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The 2010 EU budget will see jobs and the economy top spending. Over €64bn (or 45%) of the €141bn of EU funds will go on measures linked to research, education and innovation. Research funding will grow by nearly 12% (€7.5bn) and energy and transport by more than 10% (€2bn). Financing for strategic energy projects, broadband in rural areas and cash to help rural communities cope with new challenges in agriculture will also provide a welcome boost to Europe's economy with the final €2.4bn of the €5bn European economic recovery plan being secured for 2010. Agricultural spending will continue to be stable next year at nearly €44bn with over €14bn (+2.6%) to promote rural development and additional emergency aid of €300m to help milk producers. The biggest increase in EU spending in 2010 will be for projects to fight crime, terrorism and manage migration flows, with this area growing by 16.2% on 2009 to almost €1bn.

The growing diversity of alternative payment methods suggests the stakeholders are scrambling to establish a lead in preferred payment form.

In the construction sector, seasonally adjusted production decreased by 0.6% in the euro area (EA16) and by 0.4% in the EU27 in October 2009, compared with the previous month. In September, production fell by 0.8% and 0.5% respectively.

Parliament on Thursday adopted the final EU budget for 2010, which will be €141.4 billion in commitments and €122.9 billion in payments. The main challenge for this year's budget was to find the funding for the already agreed but not yet financed economic recovery plan, which will cost the EU €2.4 billion next year.

New IBM research reveals that despite the recent volatility in the financial markets, investors are more likely to cut holiday spending than investment contributions. At the same time, research from the IBM Institute for Business Value indicates that a majority of investors believe that a "trust gap" exists between banks and their customers, and that this is a major factor in decisions by banks to invest in analytics and other solutions to provide greater insight into client needs.

The Conference Board Leading Economic Index™ (LEI) for the U.S. increased 0.9 percent, The Conference Board Coincident Economic Index™ (CEI) increased 0.2 percent and The Conference Board Lagging Economic Index™ (LAG) decreased 0.4 percent in November.

Real average hourly earnings fell 0.5 percent from October to November, seasonally adjusted, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. A 0.5 percent increase in the Consumer Price Index for Urban Wage Earners and Clerical Workers (CPI-W) more than offset a 0.1 percent increase in average hourly earnings for production and nonsupervisory workers.

"The European Union must stand firm on its climate change objectives and must not lose sight its offer of a 30% reduction in EU greenhouse gas emissions by 2020", head of the EP delegation to the Copenhagen climate change summit Jo Leinen said on Wednesday, after meeting the EU's Swedish Presidency.

On a seasonally adjusted basis, the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) rose 0.4 percent in November, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. Over the last 12 months the index increased 1.8 percent before seasonal adjustment, the first positive 12-month change since February 2009.

The average conforming 30-year fixed mortgage increased this week to 5.13 percent, according to Bankrate.com's weekly national survey. The average 30-year fixed mortgage has an average of 0.42 discount and origination points.