Recession, Economic Recovery | featured news

Dow futures were up 30 points. The S&P Case-Shiller home-prices indexes showed U.S. home prices decreased at a slower annual rate in October, but prices were flat compared to September.

U.S. employers expect to hire more new workers in 2010 than they did in 2009, a sign the U.S. recession may be easing its grip, research showed on Tuesday.

The Labor Department said initial claims for unemployment insurance rose by 17,000 to a seasonally adjusted 474,000. That was above analysts' expectations of 460,000.

Data, coupled with new information on jobless claims, provides a bit of hope for the economy.

The euro region finally sees some modest growth, as Spain and Ireland straggle behind.

The government reported that output of goods and services grew at a 3.5 percent annual rate, which was faster than expected. But it will be months before job-seekers feel the benefits.

New orders for long-lasting U.S. manufactured goods rose 1 percent in September, Commerce Department data showed on Wednesday, suggesting that the economy's wobbling recovery from recession may be steadying.

The number of U.S. workers filing new claims for jobless insurance hit a nine-month low last week and retailers reported their first monthly sales gain in over a year on Thursday, easing fears that recovery from recession would be unsustainable.

The economy sank at a pace of 0.7 percent in the spring, a better-than-expected performance that provided more evidence that the recession was ending.

President Obama is cautioning job creation could move slowly as the nation recovers from an economic recession. He told CNN's "State of the Union" signs point to recovery, although creation of enough new jobs could be delayed until next year.