Fewer sought unemployment aidWASHINGTON — Fewer Americans sought unemployment aid last week, the latest sign that companies are holding onto their workers.The Labor Department said Thursday that weekly applications for jobless benefits fell 11,000 to a seasonally adjusted 254,000. That’s down from a three-month high in the previous week. The four-week average, a less volatile measure, ticked up 1,750 to 259,750. Just over 2 million people are receiving unemployment aid, up 18,000 from the previous week.Applications, which are a proxy for layoffs, have remained below 300,000 for 88 straight weeks, the longest streak since 1970.

Macy’s raises sales outlook for yearNEW YORK — Macy’s raised its sales outlook for the year after it said business improved in the third quarter, and cited stronger clothing sales.The department store chain also said it struck a deal with a real-estate investor that involves redeveloping some properties.Still, the company’s third-quarter earnings missed Wall Street expectations.

Disney embraces streaming contentNEW YORK — As more and more people get their favorite content online, Disney is also learning to embrace the stream.The Walt Disney Co. once resisted offering channels like ESPN directly over the Internet, preferring old-fashioned cable subscriptions. Its investors are fretting over ratings as more people cut the cord and cancel cable or satellite service. NFL game viewership is also down, and the contentious election drew viewers away from Disney networks like ABC to cable news networks.

FCC concerned about no data capsNEW YORK — Federal regulators say that they are concerned that AT&T’s exempting its DirecTV unit from cell phone data caps could hurt competition.AT&T lets customers watch video on DirecTV apps on their AT&T cellphones without eating into monthly data allotments. It’s expected to do the same with an upcoming, $35-a-month TV streaming service called DirecTV Now.The Federal Communications Commission, in a letter to AT&T, said that practice may disadvantage video providers that aren’t owned by AT&T, ultimately hurting consumers. The agency asked that AT&T reply to its concerns by Nov. 21.