Declining yields of Treasury bonds were the main reason for a 0.9 percent decline in the funded status of a typical U.S. pension plan in August, according to BNY Mellon Asset Management, which tracks the health of U.S. pension plans through its BNY Mellon Pension Liability Indexes. The declining yields led to a 2.0 percent increase in the typical plan's liabilities, versus a 1.1 percent increase in the assets of a typical moderate risk portfolio.
Larger financial institutions will increasingly purchase hedge fund firms, potentially fueling industry consolidation over the next three years, according to a survey conducted by CPA firm Rothstein Kass. Rothstein Kass released "Capturing the Opportunity in Hedge Funds," a report summarizing the findings of a survey of U.S.-based hedge fund firms.
While the average credit card usage and debt levels among graduate students have remained stable since 2003, older graduate students carry nearly twice as much credit card debt as their younger counterparts, and just 20 percent of all respondents report paying off their monthly credit card bills in full each month.
In May 2007, 15.23 million UK households had Internet access, according to the UK Office of National Statistics' "2007 Omnibus Survey." That represents 61% of UK households, up nearly 7% since the previous year's study.
In August there were 4,104,800 online advertised vacancies, an increase of 20,600 or 0.5 percent from the July level, according to The Conference Board Help-Wanted OnLine Data Series(TM) (HWOL) released.
Investments by government and government-aided organisations, contact centre service providers and the primary sector are stimulating growth in the African business telephony market. In particular, multinational aid and international loans have helped governments finance secondary and tertiary sectors in the continent, creating a market for business telephony.
Anyone aware of the expression "put your money where your mouth is" knows that spending choices can illuminate our priorities, as individuals and as a nation. So, food companies, restaurants and home cooks that provide healthy options should take heart: U.S. consumers are willing to increase grocery spending for healthier foods - a major turning point in shopping behavior.
Fitch Ratings expects increased merger and acquisition ("M&A") activity to continue in the European refining sector as supply-demand fundamentals continue to be favourable for refiners. The unusually long period of healthy refining margins worldwide, which started in 2004, is expected to continue in the short- to medium-term, but margins will be exposed to high volatility.
The latest composite leading indicators (CLIs) suggest that some moderation in economic expansion lies ahead in the OECD area. July 2007 data show weakening performance in the CLI’s six month rate of change in all the major seven economies. The latest data for major OECD non-member economies point to moderating expansion in China and Brazil, but an improved outlook for India and Russia.
CCID Consulting releases its article on upping user ability as the key to pushing forward development of online banking in China. With the development of Internet technology and the penetration of E- commerce, online banking services have also entered a stage of fast development, and become an important supplement to traditional banking services.
