Wall Street Roundup: Financial reform moving. Jobless number down

This article was originally on a blog post platform and may be missing photos, graphics or links. See About archive blog posts.

Jobless number down. The number of people filing for unemployment benefits for the first time fell 14,000 from a week earlier, according to figures from the Labor Department. The drop, to 442,000 for the week ending March 20, was more than expected.

Saving Greece. Germany’s prime minister, Angela Merkel, said on Thursday that she was open to crafting a package to help ease Greece’s budgetary problems. Germany has been seen as a primary roadblock to such an aid package.

Financial reform moves ahead. President Obama and other Democratic leaders are pushing to pass financial reform legislation after their victory on healthcare legislation, according to the Washington Post. GOP Sen. Bob Corker of Tennessee told the Chamber of Commerce that Republicans will have a hard time stopping the legislation.

-- Nathaniel Popper