Business Highlights

Retailers see sales begin to recover in September

NEW YORK (AP) — The nation's stores saw their first sales gain in 14 months in September, a sign of life from shoppers that fuels some hope for the holiday shopping season.

A late Labor Day and delayed school openings helped boost back-to-school sales in September. And stores' figures are looking better as they are compared last September when spending plummeted amid the ballooning financial meltdown.

But analysts dissecting the figures say they feel encouraged by Thursday's reports even as they acknowledge that business still remains weak and consumers tight-fisted.

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New jobless claims fall to 521K, lowest since January

WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of newly laid-off Americans filing first-time claims for jobless benefits fell to the lowest level since early January, as layoffs eased a bit amid a fledgling economic recovery.

The fourth drop in new claims in five weeks is a sign the labor market is slowly healing. But employers are reluctant to hire new workers and the unemployment rate is expected to keep climbing well into next year.