U.S. weekly jobless claims hit more than 48-and-a-half-year low

The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits is at a 48-1/2-year low. Trade tensions are causing trouble for the economic outlook.

According to the Labor Department, claims for state unemployment benefits dropped 8,000 to a seasonally adjusted 207,000 for the week ending July 14. This is the lowest reading since early December 1969.