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Banking executives are more intently considering merger and acquisition (M&A) strategies and re-examining their business models to address growth challenges raised by regulatory reform, according to a recent survey by KPMG LLP, the audit, tax, and advisory firm.

China's apparent oil demand in May reached 39.4 million metric tons (mt) or an average of 9.31 million barrels per day (b/d), which was 8% higher year on year, as state-owned enterprises continued to increase output to meet local market supply needs, according to a Platts analysis based on recent statistics released by the Chinese government.

In April 2011 compared with March 2011, the euro area (EA17) industrial new orders index rose by 0.7%. In March the index fell by 1.5%. In the EU27, new orders increased by 0.2% in April 2011, after a drop of 1.7% in March. Excluding ships, railway & aerospace equipment, for which changes tend to be more volatile, industrial new orders decreased by 0.6% in both zones.

The food chain usually starts on the farm, within the agricultural sector, where some of the products are already processed. Most of the food consumed in the EU is however processed within the manufacturing sector, before it is distributed through wholesalers and finally purchased by consumers in shops or restaurants.

Based on first preliminary estimates for 2010, Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita expressed in Purchasing Power Standards (PPS) varied from 43% to 283% of the EU27 average across the Member States.

Despite a skittish U.S. economy, most commercial real estate investors remain upbeat and cautiously optimistic about the industry's future, with very few being dissuaded from eagerly acquiring assets and seeking opportunities across all commercial real estate sectors. In fact, many investors are aggressively pursuing deals as they continue to see signs that the industry's overall fundamentals are stabilizing and even improving in certain sectors and regions, according to the second quarter 2011 findings of the PwC Real Estate Investor Survey.

The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for Germany increased 0.8 percent and The Conference Board Coincident Economic Index® (CEI) remained unchanged in April.

In April 2011, the amount outstanding of shares/units issued by euro area investment funds other than money market funds was EUR 34 billion higher than in March 2011. This increase was due mainly to net issues of shares/units.

A study released by Bankrate.com found that only 24% of Americans have a six-month emergency savings cushion and 24% have no emergency savings whatsoever. These are especially sobering statistics because 6.2 million Americans have currently been out of work for six months or more.

For the second year in a row, about two-thirds, or 65% of Americans say that civility is a major problem, according to the annual Civility in America poll released by Weber Shandwick and Powell Tate in partnership with KRC Research. Among the many aspects of American life impacted by incivility – such as politics, sports, schools, workplaces, among others – is American business, considered by 48% of respondents to be uncivil. At a dramatically increased pace from 2010, Americans are voting out incivility with their wallets by severing their patronage to companies (69%), redefining their perceptions of brands (69%), and spreading negative word-of-mouth about companies (58%).