The downlow: The fewest Americans in almost 15 years filed applications for unemployment benefits during a holiday-shortened week that typically makes the data more volatile, Bloomberg reports. Jobless claims plunged by 43,000 to 265,000 in the week ended Jan. 24, the lowest since April 2000, a Labor Department report released this morning shows. The median forecast of 51 economists surveyed by Bloomberg called for 300,000. The week included the Martin Luther King holiday, which makes the data more difficult to calculate, a government spokesman noted as the report was released. Read the full story.
After further review: In a sign of the impact on the oil sector of the slump in energy prices, Royal Dutch Shell announced this morning plans to cut spending by $15 billion over the next three years amid a drop in earnings. The Associated Press reports Shell is the first major energy company to report earnings, so its quarterly update is watched for hints on the performance of the wider industry. Europe’s largest oil company by market value reports fourth-quarter net income fell 57% to $773 million due to the steep decline in oil prices. Read the full story.
Beantown means business: The New England Patriots are set to square off against Seattle’s Seahawks Sunday on the football field in the Super Bowl. But the battle on the business field already has been fought—and decided. Here’s the score: Shares of companies based in the greater Boston area have beaten those based in the greater Seattle area for the past one- and three-year periods, according to a USA Today analysis of data from S&P Capital IQ. Read the full story.
