Jobless claims

The depression continues:

The number of Americans filing new claims for unemployment benefits plunged by the largest amount in 2 1/2 years last week, reflecting a slowdown in layoffs in the auto industry.

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The Labor Department reported that new benefit claims dropped by 34,000 to a new total of 303,000 as the labor market continued to signal strength.

Update: More bad news:

A key gauge on the future direction of the U.S. economy rose 0.9 percent last month and the two previous months were revised upward, a private research group said on Thursday.

The New York-based Conference Board said its index of leading indicators rose to 137.7 in June. It revised May's index upward to an unchanged reading from a previously reported 0.5 percent decline, and nudged up April's index to a 0.2 percent increase from a previously reported unchanged reading.