Morning Market Report 2/6/2014

The KUIK Morning Market Report for Thursday, February 6:
Markets are up this morning.
Index Direction Change Units Last Time Change
Dow Up                    112 points           15,553 6:58 AM
S&P500 Up 0.67% percent             1,763            11.70
Nasdaq Composite Up 0.86% percent             4,046            34.63
30 Year Treasury Up                       1 Basis Points               3.66 Annual Yield
Mixed news on the labor front. The Labor Department reported initial claims for unemployment benefits fell to a seasonally adjusted 331,000 in the weeked ended Feb. 1 down from a revised 351,000 the week before and better than the 337,000 expected by economists. Claims from two weeks ago were revised upward by 3,000.  Continuing unemployment claims increased by 15,000 to a seasonally adjusted 2.96 million in the week ended Jan. 25. Continuing claims are reported with a one-week delay and reflect the number of people already receiving benefits.
Announced layoffs soared in January from a 13-year low in December, led by job cuts from retailers who saw weak holiday sales, according to data from outplacement firm Challenger, Gray & Christmas. Total layoffs announced last month rose to more than 45,000, up from about 31,000 in December and 40,000 in January 2013.
Serving the West Side first, I am Bill Roller of BR Capital for AM 1360 KUIK.
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/jobless-claims-drop-20000-to-331000-2014-02-06
http://www.marketwatch.com/story/planned-layoffs-soar-in-january-challenger-2014-02-06
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