Well, we have the new jobless claims out, and again, they are grim, with initial claims raising from 613K to 640K, though the 4 week moving average, which is a better indicator, dropped to 646,750 from 651,000.

Continuing claims hit another record, up 93K to 6.137 million, worse than the forecast.

The fact that mass layoffs, more than 50 people, hit a record, with 2,933 in March, probably had something to do with this.

In world finance, we have Moody’s downgrading the debt of the Baltic Republics Lithuania and Latvia, indicating a bumpy way ahead.

In real estate March existing home sales fell, and with mortgage rates inching up, I would not expect a significant improvement in the situation.

Meanwhile, oil is up, and the dollar is down, for reasons not clear to me.