Menu

The Conference Board Leading Economic Index ® (LEI) for Mexico declined 0.2 percent and The Conference Board Coincident Economic Index ® (CEI) increased 0.6 percent in February.

From January to March, the industrial profits of enterprises above designated size achieved 1065.9 billion yuan, a year-on-year increase of 32%.

Mortgage rates remained below the 5 percent mark, with the benchmark conforming 30-year fixed mortgage rate inching lower to 4.95 percent, according to Bankrate.com's weekly national survey. The average 30-year fixed mortgage has an average of 0.37 discount and origination points.

Sniff, sniff. Achoo! With cold and flu season in full swing, these sounds are likely to be heard around the office. A new CareerBuilder Canada survey finds that 66 per cent of workers typically go to work when they are sick. Workplace pressures and “presenteeism” may be causing workers to go in under the weather, as more than 60 per cent of workers said they feel guilty if they call in sick. The CareerBuilder survey was conducted across Canada from November 15 to December 2, 2010 among 550 workers.

Unemployment rates were lower in March than a year earlier in 317 of the 372 metropolitan areas, higher in 44 areas, and unchanged in 11 areas, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. Fourteen areas recorded jobless rates of at least 15.0 percent, while eight areas registered rates of less than 5.0 percent. Two hundred sixty metropolitan areas reported over-the- year increases in nonfarm payroll employment, 101 reported decreases, and 11 were unchanged. The national unemployment rate in March was 9.2 percent, not seasonally adjusted, down from 10.2 percent a year earlier.

The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for Germany increased 0.7 percent and The Conference Board Coincident Economic Index® (CEI) increased 0.3 percent in February.

With personal debt continuing to mount, Americans are feeling even less secure about their finances this month and struggling to find funds to cover expenses. A new study released by Bankrate, Inc. shows that that 19% of Americans have admitted to tapping into retirement funds over the past 12 months to cover emergencies.

CareerBuilder's annual college job forecast finds that employers are gradually hiring more recent college graduates this year. Forty-six percent of employers said they plan to hire recent college graduates in 2011, up from 44 percent in 2010 and 43 percent in 2009. Of those who plan to hire recent college graduates, 26 percent reported they will offer higher starting salaries than they did in 2010, an improvement from 16 percent who said the same in last year's survey and 11 percent in 2009. The survey was conducted online from February 21 to March 10, 2011 by Harris Interactive on behalf of CareerBuilder, among more than 2,800 hiring managers and human resource professionals.

Workers’ top three concerns last year - having job security, making ends meet and having appropriate health insurance - remain the same as in 2009 as Americans put off thoughts of saving and planning for retirement to deal with more immediate issues. According to “The Realities of Getting Ready for a Secure Retirement,” the fourth in a series of research briefs stemming from Prudential’s Fifth Annual Study of Employee Benefits: Today & Beyond, the need to save for retirement is not recognized as one of the top financial needs and concerns. However, 64% of workers did rank it as “highly important.” As expected, 58-59% of those under 45 years old ranked it as “highly important,” below the more immediate need to reduce stress levels and improve emotional well-being (67%).

The recovery stalled in 2010, despite record terms of trade and support from policy stimulus. Households, businesses and farmers are attempting to repair over extended balance sheets in the aftermath of a property boom. The effects of two damaging earthquakes will further retard the recovery and make the outlook highly uncertain.