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The roller coaster ride continues on Wall Street with the Dow Jones fluctuating up and down, but still close to its record high. The housing woes continue with inventory staying on the market longer and home sales dropping. American attitudes towards their own finances are just as mixed as these leading indicators. When compared to a year ago, two in five (39%) say their household’s financial condition has improved while almost the same number (38%) say it has gotten worse and one-quarter (23%) say it has remained the same.

Chief Executive Network (CEN), the premier industry sector organization for CEOs and senior executives, recently surveyed over 350 companies covering a broad cross-section of the industrial and service sectors. The purpose of the survey was to determine how mid market (non Fortune 500) and smaller companies see their near term business prospects.

Economic activity in the manufacturing sector expanded in September for the eighth consecutive month, while the overall economy grew for the 71st consecutive month, say the nation’s supply executives in the latest Manufacturing ISM Report On Business®.

Hiring plans among small business owners are at their second lowest point in the seven-year history of the OPEN from American Express ® Small Business Monitor, a semi-annual survey of business owners. This fall hiring plans among business owners have dropped, with three in ten business owners reporting plans (31%) to hire full and/or part-time staff in the next six-months. That is down from 34% in fall 2006, 37% in fall 2005, 35% in fall 2004, 34% in fall 2003 and 26% in fall 2002.

With U.S. homebuilders positioning themselves reasonably well as to liquidity amid the sharper than expected housing downturn, maintaining those levels will be an important factor in helping the sector withstand the current overall market decline, according to Fitch Ratings in a new report.

Consumers shopping for a flat-screen TV, digital camera, computer, or laptop this holiday season, are likely to find a better price and selection online than in walk-in retailers, according to the November Annual Electronics Issue of Consumer Reports. CR's latest surveys, based on more than 90,000 purchases made between January 2006 and June 2007, found that online shopping was more satisfying for every category of electronics CR surveyed-even big-screen TV sets.

In September there were 4,270,000 online advertised vacancies, an increase of 165,200 or 4 percent from the August level, according to The Conference Board Help-Wanted OnLine Data Series™. Online advertised vacancies were up (17.5%) over the year (September'06 - September'07). There were 2.78 advertised vacancies online for every 100 persons in the labor force in September.

According to "Mobile Market View," a new mobile consumer study conducted by The Kelsey Group with research partner ConStat, 44.7 percent of U.S. mobile phone users surveyed say a mobile phone with better Internet capability will be a key factor in their next mobile phone purchase decision. According to the survey, only 26 percent of mobile phone service subscribers currently opt for an Internet access plan.

Holiday sales growth will be the slowest it has been in five years, according to TNS Retail Forward. The company forecasted that fourth-quarter growth in 2007 would slow to 3.3% from 4.6% in 2006.

U.S. venture-backed companies and their investors may be in the midst of another liquidity boom, according to the Quarterly U.S. Liquidity Report released by Dow Jones VentureOne. The report shows that 90 venture-backed companies raised more than $10.5 billion in merger and acquisition (M&A) transactions in the third quarter, a 31% increase over the same period last year and the highest quarterly amount since 2000. The quarter also saw 11 venture-backed companies complete initial public offerings (IPOs), raising $662.5 million, a 4% increase over last year. In addition, 46 other companies filed to go public during the quarter, setting the stage for a blockbuster fourth quarter in terms of liquidity.