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While oil prices rise in response to unrest in oil producing nations and increased demand from growing nations, Americans continue to discuss and consider alternative energy options and lifestyle changes amidst a slow economic recovery. Six in ten (61%) Americans describe themselves as knowledgeable about energy issues, including sources of electrical power and energy efficiency. This is relatively unchanged since 2009 when 59% of Americans described themselves as knowledgeable about energy issues.

As health care reform marks its one-year anniversary, a new Deloitte report reveals that consumers are spending $363 billion, or 14.7 percent more, on health care than traditionally reported in official government accounts. This spending falls outside of conventionally-counted health care costs such as doctors, prescriptions, hospitals and health insurance coverage. Demonstrating the significance of the amount consumers now spend on health care, the additional costs captured in the new Deloitte study support an increase in consumer discretionary spending on health care from 16.2 percent, for items traditionally reported by the government, to 19.9 percent, which surpasses housing and utility costs at 18.8 percent.

Nearly 13 million Americans aged 18 or older who are on social networking sites will accept any social media connection request from a member of the opposite sex, regardless of whether or not they know that person, according to a recent survey. The survey of 1,011 U.S. adults, of whom 387 have joined an online social networking site, conducted via telephone by Harris Interactive® on behalf of ID Analytics last month, also found that men on social networking sites are more than twice as likely as women to accept any and all invites from someone of the opposite sex (18 percent compared to seven percent for women).

With signs of a strengthening U.S. economy evident in declining initial jobless claims, rising business and consumer confidence, and growing employment figures, the PwC Real Estate Barometer, a new feature in the just-released first quarter 2011 PwC Real Estate Investor Survey, indicates that the fundamentals of the commercial real estate industry are slowly improving and supports the consensus among surveyed investors that the industry is moving past the bottom of the cycle.

With analysts speculating that checking fees may soar, consumers face big decisions ahead. This month's Financial Security Index, released by Bankrate Inc., shows that nearly two-thirds of Americans say they would bolt over increased bank fees.

The latest Harris Poll finds that President Obama's positive job rating has slipped for the second month running. In January he recorded his best rating (44%) since 2009, but it edged downwards to 42% in February and 39% now. The public's rating of Congress has also slumped, with fully 90% of all adults now giving it a negative rating, compared to 86% in February and 84% in January.

Despite the difficult conditions that have characterized the U.S. economy over the past three years, the number of home-based businesses and corporate home offices has continued to increase. According to a recent International Data Corporation (IDC) forecast, the home office market will add nearly 2 million home-based businesses and more than 3 million corporate home office households between 2011 and 2015.

Office Depot, celebrating 25 years as a leading global provider of office supplies and services, announced the results of its latest Office Depot Small Business Index – a monthly survey commissioned to gauge the economic trends of small businesses in America.

Econohomes, the leading online source for wholesale investment properties, released the findings of its 2010-2011 Real Estate Investor Report. This in-depth study underscores the importance of small, local investors in healing the U.S. residential housing market. The report finds strong demand from smaller, part-time, local investors for distressed REO properties priced under $50,000. Econohomes surveyed the buying patterns of more than 17,000 investors across the country.

The Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers (CPI-U) increased 0.5 percent in February on a seasonally adjusted basis, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. Over the last 12 months, the all items index increased 2.1 percent before seasonal adjustment.