Good Economic News in Jobless Claims, Inventories, Retail

As we emerge from the Great Recession, we're neither drowning in bad news like we were in March, but we're not exactly soaring either. Rather we're at the point where economic news bobs up and down like a buoy in choppy water. But hey, at least today is a bob in the right direction.

Three pieces of good news, each with caveats. Jobless claims have fallen to their lowest point since January 2009, but at this pace, we still probably have about four months before unemployment actually peaks. September retail was the best it's been all year, but at mid-2005 levels, we're still catching up. And wholesale inventories fell for the 12th straight month, but despite an historic drawing back of production in the first half of this year, economists continue to stress that they're "not looking for a sharp uptick."