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U.S. business leaders are the most optimistic they have been since before the recession, according to Grant Thornton LLP’s most recent Business Optimism Index, a quarterly survey of U.S. business leaders.

There were 2.8 million job openings on the last business day of January 2011, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. The job openings rate (2.1 percent), hires rate (2.8 percent), and total separations rate (2.7 percent) were little changed over the month. This release includes estimates of the number and rate of job openings, hires, and separations for the total nonfarm sector by industry and by geographic region. This release also includes annual estimates for hires and separations. The annual totals for hires and quits increased in 2010 while the annual total for layoffs and discharges decreased.

comScore, Inc., a leader in measuring the digital world, released its monthly comScore qSearch analysis of the U.S. search marketplace. Google Sites led the explicit core search market in February with 65.4 percent of searches conducted.

The majority of America’s potential homebuyers and sellers - 68 percent - believe that the real estate market and property values will recover in the next year or two, according to a survey released by Prudential Real Estate and Relocation Services, Inc., a Prudential Financial, Inc. company. This exceeds the 47 percent of Americans who expected house prices would rise in a similar survey conducted in April 2010, underscoring a more bullish outlook for the real estate market today. In addition, 86 percent of Americans believe real estate is a good investment despite the market volatility of the past few years.

Consumer confidence fell last week to the lowest level in a month as surging gasoline prices soured Americans’ outlook about their finances and the economy.

Regional and state unemployment rates were generally unchanged in January. Twentyfour states recorded unemployment rate decreases, 10 states registered rate increases, and 16 states and the District of Columbia had no change, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reported. Thirty-nine states and the District of Columbia posted unemployment rate decreases from a year earlier, 9 states reported increases, and 2 states had no change. The national jobless rate fell by 0.4 percentage point between December 2010 and January 2011 to 9.0 percent, 0.7 point lower than in January 2010.

More than two-thirds of business professionals surveyed recently believe their companies are likely to attempt at least one divestiture - if not more - in the next three years, according to a survey from Deloitte about divestitures.

As financial services leaders re-examine their businesses in light of regulatory and policy changes, several tax developments stand out as critical if they are to successfully manage their growth, according to tax specialists at KPMG LLP, the U.S. audit, tax and advisory firm.

Mortgage rates showed little change this week, with the benchmark conforming 30-year fixed mortgage rate now 5.04 percent, according to Bankrate.com's weekly national survey. The average 30-year fixed mortgage has an average of 0.42 discount and origination points.

A survey of 460 seniors 65 and older revealed that 70% believe the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (PPACA) will reduce their Medicare benefits, despite the fact that the bill does not cut Medicare benefits and instead adds some, including a yearly free checkup and other free preventive care services.