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Concerns about the economy and personal finances have workers rethinking holiday plans, according to a recent survey by CareerBuilder. Thirty-six percent of employed workers in Europe reported they are not planning to take a holiday in 2009, similar to findings reported by U.S. workers in a separate survey. Of those not planning to take a holiday, 41 percent of European workers said they simply can't afford it while another 10 percent are worried about taking days away from the office in an economy where so many jobs have been lost.

A new survey reveals that college savings concerns currently are or will affect the daily lives of 83% of parents, with 64% actively making changes to their current spending habits. The survey, commissioned by Futuretrust(R) and conducted by Harris Interactive(R), also finds that 92% of U.S. parents(1) expect to have to pay for their children's college education but more than half (57%) do not believe that they will be able to save enough money to afford college for their children.

Portfolio managers and executives of U.S. hedge funds believe the industry can survive this period of economic turmoil but the overriding concern, by a three-to-one margin, is that the government will go too far in its financial regulatory reform plan and stifle the market.

Americans are continuing to tighten their belts with almost two-thirds (63%) of Americans saying they are spending less overall and two-thirds (64%) saying they are less likely to take out a loan. They are also weaning themselves from plastic with one-third (33%) saying they are using their credit card less often than before.

The Conference Board Governance Center issued a report providing board members with a checklist of issues they should consider when facing unsolicited takeover offers. The report is the fifth in The Conference Board series on the oversight role of the board of directors in the current economic crisis.

What proportion of the EU27 population live in houses or flats, and what proportion own their dwelling? What kind of energy do households consume? What share of consumers makes formal complaints to sellers? What share of the population cross borders to do their shopping?

President Barroso and Energy Commissioner Andris Piebalgs have welcomed adoption of new rules on the internal energy market by the Council following a positive vote by the European Parliament in April. The new legislation is expected to strengthen the EU's internal energy market, give consumers more protection and the benefit of the lowest possible energy prices while offering companies the chance to compete on a level playing field.

From January to May, the profits of industrial enterprises above designated size (enterprises with an annual sales over 5 million yuan, same as follows) reached 850.2 billion yuan, decreased by 22.9 percent year-on-year.

Following a year-long period of exceptional volatility in 2008, the world's population of high net worth individuals (HNWIs(1)) was down 14.9 percent from the year before and the population of ultra high net worth individuals (Ultra-HNWIs(2)) fell 24.6 percent, according to the 13th annual World Wealth Report, released by Merrill Lynch Global Wealth Management and Capgemini. The decrease in population was matched by a 19.5 percent drop in HNWI wealth to $32.8 trillion. The unprecedented declines wiped out two years of robust growth in 2006 and 2007, reducing both the HNWI population and its wealth to below levels seen at the close of 2005.

During the first four months of 2009, new car registrations dropped by 15.1% in Western Europe - and by 21.4% in the 10 new EU Member States.