Two-thirds of U.S. employers and recruiters plan to scale back hiring plans over the next six months, according to a new survey. One-third of companies believe that layoffs are likely.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported revised productivity data - as measured by output per hour of all persons - for the third quarter of 2008. The seasonally adjusted annual rates of productivity growth in the third quarter were: 1.5 percent in the business sector and 1.3 percent in the nonfarm business sector.
The European Commission adopted a proposal which will, for the first time, enable all Member States and regions in the European Union to invest in energy-efficiency and renewable energy measures in housing, with the support of European Cohesion Policy funding.
Retail Decisions (ReD) reports that the online retail market experienced a staggering 40 percent increase in attempted online fraud on one of the USA's busiest shopping days, Black Friday.
Reflecting current economic conditions and reduced spending by consumers, retailers are preparing for a holiday gift season distinguished by lower budgets and more practical gifts.
The World Bank called on the international community to join forces and revitalize trade, as a looming drop in world trade threatens to set developing countries back and erase recent gains in development.
In the week ending 28 November 2008 the decrease of EUR 115 million in gold and gold receivables reflected the sale of gold by two Eurosystem central banks (consistent with the Central Bank Gold Agreement that came into effect on 27 September 2004).
In October 2008, compared with September 2008, the volume of retail trade fell by 0.8% in the euro area (EA15) and by 0.3% in the EU27. In September retail trade remained unchanged in both zones.
Price caps for sending text messages abroad and other data roaming services such as video downloads or mobile TV were debated at a hearing of Parliament's Industry Committee on Tuesday. MEPs also discussed with mobile operators, regulators and consumer organisations whether there was a need to set voice-call roaming price caps for 2010-13.
