US DATA: Initial jobless claims -34k to 407k (vs 435k expected) in
Nov 20 wk. Labor analyst said seasonals expected a big +22% increase,
typical for the wk between Veterans Day and Thanksgiving, and got a
weaker NSA increase instead, +12.8% which the adjustmnt turned into the
SA decline. Nevertheless, trend in last couple of weeks has been down,
he said, after a leveling period of a few months. NSA for the wk was
+52,490 to 462,027. No unusual factors. 4-wk initial claims -7,500 to
436k. Continuing claims -142k to 4.182 mln. Prv wk revised up 2k to
441k. In a survey wk comparison, continuing claims -205k vs in the
Oct 16 wk when it was 4.387 mln.