Some good economic news

Good economic news comes too rarely these days, and there are three pieces of good news that were worth sharing today:

• First, unemployment claims dropped sharply last week to 434,000 - a drop of 21,000, and the second drop in a row.  Pennsylvania unemployment claims dropped as well, as did Lehigh Valley claims, which fell for a third straight month.  This is the 2nd best numbers seen this year.
• There was good news for National Penn Bank, the parent company for KNBT - its profits rose in the 3rd quarter, with the company earning $10.3 million.  National Pen is the 2nd largest bank in the Valley.
• PPL reported profits of $248 million in the 3rd quarter, a massive ten-fold increase over its profits the same time last year.