The Conference Board U.S. Leading Economic Index Declines.
Contraction Will Continue Through Post-Holiday Season, and May Intensify NEW YORK, Nov. 20 /PRNewswire/ -- The Conference Board reports today that the Composite Index of Leading Economic Indicators declined 0.8 percent in October, following a 0.1 percent increase in September, and a 0.9 percent decline in August....

Investors Optimistic About Their Portfolios, Worried About Economy; Growing concerns about residential real estate and consumer credit suggest weaker economy.
Byline: Dennis Jacobe Synopsis: The UBS/Gallup Index of Investor Optimism poll shows that investor optimism plunged in August while recording its third consecutive monthly decline. Still, even as investors' fears about the U.S. economy grow, they seem surprisingly optimistic about the future of their investment portfolios. ...

Commentary: Home Equity Loans May Present Subprime Redux; Fed "fiddles" while U.S. banking problems and consumer credit crunch worsen.
Byline: Dennis Jacobe, PhD Gallup Chief Economist Synopsis: FOMC action suggests that the Fed still "doesn't get it." The credit crunch is spreading to Main Street as signs of the forthcoming home equity loan debacle are beginning to surface. PRINCETON, NJ -- Wells Fargo gave...

Bloomberg PMI Shows Record Fall in Euro Retail Sales.
Further Easing of Price Pressures NEW YORK, Nov. 27 /PRNewswire/ -- The latest Bloomberg Euro- Zone Retail Purchasing Managers' Index ("PMI(R)"), based on a mid-month survey of economic conditions in the euro area retail sector, slumped from 44.3 in October to 40.6 in November, signaling the sixth...

Chrysler LLC Reports November 2008 U.S. Sales; Continues Aggressive Customer Discounts.
-- All-new Dodge Ram sales continue to gain momentum -- Jeep(R) Liberty sales increased 6% compared to October 2008 -- Chrysler's U.S. retail market share increased 0.6 percentage points in November -- Fleet sales decreased 63%; Retail sales remain aligned with industry ...

Hire Right with Smart Screening.
Hire Right with Smart Screening By Karen Duane Johnson It's an intense process, and we're not talking about working with the local building inspector. We're talking about another type of inspection--the background checks and screening of potential employees, and it's a subject you must take...

Big opportunities: banking still holds untapped growth potential for insurers.
Expectations ran high in the autumn of 1999 when Congress passed the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act that repealed the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933. For decades, federal laws had barred various combinations of banking, brokerage and insurance activities within a single company. Inspired by the 1998 mega-merger between Citibank and...

Shrinking Job Market: The Next Crisis? Gallup's Net New Hiring Activity measure shows sharp deterioration in job-market perceptions.
Byline: Dennis Jacobe, Chief Economist Synopsis: Employee perceptions of the job market worsened considerably in September, marking the biggest monthly decline this year. Analyzed alongside government figures, it suggests the economy lost even more than the projected 100,000 jobs, which should send unemployment above 6.1%. ...

Senate hopefuls' stand on bailout may define race.
Byline: David Steves The Register-Guard The combatants in Oregon's hard-fought Senate race have scrambled for footholds in a political landscape being remade by economic tremors. And where they stand - with Republican Sen. Gordon Smith voting for an economic rescue plan that Democratic challenger Jeff...

Visa Appoints TBWA Worldwide as Agency.
ENTERTAINMENT CLOSE-UP-17 September 2008-Visa Appoints TBWA Worldwide as Agency(C)2008 - CloseUpMedia - newsdesk@closeupmedia.com Visa announced TBWA Worldwide, an Omnicom communications company, has been appointed its lead strategic and creative agency following a thorough review of Visa's incumbent agencies. The agency consolidation, which takes effect January...