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Rising equity markets boosted the funded status of typical U.S. pension plans by 2.4 percent in September, according to BNY Mellon Asset Management. The asset management group, which tracks the health of the pension plans through its BNY Mellon Pension Liability Indexes, reported that assets of a moderate risk pension portfolio increased 2.6 percent in September, far outpacing the 0.2 percent rise in a typical plan's liabilities.

The U.S. health care sector has solid liquidity strength, and ongoing credit market volatility will not affect these issuers over the near term, according to a Fitch Ratings review.

Demand for temporary workers in the United States for the fourth quarter of 2007 is expected to fall approximately 3.9 percent over the same period in 2006, according to the newly launched Palmer Forecast.

Borrowers who shop for mortgages based on the loan's annual percentage rate (APR) often choose costlier mortgage loans without ever knowing it. Using APR as a determining factor when selecting a loan is actually a very poor and unreliable way to comparison shop for the best mortgage, and often leads borrowers into making very costly mistakes.

The Conference Board Measure of CEO Confidence, which had declined to 45 in the second quarter of 2007, edged down to 44 in the third quarter. A reading of more than 50 points reflects more positive than negative responses. The survey includes about 100 business leaders in a wide range of industries.

Employment rose in September, and the unemployment rate was essentially unchanged at 4.7 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported. Nonfarm payroll employment rose by 110,000 following increases of 93,000 in July and 89,000 in August (as revised). In September, health care, food services, and professional and technical services continued to add jobs, while employment trended down in manufacturing and construction. Average hourly earnings rose by 7 cents, or 0.4 percent.

New data has revealed six distinct consumer payment segments, according to a survey released by First Data’s STAR® Network. The 2006/2007 Consumer Payments Usage and Segmentation Study includes a segmentation analysis of specific market groups based on their payment tendencies at the point of sale. The six segments found in the research include the signature debit, PIN debit, cash/PIN debit, cash, check and credit card segments. The segments - determined by an analysis of payment behavior, demographics, attitudinal characteristics, payment preference and value-based characteristics - provide a new way to look at the point of sale payments landscape.

E-commerce spending in the United States is expected to grow 18% in 2007 to $259 billion, reflecting increased consumer comfort with online shopping. That is almost $1 of every $10 spent across all retail channels. But with such growth comes higher shopper expectations.

When making choices to protect your business, yourself and your family, the subject of insurance can cause confusion, says Frank N. Darras, the nation's leading disability and long-term care insurance lawyer.

Public and private sources in the U.S. invested $9.3 billion last year in global health research, according to a new report by Research!America. That amount represents 8% of the $116 billion that Research!America estimates U.S. sources spent overall on health research in 2006.