In the week ending July 14, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims for unemployment insurance was 207,000, a decrease of 8,000 from the previous week’s revised level of 215,000, the Labor Department reported. This is the lowest level for initial claims since December 6, 1969 when it was 202,000. The four-week moving average was 220,500, a decrease of 2,750 from the previous week’s revised average of 223,250.

The average interest rate for a 30-year fixed-rate loan is 4.52%, down from 4.53% one week ago, according to Freddie Mac. The average interest rate for a 15-year fixed rate mortgage is 4.00%, down from 4.02%.

Thursday, the Dow lost 134.79 points (0.53%) to finish at 25,064.50, the NASDAQ was down 29.15 points (0.37%) at 7,825.30, and the S&P 500 closed 11.13 points (0.40%) lower at 2,804.49. The Russell 2000 increased 9.44 points (0.56%) to 1,701.31, and the Wilshire 5000 decreased 112.39 points (0.38%) to 29,326.27.

The price of the 10-year Treasury note increased 10/32, bringing its yield down to 2.836%. The price of the 30-year Treasury bond climbed 18/32, decreasing its yield to 2.959%.

ON THIS DATE: In 1861, the Congress of the Confederate States began holding sessions in Richmond, Virginia. In 1881, Sioux Indian leader Sitting Bull, a fugitive since the Battle of the Little Big Horn, surrendered to federal troops. In 1917, the draft lottery in World War I went into operation. In 1942, the first detachment of the Women’s Army Auxiliary Corps, (WACS) began basic training at Fort Des Moines, Iowa. In 1944, an attempt by a group of German officials to assassinate Adolf Hitler failed. The bomb exploded at Hitler’s Rastenburg headquarters. Hitler was only wounded. In 1944, U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt was nominated for an unprecedented fourth term of office at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. In 1969, Apollo 11 astronauts Neil Armstrong and Edwin E. Aldrin, Jr. became the first men to walk on the moon. In 1976, America’s Viking I robot spacecraft made a successful landing on Mars.

And now it’s time for FRIDAY FILES!

In Offenbach, Germany, a catfish is being evicted from a municipal pond. Apparently, after eating all the other fish in the point, the 4.9-foot catfish turned to eating baby ducklings. The city plans to have its unwelcome guest caught alive and taken to a private pond somewhere after officials are satisfied that it can’t escape into flowing water and that its new home is suitable for a catfish, the Associated Pres reports.

In Harrow, London, a woman heard loud noises outside her home and called police to report a possible burglary. Officers responded and found some knocked over items, but concluded that the perpetrator was a “rogue squirrel.”

Hope everyone has a happy weekend!