U.S. core capital goods orders surge; jobless claims fall

New orders for U.S. manufactured capital goods rose for a second straight month in July as demand for machinery and a range of other products picked up, offering a tentative sign that a business spending downturn was starting to ease. The economy also got a boost from another report on Thursday showing an unexpected drop in the number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits last week. The Commerce Department said non-defense capital goods orders excluding aircraft, a closely watched proxy