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Euro area annual inflation was 2.4% in February 2011, up from 2.3% in January. A year earlier the rate was 0.8%. Monthly inflation was 0.4% in February 2011.

Hourly labour costs in the euro area (EA16) rose by 1.6% in the year up to the fourth quarter of 2010, compared with 0.9% for the previous quarter. In the EU27, the annual rise was 2.0% up to the fourth quarter of 2010, compared with 1.2% for the previous quarter.

The Producer Price Index for finished goods increased 1.6 percent in February, seasonally adjusted, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. This rise followed advances of 0.8 percent in January and 0.9 percent in December, and marks the largest increase in finished goods prices since a 1.9-percent advance in June 2009. At the earlier stages of processing, prices received by manufacturers of intermediate goods moved up 2.0 percent, and the crude goods
index climbed 3.4 percent. On an unadjusted basis, prices for finished goods advanced 5.6 percent for the 12 months ended February 2011, the largest 12-month increase since a 5.9-percent rise in March 2010.

According to this year's fifth annual Total Employee Mobility® (TEM) Benchmark Report from Runzheimer International, the mobile workforce remains vitally important to U.S. businesses as a means for driving growth and retaining clients. The increased desire to more effectively manage mobile employees was one resounding theme from this year's report. In addition, cost remains significant with spending holding steady and even projected to increase in many areas.

The 11 March earthquake and tsunami in Japan, and the continuing nuclear crisis that they triggered, will have significant repercussions in global energy markets, according to international energy price reporting agency Argus.

The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for Spain increased 0.9 percent and The Conference Board Coincident Economic Index®(CEI) remained unchanged in January.

U.S. import prices rose 1.4 percent in February, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported, following a similar 1.3 percent advance in January. The price index for U.S. exports increased 1.2 percent in February after rising 1.3 percent the previous month. Higher agricultural and nonagricultural export prices each contributed to the overall advance in February.

In January 2011 the OECD area unemployment rate was 8.4%, down 0.1 percentage point from December. This was the second consecutive decrease, following a period of stability of around 8.5% through most of 2010 and a peak of 8.6% in November 2010. While diverging trends persist at the national level, several OECD countries registered slight falls in January. New February 2011 data show the unemployment rate for the United States down by 0.1 percentage point to 8.9% (the third consecutive decline), while the rate for Canada was stable at 7.8%.

The number of persons employed in both the euro area (EA16) and the EU27 increased by 0.1% in the fourth quarter of 2010 compared with the previous quarter, according to national accounts estimates published by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. In the third quarter of 2010, employment was stable in the euro area and grew in the EU27 by 0.1%. These figures are seasonally adjusted.

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.