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Polachi Inc., a provider of Access Executive Search™ services to technology, clean technology, private equity and venture capital companies, today issued the results of their second annual VC survey, which polled venture capital executives throughout the United States. The survey revealed that 56% of venture capital executives - 98.1% who are Partners or Managing Partners - are more confident and optimistic about the industry today compared to a year ago when an overwhelming number of executives felt the industry was “broken.”

A new nationwide survey issued by Citi, and conducted by Hart Research Associates, shows that nearly two-thirds of Americans (62 percent) believe the economy has yet to hit bottom. This represents a 3 point decline from March, when 59 percent said we have a long way to go, and a return to the level measured in September (63 percent). According to the survey, just one-third (33 percent) believe the economy has hit bottom, even though Commerce Department data indicates the U.S. economy resumed growing in 2009’s third quarter.

There are many big changes people can make to save money – cut back on all entertainment, for example. But there are also a number of smaller things people can do to save money, and with the economy not yet turning around, it seems many Americans have opted for this approach. Almost two-thirds of U.S. (65%) adults say they are purchasing more generic brands to save money, slightly up from February when 63% said they were doing this.

China's apparent oil demand in June hits yet another record high, at 36.74 million metric tons (mt) or about 8.98 million barrels per day (b/d), according to the just released Platts analysis of official data from the People's Republic of China. The June demand figure is up 10% from a year ago and it eclipses the previous high of 36.48 million mt established in May 2010 by 0.7%.

According to the latest revisions, the EU27 external current account recorded a deficit of 34.8 billion euro in the first quarter of 2010, compared with a deficit of 50.6 bn in the first quarter of 2009 and a deficit of 13.4 bn in the fourth quarter of 2009.

In May 2010 compared with April 2010, the euro area (EA16) industrial new orders index rose by 3.8%. In April the index increased by 0.6%. In the EU27, new orders increased by 2.7% in May 2010 after a rise of 0.3% in April. Excluding ships, railway & aerospace equipment, for which changes tend to be more volatile, industrial new orders grew by 2.6% in the euro area and by 2.7% in the EU27.

U.S. employers are reporting a 2.5% average salary budget increase across all employee categories for 2010, which means many employees may expect a base pay raise of around 2.5% before the year is over. However, the size of the raise changes when the employee’s performance is factored in. Low performers can expect to see minimal increases of up to 0.7% or nothing at all, middle performers might expect a nominal base pay raise of 2.4%, and high performers may expect an average of 3.7% (54% higher than a middle performer). Surveyed employers reported that roughly 24% of employees are rated as high performers, while most are classified as middle performers.

Mortgage rates declined this week, with the average conforming 30-year fixed mortgage rate tying a record low of 4.74 percent, according to Bankrate.com's weekly national survey. The average 30-year fixed mortgage has an average of 0.39 discount and origination points.

Credit card companies treat their customers fairly, according to research recently conducted by Auriemma Consulting Group (ACG), a consultancy specialising in the lending and payments industry. Further, consumers are unlikely to find the benefits afforded to them by recently introduced consumer rights and regulations to have little impact on the way they use credit cards. In fact, the study’s findings show that consumers have been treated fairly by the credit card industry for some time, and that consumers feel valued by their credit card company.

Merchandise trade volumes for the G7 countries as a whole continued to grow in the first quarter of 2010, but at a slower pace than in the fourth quarter of 2009. Based on seasonally adjusted monthly data, merchandise trade values remain approximately 20% below pre-crisis levels in April and May.