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On 13 and 14 November the French Presidency of the European Union organised a conference in Lille on the equality of men and women in working life. At the same time, an informal meeting of ministers responsible for equal opportunities is being held to discuss the pay gap and making use at European level of good business practices.

The first estimate for the euro area (EA15) trade balance with the rest of the world in September 2008 gave a 5.6 bn euro deficit, compared with +2.9 bn in September 2007. The August 2008 balance was -9.4 bn, compared with +1.1 bn in August 2007. In September 2008 compared with August 2008, seasonally adjusted exports rose by 2.2% and imports by 2.1%.

The nation's mayors reiterated their call for a Main Street Stimulus package in the lame-duck Congress by releasing the first in a series of reports that inventories each city's "ready-to-go" infrastructure projects - projects that could be started and completed in calendar year 2009 - if emergency federal funding were made available. Information on these projects has been submitted to the U.S. Conference of Mayors from 153 cities of all sizes in all regions of the country. In this first release, cities have identified a total of 4,591 infrastructure projects costing a total of $24.4 billion that would create more than a quarter of a million jobs.

While the nation's current economic downturn is leading to strong sales increases for store brand products, Brian Sharoff, President of the Private Label Manufacturers Association, warned that the industry must be careful to maintain high quality standards in order to insure than the gains are long-lasting.

The US and European economies sent a far more realistic message last week about the outlook for the global economy than the weekend's Group of 20 meeting of leaders from the globe's 20 largest economies did in Washington.

The U.S. Import Price Index fell for the third consecutive month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics of the U.S. Department of Labor reported, decreasing 4.7 percent in October and 10.6 percent over the past three months. Export prices declined 1.9 percent in October, the third consecutive monthly decrease.

By nearly two-to-one, Americans across all segments of the population believe the U.S. government should provide loans to American automakers, according to a poll released by Peter D. Hart Research Associates.

Himfr.com analyzes that China's textile and garment industries are feeling the effects of the current economic crisis. With the appreciation of the Yuan, the export tax rebate rate adjustment and the increase in price of raw materials, the garment industry is struggling as profit margins plummet.

The Deloitte Research Leading Index of Consumer Spending fell into negative territory in October, primarily due to substantial increases in unemployment claims and continued softness in the housing market. The Index attempts to track consumer cash flow as an indicator of future consumer spending.

Online consumers intend to spend less in stores this holiday season than last year, The Conference Board and TNS report, but slightly more online. Consumers will be expecting free shipping and deals not available in stores when they shop online.