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Consumers are cutting back on expenses and shopping around for the best places to save money, according to survey results released by Ally Bank. The survey showed a significant number (77 percent) of consumers have sacrificed discretionary purchases, including vacations, cars, clothing, dining out and entertainment to increase savings, and nearly half (47 percent) have shopped around for a better place to save their money this year.

While about 70 percent of workers in private industry had access to employer provided medical care benefits in March 2009, only 25 percent of the lowest wage earners - those with average hourly wages in the lowest 10 percent of all private industry wages - had such access, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported. By contrast, nearly all workers with hourly wages in the highest 10 percent of all private industry wages had access to medical care benefits. A worker with access to medical care benefits is defined as having an employer-provided medical plan available for use, regardless of the worker’s decision to enroll or participate in the plan.

PIERS Global Intelligence Solutions, a division of UBM Global Trade, has released trade statistics that gauge the recession's impact on the top U.S. import commodity by volume, furniture. In first-quarter 2009, inbound containerized shipments of furniture fell more than 87,000 TEUs (20-foot-equivalent units, the basic unit of container measure), for a 19.2% decline compared with the same period a year ago.

One of the hotly contested issues in the debate about health care reform is whether or not there should be a new government health plan to compete with the plans offered by the insurance industry to employers and individuals. This idea is strongly supported by President Obama and most Democratic members of Congress but Republican members of Congress unanimously oppose it.

As politicians and policymakers debate how to structure and pay for clinical prevention and chronic disease services within new models of care - both at the work site or through new delivery systems - many are looking to mature employer-based health management programs as models. A new, in-depth survey of employers into the use of incentives in corporate wellness programs shows that smart investments in employee health programs are yielding results.

From corporate board rooms to the kitchen table, Americans are at work cutting the fat from over-extended budgets. This switch into survival mode is equally imperative in the small business arena where tight credit and the nation's newly adopted frugality have combined to create unprecedented financial challenges.

Chief Executives at major high-tech firms have experienced net losses of over 36 percent, or an average of $38.2 million in their total equity holdings in the past 12 months, as the highly volatile stock market yo-yoed the value of industry shares. Even more consequential than this decline in CEO personal wealth is the resultant loss to these companies of the management retention and incentive value of their equity programs. Such value erosion has left these companies without a "carrot or hook" to hold onto or motivate their top executives.

The CareerCast.com/ JobSerf Employment Index, which measures managerial recruitment activity across the United States, found that the number of online job openings in July for C-level, VP, Director and Managerial candidates improved for the third month in a row with the largest monthly gain since January 2008.

The weekly average rate borrowers were quoted on Zillow Mortgage Marketplace for 30-year fixed mortgages decreased slightly last week to 5.29 percent, up from 5.31 percent the week prior, according to the Zillow Mortgage Rate Monitor, compiled by leading real estate Web site Zillow.com . Meanwhile, rates for 15-year fixed mortgages fell to 4.66 percent from 4.69 percent, and 5-1 adjustable rate mortgages also fell to 4.23 percent, down from 4.31 the week prior.

While little evidence exists to demonstrate marked increases in demand driven by an improving economy, general optimism and signs of recovery in key US indicators such as housing prices, car sales, business investment and consumer confidence have driven oil prices steadily higher over the past quarter, according to Ernst & Young's Americas Oil & Gas Center.