At this point, the economy is improving faster than either the markets or the Federal Reserve can believe. There was a wealth of data released Thursday, and while not all of it was positive, most was. Jobless claims are now back to pre-recession levels — at levels suggesting good jobs growth going forward. Inflation isn’t always good news, and there’s no real joy that food prices are rising. But so-called core prices — which are a good barometer of future inflationary trends — are moving off the low levels from the winter, which suggests companies are confident enough to raise prices. Manufacturing sentiment was ... (full story)