http://www.xorte.com Xorte - the latest EU and international business, finance and economic news, commodity market news, stock market news, currency market news, real time foreign currency rates. eng There were 2.7 million job openings on the last business day of January 2010, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. The job openings rate rose over the month to 2.1 percent, the highest the rate has been since February 2009. The hires rate (3.1 percent) and the separations rate (3.2 percent) were unchanged in January. http://www.usa.xorte.com/4,0,U-S-Job-Openings-and-Labor-Turnover-in-January-2010,11469.html 2010-03-11 Americans are no longer dwelling on concerns about the economy and instead are focused on rebuilding their finances for the future, according to new research from the Principal Financial Well-Being IndexSM. http://www.usa.xorte.com/4,0,Americans-Focused-on-Rebuilding-Improving-their-Financial-Future,11475.html 2010-03-11 Strengthening our economies for the future in key areas such as jobs, competition and taxation must now replace crisis management, says the OECD’s latest Going for Growth report. http://www.world.xorte.com/6,0,Action-on-Jobs-Competition-and-Taxes-Must-Replace-Crisis-Management-says-OECD-report,11477.html 2010-03-11 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 period between October 2009 and January 2010. The report ranked the leading mobile original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and smartphone operating system (OS) platforms in the U.S. according to their share of current mobile subscribers age 13 and older, as well as popular activities and content accessed via the subscriber’s primary mobile phone. The January report found Motorola to be the top handset manufacturer overall with 22.9 percent market share, while RIM led among smartphone platforms with 43.0 percent market share. http://www.usa.xorte.com/4,0,comScore-Reports-January-2010-U-S-Mobile-Subscriber-Market-Share,11478.html 2010-03-11 The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for Japan increased 1.8 percent and The Conference Board Coincident Economic Index® (CEI) increased 1.1 percent in January. http://www.asia.xorte.com/5,0,The-Conference-Board-Leading-Economic-Index-reg-LEI-for-Japan-Increased-1-8-Percent-in-January-2010,11468.html 2010-03-11 Nearly all consumers (97 percent) now use online media when researching products or services in their local area, according to BIA/Kelsey's User View Wave VII, an ongoing consumer tracking study conducted with research partner ConStat. Among consumers surveyed, 90 percent use search engines, 48 percent use Internet Yellow Pages, 24 percent use vertical sites, and 42 percent use comparison shopping sites. http://www.usa.xorte.com/4,0,Nearly-All-Consumers-Now-Use-Online-Media-to-Shop-Locally,11476.html 2010-03-11 Despite the economic downturn, the global broadband market remained healthy in 2009. Since more people are buying laptops, notebooks and PCs, home networking is becoming essential. At the same time, the demand for high speed broadband is increasing with the popularity of services such as IPTV and online gaming. New market data from ABI Research shows that global broadband service revenue has continued increasing over the past few years regardless of the recessionary pressures. http://www.world.xorte.com/6,0,Global-Fixed-Broadband-Service-Revenue-to-Exceed-210-Billion-in-2014-says-ABI-Research,11474.html 2010-03-11 Very small companies could be exempted from having to draw up annual accounts, after MEPs approved changes to EU accounting rules in Strasbourg on Wednesday. It would be up to each Member State to grant such exemptions, depending on the impact the directive would have in that country. Companies would in any case still have to keep records of their business transactions and financial situation. http://www.europe.xorte.com/3,0,EU-Reducing-Red-Tape-for-Small-Firms,11470.html 2010-03-11 The European Commission welcomes the adoption at the United Nations in Geneva of the first international regulation on safety of both fully electric and hybrid cars. This landmark decision will facilitate the early introduction of safe and clean electric cars onto our roads. The technical regulation adopted at the United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) ensures that cars with a high voltage electric power train, such as hybrid and fully electric vehicles, are as safe as conventional cars. Hybrid and electric cars are increasingly available on the market and are very promising in terms of making road transport clean and energy-efficient. http://www.europe.xorte.com/3,0,Car-Safety-EC-Welcomes-International-Agreement-on-Electric-and-Hybrid-Cars,11473.html 2010-03-11 Slow job creation continues to drag on the economy, according to the Consumer Reports Index for March. This month's findings show that, although the tide of job losses has been stemmed, the level of job creation needed to fuel a consumer recovery has not developed. http://www.usa.xorte.com/4,0,Consumer-Reports-Index-Slow-Job-Creation-Stalling-Economic-Recovery,11465.html 2010-03-10 Americans' confidence in their ability to retire appears to be stabilizing, now that the economic volatility of the recession has abated, but their self-described preparations for retirement continue to erode, according to the 2010 Retirement Confidence Survey (RCS) released by the nonpartisan Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) and Mathew Greenwald and Associates, a market research firm. http://www.usa.xorte.com/4,0,2010-Retirement-Confidence-Survey,11467.html 2010-03-10 The Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries' (OPEC) crude oil production rose to 29.31 million barrels per day (b/d) in February, an increase of 60,000 (b/d) from an estimated January level of 29.25 million b/d, according to a just-released Platts survey of OPEC and oil industry officials and analysts. http://www.commodities.xorte.com/14,0,Platts-Survey-OPEC-Pumps-29-31-Million-Barrels-of-Oil-Per-Day-in-February-2010,11464.html 2010-03-10 The 30-year fixed mortgage rate on Zillow Mortgage Marketplace is currently 4.76 percent, down four basis points from 4.80 percent compared to this same time last week. The 30-year fixed mortgage rate fluctuated between 4.76 and 4.82 during the past week. http://www.usa.xorte.com/4,0,Current-30-Year-Fixed-Rate-is-4-76,11463.html 2010-03-10 As a result of the economic downturn, university students rate job security at a potential employer ahead of pay and benefits, according to a survey conducted by KPMG, a global network of firms providing audit, tax and advisory services. http://www.world.xorte.com/6,0,Job-Security-More-Important-Than-Pay-and-Benefits-for-University-Students-Worldwide,11466.html 2010-03-10 U.S.-based companies led the world in completing merger-and-acquisition (M&A) deals with emerging or high-growth market companies in the second half of 2009, nearly tripling the number of acquisitions made by the second-ranked country, according to KPMG International's latest Emerging Markets International Acquisition Tracker (EMIAT) study. http://www.world.xorte.com/6,0,U-S-Companies-Dominate-Field-as-Acquirers-of-Emerging-Market-Companies-in-Second-Half-of-2009,11462.html 2010-03-09