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Consumer prices in the OECD area rose by 2.1% in the year to March 2010, up from 1.9% in February. This small increase in inflation rates mainly reflected higher energy prices, which increased by 11.3% in the year to March, compared with 8.4% in February.

Between 2000 and 2009, EU27 exports of goods to Canada grew from 21.1 billion euro to 22.4 bn, while EU27 imports from Canada fell from 19.0 bn to 17.8 bn. As a result, the EU27 surplus in trade with Canada grew from 2.1 bn in 2000 to 4.7 bn in 2009, while the share of Canada in the EU27's total external trade in goods has fallen. In 2009, Canada accounted for 2.0% of EU27 exports and 1.5% of EU27 imports, and was the EU27's eleventh most important trading partner.

In March 2010 compared with February 2010, the industrial producer price index rose by 0.6% in the euro area (EA16) and by 0.7% in the EU27. In February, prices increased by 0.1% in both zones.

Companies backed by private equity investments provide jobs for more than six million Americans, or more than five percent of all private-sector workers, according to a new analysis released by the Private Equity Council.

Following one of the coldest winters on record and serious debt problems in a number of EU countries, Europe is finally sensing the dawn of better things to come. In Economic Outlook Nordea's economists maintain a relatively optimistic view on economic growth in the Nordic region.

Though a growing number of economic indicators point to an improving economy, the latest Citibank small business survey indicates otherwise. An overwhelming majority (77 percent) of small business owners say they believe current business conditions are only fair or poor, while 43 percent say their own business condition is worse off than it was a year ago. At the same time, however, a majority (58 percent) of small business owners say their business has performed better than expected. Looking ahead, slightly more than four in 10 said they expect business conditions will improve in the next 12 months, expressing a tempered level of optimism.

Expanding social protection programs in Asia and the Pacific will give poor and vulnerable people more opportunities to benefit from renewed growth in the region while boosting domestic consumption, building human capital, and helping to rebalance economies.

Italy has made significant progress in cutting regulatory costs, liberalising product markets and modernising its public administrations in recent years. But it must continue along the path of regulator reform to make its economy more competitive and speed up its recovery from the economic crisis, according to a new OECD report.

Most American workers say they derive satisfaction from their job and “live to work.” But only about a third say they have actively prepared for being sidelined due to an injury or illness, even though nearly nine out of 10 say they know there are steps they can take to protect themselves. These are some of the findings from a Yankelovich survey among full and part-time employees conducted for CIGNA.

In the fourth quarter of 2009, in both the euro area (EA16) and the EU27, the seasonally adjusted business investment rate fell compared with the previous quarter while the profit share grew. In the euro area, stocks decreased for the fourth quarter in a row.