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Research released by BDO, a leading professional services firm, identifies general economic conditions (96%) as the leading risk factor by far among the 100 largest public U.S. retailers for the second year in a row. Despite this, of the retailers who cite general economic conditions as their chief concern, only 49 percent cite financial market turmoil, a drastic reduction from the 97 percent of retailers who cited it as a concern in 2008. This year retailers are more concerned over unemployment (70%), interest rates (56%) and inflation (41%). Concerns over U.S. and foreign suppliers and vendors jumped to the second spot this year (86%) while credit availability and company indebtedness (84%) dropped in importance (#4), but remains a critical concern for retailers in 2010.

Consumers have taken financial matters into their own hands, implementing proactive spending and mortgage management strategies to steer their budget clear of the economic crisis.

Monthly retail sales figures released today by the Department of Commerce showed slight gains, indicating that although consumer spending is up and the economy is growing, consumers remain cautious, noted the Retail Industry Leaders Association (RILA).

With Wall Street in freefall and fear of a worldwide economic collapse spreading rapidly in 2008, there was no lack of pundits predicting the impending implosion of the jewelry industry. However, even though jewelers - like most retailers focused on luxury items and discretionary purchases - have endured their share of pain since then, most have managed to keep their doors open. A big factor behind that resilience has been the industry's success in launching gold-buying programs, Buxbaum Jewelry Advisors executive vice president Stevan Buxbaum writes in a May 2010 article on jewelry industry news site Diamonds.net.

With the perception of a tight credit market already causing damage to banking relationships, most banks have avoided conversations with their business customers on the recession’s impact. With approximately 790,000 small businesses and 5,000 middle market companies changing banks in the last 12 months, avoiding these difficult conversations with customers may have cost banks potential revenue today and the valuable opportunities ahead once the recovery takes hold.

Healthy retirees actually face higher total health care costs over their remaining lifetime than the unhealthy, according to new research conducted by the Center for Retirement Research (CRR) at Boston College and underwritten by Prudential Financial.

For consumers, mobile banking is about convenience: the ability to check account balances, pay bills and transfer funds from a device they take with them everywhere. For financial institutions, it is a means to deepen customer relationships, streamline operations and cut costs.

U.S. import prices advanced 0.9 percent in April, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported, following a 0.5 percent increase the previous month. Higher prices for fuel and nonfuel imports contributed to the overall advance. Prices for U.S. exports also increased in April, rising 1.2 percent after a 0.7 percent advance in March.

Federal employees are outpacing the general population in putting dollars toward retirement and long-term debt, continuing a trend toward more frugal financial behaviors, according to the First Command Financial Behaviors Index™.

According to the 2010 Online Financial Services Study from ForeSee Results and Forbes, customer satisfaction with online banking fell two points in 2010, from 83 in 2009 to 81 (on a 100-point scale). While a statistically significant drop, the score remains high (80 is considered the threshold for excellence) and, in fact, is far superior to offline banking and most other online industries.