December 2004 Economic Digest - Importing and Exporting

December 2004 Edition

ACCURACY

Atomic clock technology has been made so small it may soon be possible to incorporate super-accurate timekeeping into mobile devices such as cellphones. Researchers believe final development should see a battery-operated system about the size of a sugar lump that will neither lose nor gain a second in 300 years. Standard atomic clocks measure time by 'counting' the natural vibrations of caesium atoms, at 9.2 billion 'ticks' per second.

POPULATION

The U.N. Population Fund forecast that the population of developing countries will soar unless donors give more money to reproductive and health programmes. The world's 50 poorest countries will triple in size by 2050, surging to 1.7 billion people. It is estimated that there will be 8.9 billion people on Earth by 2050.

COLOUR

According to a colour psychologist, the 'in' colour for teachers is now purple. Office-supply stores say their focus groups and conversations with teachers have also led them to conclude that a growing number of educators are switching to purple because it is 'friendlier' than red. Red is considered an aggressive colour that sets off the fight-or- flight response. Purple is attention-getting without being intimidating.

SERVICE

The owners of France's 60,000 bars, brasseries and cafes have said that poor service is driving customers away and have promised to do better. The number of cafes and customers has been dwindling as the number of complaints has been growing. The number of French cafes has dropped from 150,000 to 60,000 in fifteen years.

EXPOSURE

A Boston College report states that the average American child is exposed to 40,000 advertising messages each year and corporations are spending US$15-billion annually advertising and marketing to children up to age 12.

CONNECTED

South Korea is the most connected, high-speed internet country in the world and the technology is having a broad impact on society. Almost three of every four South Korean households had a high-speed Internet connection by the end of 2003. That is double the No. 2 country, Canada, with 27 per cent of households, and more than three times the United States, with 23 per cent.

RAIL

A new report states that the United States' outdated rail infrastructure is beginning to show its age after being exposed to record freight volumes this year. The rail network dates back many decades to the days of the Civil War when single track railroads were built to move troops. The report says the system is unsuited to the modern day operations with trains using double tracks allowing for travel in both directions.

BRAZIL

The global capital for computer hacking and internet fraud is Brazil, according to experts. Brazil is home to eight out of 10 of the world's most significant hackers. Within Brazil, the amount of money lost in internet financial fraud outstrips that lost through bank robberies. Roughly two-thirds of the internet's child pornography pages are also said to originate in the country.

SPEAKERS

Green-fingered gardeners have long espoused the benefits of talking to plants. Now, a gadget developed in Japan is allowing flowers to answer back with music. Called Ka-on, which means "flower sound" in Japanese, the gadget consists of a doughnut shaped magnet and coil at the base of a vase. It hooks up to a CD player, TV or stereo and relays sounds up through a plant's stem and out via the petals. The speakers shoot sound in all directions, filling a room with music.

FILTHY

Paper money is so rancid in parts of French-speaking West Africa that even beggars hate to touch the notes. Now an eight-country money-laundering campaign is about to begin which aims to retire more than 1 billion dollars in decaying currency which is seen as much as vectors of disease as units of exchange. French West Africans have until December 31 to turn in old bills for new ones.

PERFUME

The Comoros Islands are know as the Perfume Isles and export around 80 per cent of the world's supply of ylang essence, an essential oil that is the main ingredient of most expensive perfumes. Originally from the Philippines, the ylang plant was introduced to the Comoros by the French in the late nineteenth century. It takes 100kg of flowers to produce three litres of the essential oil.

TRADE

A Canadian economist has warned that China could eventually supplant Canada as the United States' largest trading partner unless policy makers in Ottawa respond energetically and creatively to the Asian giants rapid worldwide economic expansion. This means the federal government must develop a sound North American economic strategy and a long-term non-North American strategy. China is already closing in on Mexico as the U.S' second largest trading partner after Canada.

THE WALL

Fourteen years and a billion euros after reunification, one in five Germans would like to see the barrier that split the country during the Cold War put back, a new survey has found. A quarter of western Germans wish the 15 million east Germans were behind the Berlin Wall again. 12 per cent of east Germans want out of the united Germany.

COFFINS

The death industry is going through big changes. For instance, mega-retailer Costco is test marketing a coffin kiosk in two Chicago stores. People can't drive away with a pine box tied to the roof of their car but they can see samples. The coffins come in just one style and six colours, but sell for US$800, half the ticket price for the same coffin in funeral homes. A coffin can be delivered to the funeral home of choice within 48 hours.

CEMENT

Construction demands in Asia are one factor crimping global cement supplies and affecting 29 U.S. states. There are 144 cement plants in the U.S. all running 24 hours a day and seven days a week, but they still can't keep up with demand. Traditionally the U.S. imports 25 per cent of its cement.

LOBSTER

Maine's lobstermen have been hauling up phenomenal numbers of lobster for almost 15 years. Their 62.3 million pounds in 2002 set a record--triple the typical catch during the 1980s. That catch was worth more than $200-million and by far the dominant share of the Northeast's most valuable fishery. But starting in the late 1990s, in the southern reaches of the commercial range, the catch has been withering at an alarming rate from New York to Massachusetts and signs of decline have now reached Maine. Some blame overfishing and other disease, pollution and predators.

COFFEE

Four of the world's largest coffee companies have agreed to a voluntary pact to help improve conditions in producer countries. The agreement, signed by coffee giants Nestle, Tchibo, Sara Lee and Kraft, aims to end the use of child and forced labour. The pact also calls for closer ties with growers of the best coffee beans to ensure they get the highest price. Critics say prices will only rise if coffee's huge oversupply is tackled by cutting supply.

ADVERTISING

In the first four months of this year, advertising spending in China surged 36 per cent from a year earlier to $9.1-billion without counting radio, outdoor and cinema ads. China will certainly soon overtake Japan as the world's second-largest advertising market. It is even gaining on the U.S. where overall spending is still about four times as high.

MUSIC

Global sales of recorded music fell for a fourth consecutive year in 2003. Sales of recorded music, both in audio and video formats fell by 7.6 per cent in value and by 6.6 per cent in units, compared with 2002 and is now valued at $32-billion on unit sales of 2.7 billion. The market has declined by $6.2-billion since 1999, a fall of 16.3 per cent. The decline is attributed to three causes; CD burning and illegal downloading; competition for consumer spending from DVDs and cellphones and economic uncertainty in Latin America and Asia.

STORES

The General Merchandise Distributors Council in the U.S. has released a study saying that supermarkets have a tremendous opportunity to increase store sales by leveraging pharmacy operations. The study contends that a new consumer-concentric approach combined with a holistic view of the whole store rather than one segregated by merchandise categories, brands, or retailer disciplines is essential to generating notable growth.

EXERCISE

Money spent on sports and exercise should be tax deductible as part of a national strategy to fight flab, say doctors in Britain who are grappling with one of the world's most rapidly growing obesity epidemics. The U.S. has the highest proportion of fat people in the industrialized world, though many European countries are close behind. Doctors in Britain can already refer patients to supervised programmes in gyms or local leisure centres.

TV

Twelve years after his death, The Lawrence Welk Show is the highest-rated syndicated show on U.S. public television, with an audience of more than three million households. Viewers outnumber those for MTV and BET on Saturday nights. More than 1,000 episodes of the Welk show were taped.

PORT

The Prince Rupert Port Authority has announced that it will triple the size of its Fairview Terminal to 150 acres by 2009. The expanded facility should help relieve congestion that ports on the U.S. and Canadian west coast are experiencing due to the rapidly growing trade between Asia and North America. The projects first phase, scheduled for completion by late 2006, will provide an annual handling capacity of 400,000 TEUs.

LAW

Foreign companies will soon be able to independently ship goods to and from China without having to use the services of a Chinese trading house following amendments made to trade laws recently. Foreign companies will be able to contract directly with Chinese firms without having to go through an import\export intermediary.

LUXURY

Until recently, wealthy Muscovites travelled to New York, Paris, Milan and Swiss ski resorts for luxury goods. In the last few years however, shops have rushed to open in Moscow. Burberry, Hermes, Christian Dior, Gucci, Bulgari, Ferrari and dozens more. Rolls- Royces are sold at the quintessential Russian address: 1 Red Square. Moscow is now one of the fastest growing markets for luxury goods with shoppers spending around $3-billion annually.

DUST

Dust storms emanating from the Sahara desert have increased ten-fold in the past 50 years, threatening human health, contributing to climate change and affecting the environment around the world. Experts believe that a major cause is the replacement of the camel by four-wheel drive vehicles which have destroyed the thin crust of lichen and stones that have protected the Sahara for centuries.

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

November 2004 Economic Digest - Importing and Exporting

November 2004 Edition

CARS

 
The number of cars on China's roads is set to rise sevenfold to 140 million by 2020 the government has forecast. The total number of cars will eventually peak at 250 million, or 150 cars for every 1,000 people. That compares with 500 cars per 1,000 people in Western Europe and close to 900 in the U.S. The projected surge in car sales reflects rapidly rising income levels fuelled by China's economic boom. Foreign car firms have pledged to spend a total of US$13-billion in China by the end of the decade.

PHONES

Cellphones have bitten into hotel earnings according to one hotel consulting group. Profits from in-room phones have dropped 76 per cent in four years, sliding from US$644 an available room in 2000 to US$152 last year. The downturn accounted for 10 percentage of the hotel industry's 36 per cent decline in profits during the same period. Last year it was reported that phone jamming equipment was being sold to hotels in Britain as a tool for increasing revenue from in-room phones.

BEANS

Canada is in a 10th place tie with Mexico for baked-bean eating. The world ranking of estimated per capita consumption: Ireland, 5.6 kilograms annually; Britain, 4.8 kilograms and New Zealand 2.3 kilograms. The United States is 4th at 2.0 kilograms. Canada and Mexico consume 1.2 kilograms per capita annually.

PIGEONS

In Britain, owners of racing pigeons will try a new tactic to deal with losses of their birds to a resurgent population of peregrines and sparrow hawks. They will spray their slower birds with a foul-tasting chemical or give the birds a dietary supplement that has the same effect. It is hoped that after a few bad meals the raptors will develop an aversion to pigeons. Some pigeon fanciers have paid more than $230,000 for stud birds and commonly pay $2,300 for the birds they will race.

FUNGI

It has been estimated that there are 1.5 million species of fungi existing on earth. Of these, only about 10 to 15 of these have been discovered and named. By contrast, an estimated 90 per cent of the world's 300,000 species of flowering plants have already been described. From 1980 to 1999, an average of 1,100 new species of fungi were found and described each year. The fungus kingdom has made many significant contributions to 20th-century medicine, including penicillin.

TEXTILES

The U.S. textile industry plans to petition the U.S. Administration to block the flood of Chinese imports expected next year after global quotas on textiles and apparel are lifted. Leaders of the textile industry warn that the U.S. could lose up to 600,000 jobs if action is not taken. The request is unusual because petitions normally seek to limit imports after they have damaged a domestic industry. American textile groups have joined dozens of other industry groups from 590 countries in asking the WTO to vote on slowing the elimination of quotas.

CAVIAR

The United Nations agency that controls trade in endangered species has halted exports of caviar until the countries where it is produced comply with an agreement to protect sturgeon. The main exporting countries which border the Caspian Sea have failed to provide an accurate measurement of how much sturgeon is illegally harvested. International trade in the world's 20 or so varieties of surgeon has been regulated by the UN since 1998 after a drastic rise in poaching.

TECHNOLOGY

As with many businesses, wine stores are turning to computers for help. An increasing number are installing interactive touch screens to dispense information about wines, wine and food parings, grape varieties, distilled spirits and more. Some allow customers to find wines by country, grape variety, price and other criteria. Each unit has a bar code reader and built-in printer. Buyers curious about wines can scan in the code, read the text on the screen and print it.

IRELAND

A new survey show that Ireland's population now totals more than four million--its highest level in 130 years--with this rise reflecting immigration stemming from the country's economic boom. In most countries a relatively small population growth might go unnoticed but Irish history with its long periods of population decline and mass emigration, means the latest survey is significant. This is the first time the population has exceeded four million since 1871. Thirty years before that, in the 1840s, the population stood at double that figure.

SPACE

The European Space Agency's chief scientist has said there should be a Noah's Ark on the Moon, in case the Earth is destroyed by an asteroid or nuclear holocaust. The ark would be a repository for the DNA of every single plant or animal. The scientists are concerned that if there is ever a catastrophe and the Earth was destroyed, there would be nothing left of the rich diversity of life on the planet.

STOWAWAYS

The number of people found hiding in compartments, cargo holds and containers fell to 481 last year, a 16 per cent reduction from the previous year. The key stowaway route in 2003 was the journey from West Africa to Europe.

NAFTA

Since 1993 when the North American Free Trade Agreement was passed, total trade among the United States, Canada and Mexico more than doubled from US$306-billion to US$621-billion. U.S. exports to Canada and Mexico grew from US$142-billion to US$263-billion. Mexican exports to the U.S. grew 242 per cent. U.S. manufacturing wages rose 14.4 per cent in the 10 years after NAFTA passed, more than double the 6.5 per cent increase in the 10 years preceding NAFTA.

COUPONS

The Promotion Marketing Association (PMA) Coupon Council reports that manufacturers in the U.S. offered more than US$250-billion in coupons in 2003 resulting in $3-billion in consumer savings. The council also found that retailers are increasingly turning to coupon promotions to help attract, retain and reward loyal shoppers--in fact, in 2003, 46 per cent of retailers reported offering some form of bonus coupon program. The average face value of manufacturers' coupons increased 4.9 per cent to 85 cents in 2003.

STORES

Fast-growing Family Dollar Stores opened 109 discount stores in the U.S during August 2004, bringing its total to 5,466. During its last fiscal year, the chain opened 500 stores, closed 61 for a net addition of 439 stores. The chain runs stores in 44 states and plans to open another 500 stores in its next fiscal year.

POST

Britains Royal Mail has missed all of its performance targets in the first quarter of its financial year. The beleaguered state-owned deliveries service had a raft of bad publicity earlier in the year when it was revealed it paid more than US$100-million in compensation for late deliveries made last year. New figures show that just 88.3 per cent of first class letters were delivered on time against a target of 92.5 per cent.

PEARLS

There are about ten pearl farms in the Deching region of China, one of the country's most traditional industries which began in the thirteenth century. China is now the largest fresh water pearl producer in the world. Almost a thousand tonnes of pearls are produced each year by about 300,000 workers around China. In some factories, only about 10 per cent of all pearls produced are used in jewellery, the rest are crushed and made into medicine and make up. Crushed pearls are used in skin creams as pale women in Japan are considered beautiful.

WATER

A group of Texas irrigators and farmers is seeking $500-million from Mexico for crop-loss and other damages caused by that country's failure to comply with a water-sharing treaty. The 1944 treaty requires Mexico to send the U.S. an average of 350,000 acre-feet of water annually from six Rio Grande tributaries. The U.S. in return must send Mexico 1.5-million acre-feet from the Colorado River. An acre-foot is 1,234 litres enough to flood one acre a foot deep.

CLIMATE

Scientists believe a 50-million-year record of the Earth's climate lies in an underwater mountain chain in the ice-clogged waters near the North Pole. An international team is drilling three 500 metre holes deep into the Arctic Ocean ridge for the first time in a complex effort to extract sediment that will provide a climatic history, and may help to explain how humans are changing the planet. Glaciers, the sun and Earth's rotation and orbit are considered the other main factors affecting climate.

ART

Over the past century, an estimated US$5-billion worth of art has been stolen, the Wall Street Journal estimates. Most often, high-profile works of art are never recovered. According to the Art Loss Register, which tracks stolen art worldwide, among the missing are 467 works by Pablo Picasso and 289 by Marc Chagall. The Register says it adds about 10,000 items a year. Of art thefts, 54 per cent are from private homes compared with 12 per cent from museums.

FISHING

Recreational anglers may be responsible for landing nearly 25 per cent of over-fished salt water species caught off U.S. coasts a new study suggests. Researchers say that the impact of 10 million U.S. recreational anglers is far more significant than previously thought. Across the country, recreational and commercial fishers have been pointing fingers for decades over which group is responsible for dwindling stocks of sports fish.

SOURCING

More than half of U.S. consumers (54 per cent) choose supermarkets as their preferred point of purchase for fresh fruit and vegetables during peak growing seasons in their region. Thirty-seven per cent prefer to buy from local farm stands and vegetable stores and believe produce from these stores are fresher. The majority of those buying at supermarkets do so for reasons of convenience. Taste and consistent quality play a key role in determining where consumers shop.

DISCS

A group of record labels has announced plans to introduce a new disc format later this year that combines CD and DVD technology. The DualDisc product will have a full album on the CD side of the disc and the DVD side will include a range of features such as music videos, interviews, photo galleries, concert footage and lyrics. The announcement comes as traditional music sales are under pressure from on-line file swapping and legal downloads from the Internet.

CAPACITY

According to projections of Russia's Ministry of Industry and Energy, airfreight volumes in the country will rise by 10 to 12 per cent in the next few years. There are fears for lack of capacity by 2006 to 2008 due to the condition of the aircraft fleet. Two-thirds of the commercial aircraft stem from the Soviet era.

TASTE

The Far Eastern Economic Review reports that Raw Horseflesh Ice Cream is on sale in Japan. Other new flavours available from Ice Cream City in Tokyo include: goat, whale, shark's fin noodle, abalone, seaweed, chicken, garlic and lettuce-potato.

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

October 2004 Economic Digest - Importing and Exporting

October 2004 Edition

 LATINOS

With around 39 million people, Latinos have overtaken African-Americans as the largest ethnic minority in the United States. The Latino population is not only the largest minority, it is also growing by three per cent a year, compared with 0.6 per cent in the rest of the population. And Latinos are getting richer; their income now accounts for about eight per cent of America's GDP and is expected to reach 10 per cent by 2010. The Latino population is also a marketing man's dream with around 75 per cent living in just seven states, many in just four counties.

SHOES

In the past 25 years, U.S. women's shoe sizes have grown more than men's. Part of the reason is that women nowadays are more athletic. The average womans' shoe size was a six or seven 40 years ago. Today, the average is between 8.5 and nine.

FIRE

Jewel beetles lay their eggs in the bark of smouldering trees. The habitat may be harsh but it is safe from the beetles point of view with no predators, competition or the deadly sap of living trees. Forest fires though, occur unpredictably, and the beetle needs a way to locate them from a distance. Evolution has provided the beetles with a heat detector that can sense a fire from a distance. Scientists have now constructed a replica artificial prototype of this sensor which has significant commercial applications.

MIGRANTS

The number of international migrants has more than doubled since 1970, one in every 35 persons is now a migrant. In 1970, money sent home by international migrants to developing countries through official channels amounted to $2-billion. By 2003 the figure was $93-billion. If unofficial transfers are also counted, the volume of such remittances could be double this amount. These figures are staggering, exceeding the $68.5-billion that rich countries currently spend on official development assistance.

EDIBLE

Soon, hungry summer picnickers will be able to eat their sandwiches and other food without removing the wrapping. Scientists have developed a wrapping that not only keeps food fresh but can also be safely eaten. The film, which contains natural preservatives, can be fortified with vitamins and minerals. Used in liquid form, it can also be sprayed on fresh foods such as fruit to keep them fresher.

WINE

For the majority of vineyards in the French wine industry, these are tough times. Domestic consumption is down, foreign competition and the weakness of the dollar have battered exports, overproduction is rampant and need changes are thwarted by obsolete rules and regulations. The Bordeaux appellation comprises well over 10,000 wine properties, most of them small (about 20 acres or less). Industry figures predict that 600 to 1,000 smaller producers may be forced to close over the next few years.

CONSUMPTION

Luxembourg now leads the world in alcohol consumption. In 2002, its residents consumed an average of 12 litres of pure alcohol per person, in the form of beer, wine and spirits. Mexicans, by contrast, enjoyed only around a quarter as much. Some countries have been curbing their drinking. In France for example, alcohol consumption fell by 30 per cent between 1980 and 2002. Over the same period however, beer-loving Czechs increased their alcohol intake by 12 per cent.

RICE

Global warming could have a severe effect on rice production according to scientists working in the Philippines. Researchers studied 12 years of rice yields and 25 years of temperature data to work out how they are linked. Yields dropped by 10 per cent for each degree of warming, an alarming trend since rice is the staple diet for most of the world's expanding population. World rice production must increase by about one per cent every year to meet the demand of the planet's bulging population.

PRIDE

Uruguay's national anthem at more than five minutes, is the longest. Qatar's is the shortest at 32 seconds. Greece's anthem has 158 verses. The British were the first off the blocks with their anthem: God save the King was first sung in 1745. The tune is shared with Liechtenstein. Most places happily managed without a national anthem until the end of the 18th century, by which time Spain, Britain, France and Austria had adopted them.

COTTON

China, the world's biggest producer and consumer of cotton, looks set for a record harvest this year. Even so, this will not be enough to satisfy demand which in April pushed cotton imports up 186 per cent more than in the same month last year. Since 1999, the Chinese government has relaxed its control of the cotton industry. Farmers no longer have to sell part of their crop at set prices and no longer have the certainty of guaranteed purchases by the state. As a result, private traders have surged into the market.

CLEANING

Researchers in Hong Kong have come up with what could be the next big thing in fashion: self-cleaning clothes. They have coated cotton fabrics with an ultra-thin layer of titanium dioxide.. The chemical has a photo-catalytic effect when put under ultraviolet rays like sunshine. As long as the fabric is exposed to light, it will continue to break down carbon based materials that are on the coating's surface and the dirt disappears without being washed. Unfortunately blue dyes also disappear. Next on the agenda is to test if body odours and wine stains will also disappear.

BLIND

Scientists in New Zealand, investigating the health of guide dogs, have found that at least one in 10 working dogs is seriously short-sighted. Some of the so-called seeing-eye dogs have such poor vision that they would be prescribed glasses if they were human.

SHOPS

Napoleon called England a nation of shopkeepers but high streets have changed significantly over the past 10 years. Butchers and bakers are fast disappearing but the number of candlestick makers has more than trebled thanks to the country's obsession with home make-overs and alternative therapies. In Yellow Page listings, aromatherapists have increased by 5,000 along with dieticians and cosmetic surgeons. Grocers are down by 59 per cent followed by butchers, down 40 per cent; hardware shops, down 34 per cent and bakers, down 20 per cent.

FOOD

In the 1990s. KFC sold 11 pieces of chicken each year for every man woman and child in the U.S. Fried chicken is the most popular meal ordered in sit-down restaurants in the U.S. The next in popularity are: roast beef, spaghetti, turkey, baked ham and fried shrimp. Argentina and Uruguay lead the world in the consumption of beef with the U.S. third. People in Hong Kong eat on average 103 pounds of poultry per person each year.

PEPPERS

Mexican chili farmers, under pressure from cheap foreign peppers, want to give their products the same international brand protection as French champagne or Parma ham from Italy. Growers at a recent congress have decided to push for Mexican varieties to be origin-controlled, meaning Jalapeno-type chili peppers grown in countries like China and the U.S. would have to be called something else. Mexico, boasting 120 varieties of chili peppers, now ranks just fourth in the world market. China is fighting India for the lead position with the U.S. third.

RETAIL

The small-format value retail stores, including dollar stores, are forecast to remain a high-growth darling of mass retailing over the next five years with an estimated 8,000 more stores opening across the U.S. Sales growth estimates for 2004 are 7.5 per cent and an average of 6.2 per cent though 2008.

POTATOES

Starch food consumption has fallen 50 per cent since 1975 with the sale of potatoes dropping 4.5 per cent in the last year alone while people are buying more fruit and vegetables. But leading promoters of Idaho's signature commodity see little interest in shifting any production to a new lower-carbohydrate potato developed in Florida. With 30 per cent fewer carbohydrates, five years of testing in Florida has produced a new variety that scientists say tastes good, has a shorter growing cycle, is disease-resistant and handles extreme weather conditions.

PUMPS

In the Lower Mainland of British Columbia, dozens of faulty gas pumps short-changed both customers and retailers last year. More than 100 pumps tested by Measurement Canada, were found to be pouring less or more gas than the customer paid for because of wrongly calibrated fuel flows. There was no evidence any of the infractions were caused by deliberate adjustments to the pumps and most of the large-volume errors actually hurt the retailers rather than the customer.

TRANSACTIONS

The Food Marketing Institute has requested the Federal Reserve investigate the rising costs of fees for electronic transactions. Food retailers handle over half of all PIN-based and signature based debit transactions. In its request to the Federal Reserve, the FMI notes that there have been 11 credit\debit rate increases this year: PIN fees have increased 267 per cent since 1999: electronic payments volume has increased 500 per cent from 1989 to 2000 and card associations have collected over US$29-billion in 2003 on interchange fees.

FRAUD

A green baseball cap is the latest weapon in Europe's fight against farm fraud. A yo-yo size satellite receiver on the cap collects global positioning signals beaming down from seven military satellites in orbit more than 300 kilometres above. The information is fed to a research scientist holding a hand-held computer who walks the edge of a field that would once have taken surveyors a day to survey. Within minutes the computer calculates the area of the field. That's the EU's answer to swindlers who have bilked the EU budget for more than $125-million a year in subsidies for non-existent crops.

BEDBUGS

They are about one-eighth inch long, reddish-brown in colour, with oval, flattened bodies, they are world travellers hitching rides in suitcases and clothing, and world-class squatters equally happy in four-star hotel rooms, homeless shelters and luxury apartments. They can lay 500 eggs in a lifetime and can wait a year for a meal. They were common in North America 50 years ago but the widespread use of DDT almost eliminated them. But they remained prevalent elsewhere in the world. Now, as a result of immigration and increasing international travel, these bloodsucking parasites are on the move again. The good news is that they don't transmit disease, but they do feed on humans.

KIOSKS

The Canadian self-service kiosk industry seems to be making a comeback after months of false starts and languishing returns. Some players have reported up to a fourfold increase in business in 2003 compared with the previous year. More than 250,000 high-tech kiosks are expected to be installed in North American stores and public areas by 2005. Digital photography kiosks, airline check-ins and retail self check-out are among newer applications.

CASHBACK

Police in England are mystified by the robber who broke into a bank and stole $211,300. A week late he broke into the bank again and returned most of the money.

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

September 2004 Economic Digest - Importing and Exporting

September 2004 Edition

WAVES

 
Massive waves up to 100 feet in height, once thought to be extremely rare, actually roam the oceans quite frequently and could threaten to overturn ships and oil rigs. A study conducted on radar images gathered by the European Space Agency revealed at least 10 of the rogue waves over a three week period. These waves are suspected of having played a role in the sinking of some of the 200 large supertankers and container ships that have gone down in bad weather over the past two decades. Most ships and oil rigs are designed to withstand waves up to 50 feet.

ZONES

The Association of Canadian Port Authorities is recommending that Canada should consider creating free-trade zones at its major ports to cut red tape and keep the country competitive with ports south of the border. The U.S. government has announced $30-billion for port infrastructure in coming years. In the absence of any similar promise from Canadian authorities, the country stands to fall behind and lose business to more efficient and streamlined U.S. counterparts.

GUM

Modern chewing gum originated around 1870 when someone arrived in New York with a load of chicle. The substance, a latex gum from the sapodilla tree of Central America, was considered a potential substitute for rubber.However, it was discovered that chicle made lousy tires but great chewing gum, much superior to the mixture of spruce bark and paraffin wax that people then chewed. Chicle gave way to artificial ingredients and gum's chewy base nowadays comes not from Central American trees but ExxonMobil polymers.

VALUE

The Christian Science Monitor reports that a tiny but growing number of consumers are spending as much as US$20,000 for hand-made mattresses boasting superior coils and layered with cashmere and Belgian silk.

CHARMING

The first dial-a-snake-charmer service is about to be launched in India. Luring snakes out of baskets using a "magical" flute is illegal because of animal-conservation laws, but conservationists plan to find employment for out-of-work charmers by hiring them to catch snakes that have slipped into people's homes. A charmer can earn between $1.40 and $14.00 to catch a snake while he would typically earn about $1.00 for a whole day of playing his flute and making a snake dance for the crowds.

PARTS

The world's auto makers announced $14.7-billion worth of new vehicle assembly investments in the first six months of 2004., but none of the money will be spent in Canada or the U.S. as auto companies instead pump billions into China and Eastern Europe.Auto makers unveiled $7.4-billion of new investments in China during the period, compared with $3.2-billion in the same period a year earlier. They will pump another $2.8-billion into Eastern Europe compared with $1.4-billion in the first half of 2003.

SECURITY

Mexico's top federal prosecutors and investigators are now getting chip implants in their arms to access restricted areas inside the attorney general's headquarters in Mexico City. The chips are designed to provide certainty about who accessed sensitive data. Mexico's biggest security problem until now has been corruption by officials themselves.

GRAIN

Food shortages were second only to oil prices in causing the huge global inflation of 1973 to 1975 and history is threatening to repeat itself. Despite a hoped-for small rise this year, China's grain output is still some 12 per cent below its peak and the country is experiencing another large grain deficit. Most of India is awaiting a belated monsoon. If it doesn't come, India's ability to export food will be in jeopardy. Australia too is in the midst of another drought.

RAGE

Japanese inventors have patented a car that expresses emotions as an answer to road rage. The car laughs, cries, or shows anger and sings to the occupants. Called a "vehicle expression system," the inventors say that such a system is vital for today's traffic congestion. and that cars with "expression functions such as laughing and crying" could create a"a joyful, organic atmosphere."

BEAUTY

China only recently lifted a 54-year ban on beauty pageants. Now, China has announced a new artificial beauty pageant for Miss Plastic Surgery. The contest will be open only to those who have undergone cosmetic surgery and can prove her beauty is man-made. Plastic surgery is on the increase in China with around $2.4-billion spent yearly on beauty treatments. China now has a million beauty salons employing six million people. The rise of the salons is based on the assumption that beauty is a route to success.

TIRES

A record 80 per cent of old tires were recycled for other uses, including fuel and playground equipment in 2003, according to a U.S. industry report. Back in the early 90s, there was over a billion tires in stockpiles, no one knew what could be done with them and the markets that did exist were very small. In 1990, only 11 per cent of scrap tires were recycled. In 2001, 78 per cent were recycled. and this figure is expected to grow to about 85 per cent by 2006. Last year, 223 million old tires were recycled and 290 million new tires produced.

VALUE

Volunteer work done by Canadians 65 or older amounts to over 161 million hours annually which translates into almost C$2-billion of paid work, according to the University of Guelph.

CHANGE

Next January, changes will be needed to the lowly bar code which appears on everything from chocolate bars to chairs and identifies products as they move through retailers' checkout scanners. By Jan 1, 2005, North American retailers will have to switch to the European 13-digit code from their current 12-digit code. If retailers fail to act, come January, the lines in grocery stores could back up along with lost business, higher supply chain costs, inventory mistakes, pricing errors. and the loss of customer loyalty.

DISCOUNT

A London restaurant recently promised free meals to any customer found to be related to Genghis Kahn. The unusual promotion is to mark the Mongolian government's decision to allow citizens to have surnames for the first time since they were banned by the communists in the 1920s. The restaurant has teamed up with a DNA-based research company to analyze cells from cheek swabs of customers. It is estimated that 17 million people worldwide, including the British royal family, Iranian royalty and the family of Dracula, are descendants of the Mongol leader.

CONGESTION

Moscow, famed under Communism for its slick public transport system, is to tackle its traffic crisis by using helicopters to shuttle passengers into and out of the city.The city is planning 10 helicopter terminals on the Moscow ring road to enable tourists and businessmen to avoid the congested roads that have turned the capital into a motorists' nightmare.

MANHOLES

A hand-carved circle of Coast Salish tadpoles and a digitally rendered constellation of bacterial dots are the two winning designs that will grace Vancouver, B.C.'s new manhole covers. The city recently sponsored a competition to design two new cast-iron manhole covers for Vancouver's separate storm and sanitary sewer systems. The competition surprised city staff when it drew a staggering 643 entries. Each manhole weighs 200 pounds.

CURIOUS

A Yorkshire, England, company has won a contract to export tea to China. The company, which already exports to 30 countries, recently dispatched $75,000 worth of flavoured teas to Shanghai.

DECAF

Scientists report that they have found a naturally decaffeinated version of the world's most popular coffee bean. Full strength coffee can raise blood pressure, trigger palpitations and disrupt sleep, and decaffeinated now accounts for about ten per cent of the world market. But the decaffeinating process often flushes out important flavour compounds, so the demand for a flavoursome, low-caffeine blend remains high. After screening 3,000 coffee trees from around the world, the scientists have isolated three plants from Ethiopia with a naturally low caffeine content

TRADE

Australia and Thailand have signed a trade deal which is expected to boost the economies of both countries by billions of dollars. The agreement is expected to boost Australia's GDP by $6.7-billion and Thailand's by $32-billion over 20 years. Thailand exports cars, fruit and vegetables to Australia while Australia exports fuel and chemicals to Thailand. Last year, Australia signed a free trade deal with Singapore.

CHOCOLATE

The price of chocolate bars could soar if diseases that have devastated South America's cocoa crops are allowed to spread to other parts of the world. One expert in fungi fears that infections such as Witches Broom disease could spread to Africa and trigger an international shortage of chocolate. Fungal infections of cocoa have cause economic devastation in Brazil putting 200,000 people out of work.

SHIFTS

According to recently released census figures, because of the demand for 7\24 service, one in five U.S. workers now works the late-shift--going to work between midnight and 6.30am. Once the haunt of nurses, police officers and factory workers, the "graveyard shift" has grown to include computer support staff, research scientists and brokers working trading desks halfway around the world.

PRODUCE

Mexican agricultural producers are being displaced in their own market because it is more common to find fruits and vegetables originating in the U.S. or Chile at the main supermarkets. The lack of investment and technology as well as a limited packaging system and good product presentation are limiting Mexican products from supermarkets.

COMPETITION

Hong Kong is a key air passenger hub for East Asia with its new airport handling 35 million passengers a year. Now however, China has opened a giant airport in Guangzhou (formally Canton) at a cost of US$2.5 billion with an eventual planned capacity of 80 million passengers a year. This is in the heart of the Pearl River Delta, known as the workshop of the world for the string of manufacturing cities that have sprung up there in recent years. It was this growth that, up to now, has made Hong Kong the primary East Asia port and service centre.

DINING

A fillet of red snapper costs about $7.95 a pound, but you might want to take a DNA kit to the fish counter as it may be fake. A University of Carolina study revealed that 75 per cent of store-labelled red snapper that it tested in eight states bore the genetic makeup of other fish. The profits from mislabelling fish can exceed those of drug dealing.

INTERNET

A number of Finish conscripts have been excused their full term of military service because they are addicted to the Internet. Doctors have found the young men miss their computers too much to cope with their compulsory six months in the forces.

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

August 2004 Economic Digest - Importing and Exporting

August 2004 Edition

BILLIONS

 
The Russian capital Moscow now boasts more billionaires than any other city in the world, according to a survey by Forbes magazine. The study also estimates that a quarter of Russian wealth is now concentrated in the hands of just 100 people. Just a dozen years after the fall of communism, the Russian capital is home to 33 billionaires according to Forbes, while New York has just 31.

PAPER

A paper disc that can hold up to five times more data than current DVDs has been developed by two Japanese companies. The disc is 51 per cent paper and could offer foolproof security. Since a paper disc can be cut by scissors easily, it is simple to preserve data security when disposing of the disc. The disc is based on blue-laser DVD research and can hold 25 gigabytes of information, compared to the current limit of 4.7 gigabytes for a standard DVD.

CREDIT

A Spanish nightclub is giving guests a chance to pay for drink and admission by using a tiny microchip that is planted under their skin. The VeriChip, a U.S. product, can be injected into any part of the body as long as it can be flashed in front of a scanner.

ASSETS

The value of assets held abroad by Canadians in 2003 decreased for the first time since 1948. Assets held abroad by Canadians reached C$399-billion, down from a record C$429-billion at the end of 2002. At the same time, foreign direct investment in Canada rose to C$358-billion, up from C$349-billion at the end of 2002. Direct investment assets in the U.S. by Canadians declined by C$32-billion to C$165-billion. The strong Canadian dollar lowered the value of overseas assets by C$55-billion.

SADNESS

A psychologist with the Carnegie Mellon University warns people who are feeling sad not to buy or sell anything, and to stay away from Ebay or other shopping sites, until they cheer up. This is because people tend to pay considerably more for an item when they are sad. Also, feelings of disgust can lead people to sell things at a lower price than they would otherwise.

TRADE

According to a report by the Korea International Trade Association or KITA, South Korea's share of outbound and inbound shipments took up 38 per cent of the total volume of trade conducted in Northeast Asia last year. That's higher than Japan's 31 per cent but lower than China's 40 per cent, Three-way trade between among South Korea, Japan and China totalled US$493-billion, accounting for nearly 24 per cent of the world's trade volume in 2003.

HEALTHY

Architects are designing a new generation of "fit" office buildings that encourage employees to become healthier by countering the chair-bound culture. Some of their ideas: Meeting rooms and cafeterias situated far away from offices: "Skip stop" elevators that discourage their use by stopping only at every third floor: Positioning corporate works of art so as to attract employees up stairs rather than using elevators.

COLOUR

A truly blue rose, according to experts, would capture five per cent of the billion-dollar international cut flower market. Now, two U.S. biochemists have accidentally found a liver enzyme that turns bacteria blue and have patented the process. If they can capitalize on their discovery by moving the gene into plants, they could produce a blue rose.

FOOD

If the combined forces of France's wine industry and the majority of French parliamentarians have their way, wine is to be reclassified as a natural food rather than an alcoholic drink. The change would allow wine makers greater latitude in advertising their product at a time when French wine consumption is falling. Forty years ago, the average French consumer drank 134 bottles of wine a year compared to only 77 today. The fall is blamed on changes in working habits, the arrival of numerous new alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks and government anti-drinking campaigns.

VISAS

According to a study by eight trade associations, U.S. companies have lost more than US$30-billion since July 2002 because of government delays in granting visas to business travellers from other countries. Visa applicants from China, India and Russia have had the greatest difficulty in obtaining timely visa processing. Malaysia, Indonesia and South Korea were ranked next in order. The report cites examples that include jets left on the tarmac in Seattle because foreign buyers couldn't get visas for pilots to retrieve them.

CHECKOUT

A new study from IHL Consulting forecasts that self-service shopping will generate transactions worth US$70-billion in 2004, rising to over US$-330-billion by 2007. In stores currently using self-checkout systems, as much as 40 per cent of the total number of transactions now go through the self-checkout, allowing retailers to provide more customer assistance within the aisles to help customers to find products.

NEWSPAPERS

The world's newspapers enjoyed buoyant advertising sales in 2003 but overall reader numbers were in marginal decline. Circulation increased in 2003 across 35 of 208 countries studied with developing countries accounting for much of that growth, while a number of mature markets, notably in Western Europe, registered a fall in circulation. China held the overall record for newspaper circulation with more than 85 million publications sold each day, followed by India with 72 million. The most serious declines were in Ireland, Britain and Portugal.

WATCHING PAINT DRY

A new show has been unveiled on the Internet called Watching Paint Dry which is available around the clock at www.uktvstyle.co.uk. Each day a different type of paint will be applied to a wall and the camera will film it drying. Viewers will be able to vote online for their favourite finish from a selection of matt, silk, gloss, satin and smooth.

MALES

Sixty-one per cent of men now do at least some grocery shopping. Two years ago that figure was 41 per cent. Men are staying single longer, researchers note, and more two-career couples are sharing domestic responsibilities. Retired men are also shopping for food in greater quantities as the ranks of older consumers increase. More male supermarket shoppers are over 55 than under 35. Only a quarter of men use shopping lists when they shop compared with three-quarters of women.

TRANSLATORS

The European Commission is facing a backlog of untranslated documents and is asking officials to produce shorter documents to overcome the crisis. The present page average is 32 per document resulting in a backlog of 60,000 pages of untranslated material. If current trends continue, the Commission will need up to 4,000 translators by 2010, compared with 2,400 now employed.

CARS

Almost 15 per cent of all new cars sold in the USA last year were in one of the many shades of red. Compare that to Japan where red is almost rare and accounts for less than five per cent. However, about a third (35 per cent) of new vehicles sold in Japan were in some shade of white, while in the U.S. it's about half that. In Europe silver and grey are the most popular new-car colours accounting for 40 per cent of the market.

SHRIMP

Growing consumer demand for shrimp is fuelling an environmental crisis in some of the world's poorest nations. Shrimp farming is destroying wetlands, polluting the land and oceans and depleting wild fish stocks according The Environmental Justice Foundation. As much as 38 per cent of global mangrove destruction is linked to shrimp farm development. Shrimp farming is worth US$-50-$60-billion at the point of retail in around 50 countries. Leading shrimp producers are: Thailand, China, Indonesia, India, Vietnam. Ecuador and the Philippines.

SWITZERLAND

After years of wrangling, Switzerland finally agreed to levy a withholding tax on the savings accounts of EU citizens as part of a series of bilateral agreements that also includes deals on trade and the environment. Switzerland was rewarded with entry into the EU's passport-free area, probably in 2007.

FARMS

Canadian farmers saw their net cash income tumble last year to the lowest level in 25 years as drought and the mad cow crisis took its toll. The farm net cash income--the difference between a farmer's cash receipts and operating expenses--fell 43 per cent last year to C$4.22-billion. Prairie farmers were hardest hit as net cash income plunged 72 per cent in Alberta, 69 per cent in Saskatchewan and 51 per cent in Manitoba. Producers of wheat, excluding durum, saw their revenues drop almost 31 per cent.

FRAUD

The Advertising Standards Authority warns that fraudsters are taking advantage of the summer months when top executives are away to send fake invoices in the hope that they will be paid while management is away. The body is warning businesses to beware of unfamiliar bills, especially those from Swiss, Austrian and Czech companies, usually for subscriptions to internet directories.

GROOMING

An increased interest in appearance, hygiene and grooming on behalf of today's males has contributed to the growth in personal care categories around the world. An analysis of retail purchases in 56 countries across nearly 60 categories found many examples of this trend, including the sales by value of shower gels--one of the fastest-growing personal care categories worldwide, which grew by seven per cent in 2003 on the strength of male-oriented products.

STEEL

Rental rates in newly built office towers, apartments and retail complexes could rise by as much as 5 per cent as significant increases in steel prices over the past eight months have added millions of dollars to the cost of constructing commercial and institutional buildings in Canada. In addition, continued uncertainty over prices, coupled with fears of an impending steel shortage, have contractors and building owners concerned that projects could face delays. Steel accounts for up to 20 per cent of the cost of many of Canada's commercial buildings and has risen in price by 20 to 60 per cent in recent months.

CHARM

Churlish Russian border guards have been given strict new orders--smile and be polite to visitors entering the country. In an effort to put an end to the intimidating scowls and steely glares often suffered by travellers, guards checking passports are now under orders to be nice.

SCRAP

The market for scrap continues to heat up with reports that Shanghai, China's biggest city, is replacing hundreds of thousands of iron manhole covers with concrete and plastic ones after a 57 per cent rise in scrap steel prices encouraged thieves to steal about 1,800 of the lids. Scrap steel which comes from sources such as used autos and washing machines is melted and used to produce about 35 per cent of the world's steel. Recently, metal thieves in the eastern Ukraine stole a historic steam locomotive and a steel bridge which cut off a local town.

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

July 2004 Economic Digest - Importing and Exporting

July 2004 Edition

 SIZE

On May 1st, eight former Soviet client states, plus Malta and Cyprus, joined the European Union. The so-called EU-25 has a population of 450 million people, and a gross domestic product of US$15.5 trillion.

STATIONS

There are approximately 50,000 legitimate radio stations worldwide. More than 14,000 are in the United States, and 5,000 in Brazil alone. Europe has about 3,000 stations.

ENTRAILS

Though animal brains, intestines, hearts and other "variety meats" as they are known have generally been assigned to the scrap heap in American butchers shops, there is a tradition of dining on them in Europe. In the last few years they have become more fashionable in North America. It is Fergus Henderson, author of The Whole Beast, who is responsible for bringing entrails out of the abattoir and onto white table cloths. He is a London chef whose prosletytzing has earned him cult status among chefs on both sides of the Atlantic.

SOUND

A British student recently invented a digital music player that works underwater allowing swimmers to listen to their favourite music. Called Soundwaves, the device is a bit bigger than an eraser and clips on to a pair of regular goggles. Once the goggles are in place, a swimmer can hear the music inside his or her head.

HEALTH

According to a new survey, Canadian employees value their health benefits so much they wouldn't trade them for cash. Seventy-two per cent of the 1,503 Canadians polled, all members of employee benefit plans, said they would choose their plan over annual payments of up to $8,0000.

CONTROL

About 20 per cent of mineral wealth of the American West is owned by foreign companies, most of them Canadian. A report produced by the Environmental Working Group also shows that of all the uses of federal lands, hard-rock mining returns the least to the federal Treasury: 2.3 per cent of sales, compared with 13.2 per cent for oil and gas development, 14 per cent for grazing and 66 per cent for timber sales. For as little as $0.84 an acre, 28,000 companies and individuals have gained control of precious metals and minerals on 25.6 million acres of public land.

ONLINE

Canadian spending on-line rose 20 per cent in the final quarter of 2003 from a year earlier, driven almost entirely by people booking holidays and getaways. On-line consumption patterns remained relatively flat elsewhere while spending at travel related sites grew by more than 50 per cent. Travel spending totalled $349-million for the three months. Non-travel spendi or the period was $408-million.

SATISFACTION

In a study of 571 working men and women in the United States, the three primary concerns were money, time and staffing. Nearly 48 per cent of the respondents said what they desired at work was more pay, 24 per cent said they wanted more time off and 17 per cent said they wanted their firms to hire additional workers to help shoulder increased workloads.

OFFSHORING

While the issue of exporting jobs abroad is becoming an election issue in the U.S., a new study finds that American companies are favouring Canada. The study also suggests that cost was not a major factor when companies consider exporting business processes, but the availability of qualified professionals.When asked to rank 10 factors for selecting a service provider, more than 46 per cent of respondents said the most important was the availability of experienced professionals, followed by specific technical skills and a high quality of English competence. A shared business culture was also considered to be important.

SKILLS

According to the Washington-based National Science Board, there is a troubling decline in the number of U.S. students training to be scientists. The number of 18- to 24-year- olds who receive science degrees has fallen to 17th in the world, whereas it ranked third three decades ago. The trend could result in a shortage of trained scientists and engineers to meet rising demand for such skills and ultimately threaten the economic welfare and security of the U.S.

LOGS

The B.C. Supreme Court has rejected a bid by a coalition of unions and conservation groups to stop the export of raw logs. The coalition says the logs being sent out of the province to the U.S., Japan and China represent lost jobs in B.C. The provincial government has allowed forest companies to export the equivalent of 28,000 truckloads of raw logs from Crown land in northern B.C.

WALL STREET

It was a good year for the stock market, but it was a very, very good year for the executives of Wall Street financial houses. Combined pay for 10 top executives at New York City's brokerage and financial firms was up a striking 68.3 per cent in 2003 over the previous year as the leading men--yes, they are all men--took home more than US$231-million. This comes as Wall Street continues to limit hiring and pursue layoffs. Wall Street employs about 158,000 people in New York.

BOYS

China faces a major threat from a growing gender imbalance that could leave millions of men without wives. This highlights concern about the impact of the one-child policy that led to rampant female infanticide. China has about 117 boys for every 100 girls, with nearly 13 million more boys that girls under the age of nine. If that trend continues, by 2020 China could have as many as 40 million men who cannot find a spouse. Officials say that the one-child-per-couple rule has resulted in 300 million fewer births over the last decade.

NORWAY

This country has one of the world's strongest currencies and no national debt, yet it remains outside the European Union. Norwegians have twice turned down the chance to become members of the EU. Like the Swiss, another of Europe's richest nations, they have doubts about the usefulness in joining. For the past four or five years, Norway has been running a budget surplus of around US$15-billion with a population of only four and a half million.

PIZZA

Vending machines that deliver hot pizzas are to be placed in workplaces, rail stations and other public places around Britain. For about seven dollars, the machine selects a customer's choice of topping on a vacuum-packed nine-inch pizza, unwraps it, cooks it and dispatches it on a cardboard plate. When the first one was tested, it sold 200 pizzas in four days. The machines were launched in the U.S. last year.

MALARIA

After years of hesitation, world health agencies are racing to acquire 100 million doses of a Chinese herbal drug that has proved strikingly effective against malaria, one of the leading killers of the poor. The drug, artemisinin, is a compound based on qinghaosu, or sweet wormwood. First isolated by Chinese military researchers, it cut the death rate by 97 per cent in a malaria epidemic in Vietnam in the early 1990s.

GAP

Apparel retailer Gap Inc has issued a report listing work-force violations at many factories worldwide that make clothing for its Gap, Old Navy and Banana Republic chains. The 2003 social responsibility report, Gap's first, attempts to highlight the company's efforts to improve garment factory conditions and labour standards. Gap uses 3,000 factories in 50 countries. In 2003, Gap terminated business with 136 factories for serious or excessive breaches of the code. Greater China and southeast Asia each had 42 of those terminated factories. The Indian subcontinent had 31 and Europe, including Russia, had nine.

MILK

Some landlocked Canadian cows are enjoying a little seafood with their hay and grain so they can produce a new kind of milk being touted for its benefits for the brain, eyes and nerves. The milk, which does not taste fishy, is produced by herring-fed cows in Ontario and provides a fatty acid also common in salmon, trout and mackerel to diets of people who don't eat enough fish.

FUNERALS

Women make up more than half the students at mortuary colleges in the U.S. today compared with five per cent in 1970. While the funeral industry is often believed to be a family business, that is not always the case. Two- thirds of 2003 graduates had no prior family relationship with funeral homes.

INSURANCE

Canada's insurance companies are coming off a record year, with C$2.63-billion in profit in 2003, a significant increase over the previous year. The profits were spread across more than 200 companies and result from fire, home, life, auto and other policies sold. The previous profit record of C$2-billion was set in 1997.

CARDBOARD

In Japan, China's insatiable demand for raw materials is now endangering the most vital commodity in retailing: the cardboard box. Once blamed for exporting deflation to Japan, China is now charged with causing the recent surge in the prices of nickel, plywood and other commodities. The cardboard-box industry now finds used cardboard is in short supply. Recyclers, who go around collecting used cardboard are doing a fine business. Waste-paper merchants now offer 15 times more for the stuff than two years ago yet are currently exporting a third more than in 2001

STUDENTS

Last year, the number of international students in U.S. colleges and universities did not grow. It remained at 586,000. The U.S. is losing its central role as the preferred destination for students and scholars from all over the world. The number of Graduate Record Examinations taken are down 50 per cent in China, 37 per cent in India, 15 per cent in South Korea and 43 per cent in Taiwan. These countries traditionally send the largest number of students to the U.S. About two million students worldwide study outside their home countries.

PACKAGING

When milk in boxes first showed up on supermarket shelves 20 years ago American shoppers were suspicious. Unlike Europeans, they were slow to embrace aseptically packaged food which keep fresh without refrigeration for at least six months. Now, buying liquid foods in a box is common. Today, there are aseptic soups and broths; soy, grain and nut beverages; sports and nutrition drinks; tomato sauces and much more. Puddings, syrups, flavoured milks and savory sauces, even liquid eggs, now come in boxes.

BIRDS

An English supermarket manager who wrote a bedtime story for his sons has sold the film rights to Disney Corp. for US$1-million. His novel, "One for Sorrow, Two for Joy" concerns a robin's fight to save a world called Birddom from evil magpies. The author has been writing for over 11 years and has had more than 30 rejection slips from publishers.

WALKING

A major fast-foot chain in England is to include pedometers with its meals later this year. The devices, which measure the number of steps a wearer has taken are to shake the company's image as providers of unhealthy food. However, experts say the fat and sugar content of some food is so great, it will take five hours of walking to burn off a meal.

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

June 2004 Economic Digest - Importing and Exporting

June 2004 Edition

KIDS

U.S.corporations spend US$-15 billion a year on advertising and marketing to children, twice what they spent 10 years ago. The average child watches 40 hours of television a week, sees 40,000 commercials each year and influences $500-billion in annual spending--on toys, fast food, electronics and more.

AID

The rich-country members of the OECD's Development Assistance Committee increased their foreign aid by 3.9 per cent in real terms in 2003, to US$68.5 billion. That represents 0.25 per cent of their combined GDP, an increase from 0.23 per cent in 2002, but still well below the 0.7 per cent target set by the United Nations. In the dollar terms, America is the world's largest donor (US$15.8 billion in 2003), but as a share of GDP, its aid budget is the smallest.

DOLLS

In the doll aisle of toy stores, it is mostly the small ones, 2.5 to five inches tall that dominate. Mini-dolls are one of the best performing categories right now in the toy industry. While U.S. toys over all saw a three per cent jump in 2003 sales, the mini-doll category for dolls under nine inches jumped 60 per cent from February 2003 to January 2004.

WORK

According to a new book, Australians now work more hours than Americans or Japanese and rank as the hardest-working people in the developed world. Australia was measured against 18 developed countries including the U.S., Japan, Britain, Ireland, Canada and 11 European countries. Australians now spend on average 1,855 hours in the workplace each year just topping Americans who work an average of 1,835 hours and beating Japanese workers' 1,821 hours.

POLLUTION

The journal Science reports that tiny pieces of plastic and man-made fibres are causing contamination of the world's oceans and beaches. Even remote and apparently pristine layers of sand and mud are now composed partly of this microscopic rubbish, broken down from discarded waste. They also found that when creatures such as lugworms and barnacles fed on the sediments, the plastics turned up in their bodies within a few days.

BBQ's

Canadian BBQ manufacturers are protesting the low prices of Chinese imports which are undercutting Canadian products by up to 47 per cent. Some manufacturers have lost half their workforce because of low-priced imports. In 2000, Chinese BBQs accounted for one per cent of sales in Canada, around 4,000 units. Last year the figure was 21 per cent, or 200,000 units. Canadian companies believe the Chinese manufacturers are heavily subsidized by their government.

WEIGHT

The average new car or light-duty truck sold in the U.S. in 2003 topped the scales at 4,021 pounds, the heaviest since 1976 when they averaged 4,079 pounds. Just five years later, after the oil shocks of the 1970,s the average had fallen by more than 20 per cent to 3,202 pounds. The average fuel economy peaked at 22.1 miles to the gallon in the late 1980's but has eroded since then to 20.7 miles for the 2003 model year. 2004 model year vehicles are expected to have an average weight of 4,066 pounds.

BOOMING

Vietnam raked in foreign direct investment last year worth more than eight per cent of GDP, even more, proportionally, than China. It also boasts Asia's best-performing economy which has grown by an average of 7.4 per cent a year over the past decade. The boom has lifted many Vietnamese out of poverty. As recently as 1993, the World Bank considered 58 per cent of the population poor. By 2002, that figure had dropped to 29 per cent.

FRAUD

The number of cases of fraud uncovered within the European Union's accounts has almost doubled according to the National Audit Office. Around 10,000 cases of suspected fraud or irregularity were reported in 2002 costing EU taxpayers around US$1.5 billion. In 2001 there were 5,482 cases costing US$725 million.

PORK

Pork-belly futures recently touched a record high as fad dieters became the hog farmer's new friends. Fast food restaurants are now putting bacon on almost everything. The price of US$1.19 a pound is almost triple the lowest price of the 1990s despite rising production. Not only North American dieters are contributing to the trend, Japanese fast-food operators are seeking alternatives to U.S. and Canadian beef, both barred from Japan because of mad-cow disease.

PROGRESS

It has taken 500 years to get from the drawing board to the showroom, but the first working model of the "car" designed by Leonardo da Vinci is soon to go on display in Italy. Eight months' work by computer designers, engineers and joiners has proved something that had been doubted for centuries: the machine sketched by history's most versatile genius in or around 1478 actually moves. Several attempts were made in the last century to construct the vehicle. None worked.

TONES

Downloading a special ringtone onto a mobile phone, so that it plays a tinny rendition of a pop song instead of ringing, is a booming market. Last year, ringtone sales were estimated to be US$3.5 billion worldwide, up by 40 per cent from 2002. Sales of ringtones, costing up to $4.00 each, have now overtaken those of CD singles.

RANKINGS

Newfoundland and Labrador is no longer Canada's poorest province; it took ninth place from Prince Edward Island last year by a whisker. And British Columbia is no longer Canada's third-richest province, but fourth, its lowest ranking going back to 1981. Alberta is first in personal income ($33,670) with Ontario second ($31,130), both of them beating the national average of $29,340.

CLEANLINESS

Singapore, the city-state of four million is publishing maps pinpointing its 500 cleanest public toilets. The toilet maps will indicate the cleanest and best-equipped restrooms for the benefit of tourists and shoppers. The maps will be available free at the international airport and information counters by August. Singapore started its "Happy Toilet" campaign last year using a five- star system similar to the used to grade hotels. A "Happy Toilet" is one that's rated three-stars or more.

E-COMMERCE

Denmark is the global leader in e-commerce use, according to an international survey. The study, by the Economist Intelligence Unit, ranked Britain second with the top five rounded out by Sweden, Finland and Norway.

TRENDS

To remain competitive, reports the Christian Science Monitor, supermarkets are having to rev up their technological engines. Eventually shoppers will not need wallets or scanners. With Pay by Touch systems and microchips embedded in each product, shopping will be as easy as grab, bag and get out. Sensors will ring up sales within seconds, and fingerprint-reading devices will enable shoppers to access their accounts without using plastic. Within a decade, grocery analysts say, the industry will be completely transformed.

NOISE

A doubling in the noise level is reflected by a rise of three decibels. Therefore, 68 decibels is twice as loud as 65 decibels. Experts agree that continuous exposure to noise above 85 decibels will cause hearing loss. 85 decibels is the noise of heavy traffic or a noisy restaurant.

SHOES

Adidas has created the world's first "smart shoe" my mating it with a computer chip that adapts its cushioning level to a runner's size and stride. The microprocessor is located in the arch of the shoe, and drives a tiny screw and cable system that adjusts the heel cushion depending on the signals sent back by an electric sensor coupled to a magnet. It is powered by a battery that conserves power by adjusting the shoe while it is in the air during a runner's stride.

GREEN

A Swedish company which makes eco-friendly PCs has complained that business is slow. Swedx made its first wooden computers in 2003, but a wooden monitor, mouse or keyboard cost about 30 per cent higher than the cost of a metal or plastic version. The company is touting its green image and the kit has a nice woody smell when the computer is fired up. There may be more interest when the EU passes new laws forbidding usage of some chemicals when producing PCs and vendors will be required to recycle waste.

BEES

In the 1980s, wild bees in the U.S. were devastated by an invading parasite. Since then, the bee population has been steadily dropping, mainly because of the parasite, but also because of pesticides and predator birds. With virtually no wild honeybees left, U.S. farmers rely on commercial bee colonies. This year, farmers of the 90 or so crops depending on bee pollination are feeling the pinch. This year there are only about 2.6 million bee colonies, down from 3.2 million in 1990.

EXERCISE

Customers at a supermarket chain in England can now exercise as they shop. The shopping cart features a large wheel between the two rear wheels on the cart that provides resistance. Customers can make their shopping workout harder by increasing the resistance. A monitor shows the shoppers heart rate, picked up through sensors on the bar, as well as calories burned.

DIVERSIFICATION

Some Idaho farmers are experimenting with the production of sturgeon for both their meat and caviar. With wholesale prices ranging from US$30-$55.00 an ounce the sturgeon eggs could represent Idaho's most expensive agricultural product. The white sturgeon does not start producing eggs until it is at least eight years old. The standard for caviar is measured by the Caspian Sea sturgeons which are now on the edge of extinction.

PRESCRIPTIONS

The U.S. government has activated a website at www.Medicare.gov documenting a wide variation in prices for scores of prescription drugs at thousands of pharmacies around the country. In many cases, the prices offered to Medicare beneficiaries, with the help of the new drug discount cards, appear similar to the prices available to any consumer using online pharmacies. By entering a ZIP code and the names of specific drugs, consumers can learn the prices charges at local pharmacies or through the mail.

AGING

Faced with a population aging at an unprecedented rate, China has been warned it may grow old before it has a chance of reaching widespread prosperity. The proportion of over-60s in the population will rise from the current 11 per cent to 28 per cent, and possibly 32 per cent, by 2040, the year when communist leaders are confident that fast growth will have bought China close to challenging the economic power and strategic size of the United States.

WARNINGS

The first place winner of the 2004 Wacky Warning Label Contest sponsored by the Michigan Lawsuit Abuse Watch is a warning on a bottle of drain cleaner which states: "If you do not understand, or cannot read, all directions, cautions and warnings, do not use this product."

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

May 2004 Economic Digest - Importing and Exporting

May 2004 Edition

TRADE

 
Global trade grew by 4.5 per cent in 2003 and could expand by up to 7.5 per cent this year according to the World Trade Organization. Trade grew rapidly in the second half of 2003 after the effects of the war in Iraq and SARS wore off and the results of the recovering world economy began to show. The WTO called China's performance "remarkable"---imports grew by 40 per cent and exports by 35 per cent.

NAFTA

Last year, the U.S. exported US$8-billion in agricultural products to Mexico. This is now the third largest market for U.S. agricultural products. Mexico, is the United States' second-largest trading partner. About 89 per cent of Mexico's exports go to the U.S. and 62 per cent of Mexico's imported goods come from the U.S. Trade between the two countries has grown significantly in the past decade from US$81-billion in 1993 to US$235-billion in 2003, an 11 per cent increase each year.

WHEAT

The World Trade Organization has upheld the legality of the Canadian Wheat Board in a ruling that Ottawa feels undermines U.S. attempts to dismantle Canada's state-owned grain-trading enterprise. The U.S. had complained that the Board undercut foreign rival pricing to sell grain. However, the WTO has called on Ottawa to reform grain-handling and transportation rules.

TRANSPORT

A three-wheeled car that measures just one metre across and carries two people is being touted as the answer to city traffic problems in Europe. The Clever (Compact Low Emission Vehicle for Urban Transport) car has been developed by nine European countries and is funded by the EU. If produced, the 50mph could sell after 2005 for US$15,000. The novel tilting vehicle aims to combine the safety of a traditional car with the flexibility of a motorbike

WALKER

Canada has become the first country to ban the sale, resale, advertising and importation of baby walkers. They have long been viewed as highly dangerous with children falling down flights of stairs. There has been a voluntary industry ban on the items since 1989 but Health Canada says that in recent years, increasing numbers have found their way onto the Canadian market.

SOYBEANS

A domestic shortage in the U.S. has pushed soybean prices above $10 a bushel, twice the level of only seven months ago. The effects are already being felt among food producers and at the grocery store cash register. Soybeans are an essential ingredient in thousands of products from cooking oil to pet food. The shortage is blamed on dry weather in the U.S. reducing the harvest by 15 per cent in 2003 and China launching a record buying spree of U.S. soybeans which it needs for feeding livestock for its population's growing demand for meat.

TASTE

A new vodka flavoured ice cream launched in Australia has provoked an outcry from groups worried it will give children a taste for alcohol. A few months ago, an Australian biscuit-maker introduced Tia Marie and Kahlua flavoured cookies

SOCKS

Datang is a city in China that turns out eight billion pairs of socks each year from 8,000 factories, one-third of all socks sold worldwide.

INTERNET

Canada's internet pharmacy industry more than doubled its sales to the U.S. last year. Sales were worth around C$556-million for wholesalers in 2003, up from C$251-million in 2002. A cluster of on-line retailers in Manitoba account for almost half of the cross-border trade. The top pharmaceuticals sold on-line to the U.S. are cholesterol reducers and heart medications, followed by heartburn and ulcer medications.

TRAFFIC

Road traffic crashes of all sorts are an enormous, largely overlooked, world health problem, second only to childhood infections and AIDS as the killers of people between the ages of 5 and 30 according to the World Health Organization. Each year, about 1.2 million drivers, passengers, cyclists and pedestrians of all ages are killed, that is about one in every 50 deaths worldwide about the same as the mortality from malaria.

PLAGIARISM

White-collar copycats may be less inclined to pilfer the well-chosen words of others now that software designed to ferret out plagiarism is moving out of academia and into the business world. For years, educators at colleges and universities have monitored plagiarism. Now, tainted by scandals or the Internet's copy-enabling power, a growing number of newspapers, law firms and other businesses are using data-sifting tools that can cross-check billions of digital documents and swiftly recognize patterns in just seconds.

SERVICE

On April 6, 1925, a movie was used for the first time as in-flight entertainment. The black-and-white silent, The Lost World, was screened in a converted Handley-Page bomber that flew from London to Paris. The carrier, Imperial Airways, had previously begun offering in-flight meals (box lunches) in 1919.

TRENDS

Chinese studies are booming throughout Asia. At the largest chain of private language schools in Japan, enrolment in Chinese in 2003 was double that in 2002--displacing French as the second most popular language after English.

SUSHI

Because of health concerns and growing demand, 50 to 60 per cent of sushi in the United States is frozen at some point in its journey from the ocean. In fact, some sushi may have been frozen for as long as two years. Most diners would be surprised to learn that if sushi has not been frozen, it is illegal to serve it in the U.S. Food and Drug regulations stipulate that all fish to be eaten raw, except for Tuna,--whether as sushi, sashimi, seviche or tartare--must be frozen first to kill parasites.

TAXES

More than 60 per cent of U.S. corporations didn't pay any federal taxes for 1996 through 2000, years when the economy boomed and corporate profits soared. Corporate tax receipts have shrunk markedly as a share of overall revenue in recent years, and were particularly depressed when the economy soured. By 2003, they had fallen to just 7.4 per cent of overall federal receipts, the lowest rate since 1983, and the second lowest since 1934.

RUSTLING

The late diet guru Dr. Robert Atkins has been blamed for many food calamities--including the slump of the potato and bakery industries. Now, San Joaquin Valley police in California say that the popularity of the high-protein diet is to blame for a spate of cattle rustling in California. Beef prices have increased in recent months as the number of Americans using diets such as the Atkins diet has increased. In turn this has led to a new generation of rustlers who are stealing unbranded cattle and selling them on the black market.

GARBAGE

Rubbish bins in Berlin will soon talk and sing to people who deposit their waste. In an attempt by the German capital to encourage citizens to keep it tidy, a number of Berlin's 20,0000 bins are to be fitted with solar cell devices which will react with a "thank you" when something is thrown into them. The bins' voices will be replaced with flashing green lights to avoid scaring night-time rubbish disposers. City officials say the volume of litter on the streets has risen in line with the growth in poverty.

OFFSHORING

An industry-sponsored study has concluded that U.S. companies sending computer systems work abroad yielded higher productivity that actually boosted domestic employment by 90,000 across the economy last year. The study was conducted for a coalition of business groups working to combat a growing backlash against the loss of U.S. jobs.

WEEDS

Exotic weeds are choking Australia's prized farmland inch by inch and costing the nation US$3.5-billion a year in lost agricultural output. The sprawling plants, most of which were introduced as ornamental garden species, have encroached on huge areas of farming land. The economic impact of introduced weeds amounts to 0.5 per cent of Australia's gross domestic product.

MAGAZINES

Canada's magazines showed an overall increase in readership last year, with the best growth in "niche" titles that cater to readers' nesting instincts. Average readership rose about five per cent for English-language publications and seven per cent for French-language publications. Reader's Digest remained Canada's most read magazine with readership of 7.7 million, followed by Canadian Living and Chatelaine.

CHEAP

A cheap handheld computer designed by Indian scientists has been launched after a three-year delay. It was developed at the Indian Institute of Science as a way of taking the internet revolution to India's rural masses. Only nine in every 1,000 Indians own a computer, because the machines are just too expensive. The Simputer was designed to provide cheap and accessible computing on the go. The basic model costs around US$240. It is hoped to sell 50,000 units in the first year.

POPULATION

Germany saw a net drop of 143,000 people in 2003 when the number of deaths rose while the number of births dropped. Deaths were 858,000 while births were 715,000. There were also fewer marriages with 383,000 last year compared with 388,000 in 2002. At the end of 2002, Germany's population was 82.5 million. Immigration advocates say that Germany will have to open its doors more to foreigners of which there are now 7.3 million in Germany.

UGANDA

Where many flower growers lost their farms in Uganda during the 1990s, new ones are now profiting from the sale of sweetheart roses. The original flower growers were badly advised when they were told to grow large roses like the ones in Kenya. Because of the climatic differences between the two countries, they failed to grow as big in Uganda. However, the smaller sweetheart roses are thriving in Uganda and the country expects to earn US$30-million this year in flower exports.

CONTAINERS

In a wasteland of old wharves, warehouses and burnt-out buildings in London's docklands, a strange new phenomenon has arisen which is attracting the attention of architects and regeneration experts from around the world. It is called Container City and comprises old sea containers which provide cheap studio space for artists and small businesses. Now, Container City II has been added, 33 containers painted bright red, yellow and orange and stacked asymmetrically. With their balconies and porthole windows, they are being rented for up to $900 a month, including service charges, to tenants who are happy to live in them.

SCALE

Violinists in a German orchestra are suing for a pay rise on the grounds that they play many more notes per concert than their colleagues. German musicians earn basic monthly wages that are about twice that of their British counterparts.

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