1.   Unemployment insurance claims have been rising rapidly.

2.   Weekly unemployment claims are a highly volatile indicator and prove little by themselves.

3.   Also affected by the shutdown are the reports on initial unemployment claims, personal income and spending, durable goods orders and retail sales.

4.   An increase in the number of weekly unemployment claims was the second-biggest reason for the drop, the department said.

5.   And unemployment claims fell last week, dropping to the same level as in December, the Department of Labor reported on Thursday.

6.   Bonds recovered from earlier losses as analysts said these figures, and a separate report from the Labor Department on initial weekly unemployment claims, held few surprise.

7.   Bonds recovered from earlier losses as analysts said these figures, and a separate report from the Labor Department on weekly unemployment claims, held few surprises.

8.   Bond prices started the session by getting a little bounce after the weekly report on initial unemployment claims.

9.   Bonds gained today after a government report of higher-than-expected unemployment claims in the past week diminished concern about an accelerating economy.

10.   A native of Detroit, Mrs. Good worked for the Michigan state government, processing unemployment claims.