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In July 2009 compared with June 2009, the euro area (EA16) industrial new orders index rose by 2.6%. In June the index increased by 4.0%. In the EU27 new orders rose by 1.6% in July 2009, after falling by 0.6% in June. Excluding ships, railway & aerospace equipment, for which changes tend to be more volatile, industrial new orders grew by 3.1% in the euro area and by 3.4% in the EU27.

In these challenging economic times, Americans have made numerous adjustments to shore up their family finances. Savings rates are on the rise, debt is being consolidated and slowly paid down, and people are spending and investing their money more conservatively. It may be time to add another trend to the list.

In a year marked by exceptional economic turbulence, the 2008 EU budget continued to provide stable funding without increasing the financial burden on Member States. The 2008 financial report presented by the Commission today shows how a record 40% of the 2008 budget's €116.5 billion was invested in measures linked directly to jobs, growth and competitiveness like the €6 billion committed for new research projects (€500m more than in 2007). Farm payments continued to fall taking 37% of funds, marginally less than 2007. In terms of EU GNI the 2008 budget was steady, rising only slightly to 0.94% (0.93% of EU GNI in 2007).

While much of the focus of President Obama has been on health care reform over the past few weeks, the issue of the economy is still on his plate. Currently, three in five Americans (60%) would rate the job the president is doing on the economy as negative while two in five (40%) would rate his job as positive. This is virtually unchanged from last month when 39% rated President Obama’s economic job performance as positive and 61% rated it as negative.

The Conference Board Leading Economic Index™ (LEI) for France increased 0.5 percent and The Conference Board Coincident Economic Index™ (CEI) decreased 0.1 percent in July.

With online businesses still thriving despite the recession, the knowledge economy will be vital to a global recovery.

CIOs, CTOs, and senior IT executives cite business productivity and cost reduction as their top business concern, according to the 2009 IT Industry Trend Survey, commissioned by the Society for Information Management.

The weekly average rate borrowers were quoted on Zillow Mortgage Marketplace for 30-year fixed mortgages was unchanged from last week at 5.04 percent, according to the Zillow Mortgage Rate Monitor, compiled by leading real estate Web site Zillow.com®. Rates for 15-year fixed mortgages fell to 4.45 percent from 4.48 percent, and 5-1 adjustable rate mortgages fell to 4.00 percent, down from 4.02 the week prior.

The cost-cutting actions that employers have been making to deal with the economic crisis have contributed to a sharp decline in the morale and commitment of their workers, especially top performers, according to an annual survey by Watson Wyatt, a leading global consulting firm, and WorldatWork, an international association of human resource professionals.

The Conference Board Leading Economic Index™ (LEI) for the U.S. increased 0.6 percent,The Conference Board Coincident Economic Index™ (CEI) remained unchanged and The Conference Board Lagging Economic Index™ (LAG) decreased 0.1 percent in August.