NEW YORK -- The U.S. dollar stayed higher versus the Japanese yen Thursday, and mixed against other major currencies, after the Labor Department said new claims for jobless benefits in the U.S. declined, thought the number of people remaining unemployed hit a record high. The data kept U.S. equity futures pointing lower, giving some encouragement for investors to reduce risk and prefer the safe-haven of the dollar. The dollar rose to 94.82 yen from 94.74 yen in late North American trading Wednesday. The euro slid to $1.3740 from $1.3829. The dollar index , which measures the greenback against a variety of currencies, rose to 81.299 from a seven-month low of 80.002. Before the report, traders' focus was on the British pound after Standard & Poor's lowered its outlook on the country's AAA rating to negative. The pound traded at $1.5665, down from $1.5794 Wednesday, the highest since November.
