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Average mortgage rates remained constant according to the LendingTree Weekly Mortgage Rate Pulse, which tracks the lowest and average mortgage rates offered by lenders on the LendingTree network.

NRF’s 2011 Back-to-College survey, conducted by BIGresearch, found more college shoppers this year will make adjustments to their budgets because of the economy. According to the survey, parents and students will spend an average of $808.71 on everything from apparel and electronics to dorm furnishings and food items, down from $835.73 last year. Combined K-12 and college spending will reach $68.8 billion.

As they prepare for their annual back-to-school shopping trip, parents this year will make children scour their closets before agreeing to buy any new jeans, pencils or backpacks. According to NRF’s 2011 Back-to-School survey conducted by BIGresearch, families with children in grades K-12 will spend an average of $603.63 on apparel, school supplies and electronics, within a few dollars of last year’s $606.40 average. Total spending on grades K-12 is expected to reach $22.8 billion.

There are significant gaps between what consumers want from their insurers and what they feel they are receiving, even though overall satisfaction levels are high, according to an Accenture (NYSE: ACN) survey of 7,000 people from 13 countries.

Venture capital investments in China have come roaring back from the economic crisis, reaching $5.4 billion in 2010, a 79% increase over 2009. China venture capital (VC) investments are growing at a pace that’s outstripped every other nation on the planet, according to the inaugural report from Lux Research’s new China Innovation Intelligence service. Lux Research reports that 40% of China’s overall venture capital has backed emerging technologies since the start of 2010, affirming the country’s intent to be a rising global leader in technological innovation.

The global economic outlook remains positive in spite of a sharp deterioration in investor sentiment towards and within Europe, according to the BofA Merrill Lynch Survey of Fund Managers for July.

A new University of Missouri study, sponsored by Prudential Financial, on the timing of individual retirement decisions from 1992 to 2008 demonstrates that Americans are more likely to retire after periods of strong equity market performance, following the retirement of a spouse, or if they participated in a defined benefit (DB) pension plan.

Despite signs of a potential market shift in some areas of property insurance, the overall U.S. property, casualty, and financial and professional insurance market remained stable during the first half of 2011 as abundant capacity offset catastrophe losses, according to a new report published today by Marsh.

Almost one-third of people in the U.S. over 13 play mobile games monthly, and the number of gamers in older demographics more than doubled since 2007, according to Parks Associates.

Javelin Strategy & Research announces its latest research report — “Smartphone Banking Security: Mobile Banking Utilization Stalls As Consumers React To Security Issues”. With the explosive growth of smartphone ownership, zooming upwards of 40% since 2010, and constant buzz about such hot new technologies as mobile wallets for payments, financial institutions (FIs) expected that mobile banking growth would continue to skyrocket as well. However, Javelin’s data reveals that mobile banking has actually plateaued. The Javelin report, based on surveys conducted with more than 13,000 consumers, examines this surprising trend, identifies the real reasons why more consumers aren’t using mobile banking, and presents the steps FIs must take if they want to engage more mobile consumers.