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Unemployment rates were higher in June than a year earlier in all 372 metropolitan areas, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported. Eighteen areas recorded jobless rates of at least 15.0 percent, while 9 areas registered rates below 5.0 percent. The national unemployment rate in June was 9.7 percent, not seasonally adjusted, up from 5.7 percent a year earlier. Among the 369 metropolitan areas for which nonfarm payroll data were available, 352 areas reported over-the-year declines in employment, 16 reported increases, and 1 had no change.

The average 30-year fixed mortgage rate nosed higher to 5.56 percent this week, according to Bankrate.com's weekly national survey. The average 30-year fixed mortgage has an average of 0.44 discount and origination points.

New research shows American business owners focus on the present with no long-term plan to exit or transition their business. The Principal Financial Group® surveyed business owners about their priorities during the current economic recession.

The battle between China and the United States over Africa's oil and gas resources is becoming more and more intense," says Patrick Morris, President and CEO of Gold Star Resources Corp., a Canadian-based energy resource company targeting 'onshore' energy resource opportunities in Liberia, Cote d'Ivoire and Ghana.

Small and medium businesses in India are on track to spend US$291 million on security-related investments in 2009—according to a study by New York-based Access Markets International (AMI) Partners, Inc.

Consumers are cutting back on expenses and shopping around for the best places to save money, according to survey results released by Ally Bank. The survey showed a significant number (77 percent) of consumers have sacrificed discretionary purchases, including vacations, cars, clothing, dining out and entertainment to increase savings, and nearly half (47 percent) have shopped around for a better place to save their money this year.

While about 70 percent of workers in private industry had access to employer provided medical care benefits in March 2009, only 25 percent of the lowest wage earners - those with average hourly wages in the lowest 10 percent of all private industry wages - had such access, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported. By contrast, nearly all workers with hourly wages in the highest 10 percent of all private industry wages had access to medical care benefits. A worker with access to medical care benefits is defined as having an employer-provided medical plan available for use, regardless of the worker’s decision to enroll or participate in the plan.

According to a new market research report, "Global Baby Food Market (2009-2014)", published by MarketsandMarkets, the global baby food market is expected to be worth US$37.6 billion by 2014, recording an estimated CAGR of 5.0% from 2009 to 2014. The North American market is expected to account for nearly 37% of the total revenues.

PIERS Global Intelligence Solutions, a division of UBM Global Trade, has released trade statistics that gauge the recession's impact on the top U.S. import commodity by volume, furniture. In first-quarter 2009, inbound containerized shipments of furniture fell more than 87,000 TEUs (20-foot-equivalent units, the basic unit of container measure), for a 19.2% decline compared with the same period a year ago.

One of the hotly contested issues in the debate about health care reform is whether or not there should be a new government health plan to compete with the plans offered by the insurance industry to employers and individuals. This idea is strongly supported by President Obama and most Democratic members of Congress but Republican members of Congress unanimously oppose it.