Business news with words department+economists+previous. 11 news.

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - The underlying rate of U.S. inflation accelerated in November, the Labor Department said Friday. The consumer price index increased 0.8%, driven by a 5.7% gain in energy prices, the fastest increase in energy prices since March. This is the biggest gain in consumer prices in more than two years. Food prices rose 0.3%, and apparel, airline and drug prices also spiked. The core CPI, which excludes food and energy costs, was up 0.3% in November, the biggest gain since January. Economists were expecting the CPI to rise 0.7% in November after a 0.3% gain in October. The core rate was expected to rise 0.2% after rising 0.2% in the previous month.

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- Inventories at U.S. businesses rose 0.1% in October, below expectations and slower than the 0.7% increase in sales, the Commerce Department said Thursday. The inventory-to-sales ratio, an indication of demand, fell to 1.26 in October from 1.27 in the previous month. This is the lowest inventory-to-sales ratio since July. Economists had been expecting the nation's inventories to rise 0.3% in October. A new piece of data in the report was the 0.4% increase in October retail inventories, which follows a 0.1% gain in September.

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) -- First-time seasonally adjusted claims for state unemployment benefits fell in the latest week, the Labor Department reported Wednesday. The number of initial claims in the week ending Nov. 17 fell 11,000 to 330,000. Wall Street economists had expected claims to hit 330,000. Jobless claims in the previous week were revised to 341,000, compared with the initial estimate of a rise of 20,000 to 339,000. The four-week average of seasonally adjusted initial claims fell 750 to 329,750. Meanwhile, seasonally adjusted number of Americans receiving state jobless benefits increased 7,000 to 2.57 million in the week ending Nov. 10. The four-week seasonally adjusted moving average of continuing claims rose 10,750 to 2.57 million.

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - The consumer price index increased 0.3% in October, driven by a 1.4% gain in energy prices, the Labor Department said Thursday. This was the fastest increase in energy prices since May. Food prices rose 0.3%. The core CPI, which excludes food and energy costs, was up 0.2% in October. Economists were expecting the CPI to rise 0.3% in October after a 0.3% gain in September. The core rate was expected to rise 0.2% in October after rising 0.2% in the previous month.

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - First-time claims for state unemployment benefits jumped in the latest week, the Labor Department reported Thursday. The number of initial claims in the week ending Nov 10 rose 20,000 to 339,000. It's the highest level since the week ended Oct. 13. The consensus forecast of Wall Street economists was for claims to rise to 325,000. A spokesman for the Labor Department said there were no special factors but anecdotal evidence suggested that the strike by Hollywood writers may have impacted claims. Jobless claims in the previous week were revised to a decrease of 10,000 to 319,000 compared with the initial estimate of a fall of 13,000 to 317,000. The four-week average of initial claims remained steady at 330,000. Meanwhile, the number of Americans receiving state jobless benefits fell 7,000 to 2.57 million in the week ending Nov. 3. The four-week moving average of continuing claims rose 11,000 to 2.56 million.

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - Sales of new homes rebounded in September from summer sales levels that were much weaker than previously reported, the Commerce Department reported Thursday. Sales increased 4.8% to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 770,000 from a revised 735,000 in August. Previously, August's sales had been reported at a 795,000 pace. September's sales were slightly higher than the 758,000 pace expected by economists. The three previous months were revised sharply lower, which means the housing market was much weaker in the middle of the year than previous believed. Sales of new homes are down 23.3% in the past year.

WASHINGTON The number of newly laid off workers filing claims for unemployment benefits shot up by the largest amount since early February, a far bigger increase than had been expected. The Labor Department reported Thursday that applications for jobless benefits hit 337,000 last week, an increase of 28,000 from the previous week. That was the biggest one-week surge since jobless claims jumped 42,000 the week of Feb. 10. The increase was four times larger than the gain of 6,000 that economists had been expecting and could be a sign that the labor market is starting to wea

WALL Street capped a huge week with a sharp advance yesterday after the government's employment report for September and its revision of August's data cooled the market's fears of a recession. The Standard & Poor's 500 index, the measure most closely followed by market watchers, reached a new closing high. The Labor Department's report that employers added 110,000 jobs in September _ essentially what analysts had expected _ reassured Wall Street that the job market wasn't pulling back sharply as was feared a month ago. Though the data appeared to lessen the likelihood of an interest rate cut when the Federal Reserve meets Oct. 30-31, investors were relieved that the economy doesn't appear headed for a precipitous slowdown. Strength this year in the job market amid a housing downturn and tighter credit conditions has been an important pillar for the economy. With consumer spending accounting for about two-thirds of US economic activity, investors are eager for workers to continue to collect their paychecks. Much of Wall Street's collective exhale yesterday owed to a revision in August payrolls, which were updated to show a gain of 89,000 jobs compared with an earlier estimate of loss of 4,000 jobs. The release of the August figure _ when economists had predicted a rise _ sent the Dow down nearly 250 points in a single session and, market watchers say, played a role in the Fed's decision to cut its key interest rate by a larger-than-expected half-percentage point last month. "We're not seeing a weakening of the labor market. There's no indication that the wheels are falling off," said T.J. Marta, economic strategist at RBC Capital Markets. He contends that while the employment figures make it less likely the Fed will cut rates this month, many on Wall Street were relieved to see the economy forging ahead. "It looks bad compared with the rip-roaring days in the housing sector but this is called normalcy." The Dow Jones industrial average rose 91.70, or 0.66 percent, to 14,066.01. The blue chip index set a new trading high of 14,124.54, topping a high of 14,115.51 set Monday, when the index also saw a record close. Broader stock indicators also jumped. The S&P 500 index rose 14.75, or 0.96 percent, to 1,557.59. The advance put the S&P 500 ahead of the previous record close of 1,553.08, which occurred July 19 before stocks began a broad retrenchment amid concerns about credit, housing and the overall economy. The S&P 500

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - First-time claims for state unemployment benefits fell to their lowest level since early May in the latest week, the Labor Department reported Thursday. The number of initial claims in the week ending September 22 fell 15,000 to 298,000. It's the lowest level since the week ended May 12. The consensus forecast of Wall Street economists was for claims to rise 9,000 to 320,000. Claims in the previous week were revised to an decrease of 7,000 to 313,000 compared with the initial estimate of a fall of 9,000 to 311,000. The four-week average of initial claims fell 9,750 to 311,500. Meanwhile, the number of Americans receiving state jobless benefits rose 11,000 to 2.55 million in the week ending September 15. The four-week moving average of continuing claims fell 5,500 to 2.57 million.

WASHINGTON The number of laid-off workers filing claims for unemployment benefits fell to the lowest level in seven weeks, an unexpected sign of improvement for the jobs market. The Labor Department reported Thursday that new applications for unemployment benefits totaled 311,000 last week, a drop of 9,000 from the previous week. It marked the lowest level for jobless claims since July 28. The decline came as a surprise for economists who had been forecasting a rise in claims of around 6,000.

WASHINGTON (MarketWatch) - Job growth came to a screeching halt in August, the Labor Department said Friday. Nonfarm payrolls contracted by 4,000 in August. This was the first decline in payrolls since August 2003. The decline was much weaker than than the 115,000 increase expected by economists surveyed by MarketWatch. The unemployment rate held steady at 4.6% in August from the previous month. Average hourly earnings increased 5 cents, or 0.3% to $17.50. This was in line with expectations. Earnings are up 3.9% in the past year. The average workweek held steady at 33.8 hours. This was also in line with expectations.