Durable goods orders fell only 1.0% versus expectations of a 3.0% drop while weekly jobless claims jumped to 586,000 versus expectations of a rise to 560,000. Non-defense capital good, the core of the durable goods report, rose 4.7%, a rare bright spot and may keep GDP from falling off the table in Q4.
Personal spending fell 0.6% versus a 0.7% expected fall while personal income fell 0.2% . Not too much here to stir animal spirits as a long, slow slog looks to lay ahead of us economically in the first half of 2009.
The buck is a shade firmer versus the euro at 1.3990 and USD/JPY is little changed at 90.40. stock futures are mildly positive.