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In the construction sector, seasonally adjusted production fell by 2.2% in the euro area (EA16) and by 2.0% in the EU272 in January 2010, compared with the previous month. In December 20093, production decreased by 1.0% in the euro area, but rose by 0.8% in the EU27. Compared with January 2009, output in January 2010 dropped by 12.5% in the euro area and by 8.4% in the EU27.

Investors have recovered their bullishness towards equity markets but are shifting their focus away from Europe and into the U.S. and Japan, according to the BofA Merrill Lynch Survey of Fund Managers for March.

Employment prospects appear to be stabilizing or slightly improving through the first six months of 2010. However, they have not improved dramatically over 2009 levels and still remain well below levels observed in 2006 through 2008, according to projections from 267 employers responding to specialized legal and business publisher BNA's latest quarterly employment survey.

The U.S. Import Price Index fell 0.3 percent in February, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. The decrease was led by a 1.9 percent downturn in fuel prices, which more than offset a 0.2 percent advance in nonfuel prices. Export prices fell 0.5 percent in February after advancing 0.7 percent in each of the previous two months.

The economic downturn and rising jobless rate appear to have put a brake on employee absences. Rates of employee absences through 2009 are at the lowest recorded since 1985, the year legal and business publisher BNA began its quarterly survey of employers. Falling beneath the 2008 low of 0.9 percent of scheduled worker days per month, the median absence rate in 2009 averaged 0.7 percent. Absence rates have declined consistently since 2005, when they averaged 1.5 percent of scheduled worker days.

The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for Spain declined 0.2 percent and The Conference Board Coincident Economic Index® (CEI) decreased 0.2 percent in January.

Euro area annual inflation was 0.9% in February 2010, down from 1.0% in January. A year earlier the rate was 1.2%. Monthly inflation was 0.3% in February 2010.

The "Great Recession" may have ended, but its impact on the U.S. workforce and employment itself looks to be deep and longlasting, according to the results of new research from global professional services company Towers Watson. The Global Workforce Study (GWS) - a biennial survey of employee attitudes and workplace trends - confirms that the recession has fundamentally altered the way U.S. employees view their work and leaders today, while dramatically accelerating changes to the basic social contract that underpins employment here. In stark contrast to earlier Global Workforce Studies, the 2010 results indicate that U.S. employees have dramatically lowered their career and retirement expectations for the foreseeable future. On-the-job advancement now takes a back seat to a growing desire for workplace security and stability - at the very point in time when traditional employment safety nets are eroding.

Climate change and over-use of water will mean that nearly on in every two people will live in water-stressed areas by 2030. Households, industry and agriculture will increasingly compete for water, leaving little to sustain ecosystems.

Calling all Americans: Get an advisor. Get a plan. Get rebuilding. That’s the message from the Principal Financial Group® in its launch of the new multi-faceted America Rebuilds campaign including an online planning center at www.AmericaRebuilds.com.