Reuters (02/28/13) Lucia Mutikani

The number of people who applied for jobless benefits dropped in the most recent weekly data, according to a U.S. Department of Labor report that signals continued labor-market gains even as the economy faces massive federal spending cuts. Initial claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 22,000 to 344,000 in the week ended Feb. 23. Economists polled by Reuters had expected first-time applications to fall to 360,000. Longer-term claims trends also point to improvement. The average of new claims over the past month, which smooths out weekly volatility, fell 6,750 to 355,000.

USA Today (02/28/13) Tim Mullaney

The U.S. economy grew at an annual pace of 0.1% in the last three months of 2012, the U.S. Department of Commerce reported today, wiping away an initial estimate that said the economy shrank as a big drop in defense spending and weak exports held down growth. The new figure fell short of economists’ consensus forecast that the economy grew 0.5%. A month ago, the government estimated that the economy shrank at a 0.1% annual rate in the quarter.

Bloomberg (02/27/13) Alex Kowalski

Orders for U.S. durable goods excluding transportation equipment climbed in January by more than they have over the past year, according to a Bloomberg survey of economists. The increase in orders indicates that businesses intend to expand capacity. Bookings for goods meant to last at least three years—minus such things as aircraft—rose 1.9%, exceeding all forecasts of the economists surveyed. Meanwhile, orders for capital goods excluding defense and aircraft rose 6.3% in January, the most since December 2011, and machinery bookings rose 13.5% in January from the previous month, the most since May 2010.

MoneyWatch (02/28/13) Constantine von Hoffman

The sequester spending cuts, scheduled to go into effect March 1, already are hurting small businesses. Many small businesses have been affected by U.S. Department of Defense cuts and cuts by other government agencies, which have curbed their spending in anticipation of the sequester, according to Karen Mills, the outgoing head of the U.S. Small Business Administration. In 2011, 20% of the Pentagon’s prime contracts and 35% of its subcontracts were awarded to small businesses. Those contracts are now at risk.