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Premiums for employer-sponsored health insurance rose an average of 6.1 percent in 2007, less than the 7.7 percent increase reported last year but still higher than the increase in workers' wages (3.7 percent) or the overall inflation rate (2.6 percent), according to the 2007 Employer Health Benefits Survey.

The U.S. Census Bureau released annual data on key social, economic and housing characteristics for the nation, states, and geographic areas with populations of 65,000 or more.

Total advertising expenditures in the first half of 2007 slipped by 0.3 percent to $72.59 billion versus the same period in 2006, according to data released by TNS Media Intelligence.

On the last business day of July, there were 4.2 million job openings in the United States, and the job openings rate was 3.0 percent, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported. The job openings rate was unchanged in July, while the hires rate and the total separations rate were essentially unchanged.

Tighter credit for home mortgages will measurably dampen home sales in the short term and postpone an expected recovery for existing-home sales until 2008, according to the latest forecast by the National Association of Realtors(R).

U.S. consumers are obsessed with managing their personal finances, according to research released by Sybase 365, a subsidiary of Sybase, Inc. More than a third of U.S. consumers, dubbed 'nano-economists,' are able to state their bank balance at any given time, and an additional 42 percent typically know their bank balance to the nearest $200.

JupiterResearch has found that growth in online spending by small businesses remains strong. Detailed in a new report, "US Online Small Business Market Category Forecast, 2007 to 2012," the total online expenditures by small businesses is expected to top $70 billion by the year 2012, up from $47 billion in 2006.

Nearly 97% of small-business owners expect their e-commerce revenue to stay the same or increase during the next one to two years, according to a Small Business Research Board study.

Global Insight released the 2007 second-quarter update of House Prices in America, the U.S. housing-valuation analysis, which shows the incidence of overvaluation in the nation's housing market continues to decline, the result of falling home prices. Nationally, home prices are up year-over-year just 2.6%, the weakest gain since 1995.

According to a new study by BDO Seidman, LLP, chief financial officers (CFOs) at leading U.S. retailers are predicting 5.6 percent growth for 2007. Close to half (47%) of the CFOs cited high fuels costs as the issue having the greatest impact on consumer confidence in the first half of 2007. However, looking forward to the balance of the year, there was less agreement among the CFOs on the main issue that will impact consumer confidence. High fuel costs (29%) and the weak housing market (25%) were cited by at least one-quarter of these executives, while interest rates (19%) and the sub-prime lending crisis (15%) were also mentioned by a number of CFOs.