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The annual growth rate of the outstanding amount of debt securities issued by euro area residents was 3.8% in January 2011, compared with 3.6% in December 2010. For the outstanding amount of quoted shares issued by euro area residents, the annual growth rate was 1.3% in January 2011, the same as in December 2010.

Member satisfaction with health plans that share characteristics of integrated delivery systems (IDS) is considerably higher than member satisfaction with plans in which the provider and payer are not part of the same organization, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2011 U.S. Member Health Insurance Plan Study(SM).

The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for China increased 0.3 percent in January to 155.0 (2004 = 100), following a 0.5 percent decline in December and a 0.5 percent increase in November. Two of the six components contributed positively to the index in January.

Mortgage rates posted a sharp decline, with the benchmark conforming 30-year fixed mortgage rate falling to 4.91 percent, according to Bankrate.com's weekly national survey. The average 30-year fixed mortgage has an average of 0.38 discount and origination points.

Euro area annual inflation was 2.4% in February 2011, up from 2.3% in January. A year earlier the rate was 0.8%. Monthly inflation was 0.4% in February 2011.

Hourly labour costs in the euro area (EA16) rose by 1.6% in the year up to the fourth quarter of 2010, compared with 0.9% for the previous quarter. In the EU27, the annual rise was 2.0% up to the fourth quarter of 2010, compared with 1.2% for the previous quarter.

The Producer Price Index for finished goods increased 1.6 percent in February, seasonally adjusted, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. This rise followed advances of 0.8 percent in January and 0.9 percent in December, and marks the largest increase in finished goods prices since a 1.9-percent advance in June 2009. At the earlier stages of processing, prices received by manufacturers of intermediate goods moved up 2.0 percent, and the crude goods
index climbed 3.4 percent. On an unadjusted basis, prices for finished goods advanced 5.6 percent for the 12 months ended February 2011, the largest 12-month increase since a 5.9-percent rise in March 2010.

According to this year's fifth annual Total Employee Mobility® (TEM) Benchmark Report from Runzheimer International, the mobile workforce remains vitally important to U.S. businesses as a means for driving growth and retaining clients. The increased desire to more effectively manage mobile employees was one resounding theme from this year's report. In addition, cost remains significant with spending holding steady and even projected to increase in many areas.

The 11 March earthquake and tsunami in Japan, and the continuing nuclear crisis that they triggered, will have significant repercussions in global energy markets, according to international energy price reporting agency Argus.

The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for Spain increased 0.9 percent and The Conference Board Coincident Economic Index®(CEI) remained unchanged in January.