Philadelphia manufacturing
The Philadelphia Federal Reserve came out with its survey of the economy and things are looking up! Manufacturing in the Philadelphia region expanded in December at the fastest pace in 8 months as orders picked up and was double what economists were expecting. So, there's definitely expansion in the economy in eastern Pennsylvania and southern New Jersey. The one risk to the U.S. economy is a recession in Europe.
Unemployment claims down
Here's another sign that things are looking up. the number of people filing for unemployment benefits last week fell the lowest level in 3 years and that's certainly a good sign for the jobs market.
Not to put a damper on the good news, but Wall Street firm Morgan Stanley reminding us companies aren't finished firing. Morgan Stanley says it's laying off 1,600 workers globally.
Toys R Us shopping marathon
Parents, if you're not all shopped out by now, Toys R' Us is planning to stay open for 112 consecutive hours leading up to /*Christmas*/.
The marathon shopping session starts December 20th at 6 a.m. and runs until 10 p.m. on Christmas Eve.
Toys R Us says shipments are coming in every day to meet all that demand.
This is the second year that the toy store chain has kept its doors open for more than 100 uninterrupted hours.
