Two positive bits of news about the economy were just released:

— The Employment and Training Administration says the number of people filing first-time claims for jobless benefits dropped to 466,000 last week — a 35,000-person decline from the week before and the lowest reading in more than a year.

— The Bureau of Economic Analysis says personal spending went up a larger-than-expected 0.7% in October from September, while disposable personal income rose 0.4%.

But on the downside:

— The Census Bureau says new orders for manufactured durable goods fell 0.6% in October from September. It was "the second monthly decrease in the last three months," Census says.

Planet Money follows the economy here.