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In 2010, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) per capita in Luxembourg, expressed in purchasing power standards (PPS), was more than two and a half times the EU27 average, while the Netherlands recorded a level one third above the average.

In the EU27, money sent by migrants to their country of origin, usually referred to as workers' remittances, registered a constant increase until 2008, mainly due to extra-EU27 flows. This trend was interrupted in 2009 by the economic crisis, but 2010 brought a partial recovery, although figures remain below 2007 levels.

EU27 trade in goods with Russia partly recovered in 2010, after the sharp drop recorded in 2009 which interrupted a long period of growth. EU27 exports to Russia fell from 105 billion euro in 2008 to 66 bn in 2009, then rose to 86 bn in 2010. Imports decreased from 178 bn in 2008 to 118 bn in 2009, then increased to 160 bn in 2010. As a result, the EU27 trade deficit with Russia increased from 52 bn euro in 2009 to 74 bn in 2010.

Which EU regions are the most built up and which are the least? Which region has the highest proportion of the population who have completed tertiary education? In which cities is poverty considered as a problem by the citizens? And which cities are considered to have the worst air quality? The answers to these questions and many more are found in the 2011 regional yearbook from Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union.

Over the years, migration has had an impact on the composition of European societies. In 2010, foreign-born persons accounted for 9.4% of the EU27 population. Their socio-economic situation was in general less favourable than for native-born persons.

PriceGrabber®, a part of Experian, just released additional results of its third winter holiday shopping survey, revealing how consumers plan to use mobile shopping applications this holiday season. According to the survey, 39 percent of consumers have shopping-related apps on a smartphone, 26 percent do not, and 35 percent do not own a smartphone. Eighty-four percent of the consumers who have shopping-related apps indicated that they plan to use their apps to help save money when purchasing holiday gifts. Conducted from Oct. 18 to Oct. 26, 2011, the survey includes responses from 3,574 U.S. online shopping consumers.

The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for Japan decreased 1.1 percent The Conference Board Coincident Economic Index® (CEI) increased 0.3 percent in October.

GDP increased by 0.2% in the euro area (EA17) and by 0.3% in the EU27 during the third quarter of 2011, compared with the previous quarter, according to second estimates released by Eurostat, the statistical office of the European Union. In the second quarter of 2011, growth rates were +0.2% in both zones.

comScore reported holiday season retail e-commerce spending for the first 32 days of the November – December 2011 holiday season. For the holiday season-to-date, $18.7 billion has been spent online, marking a 15-percent increase versus the corresponding days last year. The most recent week saw three individual days eclipse $1 billion in spending, led by Cyber Monday, which became the heaviest online spending day on record at $1.25 billion. Tuesday, November 29 reached $1.12 billion, while Wednesday, November 30 reached $1.03 billion. These three billion dollar spending days currently rank as three of the four heaviest online spending days in history (with Cyber Monday 2010 being the other).

In October 2011, compared with September 2011, the volume of retail trade grew by 0.4% in both the euro area (EA17) and the EU27. In September retail trade fell by 0.6% in the euro area and by 0.3% in the EU27. In October 2011, compared with October 2010, the retail sales index decreased by 0.4% in the euro area and remained stable in the EU27.