Labor/Economy

During the week ending March 17, initial unemployment claims were 348,000, a decrease of 5,000 from the previous week’s revised figure of 353,000, and a four-year low, according to the U.S. Department of Labor on Thursday.

Existing home sales took an unexpected monthly dip in February, down 0.9 percent, according to the National Association of Realtors on Wednesday.

The residential market continued to be the main domestic economic story on Tuesday, with the Census Bureau and HUD reporting that housing starts in February were at an annualized rate of 698,000 units, a dip of 1.1 percent from January.

Consumers were a little miffed in February, according to the latest Reuters/University of Michigan’s consumer sentiment index, which dropped to 74.3 during the month, against the expectations of economists predicting another rise.

A tide of foreclosures in the wake of the robo-signing settlement is now conventional wisdom among economists and others who track the drab state of the housing, but according to the latest numbers from RealtyTrac, the tide isn’t rising quite yet.

The greater Las Vegas residential market has long been one of the poster children for the housing depression–pretty much since day one of the crisis, in fact.

Retailers had a good month in February as Americans were out shopping in force, driving total retail sales up 1.1 percent, which was the highest uptick in five months, according to the U.S. Department of Commerce.