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Confidence among U.S. finance and accounting workers hit a high in the second quarter of the year, spiking nearly 10 points from the previous quarter and reaching levels not seen since before the recession. The current index score is the highest since Q3 2007. According to The Mergis Group Finance and Accounting Employee Confidence Index, employee outlook among finance and accounting workers on job security, hovered 10 points above the national average.

Companies that employ people with disabilities reap numerous benefits. Active recruiting and retention of employees with disabilities, including veterans, can both significantly expand the pool of talent and create new business opportunities, according to a new publication from The Conference Board, Leveling the Playing Field: Attracting, Engaging and Advancing People with Disabilities. Among the poignant conclusions reported: Managers who have supervised an employee with a disability are overwhelmingly likely to recommend hiring workers with disabilities.Over ninety percent of consumers are more favorable toward companies that hire people with disabilities. And yet, 77 percent of companies still do not take advantage of existing tax breaks and other benefits available for hiring workers with disabilities.

New light vehicle registrations in the U.S. in 2013 are expected to rise 6.6 percent over 2012 levels to 15.3 million vehicles, according to Polk, a leading global automotive market intelligence firm. At the same time, Polk analysts forecast North American production volumes to increase to the 15.9 million unit range (an anticipated 2.4 percent increase from 2012), driven by an improving economy and capacity expansion in the region.

2013 is expected to usher in more jobs, but U.S. employers will continue to play it safe, according to CareerBuilder's annual hiring forecast. Twenty-six percent of hiring managers plan to add full-time, permanent employees in the New Year, up three percentage points over 2012. The study also points to heightened competition for high skill labor and improved compensation trends.

2013 may finally be the turnaround year for the U.S. IPO market, according to a new survey of U.S. transaction attorneys conducted by KCSA Strategic Communications (www.kcsa.com), a leading integrated communications firm specializing in financial public relations, investor relations, social media and creative marketing services.

Ongoing access to capital and financing, strengthened balance sheets and divestiture activity will continue to fuel deal activity in 2013, according to PwC US. An acceleration of deals taking place during the final months of 2012 may result in a lull in activity during the first quarter; however, these sound deal fundamentals are creating optimism that the balance of 2013 will be a stronger year for U.S. mergers and acquisitions (M&A). According to PwC's U.S. M&A outlook, dealmakers remain hyper vigilant on diligence during the M&A decision making process, analyzing each outcome and the various impacts on investment and return scenarios to achieve certainty of deal success.

The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index®, which had increased in October, posted a moderate increase in November. The Index now stands at 73.7 (1985=100), up from 73.1 in October. The Present Situation Index was virtually unchanged at 56.6 versus 56.7 last month. The Expectations Index rose to 85.1 from 84.0 last month.

comScore reported holiday season retail e-commerce spending for the first 18 days of the November – December 2012 holiday season, as well as its official spending forecast for the season. For the holiday season-to-date, $10.1 billion has been spent online, marking a 16-percent increase versus the corresponding days last year. Thursday, November 8 has been the heaviest online spending day of the season to date at $829 million.

Black Friday might traditionally be the most frenzied shopping day of the year, but this year two-thirds (68 percent) of Americans will not be hitting the stores, according to new Consumer Reports Holiday Poll. Thirty-four percent said they'll shop online during the weekend after Thanksgiving, and an equal number will shop online on Cyber Monday.

Across the country, consumers remain cautious about taking on new debt. Overall consumer debt levels fell $256 billion in the third quarter versus the same period a year ago, according to new Credit Trends data released by Equifax. However, the 2.28 percent year-over-year decline is the slowest rate of decline since the second quarter of 2009, showing that some of the caution may be starting to lift.