Seventy percent of North American printers continue to operate in the black even as top-line challenges in sales remain. Printers participating in this years' Ratios Survey attained average profit rates of 2.6 percent on sales—down slightly from 2.7 percent last year. This is still above the trailing 12-year average profit for all printers of 2.0 percent.

Moderate Growth to Continue Through Holiday Season

The Conference Board Leading Economic Index® (LEI) for the U.S. increased 0.2 percent in August to 103.8 (2004 = 100), following a 1.1 percent increase in July, and a 0.7 percent increase in June.

Survey Finds Majority of Companies Experiencing Recruiting Challenges

California Recovery Continues at a "Painfully Plodding" Pace

UCLA Anderson Forecast's third quarterly report of 2014 indicates that the real Gross Domestic Product for the United States will grow at about 3 percent over the next two years, following a decline of 2.1 percent in the first quarter of this year and a rebound of 4.2 percent growth in the second. On an annual basis, GDP growth will rebound a full percentage point in 2015 to 3.1 percent and to 3.4 percent in 2016. Payroll job growth should average 230,000 per month; by the end of 2016 the unemployment rate will drop to 5.3 percent. In California, employment growth is forecast to be 2.4 percent in 2015 and 2.2 percent in 2016, which will drive down the unemployment rate to 5.7 percent by 2016, just 0.3 percent higher than the U.S. rate.

American food retailers seeking to scare up increased sales of candy products during autumn are likely in for a sweet surprise. Last year, sales of seasonal Halloween chocolate candy reached $217 million, up 12%. Such growth outperformed purchases of similar seasonal chocolate products during Christmas and was on par with percentage gains experienced for Valentine's Day.

Strong Increases in Recent Months

The Conference Board Employment Trends Index™ (ETI) increased in August. The index now stands at 121.29, up from 120.62 (an upward revision) in July. This represents a 6.4 percent gain in the ETI compared to a year ago.

Expanding globally tops executive agendas; Continued interest in BRIC countries and beyond

Ninety percent of U.S. business executives involved with business development and corporate strategy have seen revenues from high growth and emerging markets (HGEM) increase and expect them to continue increasing in the coming months, according to a recent survey by KPMG LLP, the U.S. audit, tax and advisory firm. This number is up 13 percentage points from a similar survey in 2013, and while there are still a number of challenges associated with entering new markets, businesses are looking to expand globally.

Exports and business investment finally showing signs of taking over from consumer spending and housing

Unexpected growth in consumer spending and residential construction have seen the Canadian economy outperform in 2014, but continued low interest rates and a cheaper loonie are necessary to sustain growth going forward, finds a new report from CIBC World Markets.

- August posts strong increase following small loss in July

- Large gains for California, Michigan, Illinois, and Florida

Confidence in current employment situation remains high among workers

After two months of record-breaking confidence levels among employees, the August Randstad U.S. Employee Confidence Index fell to 55.9, declining 3.2 points from 59.1 last month. The Randstad macroeconomic confidence index also fell to 44.9 from 49.2 in July, as did the Randstad personal confidence index which decreased 2.1 points to 66.9. The study is conducted online by Harris Poll on behalf of Randstad, among 1,043 employed U.S. adults ages 18 and older.

Whether it is through automation, or computerization, a third of Canadians fear job loss due to the digital age, reports Randstad Canada global study

August data pointed to a robust upturn in the performance of the Canadian manufacturing sector, according to the RBC Canadian Manufacturing Purchasing Managers' Index™ (RBC PMI™), with overall business conditions improving at the fastest pace since November 2013. A monthly survey, conducted in association with Markit, a leading global financial information services company, and the Supply Chain Management Association (SCMA), the RBC PMI offers a comprehensive and early indicator of trends in the Canadian manufacturing sector.