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The Conference Board Measure of CEO Confidence, which had improved to 53 in the first quarter of 2007, fell to 45 in the second quarter. A reading of more than 50 points reflects more positive than negative responses. The survey includes about 100 business leaders in a wide range of industries.

Euro area (EA13) and EU27 GDP both grew by 0.7% in the first quarter of 2007, compared to the previous quarter, according to revised estimates from Eurostat, the Statistical Office of the European Communities. In the fourth quarter of 2006, growth rates were +0.9% in both the euro area and the EU27.

Records are meant to be broken and some are meant to be broken sooner than others, at least when it comes to private equity fund-raising. The July issue of Dow Jones Private Equity Analyst reports U.S. private equity firms raised $137 billion in 199 funds during the first half of 2007, a 42% increase over the $96 billion raised in 147 funds during the first half of 2006 and on pace to best the record total $261 billion raised last year.

The Conference Board announced that the leading index for Korea increased 0.5 percent, while the coincident index increased 0.2 percent in May.

The spirit business in America is hot and getting hotter, as consumers in 2006 continued to flock to more expensive premium and flavored products, according to the just-published Adams Liquor Handbook 2007.

U.S. employers may be significantly underestimating the overall costs of poor employee health, while failing to fully assess the diseases and health conditions that drive these costs.

The United States venture capital industry is not flocking broadly to global investment opportunities, according to the 2007 Global Venture Capital (VC) Survey sponsored by Deloitte & Touche LLP in cooperation with the National Venture Capital Association (NVCA) in the United States and numerous other venture capital associations around the world.

Public limited liability companies will no longer have to order costly expert reports in cases of mergers and divisions, unless there is a demand for such reports among shareholders. After a three months fast track procedure, the European Parliament accepted a Commission proposal for removing unnecessary burdens on small businesses.

Consumers are continuing to use the Internet to make their travel arrangements, but usage has declined over the past few years, The Conference Board and TNS report.

Online recruitment experienced strong growth across the UK in June, as the Monster Employment Index UK grew eight points. The Index showed that demand grew sharply in the first half of 2007, despite a dip in April. In June, the Index rose to 170, led by significant growth in the management and consulting industry sector. London and East Anglia saw the highest increases in online job opportunities in June, while the South West dropped by five points after a highly successful Q1. Overall, the Index is up 45 points in the last 12 months. The Monster Employment Index UK is a monthly analysis of millions of online job opportunities culled from different websites across Europe, including Monster.uk.