Market Digest

Companies With and Without Stimulus Projects Hiring at Same Rate, In Part Because of “Disappointingly” Slow Distribution on Non-Transportation Stimulus Construction Dollars
The stimulus plan appears to be having little influence on construction companies’ ability to expand payrolls to date according to a new industry analysis of the impact of the federal program’s construction spending [...]

Fine Print Contains Hidden Penalties, Taxpayer Costs
The billionaire chairman of Los Angeles-based Mercury Insurance Company is sponsoring a ballot measure that would legalize surcharges of hundreds of dollars for automobile insurance, penalize good drivers for accidents that are not their fault, and lead to more uninsured motorists.
Under the proposal, aimed at the June 2010 [...]

Easing in Rate of Decline in Germany Contrasts with Steeper Downturns in France and Italy.
The Bloomberg Euro-Zone Retail Purchasing Managers’ Index (“PMI “), based on a mid-month survey of more than 1,000 executives in the euro area retail sector that provides data one month ahead of government-issued figures, fell from 47.5 in June to 47.3 [...]

Nearly half continue to shop around for better savings options
Consumers are cutting back on expenses and shopping around for the best places to save money, according to survey results released by Ally Bank. The survey showed a significant number (77 percent) of consumers have sacrificed discretionary purchases, including vacations, cars, clothing, dining out and entertainment [...]

Alternative energy storage solutions are now opening up as a significant industry with immense potential. Different technologies in the developmental, near-commercialisation and commercialised stages are garnering increasing attention. Catering to specialised applications and end-user markets, these technologies, if understood and utilised appropriately, can be highly beneficial to end users in the long term.

New analysis from [...]

Global economies have had to face the heat of recession in recent years. Sectors which were growing by leaps and bounds and were at a time the most sought after markets to invest in, turned to dust in no time. During such trying times, the only sector, which has remained unscathed, has been telecom.
A [...]

In the wake of the financial crisis, Chinese enterprises’ performance on the international arena have caught wide attention; a majority of these companies are state-owned enterprises (SOEs).
Monopolistic character shielded SOEs from market contraction
With global trade stunted by economic crisis, many of China’s coastal manufacturing companies are hit hard. On the other hand, State-owned enterprises are [...]

Nationally, home sales are falling, unemployment is on the rise and the economy is expected to grow slowly.
The cities in the Rio Grande Valley area of South Texas are doing just fine, however. In Mission, Texas (part of the larger McAllen MSA), low unemployment, a strong housing market, coupled with solid growth in agriculture and [...]

American Remains Competitive With Other Airlines
American Airlines announced changes to charges for checking a first or second bag. The charges will increase for domestic-travel tickets that are purchased on or after Aug. 14, 2009. The changes apply for travel within the United States and U.S. territories such as Puerto Rico and the U.S. Virgin Islands. [...]

Enterprise Customers More Loyal, Driving ARPU
The future of the North American mobile enterprise applications market depends heavily on the ability to define and wirelessly deliver valuable data to an expanding array of devices and connections. Four premium mobile data applications that have been developed for the enterprise sector will be key components in growing mobile [...]