Now that the Fed’s latest minutes are out, they are being scrutinized for some sign — some augury — about the future of interest rates.

A comment in the minutes from the bank’s last meeting that the traditional guidance about raising rates “would have to be changed before long,” has set off a flurry of speculation that the Fed is about to change course and that the quarter point jumps are a thing of the past.

And now the Associated Press is reporting that unemployment claims jumped by 300,000 last week. The slow recovery in the Gulf Coast is the culprit.

But experts are saying that the drop in energy prices will be enough to boost confidence and create another 200,000 jobs. We’re doing out part in Southern Nevada with news that the jobless rate has fallen to 3.9 percent.