FACTORY ORDERS RISE: Businesses are increasingly confident in the economy and buying more equipment while laying off fewer workers. Orders for goods expected to last three years or more rose 3 percent last month, the Commerce Department said.
LAYOFFS FALL: Weekly applications for unemployment benefits rose to 377,000 last week, after they fell to nearly a four-year low the previous week. The longer-run trend is down: The four-week average has dropped 9 percent since Oct. 1.
MORE NEEDED: Last year was the worst on record for new-home sales, the government said, and that's a reminder that the economy has a ways to go.
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