Initial jobless claims dropped to another four-year low last week, the Labor Department reports. That’s another sign that the labor market is likely to continue expanding, perhaps at a moderately faster rate than we’ve seen in recent months. New filings dropped 5,000 to a seasonally adjusted 359,000 for the week ending March 24. (Today’s update reflects an annual data revision going back to 2007 and so the latest numbers don’t correspond with last week’s report.)

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A rational reason for high oil prices
James Hamilton (Econobrowser) | Mar 28
“There is no rational reason for high oil prices,” writes Ali Naimi, Saudi Arabian Minister of Petroleum and Mineral Resources, in today’s Financial Times. Well, I can think of one– if oil prices were lower, the world would want to consume more than is currently being produced.

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