TopNews

Fewer people applied for US unemployment benefits last week. Economy experts said this is an indication that strong hiring continues despite signs of slower economic growth at the start of 2015.

The Labor Department on Thursday said that weekly applications for unemployment aid dropped 9,000 to a seasonally adjusted 282,000.

The decrease suggests that a recent slowdown in manufacturing, housing starts and retail sales has so far not hit the job market. This is an indication that economic growth will rebound after a harsh winter.

The four-week average, a less volatile measure, tumbled 7,750 to 297,000. Over the past 12 months, the average has dipped roughly 7%.

Swedish headquarters of McDonald's has unveiled a capsule collection of clothes and other items printed all over with Big Mac images. The sandwich-themed items were launched in 'McWalk' fashion show at a mall in Stockholm.

The capsule collection included raincoat, thermal tops and bottoms, pillowcase, a dog coat, rainboots, and duvet cover. According to reports, the small collection will also be available online at the Big Mac Shop in Sweden. As per a statement given by the company, a part of the sales will go to the Ronald McDonald Children's Fund.

An annual industry report revealed that PepsiCo Inc.'s Pepsi-Cola has gone head of Coca-Cola Co.'s Diet Coke to become the No. 2 soda brand in the US in 2014.

The annual report shows that diet sodas continue to lose popularity. Overall soda use by American people decreased for the tenth straight year, but at a more modest speed than the preceding year. As per an annual report by the industry tracker Beverage Digest, full-calorie Coke of Coca-Cola remained the most popular soda across the country in 2014.

Overall soda use in the United States decreased 0.9% last year and it marked the tenth straight year of decline. In the US, health-conscious consumers are moving away from carbonated drinks to energy drinks and other alternatives.

On Thursday, the US Fish and Wildlife Service announced that it would allow a Texas man to import the trophy of an endangered black rhinoceros that he had won as part of a conservation fundraiser.

According to the agency, under the Endangered Species Act, the import of the carcass from Namibia would meet the criteria of benefiting conservation.

Last year, Corey Knowlton bid $350,000 during an auction at the Dallas Safari Club. It was billed as a part of the fundraising effort to save the black rhino.

In a December letter, the club's executive director said that the money raised from such actions is important to support the Namibian government in their efforts to stem the tide of commercial killing of these animals.

An investigation has found that a radiation leak at an underground nuclear waste dump in New Mexico happened because of the wrong kind of cat litter.

On Thursday, the government scientists concluded that the major accident that took place at the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP) near Carlsbad last year was caused by 'chemically incompatible' contents, including the wrong kind of kitty litter, used to absorb liquids.

They said that the 'chemically incompatible' contents took part in a reaction inside a barrel of waste causing it to burst open and spew radioactive materials.

According to a US Energy Department Report, the drum of waste, containing radioisotopes like plutonium, was not packaged properly at the Los Alamos National Laboratory near Santa Fe before disposal.

The Consumer Financial Protection Bureau has decided to take a major step for safety of customers looking for payday loans to bridge the gap between their expenses and earnings. The agency is proposing regulations in order to cut short-term payday loans, usually having interest rates of 400% or more. The agency was created on suggestions of President Barack Obama after the financial crisis.

These rules would be applicable on a large section of the $46 billion payday loan market, which helps many working poor, having no savings and limited access to traditional bank loans. There would be no ban on short-term, high-interest loans that are frequently used in basic expenses. But lenders would have to ensure that borrowers have the resources to pay them back.