The news on jobs keeps improving.
Weekly jobless claims moved sharply lower, while inflation remained tame and housing starts unexpectedly weakened in December, according to a set of data painting a mixed picture of the economic recovery.
Weekly unemployment benefit applications dropped to 352,000, the fewest in nearly four years.
The buzz out there is that manufacturing is a big part of the rebound.
It will be interesting to see how the improving job situation will affect the 2012 presidential election.