where positive readings on the u.s. economy helped wall street snap a three-day losing streak. the dow gained 45 points. the s&p and nasdaq up marginally higher. let's bring in cnbc's steve sedgwick as we get all up in your business this morning. he's live in london for us. steve, good morning. >> a very good day to you. we keep seeing she's green shoots in the economy. this time the jobless claims, at their lowest level in three years. you have to go back to 2008 to see lower figures. the philly fed survey, better new york survey, plus fedex beat the street and their shares rallied the better part of 8%. back to you. finally, author, commentator, essayist christopher hitchens has died after a long battle with cancer. the british-born journalist died in houston of pneumonia, a complication of his disease. hitchens was known for his fierce intelligence and unrelenting critique of public figures. in 2009, i had an exchange with