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New consumer research released demonstrates the market potential in North America for biobased and “green” household products with environmental benefits. The Genencor Household Sustainability Index found that four in ten American consumers and about a third of Canadian consumers already have heard of the term “biobased” to describe products or product ingredients used in cleaning and personal care products, clothing, and fuels such as ethanol and biodiesel.

Home values in the United States fell faster in the first quarter of 2011 than they have in any quarter since 2008, when the housing market experienced its worst performance, according to Zillow's first quarter Real Estate Market Reports. The Zillow Home Value Index fell 3 percent from the fourth quarter of 2010 to the first quarter of 2011, and declined 8.2 percent year-over-year to $169,600. Home values have fallen 29.5 percent since they peaked in June 2006.

Nonfarm payroll employment rose by 244,000 in April, and the unemployment rate edged up to 9.0 percent, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. Job gains occurred in several service - providing industries, manufacturing, and mining.

comScore, Inc., a leader in measuring the digital world, released data from the comScore MobiLens service, reporting key trends in the U.S. mobile phone industry during the three month average period ending March 2011. The study surveyed more than 30,000 U.S. mobile subscribers and found Samsung to be the top handset manufacturer overall with 24.5 percent market share. Google Android led among smartphone platforms with 34.7 percent market share.

Kelley Blue Book www.kbb.com, the leading provider of new car and used car information, reports that used vehicles are more expensive than ever, as covered in the company's Blue Book Market Report for May 2011.

More Americans are planning to travel this summer despite rising gas prices, according to the latest American Express Spending & Saving Tracker (59 percent in 2011 vs. 51 percent in 2010). Vacationing consumers plan to take an average of two week-long vacations, spending an average of $1,200 per person, and three weekend-getaways with an average spend of $300 per weekend.

As the housing market continues to struggle with high inventory and a lack of demand, home buyers appear ill-prepared to take out a mortgage, answering basic questions about mortgage information wrong nearly half (46 percent) of the time according to a Zillow Mortgage Marketplace survey.

Economic and business confidence among Chief Financial Officers in Europe demonstrates slight signs of improvement in Q1, but for the second straight quarter, remain behind their U.S. counterparts, found the most recent survey of CFOs conducted by Financial Executives International (FEI) and Baruch College's Zicklin School of Business. Despite a small dip in confidence, U.S. executives' optimism remains stable as they expect large gains in net earnings in the next 12 months. With expectations of substantially higher oil prices for the immediate future, CFOs overall see inflation as a mounting concern but have yet to experience a widespread impact from other world events, such as the Japanese earthquake.

Consumer prices in the OECD area rose by 2.7% in the year to March 2011, compared with 2.4% in February. This increase was driven by an acceleration in energy prices which grew by 12.4% in March, compared with 10.2% in February. Food prices continued to rise at relatively high rates: 3.2% in March (compared with 3.1% in February).

U.S. consumer confidence dropped to a five-week low as the highest gasoline prices in almost three years soured Americans’ views of the buying climate.