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Russia should increase protection of intellectual property, strengthen competition and invest more in research and development to boost innovation and entrepreneurship across its economy, according to a new OECD report.

Gross domestic product (GDP) in the OECD area continued to grow at a rate of 0.5% in the first quarter of 2011 despite a continued contraction in Japan and slower growth in the United States as growth in most major European economies and Canada accelerated strongly.

Consumer prices in the OECD area rose by 2.9% in the year to April 2011, compared with 2.7% in March - the highest rate since October 2008. The increase was driven by an acceleration in energy prices which grew by 13.8% in April, compared with 12.4% in March. Food prices rose by 3.1% in April, compared with 3.2% in March.

While a majority of U.S. and U.K. compliance executives say bribery and corruption remains part of doing business in some countries, most companies have not abandoned operating in such places; instead they have chosen to take precautions that include improved internal controls, enhanced due diligence and employee training, according to a new KPMG International poll.

In a global survey of 800 institutional investors and corporate executives, 86% believe there are significant opportunities for growth in financial markets, but a strong majority of respondents – 58% – think that there are major downside risks preventing them from taking advantage of those opportunities, according to a BNY Mellon-sponsored survey conducted by the Economist Intelligence Unit.

As the clean energy industry emerges from a challenging period caused by the global economic downturn, it is entering a stage of rapid change in which business models are being transformed against a backdrop of regulatory uncertainty. In several key sectors, the market is shifting back toward business structures and technologies that were once abandoned, but are now being revived. A new white paper from Pike Research identifies 10 key trends that are part of this transformation.

Countries around the world are increasingly broadening the scope of their renewable energy portfolios amid challenging market conditions, according to Ernst & Young's latest quarterly global Renewable Energy Country Attractiveness Indices. Although global events such as the Japanese tsunami and nuclear disaster and the unrest in the Middle East and North Africa continue to impact the power generation landscape, the increasing commercial viability of different technologies such as offshore wind and concentrated solar power (CSP) is also providing new opportunities for sustained growth.

MFG.com, the largest global sourcing marketplace for the manufacturing industry announced the results of their latest two-part MFGWatch Quarterly Survey of North American Manufacturers. Also, MFG.com has conducted its first MFGWatch Quarterly Survey of European Manufacturers to assess the manufacturing markets of EMEA and expand the survey to measure regional, national and global manufacturing economic performance.

The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for Mexico increased 0.8 percent and The Conference Board Coincident Economic Index® (CEI) increased 0.3 percent in March.

The global recovery is firmly under way, but is taking place at different speeds across countries and regions, according to the OECD’s latest Economic Outlook.