Though the worst reading in seven years, it is better than the 0.5% drop Wall Street had been expecting.
New orders for U.S. durable goods slipped 0.8% in March, far less than the 1.5% drop Wall Street had expected.
Separately, the National Associaton of Realtors said November pending home sales fell 4.0%, well below the 1.0% drop Wall Street had predicted, according to TradeTheNews.com.
The Fed minutes come on the same day the U.S. Labor Department reported that the Consumer Price Index fell 1.0% month on month, slightly greater than the 0.8% drop Wall Street had expected.
More shoes will drop on Wall Street in the form of scandals.
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Separately, the U.S. Labor Department said the October import price index fell 4.7% month over month, a few ticks more than the 4.4% drop expected by Wall Street, for the biggest one-month drop since 1988.
The April home price index meanwhile slipped 0.1%, slightly better than the 0.4% drop anticipated by Wall Street.
The government reported that November factory orders fell 4.6%, well ahead of the 2.3% drop predicted by Wall Street.
Excluding autos, retail sales were effectively flat, falling 0.1%, slightly better than the 0.3% drop expected by Wall Street.
Macy's revealed Thursday that same-store for December fell 4.0%, a better result than the 5.3% drop anticipated by Wall Street.
Perot should see the writing on the wall and drop the suit regarding how Cuban has run the Mavericks.
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The reasons for this drop are poor estimates by Wall Street analysts.
"Some good news also was the sharp decline in the August import price index, " Stone said of the 3.7% drop, well ahead of Wall Street's 1.8% expectation.
On Friday, the U.S. Commerce Department reported a 2.8% drop in October retail sales, more severe than Wall Street's already dour 2.1% predicted drop.
And given the change of mood music on Wall Street, should this drop prove merely a pullback instead of the end, it could still cut much deeper yet.
"When you get to the top of the wall there is a straight drop, a small flat bit and a slope bringing the ground back to the same level, " he said.
According to Ford, a fully depleted battery takes less than 3 hours to charge using a 220V charger, and 7 hours with a drop cord plugged into to a household wall socket, hillbilly style.
Wendy's International posted second-quarter earnings on Thursday, and the fast-food chain reported a 1% drop in quarterly earnings, which topped Wall Street estimates, but the firm also dropped its profit view for the year on anemic sales at its eponymous burger joints and higher beef costs.
Wendy's International (nyse: WEN - news - people ) posted second-quarter earnings on Thursday, and the fast-food chain reported a 1% drop in quarterly earnings, which topped Wall Street estimates, but the firm also dropped its profit view for the year on anemic sales at its eponymous burger joints and higher beef costs.
Consumer prices fell 1.7% in November, as measured by the U.S. Labor Department's Consumer Price Index, a steeper drop than the 1.3% expected by Wall Street, according to TradeTheNews.com.
After another sharp drop in financial stocks Wednesday and suggestions by a top Wall Street executive that share prices were being manipulated by short sellers, the Securities and Exchange Commission will try to force hedge funds to disclose their short positions.
The December producer price index fell 1.9% from November, essentially in line with Wall Street's predicted 2.0% drop.
Wall Street analysts were doubtful that Wednesday's drop-dead date for interested suitors of media giant Tribune Co. (nyse: TRB - news - people ) would result in any premium bids for the company, if it's sold at all.
Morgan Chase told The Wall Street Journal that its Chase retail unit had decided to drop its test of debit-card fees.
BURBANK, Calif. (AP) Disney won over more fans on Wall Street with its latest quarterly performance, despite a slight drop in its earnings.
It was like there was a big drop and then the wave came over us, it was like a big wall of water.
Thursday's weekly report comes a day before Wall Street is expecting the Labor Department to report a 525, 000 drop in nonfarm payrolls.
Before that, personal consumption expenditures for December will be released Monday, and Wall Street expects the Commerce Department to report a 0.9% drop.
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