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Unrest in North Africa and the Middle East, coupled with the disaster in Japan, threatens the sustainability of the global economic recovery, but the momentum of growth is thought to be strong enough in most regions to absorb the shocks. However, global economic growth projections are being reduced, dropping to around 4% for 2011. Despite the fact that short-term oil and gas supply and demand remains relatively balanced, oil prices have gone up in anticipation of supply shocks.

Consumer sentiment toward retail banks appears to have reversed its historical downward slide, increasing in 2011 for the first time since 2007, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2011 U.S. Retail Banking Satisfaction Study(SM).

Despite concerns about the impact of rising health care costs on their businesses and employees, only one in six employers (16.3 percent) say they favor a federally tax-funded universal health care system, according to the 2011 UBA Benefit Opinions Survey.

Over the past six months UK small-to-medium-sized businesses (SMBs) have grown on average by six per cent despite the broader UK economy struggling, according to the latest SMB Index from HP.

Mortgage rates dropped below the 5 percent mark, with the benchmark conforming 30-year fixed mortgage rate now 4.96 percent, according to Bankrate.com's weekly national survey. The average 30-year fixed mortgage has an average of 0.44 discount and origination points.

Lingering cash and debt management challenges continue to dilute employee confidence and overall financial wellness. Almost half (49 percent) of working American adults find it difficult to meet their household expenses on time (up from 43 percent in 2010), according to PwC U.S.'s 2011 Financial Wellness Survey, and even those earning $100,000 or more annually say it's a challenge (36 percent).

Regional and state unemployment rates were generally little changed in March. Thirty-four states recorded unemployment rate decreases, seven states registered rate increases, and nine states and the District of Columbia had no change, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. Forty-four states and the District of Columbia posted unemployment rate decreases from a year earlier, five states reported increases, and one state had no change. The national jobless rate was 8.8 percent in March, little changed from February but 0.9 percentage point lower than a year earlier.

comScore, Inc., a leader in measuring the digital world, released its annual Online Credit Card Report, which provides a comprehensive look at the U.S. online credit card industry over the past year. The report focuses on shifts in the industry related to improving consumer perceptions of the economic environment, card features most likely to influence card shopping decisions, and the growing importance of online servicing for issuers. The report draws its analysis from comScore’s research panel of 1 million U.S. consumers and a comScore survey of nearly 2,000 U.S. Internet users conducted in December 2010. Among its findings, the study reveals a greater percentage of card shopping activity among consumers who reported having a more positive view of the economy.

Median weekly earnings of the nation's 98.3 million full-time wage and salary workers were $755 in the first quarter of 2011 (not seasonally adjusted), the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. This was 0.1 percent higher than a year earlier, compared with a gain of 2.1 percent in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) over the same period.

Despite largely positive forecasts for the U.S. auto industry based on a recent uptick in sales, a new survey reports that auto executives are still pessimistic about the industry’s outlook. Conducted by management consulting firm Booz & Company, the survey found that auto manufacturers and suppliers expect vehicle sales to reach 14.5 million units by 2015, compared to predictions by leading industry forecasters of sales exceeding 16 million vehicles in the same timeframe. However, auto executives balanced this overall pessimistic view with upbeat growth forecasts for their own companies.