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GlobalSpec, the leading specialized search engine, information resource, e-publishing and online events company for the engineering, industrial and technical communities, announced the availability of its newest research report, “2010 Economic Outlook Survey: How Industrial Companies can Succeed in the Current Economy.” The report features the results of a comprehensive survey of more than 2,000 engineering, technical, manufacturing and industrial professionals in the United States; 55 percent of whom influence more than $50,000 in annual spending on components, equipment or services.

Seventy-one percent of online investors said they believe the S&P 500 index will rise between 5-20 percent by year-end, according to a late April survey of more than 500 investors conducted by online broker TradeKing. This figure is up more than 5 percent since January 2010.

Online advertised vacancies rose 222,700 to 4,150,000 in April, according to The Conference Board Help Wanted OnLine™ (HWOL) Data Series. Over the past six months, labor demand has increased by 870,000, and this increase has been widely shared across the States and occupational categories.

Consumer prices in the OECD area rose by 2.1% in the year to March 2010, up from 1.9% in February. This small increase in inflation rates mainly reflected higher energy prices, which increased by 11.3% in the year to March, compared with 8.4% in February.

Between 2000 and 2009, EU27 exports of goods to Canada grew from 21.1 billion euro to 22.4 bn, while EU27 imports from Canada fell from 19.0 bn to 17.8 bn. As a result, the EU27 surplus in trade with Canada grew from 2.1 bn in 2000 to 4.7 bn in 2009, while the share of Canada in the EU27's total external trade in goods has fallen. In 2009, Canada accounted for 2.0% of EU27 exports and 1.5% of EU27 imports, and was the EU27's eleventh most important trading partner.

In March 2010 compared with February 2010, the industrial producer price index rose by 0.6% in the euro area (EA16) and by 0.7% in the EU27. In February, prices increased by 0.1% in both zones.

Companies backed by private equity investments provide jobs for more than six million Americans, or more than five percent of all private-sector workers, according to a new analysis released by the Private Equity Council.

Following one of the coldest winters on record and serious debt problems in a number of EU countries, Europe is finally sensing the dawn of better things to come. In Economic Outlook Nordea's economists maintain a relatively optimistic view on economic growth in the Nordic region.

Though a growing number of economic indicators point to an improving economy, the latest Citibank small business survey indicates otherwise. An overwhelming majority (77 percent) of small business owners say they believe current business conditions are only fair or poor, while 43 percent say their own business condition is worse off than it was a year ago. At the same time, however, a majority (58 percent) of small business owners say their business has performed better than expected. Looking ahead, slightly more than four in 10 said they expect business conditions will improve in the next 12 months, expressing a tempered level of optimism.

Expanding social protection programs in Asia and the Pacific will give poor and vulnerable people more opportunities to benefit from renewed growth in the region while boosting domestic consumption, building human capital, and helping to rebalance economies.