December 2005 Edition
TRADE
This month sees important world trade negotiations in Hong Kong. America currently spends over US$19-billion on farm production subsidies which heavily distorts trade. The EU spends up to $75-billion. The US has offered to cut their limit by 60 per cent if the EU will cut its permitted subsidies by 80 per cent. The US has also suggested limiting other subsidies which do not distort trade as heavily to 2.5 per cent of the value of agricultural production.
MUSIC
Global sales of music CDs fell by 6.3 per cent in the first half of 2005. But sales of digital music more than tripled to US$790-million. Music downloads and mobile-phone ringtones now account for six per cent of retail revenues. Of the countries with the most music sales, the British bought the most per person, thanks to their specialist music shops.
DETECTION
Scientists say they can train wasps to detect hidden explosives, plant diseases, illegal drugs, cancer and even buried bodies. Researchers have produced the Wasp Hound, a device that sounds an alarm when the insects encounter a target odour. They have trained a species of tiny parasitic wasp, incapable of stinging people, to detect target odours by associating them with food.
HAZARDS
Forget drunken driving, when cruising along Namibia's long and empty roads, unsuspecting drivers face a no less dangerous hazard: sleeping donkeys. At night the warm tarmac provides a more comfortable bed than the vast expanse of land only a few yards away. Invisible in the dark, the dormant asses, which help plough Namibia's land and pull its carts, have become the cause of many car crashes.
MAGAZINES
Thirty-five new magazines, mostly niche publications, were launched in the US in the third quarter of 2005. The publications range in editorial focus and type, from magazines serving policemen and law enforcement professionals to titles dedicated to music, archery and travel. The newest titles include nine new lifestyle magazines, six magazines for women, five titles serving African Americans and four magazines focusing on the arts and special hobbies.
CHEAP
The world's least sophisticated laptop computer has just been announced...and it will run by clockwork. The machine will cost less than $100 and is not aimed at the cutting edge of the corporate world but is destined for the poor of the planet. The laptop will have a basic processor, flash memory instead of a hard disk, will be powered by batteries or a hand-crank, and will run open-source software. The computer also puts all the many components behind the screen, not under the keyboard, doing away with the need for an expensive hinge.
ARMS
The International Peace Research Institute in Stockholm reports that global military expenditures hit US$1.04-trillion in 2004, nearing the historic peak of 1987-88. Governments spent an average of $1,262 per person on weapons and soldiers.
HOUSING
Last year, American households borrowed almost $600-billion against the value of their homes to spend on other things. Also, the purchase of a second home, perhaps for speculative purposes, is playing an ever bigger role in the housing market. Meanwhile, in August of this year, the median price of an existing home rose to $220,000, up by 15.8 per cent from a year before. This was the biggest annual price jump since 1979.
AQUACULTURE
Revenues generated by Canada's aquaculture industry fell for a second year in a row in 2004, in the wake of a decline in production and exports. The industry reported revenues of C$669-million in 2004, down 9.3 per cent over 2003. Finfish sales, which accounted for 87 per cent of total revenues fell 10.4 per cent. Aquaculture exports plunged 14.4 per cent to C$425-million. The most significant contributor to this decline was a 28 per cent drop in the value of Atlantic salmon fillets exported to the U.S.
ECONOMY
Brazilians are the beneficiaries of an automotive revolution: "flex-fuel" cars that run as readily on ethanol as on regular gasoline were introduced in 2003, and have grabbed nearly two-thirds of the market. Right now, ethanol in Brazil is up to 55 per cent less than regular gasoline. In the U.S., 4.5 million vehicles can run on blends of up to 85 per cent ethanol, but the fuel is scarce. In Brazil, ethanol is available everywhere thanks to a 30-year-old policy of promoting fuel derived from home-grown sugar cane.
SHOPPERS
The number of certified mystery shoppers in the U.S. has now surpassed 40,000, according to the Mystery Shopping Providers Association (MSPA) which has been offering a certification program since 2002 as a way to improve the quality of mystery shoppers in North America. There are currently two levels of certification, Silver and Gold which require taking special courses. According to MSPA, there are about one million mystery shoppers in North America and 250,000 in other countries.
RUSSIA
With revenues from Russia's oil exports pulsing through the economy, foreign auto makers are rushing to oil-rich Russia. Hyundai, the South Korean automaker, barely known there a few years ago, has seen a hundred-fold increase in cars sold this year and leads a pack of Asian car makers who are aggressively moving into Russia. In the first eight months of this year, purchases of imported cars rose 64 per cent to 348,459. By the end of the year, foreign brands could account for one-third of car purchases, up from five per cent in 2000.
EGGS
Large supercentres in Florida have begun to carry pasteurized-shell eggs. The manufacturer claims to produce the only shell eggs to undergo a patented pasteurization process that destroys harmful bacteria including Salmonella enteritidis (SE), the main egg-related salmonella virus. Each year, more than 118,000 egg related salmonella cases are confirmed, and many more are underreported or misdiagnosed in Florida. The FDA estimates 2.3 million eggs contaminated with SE were sold last year in the USA exposing a large number of people to risk of illness.
HEALTH
In 2004, for the first time, there were more ex-smokers in the U.S., 47 million, than smokers, 46 million. The percentage of American adults who smoke, about 22 per cent, is about half of what it was before the 1964 Surgeon General's report on the dangers of smoking.
RETAIL
The French company of Carrefour is the world's second-largest retailer after Wal-Mart. Carrefour brought hypermarkets, huge stores that sell a wide variety of goods in addition to food, to France in the 1960s. For two decades it has forged ahead with international expansion, with particularly big investments in Latin America and China. It is now the world's most international retail chain with hypermarkets, supermarkets and deep-discount stores in 28 countries. Last year its annual post-tax sales hit US$90-billion.
SIZE
The cube is an underused shape in the gadget world. However, the mobiBLU-DAH-1500, a tiny new MP3 player, embraces the form. Barely one inch high and wide, it resembles a sugar cube. It is available in six colours and holds eight to 10 hours of music in its single gigabyte of memory. It sells for US$129 for the one-gigabyte version and less than $100 for the 512-megabyte version.
VEGGIES
The Land Spring Garden restaurant near Beijing is China's first specialty restaurant serving what the government hopes will one day feed its enormous population: nuclear fruit and vegetables. The food is literally out of this world having been cooked using mutant giant vegetables from space. Since 1987, China has regularly sent seeds on their rockets into space where those exposed to the galaxy's radiation in zero gravity showed a variety of mutations. The vegetables showing the most promise have been aubergines, green peppers and tomatoes. The vitamin content of vegetables grown from space seeds is 281 per cent of ordinary vegetables.
DISEASE
A deadly new citrus disease is spreading through southeast Florida creating a fresh threat to the citrus industry. Citrus greening, a bacterial disease carried by an Asian insect, stunts growth, leads to bitter misshapen oranges and grapefruits, and eventually kills the tree. The disease could pose a greater threat than citrus canker, still widespread despite a US$500-million campaign to eradicate it.
TRADE
Canada wants to double trade with Russia as part of a drive to diversify beyond the U.S. market. Bilateral trade has nearly tripled in the past three years to US$1.7-billion, the bulk of it in Russia's favour. Canada's main exports to Russia include food products and construction materials while Russia sells Canada steel and other metals. Canada hopes to double its exports to Russia within three years.
GADGETS
Scientists in Finland have developed a new gadget to prevent cellphone and laptop theft. The device enables such equipment to detect changes in their owner's walking style, and to freeze if they detect unauthorized use. The first time it is used, the gadget's sensors measure characteristics of the owner's gait and store them in memory.
MONEY
For two years, card issuers and merchants in Canada have been building and installing new transaction systems that can handle credit and debit cards that store information on a computer chip. So-called smart cards will begin replacing magnetic strip cards late next year and the industry hopes to have the conversion completed by 2010. The cards contain chips with memory, software and their own operating system.
SPUDS
Researchers say that the first cultivated potato was grown in what is now Peru. Their genetic study shows the first potato known to have been farmed is genetically closest to a species now found only in southern Peru. The study did not address when the first potato would have been cultivated, but other research suggests it would have been between 7,000 and 10,000 years ago.
CLAIMS
In 2004, damage to insured property around the world from natural disasters totalled US$49-billion. That figure does not include last year's tsunami. Some calculations suggest that the majority of claims came from just four of Florida's hurricanes.
BANANAS
Even though it is America's No.1 fruit, bananas play a small part in the U.S. diet. But for hundreds of millions of people in developing countries, bananas are a dietary staple., the least expensive source of nutritious calories. The banana ranks fourth after rice, wheat and corn among the world's most economically important food crops. A typical person in Uganda, Rwanda or Burundi consumes more than 550 pounds of bananas a year.
HAPPY
In a recent British study of "happy" professions, hairdressers topped the list. Next happiest were clergy, chefs, beauticians, plumbers and mechanics.
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
This month sees important world trade negotiations in Hong Kong. America currently spends over US$19-billion on farm production subsidies which heavily distorts trade. The EU spends up to $75-billion. The US has offered to cut their limit by 60 per cent if the EU will cut its permitted subsidies by 80 per cent. The US has also suggested limiting other subsidies which do not distort trade as heavily to 2.5 per cent of the value of agricultural production.
MUSIC
Global sales of music CDs fell by 6.3 per cent in the first half of 2005. But sales of digital music more than tripled to US$790-million. Music downloads and mobile-phone ringtones now account for six per cent of retail revenues. Of the countries with the most music sales, the British bought the most per person, thanks to their specialist music shops.
DETECTION
Scientists say they can train wasps to detect hidden explosives, plant diseases, illegal drugs, cancer and even buried bodies. Researchers have produced the Wasp Hound, a device that sounds an alarm when the insects encounter a target odour. They have trained a species of tiny parasitic wasp, incapable of stinging people, to detect target odours by associating them with food.
HAZARDS
Forget drunken driving, when cruising along Namibia's long and empty roads, unsuspecting drivers face a no less dangerous hazard: sleeping donkeys. At night the warm tarmac provides a more comfortable bed than the vast expanse of land only a few yards away. Invisible in the dark, the dormant asses, which help plough Namibia's land and pull its carts, have become the cause of many car crashes.
MAGAZINES
Thirty-five new magazines, mostly niche publications, were launched in the US in the third quarter of 2005. The publications range in editorial focus and type, from magazines serving policemen and law enforcement professionals to titles dedicated to music, archery and travel. The newest titles include nine new lifestyle magazines, six magazines for women, five titles serving African Americans and four magazines focusing on the arts and special hobbies.
CHEAP
The world's least sophisticated laptop computer has just been announced...and it will run by clockwork. The machine will cost less than $100 and is not aimed at the cutting edge of the corporate world but is destined for the poor of the planet. The laptop will have a basic processor, flash memory instead of a hard disk, will be powered by batteries or a hand-crank, and will run open-source software. The computer also puts all the many components behind the screen, not under the keyboard, doing away with the need for an expensive hinge.
ARMS
The International Peace Research Institute in Stockholm reports that global military expenditures hit US$1.04-trillion in 2004, nearing the historic peak of 1987-88. Governments spent an average of $1,262 per person on weapons and soldiers.
HOUSING
Last year, American households borrowed almost $600-billion against the value of their homes to spend on other things. Also, the purchase of a second home, perhaps for speculative purposes, is playing an ever bigger role in the housing market. Meanwhile, in August of this year, the median price of an existing home rose to $220,000, up by 15.8 per cent from a year before. This was the biggest annual price jump since 1979.
AQUACULTURE
Revenues generated by Canada's aquaculture industry fell for a second year in a row in 2004, in the wake of a decline in production and exports. The industry reported revenues of C$669-million in 2004, down 9.3 per cent over 2003. Finfish sales, which accounted for 87 per cent of total revenues fell 10.4 per cent. Aquaculture exports plunged 14.4 per cent to C$425-million. The most significant contributor to this decline was a 28 per cent drop in the value of Atlantic salmon fillets exported to the U.S.
ECONOMY
Brazilians are the beneficiaries of an automotive revolution: "flex-fuel" cars that run as readily on ethanol as on regular gasoline were introduced in 2003, and have grabbed nearly two-thirds of the market. Right now, ethanol in Brazil is up to 55 per cent less than regular gasoline. In the U.S., 4.5 million vehicles can run on blends of up to 85 per cent ethanol, but the fuel is scarce. In Brazil, ethanol is available everywhere thanks to a 30-year-old policy of promoting fuel derived from home-grown sugar cane.
SHOPPERS
The number of certified mystery shoppers in the U.S. has now surpassed 40,000, according to the Mystery Shopping Providers Association (MSPA) which has been offering a certification program since 2002 as a way to improve the quality of mystery shoppers in North America. There are currently two levels of certification, Silver and Gold which require taking special courses. According to MSPA, there are about one million mystery shoppers in North America and 250,000 in other countries.
RUSSIA
With revenues from Russia's oil exports pulsing through the economy, foreign auto makers are rushing to oil-rich Russia. Hyundai, the South Korean automaker, barely known there a few years ago, has seen a hundred-fold increase in cars sold this year and leads a pack of Asian car makers who are aggressively moving into Russia. In the first eight months of this year, purchases of imported cars rose 64 per cent to 348,459. By the end of the year, foreign brands could account for one-third of car purchases, up from five per cent in 2000.
EGGS
Large supercentres in Florida have begun to carry pasteurized-shell eggs. The manufacturer claims to produce the only shell eggs to undergo a patented pasteurization process that destroys harmful bacteria including Salmonella enteritidis (SE), the main egg-related salmonella virus. Each year, more than 118,000 egg related salmonella cases are confirmed, and many more are underreported or misdiagnosed in Florida. The FDA estimates 2.3 million eggs contaminated with SE were sold last year in the USA exposing a large number of people to risk of illness.
HEALTH
In 2004, for the first time, there were more ex-smokers in the U.S., 47 million, than smokers, 46 million. The percentage of American adults who smoke, about 22 per cent, is about half of what it was before the 1964 Surgeon General's report on the dangers of smoking.
RETAIL
The French company of Carrefour is the world's second-largest retailer after Wal-Mart. Carrefour brought hypermarkets, huge stores that sell a wide variety of goods in addition to food, to France in the 1960s. For two decades it has forged ahead with international expansion, with particularly big investments in Latin America and China. It is now the world's most international retail chain with hypermarkets, supermarkets and deep-discount stores in 28 countries. Last year its annual post-tax sales hit US$90-billion.
SIZE
The cube is an underused shape in the gadget world. However, the mobiBLU-DAH-1500, a tiny new MP3 player, embraces the form. Barely one inch high and wide, it resembles a sugar cube. It is available in six colours and holds eight to 10 hours of music in its single gigabyte of memory. It sells for US$129 for the one-gigabyte version and less than $100 for the 512-megabyte version.
VEGGIES
The Land Spring Garden restaurant near Beijing is China's first specialty restaurant serving what the government hopes will one day feed its enormous population: nuclear fruit and vegetables. The food is literally out of this world having been cooked using mutant giant vegetables from space. Since 1987, China has regularly sent seeds on their rockets into space where those exposed to the galaxy's radiation in zero gravity showed a variety of mutations. The vegetables showing the most promise have been aubergines, green peppers and tomatoes. The vitamin content of vegetables grown from space seeds is 281 per cent of ordinary vegetables.
DISEASE
A deadly new citrus disease is spreading through southeast Florida creating a fresh threat to the citrus industry. Citrus greening, a bacterial disease carried by an Asian insect, stunts growth, leads to bitter misshapen oranges and grapefruits, and eventually kills the tree. The disease could pose a greater threat than citrus canker, still widespread despite a US$500-million campaign to eradicate it.
TRADE
Canada wants to double trade with Russia as part of a drive to diversify beyond the U.S. market. Bilateral trade has nearly tripled in the past three years to US$1.7-billion, the bulk of it in Russia's favour. Canada's main exports to Russia include food products and construction materials while Russia sells Canada steel and other metals. Canada hopes to double its exports to Russia within three years.
GADGETS
Scientists in Finland have developed a new gadget to prevent cellphone and laptop theft. The device enables such equipment to detect changes in their owner's walking style, and to freeze if they detect unauthorized use. The first time it is used, the gadget's sensors measure characteristics of the owner's gait and store them in memory.
MONEY
For two years, card issuers and merchants in Canada have been building and installing new transaction systems that can handle credit and debit cards that store information on a computer chip. So-called smart cards will begin replacing magnetic strip cards late next year and the industry hopes to have the conversion completed by 2010. The cards contain chips with memory, software and their own operating system.
SPUDS
Researchers say that the first cultivated potato was grown in what is now Peru. Their genetic study shows the first potato known to have been farmed is genetically closest to a species now found only in southern Peru. The study did not address when the first potato would have been cultivated, but other research suggests it would have been between 7,000 and 10,000 years ago.
CLAIMS
In 2004, damage to insured property around the world from natural disasters totalled US$49-billion. That figure does not include last year's tsunami. Some calculations suggest that the majority of claims came from just four of Florida's hurricanes.
BANANAS
Even though it is America's No.1 fruit, bananas play a small part in the U.S. diet. But for hundreds of millions of people in developing countries, bananas are a dietary staple., the least expensive source of nutritious calories. The banana ranks fourth after rice, wheat and corn among the world's most economically important food crops. A typical person in Uganda, Rwanda or Burundi consumes more than 550 pounds of bananas a year.
HAPPY
In a recent British study of "happy" professions, hairdressers topped the list. Next happiest were clergy, chefs, beauticians, plumbers and mechanics.
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
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