July 2001 Edition
KETCHUP
Sweden is the biggest user of ketchup spending $4 a year per person on it. Australia comes in second with $2.50 spent on ketchup each year. Third place goes to the United States and Canada who spend $2.20 a year on ketchup. How do other countries stack up? Germany $1.70, U.K. $1.60, Poland and Japan $1.40, France $1.20, and Russia $0.90.
BLUBBER
Prices for whale blubber soared by nearly 60,000 per cent after Norway's controversial announcement that it would resume exports of whale products to Japan later this year despite a ban under the Convention on International Whaling Commission. This is the first time whale exports have occurred since the mid-1980s
PRUNES
Despite a US$10 million marketing campaign to kick off the trendy new name "dried plums," prunes are suffering from soaring natural gas bills and flat sales. To become a prune, a plum must spend 18 hours in a large concrete drying tunnel.
LANGUAGE
Oakland will soon become the first city in California, and possibly the U.S.,to mandate bilingual hiring in government agencies. Laws require agencies to make programmes and services accessible to people with limited English. Most limited-English speakers in Oakland converse in Spanish or Chinese. The ordinance would require departments such as fire, police and senior citizens centres to identify positions that deal with the public and determine whether they are bilingual employees.
McCHANGE
A McSnack burger kiosk being tested at a Midwestern mall, a McTreat dessert center operating at another mall and a proposal for french fries packaged to fit in a car's cupholder were among the new concepts for growth discussed at a McDonald's Corp.'s shareholders meeting. In the suburbs, McDonald's restaurants are testing at their drive-through SpeedPass instant-payment systems and digital menu boards that can be quickly updated with special offerings and displays.
MUSIC
The world trade in recorded music was worth US$36.9 billion in 2000. The number of units sold dropped by 1.2 per cent as falling sales of cassettes and singles outweighed growth in compact discs. The U.S. is the single biggest market, with 38 per cent of world turnover, but Icelanders continued to be the keenest listeners, ranked by sales per head. Norway was second followed by Japan. The U.S. was fourth and Canada fifteenth.
COMPUTERS
According to Statistics Canada, more than one-half of all workers in Canada now use a computer on the job. Data show that an estimated 8.3 million workers, or 57 per cent of the total employed, used a computer at their main job in 2000, compared with 33 per cent in 1989. The vast majority, some 6.4 million, or almost 80 per cent worked at their computer every day. Last year, about 60 per cent of women used a computer at work, compared with 38 per cent a decade earlier. 54 per cent of men did so last year, up from 32 per cent.
COFFEE
Millions of coffee growers are facing ruin because of soaring production and a massive worldwide oversupply. The collapse of the price of coffee beans, though not apparent in the price charged by coffee shops, has been dramatic. The price of robusta, used in blended and instant coffee, slumped to a 30-year low earlier this year. This is despite attempts by the Association of Coffee Producing Countries (ACPC) to create a cartel similar to OPEC. Many coffee growers are not wealthy plantation owners but poor farmers who face destitution if their businesses fail.
RETIREMENT
While most Americans over age 50 are financially better off than their counterparts 20 years ago, the gap between rich and poor is widening. An American Association of Retired Persons report says only 25 per cent of people in their 50s are secure for retirement. Those in the top quarter have a median income of $100,000 annually and are more likely to have health insurance. In the lowest quarter, the median income is $10,000 and sixty per cent are women. The number of 50- to 64- year olds without health insurance continues to climb, from 11 per cent in 1988 to 14 per cent in 2000.
FARMING
Canadian Prairie grain farmers have been warned by the Minister of Natural Resources to shift to raising livestock, potatoes, soybeans, and other specialty crops because Canada can no longer compete with "market-distorting subsidies" granted to European and American farmers. Since 1985, the federal government has provided more than C$32-billion in passive income support to farmers, with almost one-third going to Saskatchewan grain and oilseed farmers. Despite these payments, grain farmers have been unable to compete with their European and American counterparts,
UNDERWEAR
Jockey International, celebrating 125 years in business, has unveiled two lines of Jockey underwear sheets. Borrowed from the Jockey Classic Brief, the company adapts the patented Y-front design to the corners of fitted sheets.
CHINA
The country's efforts to meet WTO requirements are shaking up its legal system and cutting red tape for foreign business. Many laws have to be rewritten; legal concepts such as judicial independence are alien to many officials; and bureaucrats resist curbs on their power. The bid for WTO membership has been one of the most daunting challenges in its shift from central planning to a market economy. In the past year, the Shanghai WTO Consulting and Service Centre has trained some 2,000 local civil servants in how to cut red tape to smooth the way for freer trade.
WEALTH
A recent report by Cap Gemini Ernst & Young states that the wealth of dollar millionaires--those with over $1-million to invest--rose by 6 per cent to $27-trillion in 2000 despite crumbling stockmarkets around the world. The number of millionaires grew by 2.7 per cent to 7.2 million, but 80,000 "minute millionaires" appeared and then disappeared with the dotcom boom and bust.
ACCESS
A major U.K. retailer has launched an online service that will allow blind people to shop over the Internet without using special equipment. The system, developed with the assistance of the Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB), uses technology that converts text to speech, describing products on the company's website and guiding consumers through the buying process. This site is the first of its kind.
JAPAN
Business leaders in Canada have proposed setting up a joint panel with their Japanese counterparts to discuss ways to conclude a free-trade agreement between the two countries. However, it is reported that those in farming, forestry and fishing industries are likely to oppose the idea as 60 per cent of Canada's exports are agricultural, forestry and fisheries products. Japan is negotiating a bilateral FTA with Singapore, while Mexico is expected to propose a FTA pact with Japan soon.
IT
Statistics Canada reports that Canadian companies were hobbled last year by a shortage of information technology (IT) workers. Canadian industry was operating at only 75 to 80 per cent capacity within the IT sector because of a severe shortage of qualified workers.
INVESTMENT
Foreign direct investors' spending to acquire or establish U.S. businesses increased 17 percent to $321 billion in 2000, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. Spending increased 28 percent to $275.0 billion in 1999 after more than tripling in 1998. Investors from Europe accounted for 75 percent of total investment spending during 1998-2000; up from 64 percent in 1995- 97. Spending by British investors, which accounted for over a third of total investment spending, was more than three times larger than spending by Netherlands investors, who spent the second largest amount.
MEAT
Demand in Europe for ostrich meat is soaring. The recent outbreak of foot and mouth and mad cow diseases, has forced consumers' taste to turn to ostrich which costs $15 per kilogram compared to $8 per kilogram for beef. Some of the top export markets for ostrich are Germany, Belgium and Switzerland.
DOCTORS
A survey by the American Medical Association indicates that doctors who use the Internet to interact with patients and administer medical records remain in the minority. Only 17 per cent of doctors said they use the Web for obtaining or transferring medical records and eight per cent use it for health insurance claim processing. However, 70 per cent of doctors said they were Web users, up from 20 per cent in 1997.
PIRACY
The Business Software Alliance reports that one-third of all business software is pirated. The group estimates that piracy cost software makers almost US$12 billion last year. The global piracy rate rose from 36 per cent in 1999 to 37 per cent in 2000, largely because of fast growth in computer usage in countries with high piracy rates, such as China and Japan.
TRANSPORTATION
In accordance with the NAFTA, the U.S. Department of Transport will now process applications from Mexican carriers for authority to fully own and operate companies in the U.S. that transport international cargo between points in the U.S. and provide bus services between points in the U.S. Mexican-owned companies established in the U.S. under this NAFTA provision will operate like any U.S. motor carrier and be subject to the same laws, regulations and procedures that apply to U.S. and Canadian motor carrier companies operating in the U.S.
PIGEONS
At the end of the Second World War, 31 Allied homing pigeons were honoured with a medal for gallantry and devotion to duty. Even today, a hospital in Plymouth, England, uses pigeons to transport blood samples to its laboratory across town, saving money and beating traffic.
MONEY
Sony, the Japanese electronics giant, is moving its currency and fundraising activities to the City of London. The move will bring an additional $50 billion in annual trading to London's foreign exchange and it is believed to be the first time that a large international corporation has moved its treasury and foreign currency operation to a different country from its headquarters. The move to London is expected to save Sony around $75 million annually.
WORK
The average Canadian workweek for full-time employees is 42.2 hours, just below the U.S. average of 42.4 but ahead of Britain at 41.9 hours, Italy at 40.5 and France at 40.3. Employees in 28 other countries were ahead of Canada led by South Korea at 55.1 hours, Turkey at 54.1 and Argentina at 53.5 hours.
HEDGEHOGS
Britain's wild hedgehogs are getting drunk on dishes of beer gardeners leave out at night to trap slugs. The creatures have been found asleep, forgetting to roll into a protective ball. When they wake-up they wobble from side to side and zig-zag as they walk.
Thank you for reading the A & A Economic News Digest. For more information visit our website www.aacb.com or contact A & A Contract Customs Brokers Ltd. at strehler@aacb.com.
Past issues of the A&A Economic News Digest can be found at http://www.aacb.com/publications/ed/index.asp
Sweden is the biggest user of ketchup spending $4 a year per person on it. Australia comes in second with $2.50 spent on ketchup each year. Third place goes to the United States and Canada who spend $2.20 a year on ketchup. How do other countries stack up? Germany $1.70, U.K. $1.60, Poland and Japan $1.40, France $1.20, and Russia $0.90.
BLUBBER
Prices for whale blubber soared by nearly 60,000 per cent after Norway's controversial announcement that it would resume exports of whale products to Japan later this year despite a ban under the Convention on International Whaling Commission. This is the first time whale exports have occurred since the mid-1980s
PRUNES
Despite a US$10 million marketing campaign to kick off the trendy new name "dried plums," prunes are suffering from soaring natural gas bills and flat sales. To become a prune, a plum must spend 18 hours in a large concrete drying tunnel.
LANGUAGE
Oakland will soon become the first city in California, and possibly the U.S.,to mandate bilingual hiring in government agencies. Laws require agencies to make programmes and services accessible to people with limited English. Most limited-English speakers in Oakland converse in Spanish or Chinese. The ordinance would require departments such as fire, police and senior citizens centres to identify positions that deal with the public and determine whether they are bilingual employees.
McCHANGE
A McSnack burger kiosk being tested at a Midwestern mall, a McTreat dessert center operating at another mall and a proposal for french fries packaged to fit in a car's cupholder were among the new concepts for growth discussed at a McDonald's Corp.'s shareholders meeting. In the suburbs, McDonald's restaurants are testing at their drive-through SpeedPass instant-payment systems and digital menu boards that can be quickly updated with special offerings and displays.
MUSIC
The world trade in recorded music was worth US$36.9 billion in 2000. The number of units sold dropped by 1.2 per cent as falling sales of cassettes and singles outweighed growth in compact discs. The U.S. is the single biggest market, with 38 per cent of world turnover, but Icelanders continued to be the keenest listeners, ranked by sales per head. Norway was second followed by Japan. The U.S. was fourth and Canada fifteenth.
COMPUTERS
According to Statistics Canada, more than one-half of all workers in Canada now use a computer on the job. Data show that an estimated 8.3 million workers, or 57 per cent of the total employed, used a computer at their main job in 2000, compared with 33 per cent in 1989. The vast majority, some 6.4 million, or almost 80 per cent worked at their computer every day. Last year, about 60 per cent of women used a computer at work, compared with 38 per cent a decade earlier. 54 per cent of men did so last year, up from 32 per cent.
COFFEE
Millions of coffee growers are facing ruin because of soaring production and a massive worldwide oversupply. The collapse of the price of coffee beans, though not apparent in the price charged by coffee shops, has been dramatic. The price of robusta, used in blended and instant coffee, slumped to a 30-year low earlier this year. This is despite attempts by the Association of Coffee Producing Countries (ACPC) to create a cartel similar to OPEC. Many coffee growers are not wealthy plantation owners but poor farmers who face destitution if their businesses fail.
RETIREMENT
While most Americans over age 50 are financially better off than their counterparts 20 years ago, the gap between rich and poor is widening. An American Association of Retired Persons report says only 25 per cent of people in their 50s are secure for retirement. Those in the top quarter have a median income of $100,000 annually and are more likely to have health insurance. In the lowest quarter, the median income is $10,000 and sixty per cent are women. The number of 50- to 64- year olds without health insurance continues to climb, from 11 per cent in 1988 to 14 per cent in 2000.
FARMING
Canadian Prairie grain farmers have been warned by the Minister of Natural Resources to shift to raising livestock, potatoes, soybeans, and other specialty crops because Canada can no longer compete with "market-distorting subsidies" granted to European and American farmers. Since 1985, the federal government has provided more than C$32-billion in passive income support to farmers, with almost one-third going to Saskatchewan grain and oilseed farmers. Despite these payments, grain farmers have been unable to compete with their European and American counterparts,
UNDERWEAR
Jockey International, celebrating 125 years in business, has unveiled two lines of Jockey underwear sheets. Borrowed from the Jockey Classic Brief, the company adapts the patented Y-front design to the corners of fitted sheets.
CHINA
The country's efforts to meet WTO requirements are shaking up its legal system and cutting red tape for foreign business. Many laws have to be rewritten; legal concepts such as judicial independence are alien to many officials; and bureaucrats resist curbs on their power. The bid for WTO membership has been one of the most daunting challenges in its shift from central planning to a market economy. In the past year, the Shanghai WTO Consulting and Service Centre has trained some 2,000 local civil servants in how to cut red tape to smooth the way for freer trade.
WEALTH
A recent report by Cap Gemini Ernst & Young states that the wealth of dollar millionaires--those with over $1-million to invest--rose by 6 per cent to $27-trillion in 2000 despite crumbling stockmarkets around the world. The number of millionaires grew by 2.7 per cent to 7.2 million, but 80,000 "minute millionaires" appeared and then disappeared with the dotcom boom and bust.
ACCESS
A major U.K. retailer has launched an online service that will allow blind people to shop over the Internet without using special equipment. The system, developed with the assistance of the Royal National Institute for the Blind (RNIB), uses technology that converts text to speech, describing products on the company's website and guiding consumers through the buying process. This site is the first of its kind.
JAPAN
Business leaders in Canada have proposed setting up a joint panel with their Japanese counterparts to discuss ways to conclude a free-trade agreement between the two countries. However, it is reported that those in farming, forestry and fishing industries are likely to oppose the idea as 60 per cent of Canada's exports are agricultural, forestry and fisheries products. Japan is negotiating a bilateral FTA with Singapore, while Mexico is expected to propose a FTA pact with Japan soon.
IT
Statistics Canada reports that Canadian companies were hobbled last year by a shortage of information technology (IT) workers. Canadian industry was operating at only 75 to 80 per cent capacity within the IT sector because of a severe shortage of qualified workers.
INVESTMENT
Foreign direct investors' spending to acquire or establish U.S. businesses increased 17 percent to $321 billion in 2000, according to the U.S. Bureau of Economic Analysis. Spending increased 28 percent to $275.0 billion in 1999 after more than tripling in 1998. Investors from Europe accounted for 75 percent of total investment spending during 1998-2000; up from 64 percent in 1995- 97. Spending by British investors, which accounted for over a third of total investment spending, was more than three times larger than spending by Netherlands investors, who spent the second largest amount.
MEAT
Demand in Europe for ostrich meat is soaring. The recent outbreak of foot and mouth and mad cow diseases, has forced consumers' taste to turn to ostrich which costs $15 per kilogram compared to $8 per kilogram for beef. Some of the top export markets for ostrich are Germany, Belgium and Switzerland.
DOCTORS
A survey by the American Medical Association indicates that doctors who use the Internet to interact with patients and administer medical records remain in the minority. Only 17 per cent of doctors said they use the Web for obtaining or transferring medical records and eight per cent use it for health insurance claim processing. However, 70 per cent of doctors said they were Web users, up from 20 per cent in 1997.
PIRACY
The Business Software Alliance reports that one-third of all business software is pirated. The group estimates that piracy cost software makers almost US$12 billion last year. The global piracy rate rose from 36 per cent in 1999 to 37 per cent in 2000, largely because of fast growth in computer usage in countries with high piracy rates, such as China and Japan.
TRANSPORTATION
In accordance with the NAFTA, the U.S. Department of Transport will now process applications from Mexican carriers for authority to fully own and operate companies in the U.S. that transport international cargo between points in the U.S. and provide bus services between points in the U.S. Mexican-owned companies established in the U.S. under this NAFTA provision will operate like any U.S. motor carrier and be subject to the same laws, regulations and procedures that apply to U.S. and Canadian motor carrier companies operating in the U.S.
PIGEONS
At the end of the Second World War, 31 Allied homing pigeons were honoured with a medal for gallantry and devotion to duty. Even today, a hospital in Plymouth, England, uses pigeons to transport blood samples to its laboratory across town, saving money and beating traffic.
MONEY
Sony, the Japanese electronics giant, is moving its currency and fundraising activities to the City of London. The move will bring an additional $50 billion in annual trading to London's foreign exchange and it is believed to be the first time that a large international corporation has moved its treasury and foreign currency operation to a different country from its headquarters. The move to London is expected to save Sony around $75 million annually.
WORK
The average Canadian workweek for full-time employees is 42.2 hours, just below the U.S. average of 42.4 but ahead of Britain at 41.9 hours, Italy at 40.5 and France at 40.3. Employees in 28 other countries were ahead of Canada led by South Korea at 55.1 hours, Turkey at 54.1 and Argentina at 53.5 hours.
HEDGEHOGS
Britain's wild hedgehogs are getting drunk on dishes of beer gardeners leave out at night to trap slugs. The creatures have been found asleep, forgetting to roll into a protective ball. When they wake-up they wobble from side to side and zig-zag as they walk.
Thank you for reading the A & A Economic News Digest. For more information visit our website www.aacb.com or contact A & A Contract Customs Brokers Ltd. at strehler@aacb.com.
Past issues of the A&A Economic News Digest can be found at http://www.aacb.com/publications/ed/index.asp
Posts
