobs since December 2007, bringing the total number of unemployed Americans to an astounding 15.1 million.

Oil prices fell October 2 in response to a flagging job market, confirming suspicions about overall U.S. economic health and future demand for crude oil. NYMEX saw crude dip to a morning-low of $68.32, with November delivery down $1.14 a barrel. The London, ICE Futures exchange, saw Brent crude prices also down $1.41 to $67.78.

Elsewhere on the NYMEX, heating oil fell 3.77 cents to $1.7897, with November delivery of gasoline down 2.87 cents to $1.7292. After an 8% decline in natural gas Thursday, in response to the news that U.S. stockpiles reached a record high, natural gas showed gains of 17.43 cents at $4.640 per 1,000

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Automatic Data Processing (ADP) is by far the largest processor of private sector paychecks in the country. This gives the company good insight into the number of jobs gained or lost by the economy. It is one of the key precursors to the big employment report due out on Friday morning. ADP sees a decline of 254,000 jobs in September. While that is the smallest decline in their survey since July of 2008, it was far more than the 200,000 consensus expectation. In August, according to the ADP numbers the economy lost 277,000, and that number was revised down from 298,000. In recent months however, the ADP report has been far more bearish than the report from the Labor Department has turned out to be. For example, according to the Labor Department the economy lost only 216,000 jobs in August. The consensus expectations are for the ...

Investors are approaching the week with “itchy trigger fingers”, according to chief investment strategist for Northern Trust, Jim McDonald. After last week’s housing and manufacturing data checked the market’s 7-month advance, the pits are wary going into a week set to be dominated by more reports on leading economic indicators.

The Labor Department’s monthly report due out Friday will be paramount to many, addressing concerns over unemployment. Compounding the uneasiness will be reports on industrial output, pricing, consumer confidence, factory orders and construction spending. Investors will also be watching for new outlooks in anticipation of 3Q earnings data next month, which should indicate the relative health of companies.

Last week’s losses were chalked up to poorer-than-expected performance in commodities, home sales and durable goods orders. The DJIA, S&P and NDAQ were down roughly 2% by week’s end, despite encouragement from the Fed and a seemingly rosy unemployment report showing job

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The National Association of Realtors released data indicating a 2.7 percent decline in home sales for August. This was a surprise to many investors after a 4 month upturn in home sales figures and a 7.2 percent increase in July.

These surprising results heighten the anticipation of a coming end to the $8,000 tax credit for new homeowners expiring at the end of November. The Fed said on Wednesday that it would begin reducing purchases of mortgage-backed securities and that it would extend the program into the beginning of next year. While nationwide home sales are up and the inventory of unsold homes has dropped notably, sales are still down roughly 30 percent from the peak 4 years ago.

Commodities prices also fell sharply indicating that fears about disintegrating monetary fundamentals may be justified. In addition, Labor Department statistics clearly show a flagging job market despite conclusions regarding a 3

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