U.S. Employment Rises Much Less Than Expected

The National Association of Home Builders released a report on Monday showing a modest deterioration by U.S. homebuilder confidence in the month of August. The report said the NAHB/Wells Fargo Housing Market Index edged down to 32 in August after inching up to 33 in July. Economists had expected the index to come in unchanged.

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A report released by the Labor Department on Thursday showed a modest decrease by first-time claims for U.S. unemployment benefits in the week ended August 23rd. The Labor Department said initial jobless claims dipped to 229,000, a decrease of 5,000 from the previous week's revised level of 234,000. Economists had expected jobless claims to slip to 230,000.

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