Thursday’s economic data was mixed: weekly jobless claims unexpectedly rose while housing starts in April unexpectedly fell. The Labor Department reported that the number of people who applied for new unemployment benefits jumped 32% to 360,000 in the week ending May 11, the highest level in a month and a half. But the average of new claims over the past month remained near a five-year low.

Construction on new homes in April fell 16.5% -- the lowest level since November – to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 853,000, according to the Department of Commerce. April housing starts were 13.1% above the April 2012 rate of 754,000.

The number that most economists were watching was Thursday’s CPI report. Consumer prices slipped 0.4% in April because of a sharp decrease (8.1%) in gasoline prices. Food prices rose 0.2%. CPI increased 1.1% over the last 12 months, the smallest 12-month increase since November 2010. Core CPI – which excludes volatile items like food and energy – inched up

Lock up the dogs and hide the children. Something wicked will this way come tonight when JC Penney (JCP) allows its earnings to slither out of Dallas. Unlike many earnings reports there isn't a lot of suspense on this one: the company is going to miss and it's going to be ugly. Official estimates are for a loss of 74-cents on revenues of $2.74b compared to a 75-cent loss on $3.2 billion for the same period last year.

How individual investors feel about the results depends entirely on their entry price. JCP stock has risen almost 25% in the last month in a knee-jerk burst of enthusiasm after the firing of former CEO Ron Johnson, an investment by the Soros group, and a $1.75 billion debt deal that ensured the retailer's survival for at least another year.

Those are the good things. On the downside is everything else about the company. The current CEO is the guy Johnson replaced. That means, unlike new bosses who come in to "clean house," Myron "Mike" Ullman actually has a vested interest in Penney's former business model. That being the case, Wall Street's reaction to tonight's earnings report isn't about economics but vision. Specifically, how does Ullman plan to reassemble a company stuck halfway between a radical overhaul that's left stores literally in shambles.

Brian Sozzi of Belus Capital Advisors has been sneaking around the stores taking videos lately and he doesn't like what he sees. "I'm seeing a hodge podge of strategies," frets Sozzi. The stores are an amalgamation of Johnson's hipster colors and lack of discounts coupled with Ullman's hyper-promotional brand of retailing. No one knows what to make of the stores at this point, including management.