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CareerBuilder's latest nationwide survey shows that small businesses – one of the major drivers for economic recovery and job growth – will be hiring in the second half of 2010. Thirty-two percent of companies with 500 or fewer employees plan to add new employees in the months of July through December. Twenty-one percent will hire full-time, 11 percent will hire part-time and 6 percent will hire contractors or temporary workers. Of companies with 50 or fewer employees, 24 percent plan to hire in the second half of 2010. The survey was completed in June 2010 and included more than 1,300 employers in businesses with 500 or fewer employees and more than 4,400 workers.

Trust in America's financial system has reached its highest point since the start of the Chicago Booth/Kellogg School Financial Trust Index in 2008, according to the latest quarterly findings covering the period of April to June 2010. The new report shows that 26 percent of Americans trust the financial system – a gain of 3 percentage points over last quarter's figure – and that trust in all components measured by the Index are on the rise.

In his latest quarterly commentary, Max Bublitz, chief strategist and portfolio manager at SCM Advisors LLC, an affiliated investment manager of Virtus Investment Partners, likens the recent financial tumult to a critical moment in the 1975 thriller "Jaws" when Police Chief Martin Brody first realizes the enormity of the great white shark terrorizing the beaches of Amity. "You're gonna need a bigger boat," a wide-eyed Brody tells the captain of the ship that's hunting the shark.

More than half (54 percent) of large U.S. businesses that reduced staff in the past 12 months plan to rebuild their workforces to pre-recession levels within two years, according to a study released by Accenture.

Regional and state unemployment rates were generally lower in June. Thirty-nine states and the District of Columbia recorded unemployment rate decreases, five states had increases and six states had no change, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. Twentyfour states recorded unemployment rate increases from a year earlier, 22 states and the District of Columbia had decreases, and 4 states had no change. The national jobless rate edged down by 0.2 percentage point to 9.5 percent and was unchanged from June 2009.

The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for Germany increased 0.5 percent and The Conference Board Coincident Economic Index® (CEI) increased 0.5 percent in May.

Rising tuition and an uncertain economy could be casting doubts over the value of investing in a college education, according to a COUNTRY® Financial survey. The number of Americans who think college is a good financial investment plunged to 64 percent, down 16 points from last year and 17 points from 2008.

In the construction sector, seasonally adjusted production fell by 1.0% in the euro area (EA16) and by 0.6% in the EU27 in May 2010, compared with the previous month. In April, production decreased by 0.3% in the euro area, but rose by 0.5% in the EU27.

The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for France increased 0.3 percent and The Conference Board Coincident Economic Index® (CEI) increased 0.2 percent in May.

A majority of executives at leading retail banks globally say average customer profitability has remained below pre-crisis levels, while their customers’ price-sensitivity and inclination to "shop around" have increased, according to an Accenture survey.