Weekly jobless claims unexpectedly increased.
Jobless claims unexpectedly increased in the week ended March 11, according to a Department of Labor report released Thursday morning. The increase came as a surprise to economists, who had been expecting jobless claims to fall. The report showed that jobless claims rose to 309,000 from the previous week's revised figure of 304,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to fall to 298,000 compared to the 303,000 originally reported for the previous week. The Labor Dept. also said that the 4-week moving average rose to 296,500 from the previous week's revised average of 293,750. With the increase, the moving average moved higher for the third consecutive week. The report also showed that continuing claims for the week ended March 4 fell to 2.445 million from the preceding week's revised level of 2.494 million.

Housing starts fell 7.9%, less than economists had expected.
The Department of Commerce released its report on housing starts in the month of February on Thursday, showing that housing starts fell after surging higher in January. Nonetheless, housing starts did not fall as much as economists had anticipated. The report showed that housing starts fell 7.9 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 2.120 million units in February from an upwardly revised 2.303 million unit rate in January. The revised January reading was up 15.8 percent from December. The decrease in February was not as steep as economists had expected, with economists forecasting a more significant decline to a 2.000 million unit rate from the 2.276 million unit rate originally reported for January. The Commerce Dept. said that the drop in housing starts reflected notable decreases in the Northeast, Midwest, and South. Housing starts in the West bucked the downtrend, however, increasing by 7.9 percent in February. The report also showed that building permits fell 3.2 percent to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 2.145 million units in February from a 2.216 million unit rate in January. Building permits are seen as a good indicator of future housing demand.


9:00AM Stock futures pointed to a higher opening on economic data.
U.S. stock futures recovered from earlier weakness and took the positive direction, following two consecutive days of gains and a report on consumer prices which showed inflation at tame levels. The Standard & Poor's 500 futures were up 2.3 points, above fair value. Dow Jones industrial average futures were up 8 points, and Nasdaq 100 futures were up 4 points.

The Labor Department said that February Consumer Price Index rose 0.1%, in line with expectations, compared with a 0.7% increase in January. Excluding food and energy, prices also rose 0.1%, slightly below the forecast 0.2% rise.

The largest company to release quarterly data today, Bear Stearns Cos. (BSC: chart), reported record Q1 earnings of 36.6% on strong equity trading and a jump in investment banking fees. The brokerage earned $508.7 million, or $3.54 per share, compared to $372.3 million, or $2.64 per share in 2005, beating expectations. Revenue rose 18.9% to $2.19 billion compared to $1.84 billion a year ago. Barnes & Noble (BKS) is also expected to report quarterly earnings before the opening bell. Analysts predict the bookseller will report fourth quarter earnings of $1.75, an increase from last year.

February CPI rose 0.1%, the core consumer price index was up 0.1%.
Thursday morning, the Department of Labor released its closely watched report on consumer prices in the month of February. The report showed a modest increase in prices that came in line with economist estimates. The Labor Dept. said that its consumer price index rose 0.1 percent in February following an unrevised increase of 0.7 percent in January. The increase came in line with economist estimates of an increase of 0.1 percent. The modest increase in prices came as a decrease in energy prices helped to offset price increases in other areas. The report showed that energy prices fell 1.2 percent in February following a 5.0 percent increase in January. The core consumer price index, which excludes food and energy prices, also rose 0.1 percent in February following a 0.2 percent increase in January. Economists had been expecting the core CPI to increase by 0.2 percent. The Labor Dept. said that the increase in core prices was primarily due to a rise in shelter costs, which rose 0.4 percent in February. The increase was partly offset by a 1.0 percent decrease in clothing prices.

Crude oil prices eased back on strong U.S. oil supplies. Light sweet crude April delivery fell 20 cents to $61.97 a barrel. Gasoline fell 3 cents to $1.800. Heating oil was steady at $1.7790. London Brent for April delivery lost 42 cents to $62.52 a barrel. European gold lost ground Thursday. In London gold declined to $553.25 bid per troy ounce, down from $554.90. In Zurich the precious metal fell to $553.80 from $554.80. In Hong Kong gold lost 40 cents to $551.30. Silver opened at $10, up from $9.90. The U.S. dollar traded mixed against other major currencies. The euro traded at $1.2078, up from $1.2070. The dollar bought 117.61 yen, up from 117.26. The British pound was quoted at $1.7473, down from $1.7475.


8:30AM Winnebago net plunges, Global Crossing loss widens.
Winnebago Industries Inc., (WGO: chart), motor home manufacturer, reported that Q2 profit dropped 39 % to 23 cents per share, from 37 cents per share in the year-ago period on lower demand and prices for motor homes, below analyst estimate of 38 cents a share. Revenue declined 14 % due to lower motor home deliveries because of decreased industry retail demand and a shift to lower priced motor homes.

Global Crossing Ltd, (GLBC: chart), communications company, reported a Q4 loss of $79 million, down from a loss of $27 million a year-earlier, before the payment of preferred stock dividends of $1 million in each period. Revenue dropped to $462 million from $573 million in the same period a year ago. The company added that its adjusted EBITDA came to a loss of $32 million, down from equivalent loss of $19 million in the year-ago period. Q4 results include $15 million in additional incentive and stock compensation costs.

Shoe Carnival Inc, (SCVL: chart), footwear retailer, reported that Q4 earnings advanced more than twice to 22 cents a share, with sales up 13.7% and same-store sales up 11.7% in Q4, beating analysts’ expectations of 21 cents a share

Leap Wireless, (LEAP: chart), wireless communications carrier, reported that it reversed to Q4 profit of 8 cents a share, up from a quarterly loss of 11 cents a share in the prior year, as it added nearly 46,000 new customers. Revenue advanced to $228.9 million from $206.6 million. The company beat analysts’ estimates for earnings of 5 cents.

New York & Co Thursday, (NWY: chart), women's apparel retailer, reported Q4 earnings of 36 cents a share, up from 32 cents a share a year-earlier on 16.1% sales growth and 9.6% same-store sales growth. The company’s results were in line with analysts’ estimates for a profit of 36 cents a share.

Cost Plus Inc, (CPWM: chart), retailer, reported Q4 net profit dropped 8.5% to 97 cents a share despite 7% net sales growth. Same-store sales dropped 2.1%. The company missed analysts’ views by a penny.


8:00AM Asian markets closed mixed. The Nikkei slipped 1.4%.
Asian-Pacific benchmarks ended Thursday session mixed, reflecting interest-rate concerns and a key earnings report from China Mobile. The Nikkei opened higher on exporter issues, boosted by stronger dollar, but eventually tumbled 1.4% to 16,096.21 as investors worries about higher Japanese interest rates dragged real estate and bank stocks, including Sumitomo Realty and Development, down 6.6%. Hong Kong’s Hang Seng slightly advanced to 0.06% on optimism about strong corporate results. Taiwan Weighted index fell 0.2% on profit-taking in the tech sector. Australia All Ordinaries climbed 0.6% on resources and building-materials issues.

European markets traded lower at mid-day, erasing early gains. A strong performance from supermarket group Casino Guichard and steelmaker Corus Croup failed to keep stocks in the positive as oil, healthcare and insurance stocks exerted strong pressure. The German DAX 30 declined 0.3%, the French CAC 40 fell 0.3%, and London FTSE 100 lost 0.2%.