Unemployment applications dropped last week

MarketWatch: The number of people who applied for unemployment benefits in mid-January fell by 10,000 but remained above the key 300,000 mark for the third straight week, the first time that’s happened since July, according to a report from the U.S. Labor Department.

Des Moines ‘partially’ recovered from recession

CNNMoney: Sixty percent of U.S. cities have not recovered to their pre-recession levels, according to the Brookings Institution’s new MetroMonitor report, which ranks the economic health of 300 cities in the world. America is a tale of two economies: Cities focused on tech and energy are thriving, while some regions, such as the so-called Rustbelt, continue to lag behind. Des Moines has partially recovered, while Minneapolis and Omaha have fully recovered.

EBay breakup could lead to a merger fight

Reuters: EBay Inc.’s plans to break up into three different companies could accommodate would-be suitors, signaling a potential merger fight after the breakup. The company plans to spin off its payments division, PayPal, from its core marketplace division in the second half of the year, making two stand-alone publicly traded companies that some analysts say could be worth more than the combined entity.