Thursday, March 31, 2016. Wow -- Claims Surge 11,000! There's That Word Again: "Unexpectedly"

Active rigs:

	3/31/2016	03/31/2015	03/31/2014	03/31/2013	03/31/2012
Active Rigs	30	99	194	188	206

RBN Energy: ports and pipelines delivering East Coast refined products.

On glide path for record gasoline demand this summer. WSJ on gasoline demand.

San Antonio Spurs break record for most home wins to start NBA season. Link over at Bleacher Report.

The Golden State Warriors may be dominating headlines as they pursue the NBA's single-season wins record, but the San Antonio Spurs made history of their own Wednesday night when they broke the 1995-96 Chicago Bulls' record for the most home wins to start an NBA season. 

The Spurs, who look like a virtual lock to capture the Western Conference's No. 2 seed, improved to 38-0 at with a 100-92 win over the New Orleans Pelicans at AT&T Center and secured a spot in the league's record books.

Unemployment claims, first-time: forecast --  an increase of 2,000 claims; up to 267,000 from last week's 265,000.  Actual: first time claims surge 11,000 -- completely unexpected! The four-week average also jumped significantly: it rose 3,500 to 263,250. From Reuters:

The number of Americans filing for unemployment benefits unexpectedly rose last week, but remained below a level associated with a strong labor market.

Initial claims for state unemployment benefits increased 11,000 to a seasonally adjusted 276,000 for the week ended March 26, the Labor Department said on Thursday. The prior week's claims were unrevised. 

Economists polled by Reuters had forecast claims remaining unchanged at 265,000 in the latest week. 

Applications for unemployment benefits have now been below 300,000, a threshold associated with healthy labor market conditions, for 55 weeks, the longest stretch since 1973. With the labor market continuing to tighten, there is little scope for significant further declines in claims. [This is boilerplate; probably written before the numbers were known.]

Tesla Model 3 to be unveiled tonight. Elon Musk promises a car for the masses at $35,000. Will likely come in at higher price than $35,000 initially; doubt "confirmed" price will be announced tonight. No link. Stories everywhere. In fact, it's the headline story over at Yahoo!Finance at the moment.