Jobless claims bad ... Retail sales not so much ... Foreclosures rise

The latest batch of economic data just hit the wire and it's a mixed bag. Initial jobless claims rose to 654,000 in the week of March 7 from 645,000 a week ago. That topped forecasts for a reading of 644,000, and it was just shy of the cycle high of 670,000 set in late February. Continuing claims surged to 5.317 million from 5.124 million a week earlier. That's the highest level in U.S. history.

Retail sales in February fell just 0.1%, against forecasts for a reading of -0.5%. January's number was revised up to +1.8% from a previous reading of +1%. If you exclude autos, you get a +0.7% number for February, much better than forecasts for a -0.1% reading. January's number was revised up to +1.6% from +0.9%.

Finally, RealtyTrac's latest monthly foreclosure report showed a 5.9% rise between January and February -- to 290,631 filings from 274,399. That was also up 29.9% from a year earlier, but slightly below the recent highs (around 303,000).