Economic Data Mixed, Futures Dropping

There was a slew of economic data just released, and it was a mixed bag, at best. Durable goods for November were extremely disappointing, as durable goods fell 1.3%, versus the estimates of a drop of 0.5% Ex-transportation, durable goods actually rose 2.4%, versus the expectation of 0.8%. Jobless claims were also released, and this was a little bit better than expected, with initial claims falling to 420,000, down 3,000 from last week. Continuing claims fell to 4.064 million from 4.075 million. Personal income and spending were also just released for November. Income rose 0.3%, while spending outpaced income, rising by 0.4%. Spending was lower than expected, with economists calling for a 0.5% rise in spending, while income was better than expected. Expectations were for a rise of 0.2%. Stock futures are where they were prior to the releases. Dow futures are off 9 points, NASDAQ futures were off 6 points, and S&P futures are off 2.4 points.