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Consumer prices in the OECD area rose by 3.1% in the year to July 2011, compared with 3.0% in the year to June. The broad stability in the headline rate partly reflects offsetting movements in energy and food prices. Energy prices rose 13.5% in the year to July, slightly down from the 13.6% recorded in June, while food prices rose by 4.5%, up from 4.1% in the year to June. Excluding food and energy, the annual inflation rate rose by 1.7% in July, compared with 1.6% in June.

Only half of customer experience professionals have a plan in place for measuring results.

Merchandise trade growth slowed across major economies in the second quarter of 2011. Total imports of G7 and BRICS countries grew by only 1.1% in the second quarter compared to 10.1% in the previous quarter. Total export growth slowed to 1.9%, compared to 7.7% in the previous quarter.

Mobile payments, though they have yet to take off substantially in North America, are a hot topic, with major companies like Google joining startups in the space and hoping to grab a slice of billions of dollars in potential transactions. Research firms disagree on the current size of the nascent market, but project strong growth in mobile payments and their users.

Due to the recent financial and economic crisis, global corporate losses have increased significantly. Numbers at stake are vast, with loss carry-forwards as high as 25% of GDP in some countries. Though most of these claims are justified, some corporations find loop-holes and use ‘aggressive tax planning’ to avoid taxes in ways that are not within the spirit of the law.

The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for Mexico increased 0.1 percent and The Conference Board Coincident Economic Index® (CEI) increased 0.3 percent in June.

With manufacturing rates in Mexico rapidly increasing since last year, Mexico is fast becoming a world leader in the manufacturing business, according to a recent Dow Jones Newswires story. In the first half of 2011, Mexico's production of automobiles has continued at a record pace resulting from significant demand from the Latin American market. Mexican output of cars and light trucks in the January-June period rose 14 percent to 1.23 million vehicles - a record for the first half of any year in history, according to the Mexican Automobile Industry Association (AMIA).

IBM unveiled findings from its "2011 IBM Global Utility Consumer Survey," which revealed that many consumers around the globe do not understand the basic unit of electricity pricing and other energy concepts used by energy providers. The company also identified a list of crucial behavioral patterns that have the potential to impact how providers communicate and drive motivation amongst consumers.

The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for Australia declined 0.8 percent and The Conference Board Coincident Economic Index ® (CEI) increased 0.1 percent in June.

Gross domestic product (GDP) in the OECD area slowed to 0.2% in the second quarter of 2011, down from 0.3% in the previous quarter. This is the fourth consecutive quarter of slower growth.