The Hong Kong dollar rose against the U.S. dollar for the third consecutive session Thursday due to the U.S. currency‘s weakness offshore after the U.S. Federal Open Market Committee reiterated the U.S. recovery remains weak.

In late Asian trade, the U.S. dollar was at HK$7.7866, down from HK$7.7872 late Wednesday. The U.S. currency was fixed at HK$7.7854 earlier Thursday.

Traders said major movements in the Hong Kong dollar are unlikely ahead of the upcoming Lunar New Year holiday. They added they expect the U.S. unit to trade in a HK$7.7840-HK$7.7890 range Friday.

“The weak outlook of the U.S. economy is making investors cautious. The U.S. dollar is unlikely to rebound against the Hong Kong unit in the near term,” said a trader at a local bank.

The Federal Reserve, acknowledging a slow recovery and stubbornly high unemployment, decided Wednesday to proceed with its plans to buy as much as $600 billion in long-term Treasury bonds as it awaits a stronger pickup in growth.

In a statement after its two-day meeting, the FOMC said “the economic recovery is continuing, though at a rate that has been insufficient to bring about a significant improvement in labor market conditions.”

The euro rose to a two-month high of $1.3727 around 0740 GMT.

However, a senior trader at a local bank said the Hong Kong dollar’s rise against the U.S. dollar was capped because “banks are buying the U.S. dollar on short-covering after two sessions of declines against the Hong Kong dollar.”

He added U.K. banks were buying the U.S. unit around the HK$7.7845 level, in batches of $50 million and $100 million.

The one-year U.S. dollar/Hong Kong dollar forward contract was quoted at a discount of 247 points to the spot rate, widening from a 245-point discount late Wednesday.

Florida and Nevada contributed the most to the rise, with over 6,000 new claims in Florida alone. New jobless claims have now risen in three of the past four weeks. Economy reported, Jobless continuing claims rose by 94,000, to 3.991 million for the week ending January 15 this year. Remaining millions more on extended and emergency benefits not counted in this figure.

That was the largest weekly increase since September 2005.

According to Hotair, the four-week average spiked upward by more than 15,000:

In the week ending Jan. 22, the advance figure for seasonally adjusted initial claims was 454,000, an increase of 51,000 from the previous week’s revised figure of 403,000. The 4-week moving average was 428,750, an increase of 15,750 from the previous week’s revised average of 413,000.

The advance seasonally adjusted insured unemployment rate was 3.2 percent for the week ending Jan. 15, an increase of 0.1 percentage point from the prior week’s unrevised rate of 3.1 percent.

The advance number for seasonally adjusted insured unemployment during the week ending Jan. 15 was 3,991,000, an increase of 94,000 from the preceding week’s revised level of 3,897,000. The 4-week moving average was 3,975,500, a decrease of 39,750 from the preceding week’s revised average of 4,015,250.

It has been a long journey for many participants on the contest, and some of the contestants already have a notch up on their opponents. Miss Nebraska won the talent portion of the competition with her piano playing. Miss Oklahoma won what is now called the Lifestyle and Fitness stage, formerly the swimsuit competition.

Several other states have their contestants fare well in the early stages. Miss Hawaii, Miss North Carolina, Miss Alabama, and Miss Rhode Island all are in a position to win on Saturday and become the new Miss America for 2011.

Last year, twenty-two year old Miss Virginia, Caressa Cameron won, and is the reigning Miss America. Cameron will turn her crown over to the new winner late this evening, but not before the drams builds and ABC shows highlights from the entire competition.

There are many rumors swirling about how the show will go. One of the rumors has sixty of the past Miss America winners reuniting in Las Vegas for the show. If that happens, it will be a treat for those that have followed the competition for decades.

Being in the casino atmosphere has long been a staple of the Miss America pageant. Up until 2005, the competition took place in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Organizers were upset with declining ratings, and moved the pageant after that year. Las Vegas has ended up being a good place for the competition, but in recent years, even Sin City has had trouble bringing in tourists because of the economy.

Miss Nebraska won a $50,000 scholarship and a year’s reign in one of the most visible position any young woman could seek. She said she will register to vote as an independent after turning 18 next month, and work toward her goals by going to law school and perhaps becoming a prosecutor and eventually a politician.

Scanlan said that, her age was not matter in the pageant, though she thought her age might have made her an underdog. As first runner-up, Miss Arkansas Alyse Eady won $25,000, while Miss Hawaii Jalee Fuselier won $20,000 for third place.

Miss Nebraska, a graduate from the western Nebraska town of Gering, planned to study American politics at Patrick Henry College in Virginia after her reign as Miss America. She also said that, she planned to defer her university enrollment until she finishes her reign with the crown.

In an electrifying moment, the president revealed that Giffords, who on Saturday was shot point-blank in the head, had opened her eyes for the first time shortly after his hospital visit. First lady Michelle Obama held hands with Giffords’ husband, Mark Kelly, as the news brought soaring cheers from thousands gathered for a memorial service.

Obama bluntly conceded that there is no way to know what triggered the shooting rampage that left six people dead, 13 others wounded and the nation shaken. He tried instead to leave indelible memories of the people who were gunned down, and to rally the country to use the moment as a reflection on the nation’s behavior and compassion.

“I believe we can be better,” Obama said to a capacity crowd in the university’s basketball arena and to countless others watching around the country.

“Those who died here, those who saved lives here — they help me believe,” the president said. “We may not be able to stop all evil in the world, but I know that how we treat one another is entirely up to us.”

In crafting his comments, Obama clearly sought a turning point in the raw debate that has defined national politics. He faced the expectations to do more than console, but to encourage a new day of civility, all without getting overly political in a memorial service.

Obama settled on a theme of challenging the country to have a debate that is worthy of those who died. He tapped into the raging debate about the role of incendiary rhetoric without dwelling on it. “Let’s remember that it is not because a simple lack of civility caused this tragedy. It did not,” the president said. After offering personal accounts of every person who died, he challenged anyone listening to think of how to honor their memories, and he was not shy about offering direction. He admonished against any instinct to point blame or to drift into political pettiness or to latch onto simple explanations that may have no merit. The president said it was OK, even essential, for the country to suddenly be debating gun control, mental health services and the motivations of the killer. But then he added: “At a time when our discourse has become so sharply polarized — at a time when we are far too eager to lay the blame for all that ails the world at the feet of those who think differently than we do — it’s important for us to pause for a moment and make sure that we are talking with each other in a way that heals, not a way that wounds,” the president said.

The shooting happened as Giffords, a three-term Democrat who represents southern Arizona, was holding a community outreach event in a Tucson shopping center parking lot Saturday. A gunman shot her in the head and worked his way down the line of people waiting to talk with her, law enforcement officials said. The attack ended when bystanders tackled the man, Jared Lee Loughner, 22, who is in custody.

“One of the reasons I’ve selected Gene is he’s done this before,” Obama said. During the Clinton administration, the president added, “He helped formulate the policies that contributed to turning deficits to surpluses and a time of prosperity and progress for American families.”

Obama also named several other deputy economic advisers during an appearance at a manufacturing plant in Landover,at which he also hailed Friday’s government report of continued job growth in December. But with unemployment remaining high, he added, the administration is “not letting up on our efforts” to create jobs.

Obama also promoted Jason Furman, who will remain as deputy director of the National Economic Council but with higher rank. Furman worked under Sperling during the Clinton administration. Neither Sperling nor Furman need Senate confirmation.

The president nominated Katharine Abraham as the third member of his Council of Economic Advisers and Heather Higginbottom, currently a White House domestic policy adviser, as deputy director of the Office of Management and Budget. Those two posts require Senate confirmation.

In Sperling and the recently installed Office of Management and Budget director, Jacob Lew, who returned to the same job he had in the Clinton administration, Obama has two officials experienced in navigating Washington’s policy-making process through the executive and legislative branches.

After working at the White House for all eight of the Clinton years, Sperling spent some time as a consultant and writer for the TV presidential drama “The West Wing.” His name is attached to story lines ranging from anxiety over inaugural addresses to worries that the show’s fictional president was compromising his ideals to be more popular.

Gibbs confirmed that he will leave sometime in early February, after the president delivers his State of the Union speech to the new Congress.

No replacement name has been found yet, but there are several candidates for the post, including deputy press secretary Bill Burton and another deputy, Josh Earnest. Jay Carney, a spokesman for Vice President Joe Biden, has also been mentioned.

As a private consultant, Gibbs is a top political adviser to Obama as the re-election campaign gears up. David Axelrod, a senior adviser and Jim Messina, a deputy chief of staff, are also leaving the White House to concentrate on the re-election campaign.

Gibbs said he will be “speaking and advising” from his new posting.Gibbs(39), began working for Obama in 2004.

He was born March 29, 1971, in Auburn, Ala., and graduated from North Carolina State University. He lives in Virginia with his wife and son.Previously, he worked as a spokesman for Sen. John Kerry in 2003 and on several other campaigns, including that of Ernest F. Hollings of South Carolina.

Obama,with his wife Michelle and daughters Malia and Sasha spent several hours of Saturday at Pyramid Rock, a secluded beach at Marine Corps Base Hawaii. It’s the same base where the president starts his day with a morning workout.

Then the first family visited the tennis courts at Kailua Racquet Club, a private club near the neighborhood where the Obamas are renting a luxurious oceanfront home.

Obama has made just a few, brief public appearances during his nearly two-week vacation. The Obamas are scheduled to leave Hawaii late Monday, arriving in Washington the following day.

“First, I think we ought to put this whole thing into perspective. We have all come through an election, and what have we learned? More than half the people who could have voted, refused, apparently believing that what we do here has so little impact on their lives that they need not pass judgment on it. In other words, the biggest vote of all in November was a vote of no confidence. So our first order of business is to regain the trust and confidence of the people we serve…..”

He added that, “An honest government is not enough. We also have to be effective. Today, unemployment in this state is well above the national average. That is not just a statistic, it is a reality. Men and women whose futures are uncertain, whose families are anxious, look to us for answers. I know much of the solution lies at the federal level, but I also know that California is the most influential state in the nation. What we do here will not only help our own citizens, it will provide a model for the entire country.”

“We are going to use to the fullest the millions of dollars available to put Californians back to work. We are going to cooperate with local government and industry to create as many new jobs as humanly possible. And as we do we will not ignore the role of women in our work force and the special need for additional child care centers.”,he says.

“From this moment on, we must aspire together. Work together. Fight together. Triumph together. And today only marks the first day of our journey together,” Martinez said in her inaugural ceromony.

After her formal speech, she was already in charge of the State as the new acting governor, as a result of a private swear in ceremony that was held in the Capitol Rotunda. “There is no worthier or more satisfying work than to serve others in a just cause,” Martinez said. “Not every New Mexican voted for me. But every New Mexican deserves and will receive my best efforts to protect and promote their interests. I serve you all, and I am grateful to you for the privilege.”

Martinez has the experience of facing high unemployment degree, a $400 Million + budget deficit and an economy that has one leg stiffly coifed in the grave. Don’t know how she’s going to deal with all the problems but we all wish her the best of luck in her future endeavors. She did acknowledge the difficulties that lie ahead in the long run.

“I assume the duties of governor understanding this is a challenging time,” she said. “Our state and its leaders must have the courage to make the kinds of changes that will positively impact people’s lives and put us back on a course toward prosperity.”