Patrick Temple-West

Initial jobless claims dropped by 28,000 to 452,000 for the week ending Dec. 19, the lowest number of initial claims this year, the Labor Department reported Thursday.

WASHINGTON – Initial jobless claims dropped by 28,000 to 452,000 for the week ending Dec. 19, the lowest number of initial claims this year, the Labor Department reported today.

WASHINGTON — The economy will continue to grow next year, municipal bond yields will rise — though not as much as Treasury yields — and the threat of inflation will remain low, according to most economists and market participants.

WASHINGTON - New home sales plunged in November falling 11.3%, a larger drop than economists estimated and the largest monthly decline since January, revealing a disconnect between existing and new home sales, the Commerce Department reported today.

WASHINGTON - Personal spending rose 0.5% in November as incomes rose by 0.4%, the largest amount since May, the Commerce Department reported today.

Third-quarter gross domestic product rose at a 2.2% annual rate, revised down from the preliminary estimate of 2.8% growth on an annual basis reported last month, as private investment was revised lower and corporate profits were revised higher, the Commerce Department reported yesterday.

WASHINGTON – The third quarter gross domestic product rose at a 2.2% annual rate, revised down from the preliminary estimate of 2.8% growth on an annual basis reported last month, as private investment was revised lower and corporate profits were revised higher, the Commerce Department reported today.

Initial jobless claims increased 7,000 to 480,000 on a seasonally adjusted basis for the week ending Dec. 12, the Labor Department reported yesterday.

WASHINGTON – Initial jobless claims increased 7,000 to 480,000 on a seasonally adjusted basis for the week ending Dec. 12, the Labor Department reported today.

Henrico County last week sold Virginia's first recovery zone economic development bonds in a $9.8 million deal.

South Carolina's budget and control board voted Tuesday to cut the budget by 5%, or about $238 million, the second round of spending cuts this fiscal year.

WASHINGTON - The current account deficit rose to $108.0 billion in the third quarter, matching economists’ estimates, from a revised $98.0 billion in the second quarter, the Commerce Department reported today.

WASHINGTON - Groundbreaking for new U.S. home construction jumped 8.9% at a seasonally adjusted annual rate in November and housing permits increased 6.0% as the inventories for both components fell to record lows, the Commerce Department reported today.

Producer prices jumped 1.8% in November, boosted by finished energy goods, as prices on an annual basis rose for the first time in a year, the Labor Department reported yesterday.

WASHINGTON - Producer prices jumped 1.8% in November, boosted by finished energy goods, as prices on an annual basis rose for the first time in a year, the Labor Department reported today.

Business inventories increased 0.2% in October, the first increase in 13 months, the Commerce Department reported Friday.

U.S. import prices increased 1.7% in November, the largest increase in five months, as some categories of non-petroleum prices climbed by the most in more than a year, the Labor Department said Friday.

WASHINGTON – Business inventories increased 0.2% in October, the first increase in 13 months, the Commerce Department reported today.

WASHINGTON — The U.S. import prices increased 1.7% in November, the largest increase in five months, as some categories of non-petroleum prices climbed by the most in more than a year, the Labor Department reported today.

The U.S. government posted a $120.3 billion budget deficit in November, the Treasury Department reported yesterday.