Daily Data

Well, in this post-Independence day week, the news is normally pretty scarce, except for this year.  Seems like there's plenty to pay attention to.

Perusing the business news this morning, we find that initial jobless claims fell sharply last week, and this may have been impacted by fewer than expected layoffs in the automotive sector. However, continued claims of people still on jobless aid rose by 159,000 to a record 6.883 million for the week ending June 27.

In addition, stock futures are pointing to a positive open after a better-than-expected earnings report (read: the loss was smaller than expected) which may indicate that the worst of the recession is over.  For stock investors, the focus is now on corporate earnings, and signs of hope shown in improvements in the comparisons.

And, for those of you who watch the annual Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest from Coney Island, NY on July 4th, Joey Chestnut defended his title against Takeru "Tsunami" Kobayashi by eating 68 franks in 10 minutes - a new world record.  

Chestnut was quoted in the New York Daily News as saying "I've been practicing hard" and that "I knew it would be hard to beat me."  Kobayashi commented, "I wish I could have done better...it was a real bummer that I lost."

Chestnut is going for 70 hot dogs next year...stay tuned.

I have to admit that in the midst of all of the business, economic, and world news that hits us day-to-day, I'm glad we live in a country where we can still find entertainment value in the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating contest.  Although, I can't stomach watching it.