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Mortgage rates were down again, with the benchmark conforming 30-year fixed mortgage rate falling to 4.75 percent, according to Bankrate.com's weekly national survey. The average 30-year fixed mortgage has an average of 0.4 discount and origination points.

TrueCar.com, the authority on new car pricing, trends and forecasting, released its May 2011 sales and incentives forecast.

As we approach the official kick-off to summer getaways with Memorial Day weekend, a recent study from CareerBuilder shows financial constraints and demanding work schedules have some workers foregoing vacation plans this year. Twenty-four percent of full-time workers reported they can't afford to take a vacation in 2011, up from 21 percent last year. Another 12 percent reported they can afford a vacation, but don't have plans to take one this year. More than 5,600 workers participated in the nationwide study, which was conducted from February 21 to March 10, 2011.

Only 55% of Americans planning to retire in the next seven years are confident in their ability to generate a suitable retirement income. As a result, these investors, consisting mainly of 1st Wave Boomers ages 55 to 64, are more open to retirement income products than older investors and current retirees. These and other findings are included in the new In-Retirement Income™ report released this week by Cogent Research.

Oil and gas companies believe risks associated with rising oil and gas prices and regulatory changes, including those related to greenhouse gas emissions, hydraulic fracturing and tax incentives, pose the greatest threat to their businesses. According to a report by BDO USA, LLP, a leading accounting and consulting organization, these two risks were cited by all (100%) of the 100 largest U.S. oil and gas exploration and production (E&P) companies in their 10-K SEC filings this year.

Consumer confidence in the overall economy and technology both slipped in May, according to the latest CEA Indexes from the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA)®.

When a high level leader leaves a company, there's a lot of pressure associated with the selection of his or her successor. Even with so much weight placed on future leaders, many companies reveal they don't have a formal plan of action to replace their higher ups. According to a new CareerBuilder survey, nearly one-third (31 percent) of companies with more than 1,000 employees said they don't currently have a succession planning program at their organization. In addition, 50 percent of senior management (CEO, CFO, Senior VP, etc.) and 52 percent of those in a vice president position said they do not have a successor for their current role.

While his overall job rating may have gone up after the death of Osama Bin Laden, President Obama's economic job rating has not seen the same bounce. Just one-third of Americans (32%) give him positive ratings on the overall job he is doing on the economy while almost seven in ten (68%) give him negative ratings. This is only a slight change from March when 33% gave the President positive marks on the economy and 67% gave him negative ratings.

Employers took 1,564 mass layoff actions in April involving 143,927 workers, seasonally adjusted, as measured by new filings for unemployment insurance benefits during the month, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. Each mass layoff involved at least 50 workers from a single employer. The number of mass layoff events in April increased by 278 from March, and the number of associated initial claims increased by 25,404. In April, 327 mass layoff events were reported in the manufacturing sector, seasonally adjusted, resulting in 35,022 initial claims; both figures increased over the month.

Regional and state unemployment rates were generally little changed or slightly lower in April. Thirty-nine states recorded unemployment rate decreases, three states and the District of Columbia registered rate increases, and eight states had no rate change, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. Forty-six states and the District of Columbia posted unemployment rate decreases from a year earlier, three states reported increases, and one state had no change. The national jobless rate edged up by 0.2 percentage point between March and April to 9.0 percent, but was 0.8 point lower than a year earlier.