UNEXPECTEDLY: Initial Jobless Claims Up Sharply. “Initial Claims for Unemployment Insurance rose by 35,000 last week to 445,000 (last week was also revised up by 1,000, so one could see it as a 36,000 increase). This was much worse than the expected level of 415,000.”

Also: “The number of Americans filing unemployment claims unexpectedly rose last week, the Labor Department said early Thursday.”