November 1998 Edition
GROWTH
Six months ago, the IMF forecast that world economic growth this year would be 3.1%; now it reckons that growth this year will reach only 2% - maybe. Japan's output, put at zero growth six months ago, will decline by 2.5%; Russia's 1% growth will slump to a 6% decline.
TRADING
London remains by far the biggest foreign-exchange dealing centre, with average daily turnover rising from $464 billion in 1995 to $637 billion this year, a slower growth than New York's but still a greater turnover than New York and Tokyo combined. Tokyo's turnover slid by 8%, the survey organised by the Bank for International Settlements showed, its first fall since the triennial survey began in April 1986.
CANADA\EFTA
Canada has launched free trade negotiations with the countries of the European Free Trade Association (EFTA): Norway, Switzerland, Iceland and Liechtenstein. An agreement with EFTA would:
-reduce tariffs on exports of Canadian goods entering EFTA countries:
-put Canada on an equal footing with competitors that already have their own free trade arrangements with the EFTA:
-demonstrate the scope and potential for free transatlantic trade, thus complementing Canadian efforts to open markets in the 15-member European Union.
Canadian sectors that stand to benefit from a successful agreement include agricultural produce, lumber, machinery and a variety of manufacturing industries. An agreement would benefit Canadian exporters by reducing tariffs on exports. Last year these exports were valued at $1.2 billion, making the EFTA countries collectively the 15th largest destination for Canadian exports (ranking between Mexico and Australia). Canada currently imports about $4.3 billion in goods from the EFTA nations.
CABLE
Statscan has released the first data from the 1998 Survey of Internet Service Providers and Computer Services. Questionnaires were mailed to 675 Internet service providers across the country. Valid responses were received from 389, or about 58%. Of the 389 providers responding, only 2% of their total revenue in 1997 was derived from providing electronic commerce or, "e-commerce" services. The bulk of revenue, about 78%, came from access services. Providers were asked about their biggest barriers to growth. The cost of dial-up lines (reported by 68%) and the cost of leased lines from upstream providers (61%) were perceived as the major impediments to growth.
IMPLANTS
Italian executives who fear being kidnapped are having microprocessor homing devices planted in their bodies so police can track them down if they are abducted. The chips, called Sky-Eyes, use the satellite Global Positioning System. Chip-carrying clients receive an eight-digit code which they are told to divulge only to next-of-kin or a trusted representative.
WEATHER
Newly released data from satellites showed that the period from February to July this year was the world's hottest six months in 20 years. Some scientists said it was due to man-made global warming; others blamed El Nino.
POTATO
Canadians still reach for the humble potato at the dinner table more than any other vegetable. Potatoes are the principal vegetable crop in Canada, and remain the overwhelming favourite among consumers. In 1997, each individual ate on average more than 72 kilograms of potatoes, either fresh or as processed products such as french fries and potato chips. In fact, potatoes comprise about 40% of all the vegetables Canadians eat in a year. Overall, the preference for vegetables has soared over the past 25 years as Canadians have altered their eating habits and lifestyles to include healthier food. In 1997, they consumed more than 181 kilograms of vegetables, up 27% from the early 1970s.
FOREIGN
Chrysler is to be kicked out of Standard & Poor's S&P 500, one of the main American share indices. The reason? Its merger with Germany's Daimler-Benz makes it, technically, a foreign company.
ENERGY
Running an animated meeting in front of the boss uses up to 188 calories an hour according to Fitness magazine. Cleaning your desk burns about 177 calories an hour. At the bottom of the list is sitting through a boring meeting which uses just 88 calories an hour, about the same as watching paint dry.
HAPPINESS
A happy employee will stick with a company, give better service to customers and recommend company products to others. A study by Sears Roebuck has found that "if employee attitudes on 10 essential counts improve by 5 per cent...customer satisfaction will jump 1.3 per cent, driving a 0.5 per cent rise in revenue.
SHIFTS
Four out of 10 (634,000) dual-earner couples working full time had at least one spouse doing shift work, according to the 1995 Survey of Work Arrangements. This first-time look at the schedules of dual-earner couples showed that the time spouses could spend together was shorter among those who did shift work. Because of staggered schedules, and on average longer workdays, couples where one partner did shift work had considerably less time off together (11.5 hours) compared with couples who did not perform shift work (16 hours). The vast majority of those who did shift work reported that it was a requirement of the job. However, roughly 1 in 10 (proportionally more women than men) did shift work for reasons other than the job requirements. The most common other reason reported by husbands was to earn more money, while for wives it was to care for children or other family members.
GADGETS
Two U.S. companies are marketing computerized-gadgets that let parents track a vehicle's speed, location and how hard it is driven. Another one which uses satellite mapping technology, also helps people who worry about having older parents who drive.
CONSUMPTION
The Journal of Commerce reports that a study undertaken by the U.N. shows that improvements in science and technology and the lowering of trade barriers have contributed to record-breaking consumption of goods and services in 1998. The projected figure is $24 trillion (US), and represents a sharp rise from 1995 when the total was $21.7 trillion. The study by the UN Development Program, "Human Development Report, 1998", concludes that the expansion in consumption has resulted in historic gains in human welfare. While 20 per cent of the world's people in highest-income countries account for 86 per cent of private consumption, and the poorest 20 per cent for only 1.3 per cent, the globalization of markets has led to an exploding demand for luxury items and services in even traditionally poor communities.
BEER
A beer for vegetarians has gone on sale in England. Most people don't realize, according to the Vegetarian Society, that regular ales and stouts are largely refined using gelatine or isinglass, which is derived from the swim-bladders of tropical fish.
POPULATION
On July 1, 1998, Canada's population reached an estimated 30,300,400, an increase of 296,500 persons from the same date in 1997. This increase represents a growth rate of just under 1%, the first time since 1986 that the population has risen by less than 1%.
NATURE
Nearly 20 million people, or about 85% of the population aged 15 and over, participated in one or more nature-related activities in 1996. These ranged from a simple picnic at the beach to camping, canoeing, sightseeing, fishing or hunting. About one-third of these individuals (6.7 million) visited a provincial or national park or other protected area. The economic benefit of nature-related activities was immense. People spent an estimated $11 billion on nature-related activities, an average of $550 per participant. These expenses, which represented about 2% of total household spending in 1996, included campground fees, outdoor clothing, binoculars for birdwatching, transportation and hotels.
U.S. DEFICIT
The growing world recession is pushing up the U.S. trade balance according to the Commerce Department. For the first eight months of 1998, the U.S. trade deficit was $110 billion and is expected to reach $165 billion before the year is out. The deficit in manufactured goods was $124 billion, roughly equal to all of 1997. An important factor is the demise of traditional U.S. markets in Asia. The news is better in energy where falling prices have moderated the overall import deficit and in agriculture and services, although in both cases the surpluses are smaller than those at a comparable point in 1997.
DISPUTES
The European Union has joined the U.S. in a move to streamline the dispute settlement procedure at the World Trade Organization. The EU made 24 specific suggestions for improving the work of WTO panels including the creation of a standing body of professional panellists comprising between 15 and 24 persons which would be on permanent call for the ever-increasing number of disputes being called before panels. The EU also proposed that more time should be taken in consultations between two sides to try to solve disputes before they reach the panel stage.
SPRINT
This third-largest long-distance company in the U.S. is building its own metropolis in Kansas. Eighteen office buildings, encompassing 3.9 million square feet, will sprawl over 200 acres. Jogging trails will wind around two athletic fields and an eight-acre lake, shaded by 6,000 trees. Sprint World Headquarters Campus, as it is known, will boast banks, dry cleaners, a 3,000 seat amphitheatre, a child-care centre, restaurants, a post office--even its own ZIP code. The venture will cost $700 million (U.S.). The primary purpose of the project is to help Sprint lure talented techies to Kansas and keep them there.
APPROVAL
A recent study indicates that Canadian consumers are most likely to approve of ads endorsed by a health or medical organization. But Americans are most trusting of ads that offer a money-back guarantee.
PLASTIC
Products made of plastic have a variety of uses ranging from packaging to construction and automotive parts. More than 2,100 companies that turn chemicals into plastic operate in Canada. In 1996, those companies employed over 107,000 people and generated annual sales of $19.6 billion. Canada produces 2.1 per cent of the world's total volume of plastics. The country's largest market is the U.S. where more than 90 per cent of Canada's exports were shipped.
IBM
In September, Reynold Johnson died. The IBM scientist was the inventor of the disk drive. His first model weighed a ton and stored five megabytes of data. Recently, IBM released a disk drive reported to weigh less than an AA battery and store 340 megabytes.
TRADEMARKS
The first ones were applied in 1266 when English bakers were required to mark each loaf of bread in the event that if a defective one were sold, "it will be knowne in whom the faulte lies."
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