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Despite a U.S. economic recovery from the depths of the financial crisis, nearly half of Individual Investors trusted financial services companies less in 2010 than the previous year. Edelman's second annual Trust in U.S. Financial Services Survey found that of the 46 percent of respondents whose trust levels declined, most (57%) cited financial services companies "acting in a greedy manner" and 18 percent maintained that the "industry itself has made the problems worse." Individual Investors are those with household incomes of at least $50,000 and that have at least $10,000 of investable assets.

Since the recession began, more workers are starting their work day on time. A new CareerBuilder survey reveals that 15 percent of workers said they arrive late to work once a week or more, down from 16 percent in 2009 and 20 percent in 2008. This national survey was conducted among 2,482 U.S. employers and 3,910 U.S. employees between November 15 and December 2, 2010.

In December 2010 compared with November 2010, the euro area (EA16) industrial new orders index rose by 2.1%. In November the index grew by 2.2%. In the EU27, new orders increased by 2.5% in December 2010, after a rise of 1.7% in November. Excluding ships, railway & aerospace equipment, for which changes tend to be more volatile, industrial new orders increased in December 2010 by 1.3% in both zones.

With unemployment rates still high, analysts believe emergency savings accounts are more important than ever. However, this month's study, released by Bankrate Inc., shows that little more than half of Americans have more money in savings than credit card debt.

The Commission adopted a proposal to interconnect business registers within the EU. Company registers provide company information that is essential for consumers and business partners alike, such as information on a company's legal form, its seat, capital and legal representatives. Today's proposal will help to facilitate cross-border electronic access to business information, by ensuring business registers are updated, and business information is more easily and readily accessible. These changes are crucial for companies when setting up branches, conducting cross-border trade or providing cross-border services in the EU. Business registers are currently organised at national, regional or local level, and lack the capacity to share information in an efficient and transparent manner. The proposal will now pass to the Member States and the European Parliament for consideration.

Nearly two-thirds (63%) of private-company executives surveyed for PwC US's Private Company Trendsetter Barometer say they're optimistic about the US economy's prospects over the next 12 months. This is the highest level of confidence that Trendsetter chief executives have shown about the US economy since the second quarter of 2007 (when their confidence level was 64%) and up 24 points from the third quarter of 2010. Meanwhile, optimism in the global economy also rose, with 56% of private companies that have an international presence expressing their confidence in global economic growth, compared with 43% in the previous quarter.

Data through December 2010, released today by Standard & Poor's for its S&P/Case-Shiller(1) Home Price Indices, the leading measure of U.S. home prices, show that the U.S. National Home Price Index declined by 3.9% during the fourth quarter of 2010. The National Index is down 4.1% versus the fourth quarter of 2009, which is the lowest annual growth rate since the third quarter of 2009, when prices were falling at an 8.6% annual rate. As of December 2010, 18 of the 20 MSAs covered by S&P/Case-Shiller Home Price Indices and both monthly composites were down compared to December 2009. Both Los Angeles and San Francisco reported negative annual rates of return in December, leaving San Diego and Washington DC as the only two cities where home prices are increasing on a year-over-year basis, +1.7% and +4.1%, respectively.

The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index®, which had increased in January, improved further in February. The Index now stands at 70.4 (1985=100), up from 64.8 in January. The Present Situation Index improved to 33.4 from 31.1. The Expectations Index increased to 95.1 from 87.3 last month.

For the first time in years, the apartment rental market is beginning to experience signs of recovery as the U.S. economy slowly begins to strengthen. Reuters reported the rental vacancy rate fell to 9.4 percent in the fourth quarter of 2010 from 10.3 percent in the July-September period—the lowest since the second quarter of 2007. Witten Advisors predicts rents will increase 4.5 percent in 2011 as operators become aggressive in raising rents with little fear of losing customers to other housing options. In response to this news, Apartments.com conducted a national survey to more than 1,800 of its January website visitors to find out about their 2011 moving plans, including reasons they are moving, when they plan to move and which tools they value most during their apartment search.

The sales price of newly constructed residential buildings in 70 large and medium-sized cities were reported that 3 cities of that increased more than 2.0 percent, while 3 cities decreased comparing with the previous month.