The National Retail Federation reported that Black Friday sales were higher this year than last, with almost 212 million people out shopping over the weekend. This is an increase of 8.7% over last year.  On average, shoppers spent $365.34 per person, up $23 from last year.  JP Morgan Analyst Charles Grom wrote in a note to clients that most retailers will likely “beat Street estimates by a wide margin” when they report same store sales this Thursday.

“The consumer continued to show resilience as November started strong and Black Friday did not disappoint,” Grom wrote, predicting that Penney’s, Kohl’s Corp, as well upscale chains Saks Inc and Nordstrom Inc would report same store sales far above Wall Street estimates.

The Labor Department announced that initial unemployment claims dropped 34,000 to 407,000, the lowest level since July 2008.  Economists had expected initial claims to fall to a seasonally-adjusted 435,000.  Claims in the prior week were revised 2,000 higher to 441,000.  Jobless claims have continually fallen for the last four out of the past five weeks. Claims need to drop to around 400,000 for a sustained period to indicate a faster pace of hiring.  This might be a short-term fix as retailers hire for the holidays, and then we are going to see a major jump in January again.

The Commerce Department announced that inflation hit a record low 0.9% in October.    “With inflation too low for comfort, this reading will give further ammunition to the Fed’s defense of its $600 billion bond-buying plan,” wrote IHS Global Insight economist Chris Christopher.  Along with inflation, the Commerce Department also reported that personal income rose 0.5%, consumers’ spending increased 0.4% and real disposable income rose 0.3%. “As consumers make up 70% of the economy, a strong showing in October puts the economy on very solid footing for the end of the year, and the beginning of next year,” Christopher wrote.