Helping the advance was another improving data point on the U.S. economy, with first-time jobless claims falling to 330, 000 last week, from 335, 000 in the prior reading.

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Data from the WMAP probe was seen as a major confirmation of this last point when it was first made public in 2003.

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Another weak point of the day was the release of economic data, which showed retail sales declining for the first time in four months.

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At the event, Google, Citi, MasterCard, First Data and Sprint introduced Google Wallet and invited additional issuing banks, payment networks, mobile carriers, handset manufacturers, point of sale systems companies and merchants to join the initiative.

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