Unemployment is up, and so are prices for necessities:
The Labor Department said first-time applications for unemployment benefits rose 35,000 from the week before. It was the highest level since October and above what economists had predicted.
“It was a disappointing number,” said Kim Caughey Forrest, an analyst at Fort Pitt Capital.
The Labor Department also reported that wholesale prices in December rose by the largest amount in nearly a year, as a result of higher energy and food costs.
So are Wall Street profits and bonuses:
JP Morgan’s investment bankers are to receive an average payout of $369,651 (£233,000) after the bank set aside almost $10bn to cover basic pay and bonuses.
The figures were released after JPMorgan Chase kicked off the US banking reporting season by reporting a 47% jump in profits for the last quarter of 2010.
Coincidence? You tell me.
