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."
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