Obviously the economic news of the day, hell the news of the day period, was oil surging to above $135/bbl, though they settled about $4 lower.

Retail gasoline hit a new record, the 15th straight, $3.831/gallon.

Dollar has taken a hit too, which is common when oil surges.

In employment news, US initial jobless claims fell, though the number of people collecting benefits remains at a 4 year high, so it appears that the unemployed are not finding new jobs.

In real estate, the OFHEO reports that house prices fell 1.7% in Q1 of 2008, (PDF) the sharpest decline in since records began to be kept in 1991.