U.S. stock futures were mixed Thursday morning ahead of several key readings on employment and inflation due out this morning. However, renewed concerns over the European nations' support for Greece in its debt crisis weighed on markets.

Stocks closed higher on Wednesday, continuing the steady climb of the past few weeks. But if world markets are any indication, Thursday might open lower as Greece's Prime Minister George Papandreou said his country needs a firmer eurozone bailout plan. He warned his country would not be able to make planned deficit cuts unless it can borrow money cheaply. If it cannot get the euronations help, Greece may have to seek assistance from the International Monetary Fund.

U.S. stock futures advanced Wednesday morning, in what would seem to be a continuation of Tuesday's gains following the Federal Reserve's statement about the economy and its policy. Investors will also sink their teeth on some inflation data.

U.S. stocks rose Tuesday, with the Dow industrials adding 0.4% and closing higher for a sixth straight time, the S&P 500 gaining 0.8% and finishing at a 17-month high, and the Nasdaq jumping 0.7%. The Federal Reserve, as expected, kept rates unchanged and said it would keep interest rates low for the foreseeable future. Also, Standard & Poor's rating agency said it would not necessarily downgrade Greece.

The Federal Reserve Open Market Committee (FOMC) issued its statement indicating again that interest rates will remain low for an extended period of time. The decision was not unanimous with one dissenting vote.

The Fed has in essence decided to continue its current course of discontinuing quantitative easing and developing a plan that it can tighten monetary policy quite quickly if necessary. It also offered assurance that monetary policy will be loose with the rates staying low for an extended period of time.

The Commerce Department reported that housing starts fell 5.9% in February to 575,000. Building permits also fell in February. Economists surveyed by Bloomberg news had forecast starts to fall to between 510,000 to 610,000.

Much of the weakness can be blamed on the weather. You don't start new construction in the midst of snowstorms and blizzards. Also, with a backlog of unsold existing homes, it becomes more difficult start new constructions. Builders remain cautious of moving forward too rapidly.

Here is a breakdown of the stats:

U.S. stock futures advanced somewhat Tuesday as investors turn their attention to the Federal Reserve policy meeting with the upcoming decision on interest rates and the accompanying statement. Meanwhile, investors could sink their teeth on some housing data.

It became clear Monday, after the session closed with stocks little changed, that investors are waiting for the Fed. The Federal Open Market Committee decision is due at 2:15 p.m. Eastern. While the Fed is expected to keep interest rates unchanged near zero, it is the statement that will be in focus. As the economy is improving, the Fed will have to start tightening at some point -- hiking rates -- to combat inflation. The question for investors is when. So far, the Fed has promised to keep rates low for an "extended period." But many expect this language, at least, to change soon, which may pressure stocks lower.

Four more banks bit the dust last week, bringing the total to 30 -- just shy of 75 days into 2010. Regulators closed banks in New York, Florida and Louisiana, representing in aggregate nearly $1.1 billion in assets and a little over a billion dollars in deposits.

Park Avenue Bank in New York was shut down by the FDIC this week. It had $520.1 million in assets and $494.5 million in deposits as of the end of last year. Its deposits will be assumed by Valley National Bank, which is based in Wayne, New Jersey, and it will pay a small premium for them. Valley National also agreed to pick up virtually all of the bank's assets.

U.S. stock futures traded in a narrow, slightly lower range Monday morning. Investors remained concerned about possible monetary tightening in China, the growing risks to credit ratings of Triple-A nations after pushing Wall Street to 18-month highs. Attention was also turned to the upcoming Federal Reserve meeting.

The Federal Reserve is scheduled to meet Tuesday. While it is unlikely to raise a key interest rate from historic lows, the policy statement, released Wednesday, may contain clues as to when the Fed might make a move.

The amount of money sitting in sovereign wealth funds grew in 2009. As financial markets around the world recovered from the severity of the financial crisis that struck in September 2008, the coffers of these unique financial entities swelled to $3.51 trillion, according to the latest research from the alternative investment analysts at Preqin.

Nonetheless, some funds did experience withdrawals by their respective governments. In some cases, governments used sovereign wealth fund assets to close budgetary gaps.

If you work in Greece, chances are you can retire at age 50. Why does Greece have such low retirement ages? Over the years, strong unions negotiated a myriad of concessions as they dealt with weak governments, explains Landon Thomas Jr of the New York Times.

At present, there are 580 categories that deem work in those fields hazardous enough for early retirement. Here are some examples:

• Hairdressers -- Hairdressers who work with dyes, chemicals and ammonia, which are labeled hazardous, qualify for early retirement. Early retirement is age 50 for women and age 55 for men.
• Coal mining and bomb disposal are other categories that entitle workers to early retirement.
• Radio and television presenters fall into this category because of the bacteria on their microphones.
• Musicians playing wind instruments are early retirees because they deal with gastric reflux as the puff and blow.

Despite harsh weather in many parts of the country, retail sales rose 0.3% in February. Sales, excluding autos, rose 0.8%. Retail sales were expected to fall 0.2%.

Ten of 13 categories showed improvement. Here are some data:

• Purchases of electronics rose 3.7%
• Receipts at bars and restaurants grew 0.9%
• Auto sales dropped 2%. Some attribute the Toyota recall to some of this drop.

As if the credit crunch recession hasn't been painful enough, some economists have warned at the depth of the recession that the it could tip over into a full-blown depression. So what exactly is a depression, and how could it be any worse than a recession?

"A recession is when your neighbor loses his job. A depression is when you lose your job," according to About.com. This definition may be an example of economist black humor, but it does contain a seed of truth.

The conventional definition of a recession, however, is where the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) declines for two or more consecutive quarters. This is a fairly crude measure, so some economists like to factor in additional measures such as unemployment, industrial output and retail sales. The key point, however, is that a quarter-on-quarter deterioration in these measures will result in a recession being called out.

The Labor Department reported that weekly jobless claims fell by 6,000 last week to 462,000. This was slightly worse than analysts predictions of 460,000.

The four week moving average showed a bit of caution with claims rising by 5,000 to 475,000.

The number of people receiving aid after the initial week rose 37,000 to 4.56 million during the week ending February 27. The report also stated that the number of people on extended unemployment benefits fell in the week ending February 20. This number is not all reliable because it does not include the number of persons who have exhausted their benefits.

U.S. stock futures fell slightly Thursday ahead of weekly jobs data and after a report on rising Chinese inflation.

Investors mostly worried Thursday China may have to begin tightening its policies after a report released Thursday showed faster-than-expected inflation, while growth remained rapid and capital investment heavy. The consumer price index rose 2.7% in February from a year earlier, accelerating from a 1.5% increase in January's CPI. MarketWatch reports analysts had estimated a 2.4% rise. The stimulus measures the government has enacted in light of the global economic recession may have to be withdrawn.

It was only a matter of time. Where there are catastrophe losses, there is talk of reinsurance rate increases.

In light of the high catastrophe losses from the Chilean earthquake, which could reach $8 billion, reinsurers are now signaling that they may try to raise rates at the next renewal. QBE Insurance (QBEIF) believes that rate increases may be necessary, as reinsurers try to recapture capital depleted by quake-related payouts.

Devan Kaloo, of Aberdeen Asset Management foresees a 15% drop for stocks of developing countries. His fund is investing in the developing countries of Mexico, India and Turkey. He is neutral on Brazil and underweight on Russia.

He is holding fewer Chinese stocks because he feels that stock valuations in China are overdone. The $586 billion stimulus package is due to run out this year. The helped the Shanghai Composite Index to rise 80% last year. This year to date the index is down 6.4%.