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MasterCard Advisors SpendingPulse, a macroeconomic report tracking national retail and services sales, provided summary results for performance of specific U.S. retail industries in March 2011. Electronics sales and Department stores showed modest gains while Luxury and e-Commerce recorded strong growth. Some segments of the Restaurant sector also showed strength in March. The travel sectors, particularly airlines, saw improvement as well, although the growth in airline spending may be attributable in part to fuel surcharges.

In February 2011, compared with January 2011, the volume of retail trade fell by 0.1% in both the euro area (EA17) and the EU27. In January retail trade rose by 0.2% and 0.4% respectively.

In 2010, US retail ecommerce sales (excluding travel) rebounded from the recession, posting 14.8% growth, compared with only 1.6% growth in 2009. In 2011, online sales will reach $188 billion, although growth will moderate to 13.7%, resuming a prerecession trend of slower growth that signals a maturing sales channel.

Economic activity in the non-manufacturing sector grew in March for the 16th consecutive month, say the nation’s purchasing and supply executives in the latest Non-Manufacturing ISM Report On Business®.

Two-thirds of all CEOs surveyed believe the economy has improved during the past year and half expect further gains during the year ahead. The Vistage CEO Confidence Index was 105.2 in the 1st quarter of 2011, slightly below 106.3 recorded in the prior quarter but well above the 93.7 in last year’s 1st quarter survey. CEO confidence has more than doubled since the recession low of 48.7 two years ago. However, the small decline reflects a renewed uncertainty about the impact of events in Japan and the Middle East on energy costs, consumer spending and inflation. Overall, the majority of CEOs still expect the recovery to continue and their own businesses to continue to grow.

Growth in the G7 economies outside Japan appears to be stronger than previously projected, with accelerating private sector investment and trade boosting recovery, according to new analysis from the OECD.

Latin American companies were the most popular emerging market targets for acquisitions by U.S. companies in the second half of 2010, according to KPMG International's latest Emerging Markets International Acquisition Tracker (EMIAT) study. Those countries accounted for more than 40 percent of emerging market acquisitions made by U.S. companies during the period.

Rising fuel and food prices are blunting gains from the economic recovery, hurting Americans' ability to save and weighing on consumer sentiment, according to a survey conducted for the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants by Harris Interactive. The national phone survey of 1,005 adults was conducted March 23-27 in advance of Financial Literacy Month in April.

The Conference Board Employment Trends Index™ (ETI) increased again in March, for the sixth month in a row. The index now stands at 100.9, up from February’s revised figure of 100.3. The index is up over 8 percent from a year ago.

The March CBIZ Small Business Employment Index, a barometer for hiring trends among companies with 300 or fewer employees, increased by .69 percent through the month, after posting an increase of .25 percent in February.