Fresh reminders that the US recession likely has passed its peak, but hasn't ended, emerged Thursday in reports that first-time claims for jobless aid and wholesale prices rose more than expected. Jobless claims should ease after layoffs in the automobile industry are complete, while inflation remains under control. The Labor Department said the number of new jobless claims rose to a seasonally adjusted 637,000, from a revised 605,000 the previous week. Separately, the department said wholesale prices climbed 0.3 percent last month, larger than the 0.1 percent gain economists had expected. The biggest jump in food costs in more than a year offset a second monthly decline in the price of energy products. Wholesale prices over the past year have fallen 3.7 percent, the biggest 12
