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The foreclosure pox continues to spread unchecked across the country despite efforts by government and industry to stop it. 3 out of every 1,000 homeowners in the United States lost their homes to foreclosure in the first half of the year. That’s up 41 percent compared to the same period last year, according to the latest numbers from ForeclosureS.com.

Rising waste volumes and growing legislative pressure have necessitated steady investments in the European industrial waste management industry. Opportunities are diverse, owing to the varied stages of market development across Europe, with Southern Europe and the United Kingdom offering good growth prospects. At the same time, the market is likely to experience a shift towards technologically advanced treatment solutions.

With thirty-seven million Americans living below the poverty line according to the Center for American Progress and Americans owing over $813 billion in credit card debt, prepaid wireless handsets and airtime is the standard of choice for people who need a cellular phone but are unable to get a payment plan.

The European Commission published the 2006 annual report on the protection of the Communities’ financial interests and the fight against fraud. This is an area in which responsibility is shared between the Commission and the Member States. The report sets out the most significant measures taken in 2006 by the Member States and the Commission to improve prevention and fight against fraud. A statistical evaluation of all irregularities communicated to the Commission by Member States shows that the total number of irregularities increased for agriculture, cohesion and pre-accession funds, and decreased for own resources and structural funds. In spite of well over 12.000 irregularities notified, further progress in speed and quality of transmission remains an objective.

The average wages of European workers increased significantly between 2005 and 2006, according to the annual report on pay developments from Eurofound’s European Industrial Relations Observatory (EIRO).

The standardised unemployment rate for the OECD area was 5.5% in May 2007, the same as the previous month and 0.5 percentage point lower than a year earlier.

comScore released the first comprehensive review of Internet behavior covering 10 countries in the Asia-Pacific region.

Chicago Mercantile Exchange Holdings Inc. and CBOT Holdings, Inc. announced that they have revised the terms of their definitive merger agreement to increase the consideration CBOT shareholders will receive in the merger by increasing the exchange ratio from 0.350 to 0.375 shares of CME Holdings common stock for each share of CBOT Holdings common stock. The revised agreement has been approved by the boards of directors of both companies.

The global liquid crystal display (LCD) manufacturing equipment market is seeing significant growth, largely as a result of the increasing prevalence of LCDs and the growth of the global LCD TV market.

Nonfarm payroll employment increased by 132,000 in June, and the unemployment rate was unchanged at 4.5 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported. Employment rose in several service-providing industries, while manufacturing employment continued to decline. Average hourly earnings rose by 6 cents, or 0.3 percent, over the month.