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More than half (57 percent) of European insurers expect the total cost of Solvency II compliance to be higher than they initially estimated, according to results of a survey released by Accenture. Nearly one-third (29 percent) of the insurers surveyed said they expect to spend more than €25 million to comply with the directive, including 7 percent that anticipate spending more than €100 million. In a similar 2007 survey, only 4 percent of insurers said they expected to spend more than €26 million and none said they expected to spend more than €100 million.

Commercial vehicle (GVW Class 3-8) registrations in the U.S. during the first nine months of 2010 were 269,650 units, up 9.6 percent over the same period last year, according to Polk, the recognized leader in data-driven solutions for the commercial vehicle industry. Additionally, the used commercial vehicle (GVW Class 3-8) market achieved a new record of registrations during a nine month timeframe at 524,500 units. This historic volume represents 66 percent of the commercial vehicle market and an increase of 18.7 percent over the same timeframe in 2009. Combined registrations of new and used commercial vehicles in the first nine months of 2010 were 794,200, representing a 15.5 percent increase over the same period last year.

Cities and metropolitan regional governments should play a more prominent role in defining the wider response to climate change, according to a new report from the OECD.

Industrial profits in 24 regions realized 2,838 billion yuan from January to October, increased 51.6 percent, year-on-year, narrowed 1.9 percentage points over the past nine months.

The euro area (EA16) seasonally-adjusted unemployment rate was 10.1% in October 2010, compared with 10.0% in September. It was 9.9% in October 2009. The EU27 unemployment rate was 9.6% in October 2010, unchanged compared with September. It was 9.4% in October 2009.

The latest Harris Poll on the economy finds some small glimmers of optimism on the overall economy; less on employment. Three in ten Americans (31%) give President Obama positive ratings on his handling of the economy while 69% give him negative ratings. Last month, one-quarter of U.S. adults (27%) gave the President positive marks while 73% gave him negative ratings on the economy.

Consumer prices in the OECD area rose by 1.9% in the year to October 2010, up from 1.7% in September. The uptick was partly driven by strong rises in Japan, where annual inflation was positive for the first time in twenty months, and Canada, where consumer prices rose at their fastest rate since October 2008.

Small business employment continued to show growth in November, although wages were down and hours worked remained flat.

With China now the clear global renewables leader and new countries emerging as key contenders in the market, a new world order is apparent in the clean energy sector, according to Ernst & Young's latest Renewable Energy Country Attractiveness Indices of 30 countries.

Equifax announced the results of its Q3 2010 study on the state of small business bankruptcy – a key indicator of the financial health of business markets across the United States. Analyzing bankruptcy trends among the nation's more than 24 million small businesses, Equifax found that the Western regions continue to experience economic turbulence with some decrease in bankruptcy rates across select MSA's in California, Texas and Illinois. While bankruptcies have slowed in some regions, small business economic challenges continue to pressure many areas and impact the pace of recovery in certain markets.