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Despite rising unemployment and a challenging labor market, global executives remain optimistic that the war for talent is still being waged. A vast majority of respondents to the most recent Executive Quiz released by The Korn/Ferry Institute predict a long-term increase in the demand for talent. Additionally, the majority of executives remain confident about their own career prospects and believe that 2009 will see a recovery in the labor market.

The Monster Employment Index declined 13 points in January, as a majority of industries, occupations, and markets noted a contraction in online job availability amid sustained uncertain economic conditions. Year-over-year, the Index is now down 26 percent, suggesting further deterioration in the labor market at the onset of the new year.

Mortgage rates rebounded from one week ago, with the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate now 5.70 percent. According to Bankrate.com's weekly national survey, the average 30-year fixed mortgage has an average of 0.35 discount and origination points.

Chief Executive magazine's CEO Index, the nation's only monthly CEO Index, quietly rebounded in January according to 543 top executives surveyed. In January, all components of the CEO Index increased after three months of record declines.

Tighter budgets, a greater concern over internal security breaches due to lower employee morale and complacency after a decrease in overall attacks over the past year may expose global financial institutions to an increased risk of data breaches, according to Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu's sixth annual survey of global financial institutions' information security efforts.

More than half of EU citizens and nearly 1.5 billion people worldwide have access to the Internet. Yet, despite the fact that one out of three EU citizens conducts online purchases, only 30 million carry out cross-border shopping in the EU. In view of this, MEPs are demanding increased Internet security, simplified rules and specific measures for SMEs in a report adopted in Strasbourg with 562 votes in favour, 9 against and 10 abstentions.

SMEs account for 99% of the total number of businesses in the European Union, and create 75 million jobs, yet their international performance is "structurally weak". So says the European Parliament in a report which urges the Commission and Member States to enable EU SMEs to develop in a harmonious manner, gain access to new markets and to expand their export activities and internationalisation.

MEPs debated the effects of the financial crisis on the automobile industry after hearing statements from the Council and Commission. Many MEPs called for support to the industry and on manufacturers to concentrate on green technology. Ministers have expressed deep concern about the serious situation that the sector is facing at present, putting at risk a very significant number of jobs. In 2008 there were about 8% fewer cars sold in the EU than in 2007.

Nearly 75 percent of HR professionals across the country expect deep job cuts to continue throughout the first quarter of 2009, with 73 percent pessimistic about overall job growth in the United States, according to the first Labor Market Outlook survey by the Society for Human Resource Management (SHRM).

Current and continued economic turmoil have companies around the world grappling with ways to reduce costs and remain stable enough to ride out the downturn. According to new research by Hewitt Associates, a global human resources consulting and outsourcing company, the majority of organizations in every region of the world are responding by making across-the-board cuts to their 2009 salary increase budgets. Many of these companies also plan to take additional steps to reduce compensation costs - including layoffs, pay freezes, hiring freezes and reducing bonus budgets - yet these strategies vary drastically by region.