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Consumer confidence in the overall economy decreased slightly in December, according to figures released by the Consumer Electronics Association and CNET. The CEA-CNET Indexes also showed consumers are slightly less likely to spend on consumer electronics and technology products.

Bankrate, Inc. released the findings of a national poll which found that 40% of consumers say they would not be upset if their credit lines disappeared. In fact, of the respondents who have credit cards, nearly one-third (32 percent) say they will probably charge less in 2009.

Mortgage rates remained low last week and many states saw sub-5.00 percent rates for the first time in recent history. The weekly average rates for 30-year fixed mortgages declined to 4.96 percent, down from 5.15 percent the week prior, according to the Zillow Mortgage Rate Monitor, compiled by leading real estate Web site Zillow.com(R).

Fitch Ratings states that the 2009 rating outlook for U.S. financial institutions remains negative but that downgrades are not expected to be as numerous or drastic as in 2008. Rating actions taken in 2008 incorporated expectations of high loan loss provisions and weak profitability through mid-2009. Government intervention including the Capital Purchase Program has likely reduced the risks of multi-notch downgrades for the largest financial firms. Consolidation is also expected to increase particularly across regional banks.

Fitch Rating's fundamental outlook for U.S. electric utilities turned negative in 2008 and is expected to continue under pressure in 2009 and beyond, reflecting a more challenging capital market environment, cyclical downturn and high non-discretionary capital requirements targeting infrastructure, environmental and renewable construction projects.

The Conference Board announced that the leading index for Mexico declined 5.7 percent and the coincident index decreased 0.2 percent in October.

Retail workers across New York City are struggling to make ends meet due to stagnantly low wages and limited health benefits according to a Fiscal Policy Institute (FPI) report released during one of the bleakest holiday shopping seasons in memory. Recent job losses in the retail sector are likely only to make this story worse.

Information overload costs the U.S. economy $900 billion per year in lowered employee productivity and reduced innovation, according to the latest research from Basex, the leading provider of research on the productivity of knowledge workers and how technology impacts them.

comScore reported its tracking of holiday season retail e-commerce spending for the first 49 days of the November - December 2008 holiday season. For the holiday season through December 19, $24.03 billion has been spent online, down 1 percent versus the corresponding days last year. The most recent week of the season has seen several strong online spending days, including Monday, December 15 with $859 million in spending to rank as the second heaviest day of the season, behind Tuesday December 9 when $887 million was spent.

The U.S. Department of Labor's Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) continued to exceed enforcement goals during Fiscal Year (FY) 2008. The agency's emphasis on identifying and eliminating serious safety and health hazards has resulted in an unprecedented 80 percent of all violations issued being in the most serious categories.