The number of Americans filing new claims for jobless benefits rocketed to a 26-year high last week, surpassing already gloomy forecasts, as the U.S. economy sinks deeper into recession.

Initial applications for jobless benefits climbed by 58,000 to 573,000 in the week ended Dec. 6, upwardly revised from 515,000 the previous week, the U.S. Labor Department reported yesterday (Thursday).  The figure was the highest since 1982, and far exceeded the median projection of 525,000 put forth by 39 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News.

The increase was due, in part, to a bounce from the week before, which was shorter because it included the Thanksgiving holiday. Government offices were open only four days that week.

Nevertheless, the four-week average, which smooths out fluctuations, stood at 540,500.  That’s the biggest number of jobless claims filed since December 1982, when the economy was also mired in a deep recession. By

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November 19, 2008
Editor’s Note: On Nov. 19, 2008, the U.S. Labor Department reported a 1 percent drop in the consumer price index for October 2008. The drop marked the largest decline in 61 years, and it was the first decline in that measure in nearly a quarter of a century. The 1 percent drop was twice as large as many mainstream analysts had forecast. Such a large decline in consumer prices is forcing …

Expect more pain in the housing market next year, says Don Miller. Rising unemployment will keep the foreclosures coming. And as the backlog of inventories swells, Don says homebuilders still look ripe for shorting in this environment.

This from Money Morning:

The U.S. housing market is already being pounded by the “perfect storm.” And the outlook for the New Year is for the stormy weather to continue – and probably to get worse.

As if a locked-up credit market and tidal waves of foreclosures weren’t already enough, we’re now watching unemployment climb and consumer confidence plunge.

But even when the housing market is taking on water, there are ways to stay afloat. Indeed, investors nimble enough to maneuver can even make money.

The watchword on this market, though, is caution.  If an investor decides to test the waters, beware of the extraordinary financial undertow.

Here’s a look at what’s happening now, and

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By Jennifer Yousfi Managing Editor Consumer sentiment improved for the second consecutive month, as lower commodities prices picked the index of consumer confidence up from a 28-year low. The Reuters/University of Michigan Surveys of Consumers announced its index of consumer confidence inched up a half-point to 61.7 in early August from 61.2 in late July. However, the index fell just shy of economists’ median forecast of 62.0, according to a recent poll conducted by Reuters. “Consumers still remain pretty pessimistic,” Arun Raha, a senior economist at Swiss Re (OTC ADR: SWCEY) in New York, said in an interview with Bloomberg Television. “This little-higher number is probably the result of lower gas prices. The economy remains pretty weak and consumer sentiment reflects that.” The index has climbed back from 56.4 in June, its lowest level since May 1980. Any improvement ...