In the week ending March 7, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims for unemployment insurance was 289,000, a decrease of 36,000 from the previous week’s revised level, the Labor Department reported. The four-week moving average was 302,250, a decrease of 3,750 from the previous week’s revised average.

The average interest rate for a 30-year fixed-rate mortgage is 3.86%, up from 3.75% one week ago, according to Freddie Mac. The average interest rate for a 15-year fixed-rate mortgage is 3.10%, up from 3.03%.

The U.S. Census Bureau announced that the combined value of distributive trade sales and manufacturers’ shipments for January, adjusted for seasonal and trading-day differences but not for price changes, was estimated at $1,302.5 billion, down 2.0% from December 2014 and down 0.3% from January 2014.

The U.S. Census Bureau announced that advance estimates of U.S. retail and food services sales for February, adjusted for seasonal variation and holiday and trading-day differences, but not for price changes, were $437.0 billion, a decrease of 0.6% from the previous month, but up 1.7% above February 2014. Total sales for the December 2014 through February 2015 period were up 2.9% from the same period a year ago.

Thursday the Dow gained 259.83 points (1.47%) to finish at 17,895.22, the NASDAQ was up 43.35 points (0.89%) at 4,893.29, and the S&P 500 closed 25.71 points (1.26%) higher at 2,065.95. The Russell 2000 climbed 20.86 points (1.72%) to 1,236.64, and the Wilshire 5000 increased 268.75 points (1.24%) to 21,869.63.

On the NYSE, 3.2 billion shares changed hands, with 2.7 advancing issues for every declining issue. On the NASDAQ, 2.8 billion shares traded, with a 2.6 to 1 ratio of advancers to decliners.

The price of the 10-year Treasury note was up 3/32, bringing its yield down to 2.110%. The price of the 30-year Treasury bond increased 5/32, decreasing its yield to 2.695%.

ON THIS DATE: In 1781, German-born English astronomer William Hershel discovered Uranus, the seventh planet from the sun. In 1868, for the first time in U.S. history, the impeachment trial of an American president got underway in the U.S. Senate. President Andrew Johnson, reviled by the Republican-dominated Congress for his views on Reconstruction, stood accused of having violated the controversial Tenure of Office Act, passed by Congress over his veto in 1867. In 1877, Chester Greenwood patented the earmuff. In 1951, the comic strip “Dennis the Menace” appeared for the first time in newspapers across the country. In 1972, “The Merv Griffin Show” debuted in syndication for Metromedia Television. In 2012, after 244 years of publication, Encyclopædia Britannica announced it would discontinue its print edition.

And now it’s time for FRIDAY FILES!

In Kingsport, Tennessee, a woman at a Kmart jewelry counter used wire cutters to cut a security cable that was attached to a counter top display case. The case contained 37 separate pairs of earrings, valued at $249.99 each. The woman proceeded to load the approximately three feet tall glass container into her buggy, according to the Kingsport Times-News, and proceeded to wheel it out the front doors. She was abruptly stopped in the breezeway and escorted to an office, where police were called.

In Panama City Beach, Florida, a so-called “church” has lost its tax-exempt status. The News Herald of Panama City reports The Life Center: A Spiritual Community has been operating a seven-day-a-week party called Amnesia: The Tabernacle since February 28. The “church” was hosting na.ked paint parties and slumber-party Sundays featuring the “se.xiest ladies on the beach.” Patrons were charged a “donation” of $20 at the door. On the walls inside were T-shirts emblazoned with ob.scene gestures and signs that say “I hate being so.ber.”

In Lakeland, Florida, a woman walked around the crossing gates and into the path of a passing freight train. The woman was clipped by the train and tossed into the air. She suffered a compound fracture to her right arm and her right leg was also injured, according to the Orlando Sentinel. She told police she did not hear the train horn and did not see the crossing arms down when she crossed; she was texting.

In Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, police approached a man who had stepped into traffic. He claimed he was walking erratically because he was trying to avoid stepping in dog poo on the sidewalk, but police say he seemed to be under the influence, according to the Associated Press. When officers tried to arrest him, he dropped to the ground and rolled in the waste, telling officers they couldn’t arrest him because he was covered in poo. They arrested him for public dru.nkeness.

In Milton, Georgia, police said three 17-year-olds were seen with a 16-year-old accomplice stealing a pet goat from the owner’s home. A witness called 911 and the teens were pulled over with the goat still in the back of their pickup truck. The police report said one of the teens told officers he wanted to use the goat as a prop to ask a girl, “would you goat with me to prom?” A Milton police captain told a local news station, “Well, you know, it’s quite possible that these teens didn’t realize the severity of what they were doing.”

In Regensburg, Germany, archaeologists announced the discovery of a 250-year-old pretzel dubbed “the oldest ever found.” Silvia Codreanau-Windauer of the Bavarian State Bavarian Bureau for the Conservation of Historic Monuments said the pretzel was found alongside other baked goods including rolls and a croissant dough during an archaeological dig last summer, according to the UPI.

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