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In August 2010, compared with July 2010, the volume of retail trade decreased by 0.4% in the euro area (EA16) and by 0.3% in the EU27. In July retail trade rose by 0.1% in both zones.

Between 2000 and 2009, EU27 trade in goods with China tripled in value. EU27 exports to China rose steadily from 26 billion euro in 2000 to 82 bn in 2009, while imports rose from 75 bn in 2000 to a peak of 248 bn in 2008 and then fell to 215 bn in 2009. As a result, the EU27 trade deficit with China increased significantly, from 49 bn in 2000 to 170 bn in 2008 and then dropped to 133 bn in 2009. The data for the first half of 2010 show a strong growth in EU27 trade with China. EU27 exports to China increased from 37 bn in the first half of 2009 to 53 bn in the first half of 2010 and imports rose from 103 bn to 125 bn. The trade deficit grew from 65 bn to 71 bn.

The Third Quarter 2010 edition of the Quarterly Report on the Euro Area highlights that although output growth in most euro area Member States has improved, the ongoing balance sheet adjustment process in the corporate sector will influence the recovery ahead. The analysis of previous episodes of corporate balance sheet adjustment shows that they have been associated with sizeable negative macroeconomic consequences, including weak GDP growth due to lower investment rates and falls in labour compensation. It is therefore crucial to counteract these dampening forces on growth by frontloading growth-enhancing reforms. Furthermore, the Report looks into past episodes of adjustments to large current account deficits as well as misalignments in house prices in the euro area.

Four in 10 U.S. workers are planning to delay their retirement, according to a survey of nearly 9,100 employees by global professional services company Towers Watson. Moreover, a vast majority of workers are prepared to spend less in retirement and are willing to pay more now for greater certainty in their future retirement and health benefits.

Economic activity in the non-manufacturing sector grew in September for the ninth consecutive month, say the nation’s purchasing and supply executives in the latest Non-Manufacturing ISM Report On Business®.

In August 2010 compared with July 2010, the industrial producer price index rose by 0.1% in the euro area (EA16) and remained stable in the EU27. In July 2010, prices increased by 0.2% in both zones.

Local currency bond markets in emerging East Asia had grown by an annual 18.8% as of the end of June, with $4.8 trillion in paper outstanding, according to the Asian Development Bank’s (ADB) latest quarterly Asia Bond Monitor.

According to a recent survey by BDO USA, LLP, one of the nation’s leading accounting and consulting firms, chief financial officers (CFOs) at leading U.S. retailers expect a 1.95 percent increase in overall sales for 2010. Forty-seven percent of CFOs anticipate their total sales revenue for 2010 to increase over 2009, and 30 percent of CFOs say their sales will be about the same. Only 21 percent of CFOs project a decrease in total sales for 2010, which is a more conservative outlook than 2009 (60%).

Kronos® Incorporated announced the October release of the Kronos Retail Labor Index™, a family of metrics and indices that analyze the relationship between the demand and supply sides of the labor market within the U.S. retail sector, and provide a distinct and early indicator of the overall state of the economy. The October report includes data for September 2010.