Now we’re getting somewhere. Initial claims for new jobless benefits fell last week by a hefty 19,000 to settle at a seasonally adjusted 366,000. That’s the lowest tally since May 2008, which is to say before the Lehman implosion that turned a financial problem into a macro crisis. That’s a significant change for this leading indicator and it implies that the U.S. economy is poised to muddle through at a stronger pace in 2012.