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More than three-quarters of American companies polled in a survey released today by the American Chamber of Commerce in Shanghai (AmCham Shanghai) say that the business environment in China has either improved or stayed the same over the past six months, calling into question recent media reports of a worsening business climate in China.

The Monster Employment Index (MEI) had a monthly rise of one point in March, as employers continued to expand hiring efforts at the end of the first quarter. The annual growth rate in the MEI accelerated in March, with the current online demand level six percent above where it was a year ago.

Better-than-expected regional business news along with small improvements in several national economic measures provided enough bright spots in a month with decidedly mixed economic news to help drive the Dow Jones Economic Sentiment Indicator (ESI) up in March to 39.4, a modest, but promising, increase from 38.1 in February.

While the economic downturn has affected employment and the way Americans manage their spending and saving, what hasn't changed is the level of retirement planning, or lack thereof. According to a new report from the Society of Actuaries (SOA), for both 2007 and 2009 almost one-third of pre-retirees (individuals currently in the workforce) stated that retirement will not really apply to them. Of this group of pre-retirees, 31 percent said they will be financially unable to retire, and 23 percent will choose to continue working. Both pre-retirees and retirees say they plan to prepare for retirement risks, but little has changed in how they are addressing the gaps in strategies, such as concerns with protecting inflation from outpacing savings or the risk of outliving their assets.

Roughly three-quarters of executives expect both commercial property values (76 percent) and asking rents (73 percent) to continue to fall in 2010, according to a recent online survey of more than 325 executives conducted by Deloitte.

This special issue of the Quarterly Report on the Euro Area provides a comprehensive assessment of the impact of the crisis on external divergences in the euro area. After a decade of steady divergence, the global economic crisis has triggered a partial rebalancing of current accounts in the euro area. The narrowing of current account differences between Member States has both structural and cyclical causes and could be partially reversed with the recovery. It has so far been associated with only modest correction of past divergence in price competitiveness. As a result, significant adjustment needs continue to exist and call for a comprehensive policy response tailored to the specific needs of each Member State. The crisis has underscored the need for reforms in the euro area and for co-ordination across Member States. A coordinated and ambitious policy response would ease the necessary adjustment processes but would also boost the euro-area's long-term growth prospects. Tackling these challenges is a central plank of the new Europe 2020 strategy for smart, sustainable and inclusive growth.

Online advertised vacancies slipped 29,600 to 3,927,000 in March, according to The Conference Board Help Wanted OnLine™ (HWOL) Data Series. Following three months of large increases, totaling about 750,000 advertised vacancies, February and March have shown a small combined decline of 97,000. In February, the latest month of unemployment numbers, there were 10.9 million, or 3.76 unemployed for every online advertised vacancy.

The euro area (EA16) seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate was 10.0% in February 2010, compared with 9.9% in January. It was 8.8% in February 2009. The EU27 unemployment rate was 9.6% in February 2010, compared with 9.5% in January. It was 8.3% in February 2009. For the euro area this is the highest rate since August 1998 and for the EU27 since the start of the series in January 2000.

South East Europe (SEE) needs to attract more and better inward investment to pull out of the economic downturn and build the basis for long-term sustainable growth. Achieving this will require further major policy reforms, according to a new OECD analysis.

The 30-year fixed mortgage rate on Zillow Mortgage Marketplace is currently 4.93 percent, up thirteen basis points from 4.80 percent compared to this same time last week. The 30-year fixed mortgage spiked late Wednesday at 4.98 percent, before leveling off just above 4.90 percent over the weekend.