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The latest figures on residential prices across China will be released in the coming week. This monthly report will reflect price trends across 70 cities, which should provide evidence that prices fell in July for the first time in over 18 months at a national level.

Some improvement is projected for existing-home sales in the months ahead, with broader gains seen by the fourth quarter as buyers take advantage of new provisions provided through the recently passed housing stimulus bill, according to the latest forecast by the National Association of Realtors(R).

The Conference Board announced that the leading index for the U.K declined 1.0 percent, and the coincident index decreased 0.1 percent in June.

New Jersey taxpayers bear the heaviest state-local tax burden in 2008, and Alaskans have the lightest tax burden, according to a new report from the Tax Foundation.

Research firm Compass Intelligence shows the connection between the current economic crunch and business Information & Communications Technology (ICT) spending in the US in a new 5-part series of reports called, "Economy 2.0: New Challenges & Opportunities in Business ICT Spending."

Tumbling oil prices and a rebounding stock market appear to have placated Americans' economic jitters, resulting in a mid-summer halt in the downward spiral in consumer confidence that has persisted throughout 2008, according to the most recent results of the RBC CASH (Consumer Attitudes and Spending by Household) Index.

Mortgage rates posted a modest advance, with the average conforming 30-year fixed mortgage rate increasing to 6.74 percent. According to Bankrate.com's weekly national survey of large lenders, the average 30-year fixed mortgage has an average of 0.38 discount and origination points.

Favourable weather conditions and an increase in the planted area farmed should lead to a total cereals harvest close to 301 M tonnes for this year in the European Union, 43 M tonnes more than in 2007. This represents an increase of 16% on the 2007 harvest and 9% on the past five years' average production.

According to the latest Kelley Blue Book Marketing Research studies conducted on the company's top-rated Web site, the vast majority (nearly 90 percent) of car shoppers say they are concerned about the future of our environment. Among the survey respondents, 80 percent believe that individuals should make lifestyle changes in order to reduce CO2 emissions. Furthermore, 75 percent of shoppers say they have made changes to further the betterment of the environment, with the top lifestyle changes mentioned being recycling (54 percent), cutting back on driving (46 percent) and purchasing a fuel-efficient car (31 percent).

GfK Asia releases its 2008 Mid- Year Pan Asian IT Retail Data Summary, which highlights the trends of positive growth in the region's IT sector in direct contrast to the gloomy backdrop of the global economy.