people applied for unemployment benefits last week, the good news is that s 30,000 less than the week before. it s a sign that layoffs are slowing down. but analysts say we really need to see jobless claims below 400,000 before that level to really support hiring, tony. okay. and we do have some positive retail signs, numbers, today, correct? and shouldn t that help out the economy, at least a bit? yeah. we do have that. spending is huge, you know, we always say that consumer spending is two-thirds of the economy here. we need people to spend, and these retail sales numbers are a surprise, because the east coast, as you know, has been hit with two blizzards last month and stores ranging from nordstrom to macy s to target all reporting better-than-expected february sales, but keep in mind they are coming from a real low point. sales from last month are compared to february of 2009 and that was an awful month, but there are other encouraging signs like the service sector activity, pi