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Euro area (EA16) GDP fell by 2.5% and EU27 GDP by 2.4% during the first quarter of 2009, compared with the previous quarter, according to second estimates from Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Communities. In the fourth quarter of 2008, growth rates were -1.8% in both zones.

It is becoming increasingly likely that health care will be the straw that causes the U.S. Dollar to collapse. There is no doubt about it that health care costs are out-of-control in America. Unfortunately, most Americans are calling for the government to do something about astronomical health care costs, when the government is actually the cause of the crisis and will only make it much worse.

One in every three employees of companies in the United Kingdom and the United States is very fearful of losing his or her job, and a staggering 98 percent of employees in the UK report having some level of fear about their job security, according to a recent survey by change management consulting firm Stromberg Consulting and conducted by Braun Research. Yet in an interesting twist, on the surface, data suggest productivity may be up overall: 40 percent in the UK and more than half of those fearful in the US say they are working harder as a result.

Will G8 leaders this week pull off a getaway in which they take the money pledged to developing nations in Africa, and run with it? In a cruel mimicry of "The Italian Job" movie, it appears a heist is already being planned as Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi, the group's chairman, arranges a getaway under the cover of a new approach toward aid, Christian humanitarian agency World Vision warns.

More than 90% of consumers across the five major European markets - the UK, France, Italy, Germany and Spain-share an interest in health, according to a new study by TNS Healthcare, a Kantar Health Company. European woman are significantly more concerned with health than men, with 95% of females expressing interest in health issues vs. 89% of males. Age also makes a difference, with 55% of those older than 55 expressing an interest in health vs. just 44% of those between 18 and 24.

PMI Mortgage Insurance Co., released its Second Quarter 2009 Economic and Real Estate Trends Report, and its widely cited U.S. Market Risk Index(SM). The quarterly report projects the likelihood that the nation's housing prices will be lower in two years. As many as 324 - approximately 85% - of the nation's 381 MSAs (Metropolitan Statistical Areas) are now facing increased risk of lower home prices in 2011. Florida, California, Nevada and Arizona continue to have the highest risk scores - 36 of the most risky MSAs are located in these four states - but an increased risk of lower future prices is now spreading across all regions of the nation, due to the significant increases in unemployment and foreclosure rates.

On the last business day of May job openings in the U.S. numbered 2.6 million, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported. The hires rate at 3.0 percent in May was at the lowest point since the series began in December 2000. The total separations rate at 3.3 percent declined over the month. This release includes estimates of the number and rate of job openings, hires, and separations for the total nonfarm sector by industry and geographic region.

Global IPO activity increased in Q2 with 76 IPOs worldwide compared with 52 the prior quarter, according to Ernst & Young's second quarter Global IPO update. Deal value increased seven-fold to US$9.9 billion from just US$1.4 billion. However activity remains sharply down on 2008 levels when the second quarter saw 269 IPOs raise US$38.2 billion in capital.

Seven more U.S. banks were seized by regulators on July 2, 2009, pushing this year's total bank failures to 52 as a result of rising losses on home mortgages, commercial real estate loans, and defaults on consumer credit cards. Even more startling is that bank closures barely make the news these days.

Decision Resources, one of the world's leading research and advisory firms focusing on pharmaceutical and healthcare issues, finds that European prices of 170 best-selling drugs averaged 40 percent less than U.S. prices in 2008. Within Europe prices varied substantially, from an average of 55 percent of U.S. prices in Italy to 70 percent of U.S. prices in Germany. European prices for biologics averaged 86 percent of U.S. prices.