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Annual global commercial spending grew to an estimated $77.3 trillion in 2007, an increase of 12.2 percent from $68.9 trillion in 2006, according to data from the Commercial Consumption Expenditure (CCE) index released by Visa Inc. Commercial spending in the United States grew to an estimated $19.7 trillion in 2007, up 5.5 percent from the 2006 total of $18.7 trillion.

The worldwide mobile phone market continued solid double-digit growth in the second quarter (2Q08) as competition in high-end devices heated up. According to IDC's Worldwide Mobile Phone Tracker, vendors shipped a total of 306.0 million units, an increase of 5.6% from the 289.7 million units shipped during the previous quarter and up 15.3% from the 265.4 million units shipped during 2Q07. Total shipments for the quarter were in line with IDC's expectations, even as vendors cited economic challenges and changing demands within key regions.

The latest RICS (Royal Institution of Chartered Surveyors) global commercial property survey shows falling of tenant demand at a faster pace in the developed world in the second quarter of 2008. Tenant demand fell across all property sectors in the developed world. The retail market seeing the weakest tenant activities in the developed world, a pattern mirrored across most developing markets outside Emerging Asia where demand strengthened. Transaction volumes and capital values plummeted as the commercial property market suffered under financial liquidity constraints, says the RICS Global Commercial Property Survey.

RSM McGladrey released data gathered in the last ten days that shows global competition for raw materials and rising energy costs are driving up costs and substantially reducing the bottom line of middle market manufacturers and distributors more than they were just three months ago.

Russia’s international investment flows reached record levels in 2007, with USD 52 billion of foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows and USD 46 billion invested by Russian firms abroad, according to a new OECD report. Investment in natural resources in 2007 tripled that of the previous year and represented nearly half of FDI.

A comprehensive study released by the American Clean Skies Foundation (ACSF) and Navigant Consulting, Inc. (NYSE:NCI) indicates the United States has 2,247 trillion cubic feet (Tcf) of natural gas reserves, which is enough to last more than 100 years.

The Monster Employment Index fell six points in July, as a majority of industries, occupations, regions, and local markets noted continued contraction in online job availability.

Standard & Poor's, the world's leading index provider, announced that for fiscal year 2007, S&P 500 companies with full reporting information posted 45.8% of their sales from outside of the United States versus 43.6% in 2006. The data is based upon 251 companies within the S&P 500 that have full reporting information.

In July 2008, there were 3,864,100 online advertised job vacancies, according to The Conference Board Help-Wanted OnLine Data Series™. This is down 330, 800 from June's level of 4,194,900 (revised), a decline that is larger than seasonally expected for this month. In July, job ads continued to run below year ago levels (220,100 or 5.4 percent below the July 2007 level).

Unemployment rates were higher in June than a year earlier in 332 of the 369 metropolitan areas, lower in 27 areas, and unchanged in 10 areas, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported. Six areas recorded jobless rates of at least 10.0 percent, while four areas registered rates below 3.0 percent. The national unemployment rate in June was 5.7 percent, not seasonally adjusted, up from 4.7 percent a year earlier.