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Fundamental changes in the American workforce are taking place, and they hold tremendous implications for employers and employees alike. According to an Annual Workforce Trends Study commissioned by Yoh, 80 percent of employers expect the size of their non-employee workforce (defined as consultants, independent contractors, temporary employees, and project teams) to stay the same or increase within the next year, even as the economy regains its footing.

Survey findings released by Ameriprise Financial suggest that where you live may influence your readiness to retire. The New Retirement Mindscape® 2010 City Pulse index examined the 30 largest U.S. metropolitan areas to determine where consumers are the most prepared for and confident about retirement. Minneapolis-St. Paul claimed the top spot on the retirement readiness index, followed by Raleigh-Durham (#2) and Nashville (#3); Los Angeles (#30) ranked last with Indianapolis (#29) and Orlando (#28) rounding out the bottom three.

Many governments are facing historic high levels of deficit and debt. Public spending has risen and they are taking in less money as tax revenues fall - more than 10% in some countries.

Economic growth in the United States will continue in 2011, say the nation’s purchasing and supply management executives in their December 2010 Semiannual Economic Forecast. Expectations are for a continuation of the economic recovery that began in mid-2009. The manufacturing sector continues to outpace the non-manufacturing sector and has greater expectations for growth in terms of revenue, say the nation’s purchasing and supply management executives in their December 2010 Semiannual Economic Forecast.

Following sharp declines and painful deleveraging in the wake of financial and economic turmoil, commercial real estate (CRE) is showing signs that the deterioration of industry transactions and fundamentals has started to plateau, and early stages of recovery may be imminent, according to Deloitte's "Commercial Real Estate Outlook: Top 10 Issues in 2011 - Generating Momentum for Recovery."

According to a recent study by DealWatch, Renewable Energy Production M&A has been on a fast growth path in Emerging Europe: in the first three quarters of 2010, the number of M&A transactions in the sector in CEE and SEE was approximately 4 times as much as in the whole year of 2007, representing an average annual growth rate of 60%. In the same period, the total value of deals grew to EUR 363 million from EUR 67 million. The very high value in 2008 was the result of a few large deals, like the wind farm project acquisitions by Iberdrola and CEZ in Romania and the privatisation of several hydroelectric and geothermal power plants in Turkey.

Over the last decade, the inactivity rate for women aged between 15 and 64 years in the EU27 has fallen steadily, from 39.9% in 2000 to 35.7% in 2009, meaning that 5.0 million more women have entered the labour market. In contrast, the inactivity rate for men aged 15 to 64 has decreased only slightly, from 22.8% in 2000 to 22.2% in 2009.

Improved economic conditions are expected to trigger a recovery in U.S. gaming revenues in late 2011, although 2007 gaming revenue levels will not return until 2012. According to PwC's Playing to win: The outlook for the global casino and online gaming market to 2014, total U.S. gaming revenues will increase to $68.3 billion in 2014 from $57.2 billion in 2009, a 3.6 percent compound annual increase. The U.S. will remain the largest region in 2014, although Asia Pacific will be the fastest growing region with a projected 23.6 percent increase compounded annually to $62.9 billion in 2014 from $21.8 billion in 2009.

Governments and monetary authorities in emerging East Asia need to cooperate more on exchange rates and other policies to turn the swift post-crisis recovery into more balanced, long-term growth.

After eight years of growth, EU27 trade in goods with Russia fell in 2009, with EU27 exports dropping by 38% and imports by 35%, compared with 2008. The EU27 trade deficit with Russia increased significantly from 41 billion euro in 2000 to 73 bn in 2008, then fell to 50 bn in 2009.