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New-vehicle retail sales during the first 16 selling days in April are down by approximately 33 percent compared with the same period one year ago; however, the market does show signs of stabilizing, according to J.D. Power and Associates, which gathers real-time transaction data from more than 10,000 dealerships across the United States.

According to the results of nationwide sampling survey on 68 thousand rural households in 31 provinces (autonomous regions, municipalities) of China, it was indicated that per capita cash income of rural households reached 1,622 yuan in the first quarter, a year-on-year increase of 8.6 percent, and a real growth of 8.6 percent after deducting price factors.

The World Bank will increase infrastructure investments to $45 billion over the next three years to provide the foundation for rapid recovery from the global economic crisis, World Bank Group President Robert B. Zoellick announced at the World Bank/IMF Spring Meetings. In the wake of last year’s food crisis, the Bank Group is also boosting support for agriculture from $4 billion in 2008 to $12 billion over the next two years to help ensure vital food security.

A new survey sponsored by The Workforce Institute™ at Kronos® Incorporated and conducted by Harris Interactive reveals that people’s work habits have changed as a result of the turbulent economy. Across America, employees want to demonstrate their value to employers and increase the size of their paycheck by putting in extra time at their jobs. According to the survey "Workplace Tug-of-War: Workers Want More Work; Employers Want to Control Costs", employees want to work more even with an increased workload.

As the Obama administration has sought to cut farm subsidies for next year's budget they have encountered strong resistance, especially in farm states. However a new WorldPublicOpinion.org poll finds that the American public, including in farm states, would favor eliminating most farm subsidies.

Mortgage rates were mixed this week, with the average 30-year fixed mortgage rate inching upward to 5.23 percent. According to Bankrate.com's weekly national survey, the average 30-year fixed mortgage has an average of 0.47 discount and origination points.

The European Commission has welcomed the respective approvals from the European Parliament and from the Council on the proposed Regulation on credit rating agencies (CRAs). The Regulation will have a major impact on the activity of credit rating agencies, which issue opinions on creditworthiness of companies, governments and sophisticated financial structures. Credit rating agencies will be expected to comply with strict standards of integrity, quality and transparency and will be subject to ongoing supervision of public authorities. Users of credit ratings in the EU will be in a better position to decide if the opinions of a specific credit rating agency are trustworthy and to what extent those opinions should impact their investment choices.

Even as organizations adapt to the current global economic crisis with cost-cutting and restructurings, they are making investments to strengthen IT security. According to an global survey sponsored by CA, Inc., 42 percent of organizations anticipate an increase in budget for IT security, while 50 percent expect budgets to stay flat, and only eight percent anticipate a cut in their IT security budget. IT security budgets are being driven upward by the prospect of new regulations and a perception that restructurings will increase internal threats.

In a survey of 160 institutional investors, 85% of those surveyed expect that the market will bottom out before the end of the first half of 2010, with the majority of those expecting the bottom in the second half of 2009. The survey, reaching investors in 20 countries, was conducted by TheMarkets.com, a provider of research, estimates and workflow solutions to institutional investors worldwide.

In February 2009 compared with January 2009, the euro area (EA16) industrial new orders index fell by 0.6%. In January the index decreased by 2.0%. In the EU27 new orders declined by 1.4% in February 2009, after dropping by 3.5% in January. Excluding ships, railway & aerospace equipment, for which changes tend to be more volatile, industrial new orders fell by 1.3% in the euro area and by 0.7% in the EU27.