March 2001 Edition
PHONES
Forty million people in the United Kingdom--about two-thirds of the population--now have a mobile phone. In Japan, the figure is 63.8 million--about 50 per cent of the population. About 9 million Canadians, 29.3 per cent, have mobiles.
JAPAN
English has become a key step for climbing the promotion ladder in Japan. An increasing number of companies are looking at scores in English proficiency tests such as TOEIC (Test of English for International Communication) when deciding promotions and pay rises. Many are also making English their official in-house language. English has become increasingly important to Japanese companies amid the globalization of corporate activities, particularly the increase in international mergers and acquisitions and the spread of the Internet. The government is considering a national debate on whether English should become an official second language.
TIME
A British magazine suggest that by the time you get to 70 years of age, you have wasted about four years suffering from colds and flu. The average person gets about 200 upper respiratory infections in their lifetime.
HANDS
According to the Grocery Manufacturers of America, 2000 was the year of "one-handed foods." There is a great premium placed on anything that can be prepared or eaten conveniently while holding a baby or driving a car.
CLAIMS
Companies that spike foods with herbal medicines claiming to do such things as boost brain power or fight infections are getting a government warning: they may be breaking the law. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has written to more than 80 companies warning them to examine novel ingredients used in food products to make sure they are considered safe food additives by the government. The letter also warns companies to cease making illegal - and scientifically unproven - health claims, such as falsely claiming that adding certain herbs makes foods act like antibiotics.
VIEWING
T.V. viewing reached a two-decade low in the fall of 1999. Canadians watched television for an average of 21.6 hours per week, almost one hour less than in 1998, and well below the peak of 23.5 hours set in 1988. Viewing declined in all provinces except Newfoundland and B.C. Some of these declines may be attributed to the fact that attendance at movies hit a 38-year high of 112.8 million visits, a 12% increase from the previous year. Canadians are also logging onto the Internet in growing numbers. In 1999, about 42% of households contained at least one regular user, up from 36% in 1998.
GROCERIES
The U.K. online grocery market will be worth more than $9 billion (U.S.) by 2005, but the U.S. will remain by far the largest market at $32 billion, according to a new report. The U.K. has the most developed online retail market of any of the countries analyzed, including the U.S. This is due, in part, to British consumers being used to giving credit card details over the telephone and so easily adapting to online ordering.
CULTURE
The estimated total government spending on culture in Canada increased in the fiscal year 1998/99, halting four consecutive years of decline. The three levels of government spent an estimated total of $5.7 billion on everything from libraries and museums to nature parks and broadcasting. The federal government spent $2.8 billion on culture in 1998/99, up 5.9% in current dollars. The provinces and territories spent $1.9 billion, a 9.0% increase. Municipal spending fell 7.9% to $1.4 billion.
SAINTS
Pope John Paul is considering naming Saint Isidore of Seville the patron saint of Internet users and computer programmers. Saint Isidore, who lived in the seventh century, was believed to have written the world's first encyclopedia, the Etymologies, which included entries on medicine, mathematics, history and theology. The Vatican first went online in 1996 with its Web site www.vatican.va which it has used to publish thousands of Catholic Church documents and Papal speeches.
AGREEMENTS
In the last ten years, the governments of Mexico, Canada and the United States have made more than 50 trilateral agreements and treaties on such varied subjects as trade, higher education, the environment, labour affairs, science and technology and cultural promotion.
SAFETY
The Canadian government, in an effort to make roads safer and operations smoother for motor carriers hauling between provinces and national borders, is preparing to set up national safety standards and certification for commercial trucking. A national performance regime would end the requirement that carriers be certified as safe in each of the 10 provinces and three territories through which they may operate.
E-TAILING
An Anderson Consulting European study placed a total of 445 orders with 162 dot-com companies and monitored each company's ability to fulfil the orders, process payments and handle returns. Almost two-thirds provided a confirmation of the order, and 27 percent confirmed when the order was shipped. Under 25 percent offered information about whether the product was in stock. Only half the sites had a clear process for handling returned products. 20 percent of orders arrived within five days of the expected delivery date. Where a delivery date had not been provided, 59 percent of goods were never delivered.
DRUGS
It was an amazing year for medicine in 2000. 21 new drugs--an unparalleled number--were marketed by U.S. pharmaceutical companies. This record number of treatments--for heart disease, multiple sclerosis, hepatitis, Alzheimer's, epilepsy and cancers--poured out of the U.S. biotechnology giants.
BUDGETS
A survey of 50 chief information officers from major companies and government agencies in the U.S. found that e-commerce budgets are expected to increase 30 percent over last year, outpacing the anticipated 6 percent increase in overall IT spending. Companies' e-commerce budgets are expected to outstrip overall information technology spending this year as companies develop back-end systems that allow customers, suppliers and employees to interact with each other online, providing cost savings of millions of dollars.
NAMES
According to British advertising agency and brand consultancy Interbrand, four of the five most valuable brands in the world last year were technology names: Microsoft, IBM, Intel and Nokia. Coca-Cola managed to hang onto No.1, but just barely. Interbrand assessed its brand value as being down 13% to $72 billion from $83.8 billion a year earlier, inching ahead of Microsoft at $70 billion.
THINGS GO BETTER...
According to the Far East Economic Review, Coca-Cola is reformulating itself and Asia is Ground Zero for its new strategy. With its flagship brand beleaguered, the company is looking elsewhere for a boost. Setting aside the most valuable brand in the world, the soda-maker is moving into all things drinkable, trying to transform itself into a localized "total beverage company" tailoring drinks to individual countries. Instead of concentrating solely on fizzy soda, Coca-Cola is expanding its portfolio to include everything from oolong tea to New Age-style fruit blends, high-power energy drinks and even plain old water.
AVON
This company started out as the California Perfume Company when the founder discovered that the rose oil perfumes he was giving away were the reason people were buying his books. He named the company Avon in 1939 in tribute to his favourite playwright, William Shakespeare and Stratford on Avon.
LAND
Investors from Japan are buying up some of the richest land Argentina has to offer in the province of Buenos Aires to produce organic foods such as soy and wheat. Japanese technicians will certify the quality of the soy, sunflower, wheat and corn crops produced by Argentine farmers.
BIOTECHNOLOGY
According to Statistics Canada, there were 361 Canadian biotechnology firms in 1999; just over 40 per cent of them were concentrated in the human health sector, 25 per cent were in the agriculture sector and 10 per cent were in the environment sector. Biotechnology revenues exceeded $1.9 billion in 1999, an increase of almost $400 million, or 25 per cent, over 1998 revenues. Firms expect their revenues to exceed $5 billion in 2002. In 1999, Ontario firms had $635 million in biotechnology revenues, followed by Quebec ($554 million). 75 per cent of firms surveyed were small (50 or fewer employees), 14 per cent were medium-sized (51 to 150 employees) and 11 per cent were large (151 or more employees).
CHINA
In 1994, combined trade between China and Canada was $2.4 billion with Canada having a deficit of $18 million. In 1999, combined trade was $11.6 billion with Canada having a deficit of $6.3 billion. Top exports to China are: wood and other pulp, oil seeds and other fruits and grains, fertilizers, mechanical appliances and cereals. Top imports from China include: electrical machinery and parts, toys, games, sporting goods footwear and clothing. Saskatchewan, B.C. and Alberta are the top exporting provinces to China. B.C. Ontario and Quebec are the top importers.
COPYRIGHT
The European Parliament has passed a law making it illegal to circumvent copyright-protection technologies in consumer electronics. It is claimed that the law will make copyright protection stronger in the EU than in the U.S.
POWER
Taiwan's industries lose billions of dollars in production because of energy problems each year, while the completion of a fourth nuclear plant was held hostage by a political war. Last year, 40 power failures or voltage drops hit Hsinchu Park, Taiwan's Silicon Valley. For the semiconductor industry, any power failure, even for a few seconds or a power drop, results in huge manufacturing loses. Taipei is worried about the growing number of computer and chip makers moving abroad--many to mainland China--lured by tax incentives and cheap labour.
RECYCLING
Volkswagen, Germany's biggest car maker, is reported to be setting aside US$470 million to pay for compliance with a European directive that will come into force in 2007 forcing car makers to pay for recycling their vehicles. New cars will be required to be 85 per cent recyclable.
MONKEY BUSINESS
Thousands of monkeys are creating havoc in the corridors of power in the Indian capital, barging into government offices, stealing food, threatening bureaucrats, and even ripping apart valuable documents. The increasingly aggressive animals swing effortlessly between the offices of the defense, finance and external affairs ministries, and have even been spotted in the prime minister's office. There are at least 10,000 monkeys in and around the stately red sandstone buildings Killing the animals is not an option because monkeys have a sacred status in India's main religion.
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