The fewest Americans in almost 15 years filed applications for unemployment benefits during a holiday-shortened week that typically makes the data more volatile.

Orders for business equipment unexpectedly fell in December for a fourth month, signaling a global growth slowdown is weighing on American companies.

The cost of living in the United States declined in December by the most in six years, reflecting a plunge in energy costs that’s keeping inflation from rising toward the Federal Reserve’s goal.

The trade deficit narrowed in November as U.S. petroleum imports sank to the lowest level in more than five years.

Economists are slashing U.S. inflation forecasts for 2015 as oil prices tumble. What’s not changing are predictions that the Federal Reserve will raise its benchmark interest rate anyway, probably around mid-year.

The world’s largest economy surged in the third quarter, expanding at the fastest pace in more than a decade, as U.S. consumers and businesses spent more than previously estimated.