New orders for manufactured durable goods in December, down four of the last five months, decreased $11.8 billion or 5.0% to $225.6 billion, up from the previously published 5.1% decrease, the Census Bureau announced. This followed a 0.5% November decrease. Transportation equipment, also down four of the last five months, led the decrease, $10.2 billion or 12.6% to $71.2 billion. New orders for manufactured nondurable goods decreased $1.7 billion or 0.8% to $230.9 billion.

In the week ending January 30, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims for unemployment insurance was 285,000, an increase of 8,000 from the previous week’s revised level, the Labor Department reported. The four-week moving average was 284,750, an increase of 2,000 from the previous week’s revised average.

Major U.S. stock indices made little gains Thursday as investors await Friday’s jobs report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics. The Dow climbed 79.92 points (0.49%) to 16,416.58, the NASDAQ was up 5.32 points (0.12%) at 4,509.56, and the S&P 500 increased 3.64 points (0.19%) to 1,916.17. The Russell 2000 gained 4.49 points (0.44%) to finish at 1,014.78, and the Wilshire 5000 closed 42.63 points (0.22%) higher at 19,552.02.

On the NYSE, 3.1 billion shares changed hands, with 1.8 advancing issues for every declining issue. On the NASDAQ, 2.7 billion shares traded, with a 1.4 to 1 ratio of advancers to decliners.

ON THIS DATE: In 1783, Sweden recognized the independence of the United States. In 1861, Samuel Goodale patented the moving picture peep show machine. In 1952, in New York City, four signs were installed at 44th Street and Broadway in Times Square that told pedestrians “don’t walk.” In 1953, the Walt Disney’s film “Peter Pan” opened at the Roxy Theatre in New York City. In 1972, Bob Douglas became the first black man elected to the Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts. In 1994, white separatist Byron De La Beckwith was convicted in Jackson, Mississippi, of the 1963 murder of civil rights leader Medgar Evers. In 1997, investment bank Morgan Stanley announced a $10 billion merger with Dean Witter.

In Pascagoula, Mississippi, about 350 residents were sent jury summonses that instructed them to call a phone number to find out if they needed to show up for jury selection. However, when they called, they instead heard a recorded message saying, “For hot girls, press 1. For hot guys, press 2.” The Daily Mix reports the clerk’s office has apologized for sending the residents a phone s.ex hotline.

In Stapleford, Nottinghamshire, England, owners of a cat have been distraught since their 9-month-old pet disappeared in 2014. However, workers at a pet store two miles away from the cat owners recently became suspicious when they noticed treats starting disappearing. According to the UK’s Mirror, they placed a trail of kitty treats leading up to a basket suspended over a pressure pad which would cause it drop leaving the culprit inside. That’s when they found the runaway cat, now 2 years old and double its size. “He seems fine now. He definitely recognizes us, he’s just fatter now,” the owners said.

In Kilgore, Texas, a man went into Taco Bueno and filled out an employment application. As he left, a customer, who had left his car running, was coming in to fix an incorrect order. The job applicant then jumped into the running car and took off with it. The local ABC News station reported that the manager at Taco Bueno provided contact information for the thief to police taken from his job application. The thief was arrested. “Who goes and applies for a job and then steals a car in the parking lot?” asked Roman Roberson with the Kilgore Police Department.