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The Monster Employment Index UK grew by one point (one percent) in June, showing some recovery from the three point (two percent) dip in May. The recent flatness in online job availability indicates that demand for workers has stabilised following last year’s dramatic fall. While the Index has dropped a sizeable 67 points (38 percent) year-on-year, the pace of deterioration has remained largely steady since February.

The weekly average rate borrowers were quoted on Zillow Mortgage Marketplace for 30-year fixed mortgages decreased last week to 5.26 percent, down from 5.40 percent the week prior, according to the Zillow Mortgage Rate Monitor, compiled by leading real estate Web site Zillow.com®. Meanwhile, rates for 15-year fixed mortgages fell to 4.65 percent from 4.79 percent, and 5-1 adjustable rate mortgages also fell to 4.30 percent, down from 4.49 the week prior.

In May 2009 compared with April 2009, seasonally adjusted industrial production grew by 0.5% in the euro area (EA16) and by 0.1% in the EU27. In April production fell by 1.4% and 0.8% respectively. In May 2009 compared with May 2008, industrial production declined by 17.0% in the euro area and by 15.9% in the EU27.

A new policy brief by the Center for Responsible Lending chronicles the repeated failure of federal bank regulators over the years to rein in irresponsible lending practices. Example after example of regulatory delay or inaction demonstrates the need for a stand-alone, independent regulator focused solely on ensuring basic, common-sense safeguards for consumers.

Remittance flows to developing countries are expected to be $304 billion in 2009, down from an estimated $328 billion in 2008, said the World Bank.

Data from the federal government estimates that U.S. banks will collect more than $38 billion in fees this year from consumers who overdraw their checking accounts. Banks will collect billions more from other account penalties, including credit card late fees. Moebs Services, which collected the information, reports that the average overdraft fee has risen to $27.50 this year, up from $25 last year. A 2008 study from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. found that insufficient funds and overdraft fees account for 74 percent of consumer bank service charges.

A sense of optimism and a reduction in fear and anger toward America's financial institutions mark the latest findings in the Chicago Booth/Kellogg School Financial Trust Index. According to the report, trust in financial institutions has gone up slightly in the last three months, especially toward banks and government intervention in financial markets.

From January to June, the total investment in real estate development amounted to 1,450.5 billion yuan, up by 9.9 percent year-on-year, and went up 3.1 percentage points over first five months, while that of a decrease of 23.6 percentage points over same period of previous year. Of which, investment in commercial residential buildings reached 1,018.9 billion yuan, 7.3 percent of increase year-on-year, picking up 3.1 percentage points over first five months, or 29.3 percentage points dropped over same period of previous year, which occupied 70.2 percent of the investment in real estate development.

In the current credit market where access to syndicated loans to finance large transactions remains limited, one of the few places that deals are getting done in the U.S. is in the middle market, according to the Transaction Services group of PricewaterhouseCoopers. For the first half of 2009, 135 middle market deals were announced with an aggregate deal value of $39.2 billion. "As in the last recession, it's the smaller transactions that are getting financed because deals of that size don't require assistance from the capital markets or the structuring of highly leveraged loans," said Robert Filek, a partner in PricewaterhouseCoopers' Transaction Services practice.

VRC (Valuation Research Corporation), a leading provider of valuations and value-related advisory services, recently completed a survey of financial professionals’ views on Fair Value Accounting (FVA), also known as mark-to-market accounting. The survey found a majority believed that market turmoil and the collapse of active markets for many assets caused implementation issues in Fair Value Accounting.