For the first time in 20 weeks, the number of those still seeking unemployment benefits (as opposed to new claims) dropped, albeit slightly. This also broke a string of 17 consecutive weeks with record new highs in this number.

On Thursday, the Labor Department said the number of initial claims for unemployment insurance dropped unexpectedly to a seasonally adjusted 623,000, from a revised figure of 636,000 in the previous week. It was below analysts' estimates of 635,000.

As if we don't have enough to worry about with the current swine flu outbreak, the Commerce Department's report, released Wednesday, shows that the U.S. economy shrank 6.1% (annualized) in Q1 2009. Economists surveyed by Thomson Reuters expected a 5% annualized decline.

While last week's jobless numbers for new claims showed improvement, this week's took an unexpectedly high jump, according to the Labor Department.

On the same day that JP Morgan Chase (JPM) announced a $2.1 billion profit in the first quarter of 2009, better jobless numbers were announced, with new claims dropping for the second straight week.

Since the financial crisis began, JP Morgan Chase (JPM) has not posted a quarterly loss. It didn't do so today, either.

How many of you have received that "no raises this year" message from the executives at your company? Isn't it comforting to know we're all in this together. Oh, wait, maybe not CEOs, after all.

Wall Street continued its winning streak on Thursday, with the Dow Jones Industrial Average rising above the 8,000 mark for a time, for the first time since February. This was also the DJIA's highest close in nearly two months.

What the G20 summit ought to yield is a consensus that Corporate Capitalism and globalization have failed. They will not however, conclude this, and so I'm hesitant to believe a sufficient cure for the world economic crisis will be found.

Since January Hyundai has let buyers return new cars if they get laid off within a year. Now, you can't return your house in this case, but this outfit will pay up to six months of your mortgage if you are laid off in the first year.

Speaking in Brasília at a joint press conference with U.K. prime minister Gordon Brown, Brazil's president Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva blamed the global economic crisis on white people.

Melbourne, Australia — 18 March 2009 — Graduates from prestigious universities do not necessarily acquire higher starting salaries, in comparison to graduates from universities of lower rankings.