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Mobile banking is a budding service in Latin America and is expected to catch on in countries such as Chile, Brazil, and Argentina, where the economic and political condition is relatively stable. Success in the mobile banking market will help mobile operators shore up their average revenue per user (ARPU) even when the mobile voice traffic slows down.

Multifactor productivity, defined as output per combined units of labor and capital inputs, grew at an annual rate of 0.4 percent in the private business sector and 0.2 percent in the private nonfarm business sector for 2007, the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) and the U.S. Department of Labor reported.

Europe leads the world in mobile phone services with the number of subscriptions in 2008 at 119% of the EU population (up 7 percentage points from 2007), well ahead of the US (87%) and Japan (84%). This is a finding of Commission progress report on the single telecoms market.

The effects of the economic crisis on the European car industry and its supply chain are the subject of a cross-party resolution adopted by the EP during this week's Strasbourg plenary. The car industry is a key sector of the European economy, which directly employs 12 million European workers or 6% of the employed population of Europe. MEPs are calling for measures to support job creation in the industry, and to encourage the development of green technologies.

Small business owners’ optimism recently dropped to its lowest level in the six years that the Wells Fargo/Gallup Small Business Index has been conducted.

The European Commission and the European Central Bank (ECB) are issuing a joint statement providing further clarification, with the aim of encouraging the European Payments Council (EPC) to launch the SEPA direct debit (SDD) scheme on 1 November 2009.

As the U.S. recession deepens and monthly job losses reach historic highs, a recent survey of more than 400 white-collar small businesses is shining a light on how small employers are evolving their human capital management practices in a down economy, and how employer practices are directly influenced by whether the small business owner is considered an "economic optimist" or an "economic pessimist."

"Energy Efficiency" was the buzzword of 2008, and rightfully so. With high energy prices and the "green" movement in full swing, it made both economic and social sense to invest in energy saving technologies. Entering 2009, however, the world finds itself in a different economic situation. Energy prices have declined, and the financial crisis leaves companies with little or no capital to spend on investments. In light of these new economic conditions, it is questionable whether the trend toward energy efficiency will continue. However, Frost & Sullivan believes that the demand for energy efficiency in buildings will remain a powerful driver in the short and medium term future.

A gradual increase in minimum tax rates on cigarettes, to at least €1.50 per pack by 2014, and other tobacco products, was backed by the European Parliament in Strasbourg, but it advocated smaller increases than those proposed by the Commission.

PriceGrabber.com(R), a part of Experian, examines the shifts in consumer spending during this economic downturn in its latest Consumer Behavior Report. Survey data reveals that online consumers have shifted from cutting back to price-conscious spending and also are using the Internet to find the best deals.