RJ and Makay

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The number of people filing for unemployment benefits fell slightly last week, but remained at a level that indicates a continued sluggish employment picture.  There were 400,000 filed claims for the week ending July 30, down 1,000 from an upwardly revised 401,000 the prior week, according to the Labor Department.

No one's promising a rose garden, but economists do seem increasingly optimistic. According to a Reuters poll released today, the consensus for 2011 among 80 economists surveyed is for overall GDP growth of 3%, up from the 2.7% forecasted in December and the 2.3% predicted in November.

Growth expectations for the first and second quarters of 2011 also rose dramatically, to 3.2% from 2.7% and 2.8%, respectively, in last month's poll. "The upgrade in view has been due to better data, more fiscal stimulus in 2011 than we had expected — particularly the payroll tax cut which was not anticipated — and analysis that suggested households have now increased saving," says Goldman Sachs economist Andrew Tilton.