The euro is creeping up on $1.50, but there are signs the markets are underestimating the risk that the dollar could swing sharply lower in the coming months.

U.S. stocks straddled the breakeven point Wednesday following disappointing reports on U.S. economic growth and weekly jobless claims.

U.S. stock futures slumped after the government released disappointing data on gross domestic product and jobless claims before Thursday’s opening bell.

Until recently, prices tended to fall over time as we used materials more efficiently — drywall rather than plaster — or substituted other goods for those whose prices rose. But all that may soon change.

U.S. stocks were set for a mixed open Thursday as investors await two key economic reports gauging the strength of the overall economy and the labor situation.

U.S. Treasury prices declined Wednesday, following growing investor concerns about inflation stemming from an updated 2011 economic outlook from the Federal Reserve and comments from the bank’s chairman Ben Bernanke.