Oracle Corp. said Thursday its fiscal first-quarter profit jumped 28 percent, beating Wall Street's expectations, as software sales stayed steady despite turmoil in the U.S. economy.

The business software maker's net income for the three months ended Aug. 31 rose to $1.08 billion, or 21 cents per share, from $840 million, 16 cents per share, a year ago.

Excluding expenses for employee stock options and acquisitions, Oracle posted earnings of 29 cents per share, two cents more than analysts had expected, according to a Thomson Reuters poll.

Revenue increased 18 percent to $5.33 billion.

New software license sales, a measure closely watched by investors, increased 14 percent, within the 10 percent to 20 percent range Oracle had predicted. The Redwood Shores, Calif.-based company said changes in foreign exchange rates accounted for 4 percentage points of the increase, less than the 5 percentage points it had originally expected.

Revenue from software license updates and product support increased 23 percent to $2.94 billion.

Looking ahead to the current second quarter, Oracle expects new software license sales will grow by a potentially lesser amount: 2 percent to 12 percent, or 5 percent to 15 percent excluding the effect of currency fluctuations, said Chief Financial Officer Safra Catz. In the same quarter last year, sales of new

WASHINGTON (AP) -- New applications for unemployment benefits rose unexpectedly last week, largely due to Hurricane Gustav, the government said Thursday, adding further strain to the economy.

The Labor Department reported that initial jobless claims rose to a seasonally adjusted 455,000, up 10,000 from the prior week. Wall Street economists had expected claims to fall slightly to 440,000.

Layoffs can worsen the nation's economic woes as newly unemployed workers and those that fear for their jobs cut back on their spending and fall behind on their debts. Consumer spending accounts for about two-thirds of the economy.

Jim Chessen, chief economist for the American Bankers Association, said Thursday that banks have seen consumers increasingly falling behind on credit card balances, auto loans, and other credit.

"The key to consumers' ability to meet their obligations is whether they have a job," Chessen said.

Claims have now topped 400,000 for nine straight weeks, a level that economists consider a sign of a struggling economy. A year ago, the figure stood at about 320,000.

The bankers association's economic advisory committee now expects the U.S. economy to enter a "mild recession" in the second half of this year. The committee includes economists from banks such as