It's Thursday ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

We had some decent numbers, with initial claims falling by 22,000 to 220,000, and continuing claims fell by 5,000 to 1.87 million.

Applications for US unemployment benefits fell last week after spiking earlier this month, continuing a streak of volatility that often occurs during the holiday season.

Initial claims decreased by 22,000 to 220,000 in the week ended Dec. 14. The median forecast in a Bloomberg survey of economists called for 230,000 applications.

Claims data tend to fluctuate around the holidays. Overall, new filings have remained subdued, hovering near pre-pandemic averages.
Continuing claims, a proxy for the number of people receiving benefits, also fell, to 1.87 million, in the previous week, according to Labor Department data released Thursday. Recurring filings have been gradually trending higher this year. And the number of people who are searching for jobs for more than 15 weeks unsuccessfully has been on the rise this year in monthly government data.

Needless to say, we are into the holiday season, so the numbers are kind of flaky at this point.

Additionally, the 3rd quarter GDP increased was revised up by 0.3% to 3.1%, which ain't chump change:

The US economy expanded at a faster pace in the third quarter than previously estimated, owing in part to to stronger consumer spending and exports.

Gross domestic product increased at a 3.1% annualized rate in the July-to-September period, the third estimate of the figures from the Bureau of Economic Analysis showed Thursday. That compared to a previous projection of 2.8%.

Finally, existing home sales rose sharply in November, to an 8 month high, even though mortgage rates are still relatively high.

Not a clue what this all means.