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As the first wave of U.S. Baby Boomers begin retiring this year, American manufacturing companies are highly concerned with their ability to find skilled workers, according to the results of a survey of industry senior executives commissioned by Advanced Technology Services, Inc. (ATS) and conducted by The Nielsen Company, a leading consulting and custom research firm. Among the survey's key findings, the pending retirement of highly skilled Baby Boomer workers will cost manufacturing companies $43 million each, on average - with nearly one in five estimating their cost at over $100 million.

Rising energy prices stemming from turbulence across N. Africa and the Middle East will only have a modest impact on GDP and inflation in the near term, according to a new OECD report, “The Effects of Oil Price Hikes on Economic Activity and Inflation."

The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for Australia increased 0.1 percent and The Conference Board Coincident Economic Index® (CEI) also increased 0.1 percent in January.

Mortgage rates marked a slight increase, with the benchmark conforming 30-year fixed mortgage rate rising to 4.96 percent, according to Bankrate.com's weekly national survey. The average 30-year fixed mortgage has an average of 0.41 discount and origination points.

The E-Retail Report 2010 by Deutsche Card Services shows that women were still predominant in online retailing. Six out of ten purchases at European e-retailers are initiated by women. Men spend more money on each transaction with EUR 93.12 - EUR 24.47 more than those of "Jane Doe".

Compliance 360, a leading provider of Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) solutions for enterprise governance, risk management and compliance (eGRC), announced the findings of its “2011 Medical Claims Audits Benchmark Study.” Among the healthcare compliance professionals who participated in the study, 40 percent responded that their compliance program budgets are increasing in 2011, indicating that many are expecting increased regulatory oversight and medical claims audit activities this year.

comScore, Inc., a leader in measuring the digital world, released results from a study of online shopping in Europe. In January 2011, 270.6 million unique visitors in Europe visited sites in the Retail category, representing a market penetration of 74.5 percent of Internet users, up 8.5 percentage points versus last year. Retail sites also showed high penetration in individual markets, reaching at least 75 percent of the total online audience in 7 out of 18 European markets. In 2010, approximately one out of every ten Internet sessions in Europe included a visit to a retail site.

In January 2011 compared with December 2010, the euro area (EA17) industrial new orders index rose by 0.1%. In December 2010 the index grew by 2.7%. In the EU27, new orders increased by 0.2% in January 2011, after a rise of 2.9% in December 2010. Excluding ships, railway & aerospace equipment, for which changes tend to be more volatile, industrial new orders increased by 1.6% in the euro area and by 1.9% in the EU27.

Employers took 1,421 mass layoff actions in February involving 130,818 workers, seasonally adjusted, as measured by new filings for unemployment insurance benefits during the month, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. Each mass layoff involved at least 50 workers from a single employer. The number of mass layoff events in February decreased by 113 from January, and the number of associated initial claims decreased by 18,981. In February, 291 mass layoff events were reported in the manufacturing sector, seasonally adjusted, resulting in 26,060 initial claims. Both figures decreased over the month, with manufacturing initial claims reaching its lowest level in program history (data begin in April 1995).

Governments looking to boost their economies, create jobs and meet environmental targets see eco-innovation as part of the solution. Some subsidise research and development. Others stimulate demand by labelling energy efficient appliances and regulating against environmentally harmful products. All are looking for efficient policies to make it work.