U.S. stocks started Thursday's session solidly higher, fueled by the news that initial unemployment claim filings fell to their lowest level since May 2008.... More

Just after Christmas, the container ship Altona, bound for China and carrying a load of 770,000 tons of uranium concentrate (also known as yellowcake, the transportable form of uranium that will eventually be processed into nuclear fuel), ran into a storm in the South Pacific, between Hawaii and the Midway Islands. After three days of gales and heaving seas, the crew discovered that the containers in the hold had shifted and two drums of yellowcake had been smashed open. There was loose uranium in the hold.... More

In another sign that the job market is slowly recovering, the number of Americans filing first-time claims for unemployment benefits fell last week to a nearly 3-year low.... More

The worst storm in the history of modern yacht racing was the monster gale that struck the Fastnet race in the summer of 1979. The Fastnet (named after its turnaround point, Ireland's southernmost spot) is one of racing's most prestigious events, and it had attracted more than 300 competitors, including several of the world's most famous and successful boats. Conditions were fine at the starting gun, and while a storm was predicted, not even the best forecasters had imagined how ferocious it would be. At its worst, waves were 50 feet high and winds were 70 mph, devastating many of the boats and terrifying many skippers. Of the 306 yachts in the race, 69 didn't finish, including some of the most exalted competitors; 23 sank or were abandoned. The winner was the brashest of yachting's young disrupters, 40-year-old Ted Turner. His strategy? "We kept going at full speed during the height of the storm," he told an interviewer. But wasn't he afraid? After all, 15 people died. Yes, he said, "but I was more scared of losing than I was of dying."... More

Gas prices jumped 4 cents overnight, with the average American driver now paying more than $3.40 a gallon.... More

You can wave bye-bye to $4 billion in government spending.... More

Oil prices backed off a 2-1/2 year high Thursday, but held firmly above $100 a barrel as escalating violence in Libya continues to fuel concerns about further supply disruptions.... More

U.S. stocks were headed for a higher open Thursday, as oil prices fell slightly and investors await jobless claims data.... More

Now that the skies are clearing after the worst economic storm in modern history -- far more violent than the experts had predicted -- we face a surprising new roster of winners and losers, as our 2011 ranking of the World's Most Admired Companies makes clear.... More

Dean Baker is co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research.... More