Stocks rose Thursday morning, as a surprisingly strong reading on second-quarter economic growth countered higher oil prices and a weaker dollar.

It’s a perfectly natural reaction: You lose your job and, in a panic, you immediately start calling and e-mailing your network and answering Internet job ads. The trouble is that, understandable as that course of action is, it’s unlikely to get you where you want to go. Instead, take a deep breath, slow down, and chill. Then, make a plan.

The number of out-of-work Americans who signed up for jobless benefits fell for the third week in a row, matching economists’ expectations.

Despite all the talk about the U.S. economy falling on hard times this year, the economy grew at a more solid pace during the second quarter.

Gas prices continued their slide, falling 11% from highs reached in July, according to a national survey of gas station credit card swipes released Thursday.

Can NutriSystem still produce fat profits if cautious consumers stop spending money to slim down? Last year we recommended the stock of NutriSystem, which was No. 1 on Fortune’s 2007 list of 100 Fastest-Growing Companies. But the weakening economy and the pullback in personal spending have hurt the company, which sells diet programs based on its prepackaged meals. The stock is down 64% since we cited it a year ago. (Ouch!)

For most of the past decade, the economy grew much stronger - but middle-class Americans had little to show for it.

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As things in the economy have gotten worse, the number of people and businesses heading to bankruptcy court has spiked.

Stocks gained Wednesday, with financial services companies among the big gainers, as investors shrugged off higher oil prices and instead focused on a surprisingly strong reading on durable goods orders.