Market forces: First-time claims for unemployment insurance in Louisiana for the week ending Jan. 5 increased from the previous week’s total. State labor department figures released today show the initial claims increased to 3,253 from the previous week’s total of 2,505. Initial claims were below the comparable week a year earlier at 4,372. The four-week moving average, which is a less volatile measure of claims, decreased to 3,196 from the previous week’s total of 3,262.
Crunching numbers: The state Department of Revenue will begin processing 2012 state individual income tax returns on Jan. 30. On that date, officials say, 2012 state individual income tax forms will be available on the department website, at department offices, and at public libraries throughout the state. The department says the average electronic refund processing time is 10 business days, compared to 12 to 16 weeks when filed on paper. The state income tax filing deadline is May 15.
Chemicals collide: A federal appeals court has revived an environmental group’s lawsuit to make BP list the amount and type of every pollutant that got into the Gulf of Mexico during the 2010 oil spill. But it also upheld a judge’s decision that the rest of the Center for Biological Diversity’s lawsuit became legally irrelevant when BP capped the well. The Associated Press has the full story here.
