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Consumers have taken financial matters into their own hands, implementing proactive spending and mortgage management strategies to steer their budget clear of the economic crisis.

Monthly retail sales figures released today by the Department of Commerce showed slight gains, indicating that although consumer spending is up and the economy is growing, consumers remain cautious, noted the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA).

The Rightmove House Price Index for May 2010 is released Monday 17th. Average asking prices in the UK edged up by 0.7% over the past month to 237,134 pounds Sterling.

With Wall Street in freefall and fear of a worldwide economic collapse spreading rapidly in 2008, there was no lack of pundits predicting the impending implosion of the jewelry industry. However, even though jewelers - like most retailers focused on luxury items and discretionary purchases - have endured their share of pain since then, most have managed to keep their doors open. A big factor behind that resilience has been the industry's success in launching gold-buying programs, Buxbaum Jewelry Advisors executive vice president Stevan Buxbaum writes in a May 2010 article on jewelry industry news site Diamonds.net.

With the perception of a tight credit market already causing damage to banking relationships, most banks have avoided conversations with their business customers on the recession’s impact. With approximately 790,000 small businesses and 5,000 middle market companies changing banks in the last 12 months, avoiding these difficult conversations with customers may have cost banks potential revenue today and the valuable opportunities ahead once the recovery takes hold.

Healthy retirees actually face higher total health care costs over their remaining lifetime than the unhealthy, according to new research conducted by the Center for Retirement Research (CRR) at Boston College and underwritten by Prudential Financial.

The annual growth rate of the outstanding amount of debt securities issued by euro area residents decreased from 6.3% in February 2010 to 6.0% in March. For the outstanding amount of quoted shares issued by euro area residents, the annual growth rate decreased from 3.0% in February 2010 to 2.8% in March.

The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for the U.K. increased 1.0 percent, and The Conference Board Coincident Economic Index® (CEI) increased 0.2 percent in March.

For consumers, mobile banking is about convenience: the ability to check account balances, pay bills and transfer funds from a device they take with them everywhere. For financial institutions, it is a means to deepen customer relationships, streamline operations and cut costs.

U.S. import prices advanced 0.9 percent in April, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported, following a 0.5 percent increase the previous month. Higher prices for fuel and nonfuel imports contributed to the overall advance. Prices for U.S. exports also increased in April, rising 1.2 percent after a 0.7 percent advance in March.