LONDON (ShareCast) - Initial jobless claims fell again last week, to 330,000, a fresh five-year low, as the labor market continued a strong start to 2013. There were 5,000 fewer people who filed for first-time unemployment benefits in the week ending Saturday than in the previous week, the Labor Department said Thursday. The last time there were fewer initial jobless claims was exactly five years ago, when 318,000 filed for benefits. The drop last week was below analysts' estimates of 355,000 and could reflect the complexities of seasonal adjustments after the holidays and at the start of a new quarter. [The Chicago Tribune

China gave Apple Inc. some cheer in an otherwise disappointing earnings report, as newly broken-out results showed the gadget maker benefited from efforts to broaden distribution and increase its focus on what has become its No. 2 market. The Cupertino, Calif., maker of iPhones and iPads on Wednesday for the first time broke out sales results from its greater China region, showing a 67% rise in the fiscal first quarter ended Dec. 29 from a year earlier. It also showed Apple's China sales were larger than in Japan, as well as larger than in the rest of Asia. [The Wall Street Journal]

For all those who have doubted its business acumen, Netflix had a resounding answer on Wednesday: 27.15 million. That’s the number of American homes that were subscribers to the streaming service by the end of 2012, beating the company’s own projections for the fourth quarter after a couple of quarters of underwhelming results. Netflix’s growth spurt in streaming — up by 2.05 million customers in the United States, from 25.1 million in the third quarter — was its biggest in nearly three years, and helped the company report net income of $7.9 million, surprising many analysts who had predicted a loss. [The New York Times]

The long decline in the number of American workers belonging to labor unions accelerated sharply last year, according to data reported on Wednesday, sending the unionization rate to its lowest level in close to a century. The Bureau of Labor Statistics said the total number of union members fell by 400,000 last year, to 14.3 million, even though the nation’s overall employment rose by 2.4 million. The percentage of workers in unions fell to 11.3 percent, down from 11.8 percent in 2011, the bureau found in its annual report on union membership. That brought unionization to its lowest level since 1916, when it was 11.2 percent, according to a study by two Rutgers economists, Leo Troy and Neil Sheflin. [The New York Times]

U.K. luxury car maker JaguarLand Rover PLC spooked investors with a rare profit warning, sending parent Tata Motors Ltd.'s American Depositary Receipts as well as its shares in India plummet ting nearly 10% in an initial reaction. The warning -- issued late Wednesday -- of a "slightly lower" profit margin for the October-December quarter worried the market because Jaguar Land Rover is the single-largest contributor to Tata Motors' profit. [The Wall Street Journal]

One of the nation’s largest federal contractors reported a $2 billion loss Wednesday and blamed it on defense cuts, a sign that the government spending that provided the rocket fuel for the metro area’s decade-long economic expansion is now dissipating. General Dynamics, based in Falls Church, said it was devaluing its information technology business by $2 billion amid falling government demand. The announcement was particularly worrisome because IT contracting is the key ingredient to the metro area’s government-powered growth. [The Washington Post]

Stressing enforcement of new Wall Street regulations, President Obama plans to nominate former U.S. Attorney Mary Jo White on Thursday to chair the Securities and Exchange Commission, White House officials said. Obama will also re-nominate Richard Cordray to head the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, officials said. Obama had made Cordray a recess appointment after Senate Republicans opposed his initial nomination. […] During the Clinton administration, White served as U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York. She specialized in white collar crime, a key reason for her selection as chair of the Securities and Exchange Commission. [USA Today]

United Continental Holdings Inc.'s fourth-quarter loss widened sharply as the airline posted higher charges for integration-related expenses and other items, and was hurt by weaker passenger traffic and impacts from superstorm Sandy. Results at peer Southwest Airlines were also affected by a decline in passenger numbers. The budget airline said Thursday fourth-quarter earnings fell 49% as it booked lower fuel-hedging gains, higher operating expenses and weakening traffic. [The Wall Street Journal]

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