Menu

Private nonfarm business sector multifactor productivity grew at a modest 0.1 percent annual rate in 2009, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. In 2009, the gain in multifactor productivity reflected decreases of 3.7 percent in output and 3.8 percent in the combined inputs of capital and labor. Capital services grew by 1.1 percent, and labor input which is the combined effect of hours worked and labor composition – fell 6.3 percent. For both the private nonfarm business and private business sectors, the declines recorded in output, combined inputs of capital and labor, and labor input were the largest in the series, which began in 1987. Growth in capital services was also the slowest recorded since the series began.

One out of two U.S. small business owners expect increased sales in the next six months, but rising non-labor costs threaten to squeeze profits and result in higher selling prices over the same period, according to the PNC Economic Outlook survey's newest findings.

Rising costs of food are giving Americans sticker shock at the grocery store, and consumers are responding by getting crafty with their saving strategies.

Freddie Mac released the results of its Primary Mortgage Market Survey® (PMMS®), which shows interest rates increasing slightly with the 30-year fixed sitting at 4.86 percent, up five basis points from the previous week.

Interbrand, the leading brand consultancy and authors of the annual Best Global Brands ranking of the top 100 world’s most valuable brands, have turned their attention to the global retail sector.

In a sharp change from the recent past, FICO’s quarterly Survey of Bank Risk Professionals found greater optimism about the health of U.S. consumers than at any point in the past year, with survey respondents expecting delinquency rates on car loans, credit cards and small business loans to decline. However, bankers remain concerned about mortgage foreclosures and credit availability for small businesses. The survey is conducted for FICO by the Professional Risk Managers’ International Association (PRMIA). The results were analyzed by the Columbia University Business School.

The IT industry continues to show strong signs of growth as technology budgets, cloud services usage, virtualization adoption, and IT staffing plans among small and mid-sized businesses (SMBs) all showed their strongest gains in more than 18 months, according to a new report by Spiceworks™, Inc., the largest social business network for IT with more than 1.4 million SMB IT professionals.

Nestle CRUNCH® released findings on the state of fun in America, based on a national survey conducted this month to determine the country's first-ever "fun quotient." Despite dismal news dominating headlines, Americans feel they have a "high" fun quotient or level of fun in their lives – with a whopping 86 percent of adults polled having fun at least once per week, most of whom experience fun on a daily basis, according to the CRUNCH Fun Quotient Survey.

Member States recorded a decline in sentiment. Among the seven largest Member States, Poland (-3.1 points), Spain (-3.0) and Germany (-0.7) reported decreases, while the Netherlands (+3.1), the UK (+2.7) and France (+0.9) improved. Meanwhile, Italy (+0.1) remained broadly stable. The ESI is above its long-term average in five of the seven largest Member States. Poland went back to just below its long-term average, while Spain remained well below it.

Consumer prices in the OECD area rose by 2.4% in the year to February 2011, compared with 2.2% in January - the highest rate since October 2008. This increase was again driven by food and energy inflation which accelerated to 3.0% and 10.1% respectively in February, compared with 2.6% and 8.4% in January.