CNBC's Last Call: The Stories Behind the Numbers

Capping a holiday-shortened trading week, Carl Quintanilla and Jim Cramer discussed what Friday's key March employment report could mean for the markets, with weekly jobless claims coming in well above the expected 200,000 level. As for the consumer: Costco posted its first monthly same-store sales decline in almost three years -- and shares of Levi Strauss down sharply despite a quarterly beat. The anchors reacted to Ike Perlmutter's comments to the Wall Street Journal: The former chair of Marvel Entertainment told the paper he wasn’t laid off by Disney – he was fired. Also in focus: Movers heading into the holiday weekend, plus what FedEx's CEO said to Jim about the economy more than six months after telling him he sees a recession ahead.

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