December 2006 Edition
TRANSPORT
According to the industry, railways are used in Canada to get 99 per cent of coal to market, 90 per cent of grain and the auto sector output, 75 per cent of aluminum inputs and 70 per cent of chemical industry output. Also, 65 per cent of potash and chemical fertilizers, 50 per cent of pulp and paper and 40 per cent of Canadian steel.
WATER
A scarcity of water is harming the case for using food crops to make biofuels. Surging crude oil prices have strengthened the argument for green energy created by cultivating food crops such as sugar cane to make ethanol fuel and vegetable oils to make biodiesel. In a world where one billion people lack access to clean drinking water, vast quantities are needed to cultivate crops with two thirds of the world's water used in agriculture. It is estimated that 700 tonnes of water are required to grow one tonne of sugar cane.
The European Commission is calling for Europe's postal market to be opened up to rivals by 2009 saying that mail delivery companies should not have a legal monopoly on any part of the service. However, postal operators will still have to guarantee a basic service. Many countries have been slow to open up their postal market to competition, and some, especially France, are reluctant to move forward with a reform agreed on nearly 10 years ago. Where it has occurred, in Britain and Sweden for instance, postal service has improved.
AQUACULTURE
Operating revenues generated for Canada's aquaculture industry in 2005 rebounded to an all-time high in the wake of increased production and exports. Record revenues of C$753-million were recorded, up 11 per cent from 2004. This ended two consecutive years of decline. The value of aquaculture exports surged 22 per cent to $515-million with a 25 per cent increase in the value of fresh salmon exports to the U.S.
IMMIGRANTS
The Inter-American Development Bank in Washington, D.C. estimates that 12.6 million Latin American immigrants in the U.S. will send US$45.3-billion home this year. Immigrants in Texas will send $5.2-billion home to their relatives second only to California. Immigrants from Mexico, Central America and South America are estimated to have more than $500-billion in buying power in the U.S. In Texas, immigrants contribute about $52-billion to the local economy, up 64 per cent over 2004. Immigrants in California send home about $13.2-billion. New York ranks third with $3.7- billion bound for Latin America.
SPENDING
Supermarkets in the U.S. continue to boost their Information Technology (IT) spending and will have paid US$9.8-billion to refresh their systems this year. While self-checkout and new hardware systems are big parts of this expenditure, software and external services are driving much of the IT spending growth.
STUDIES
Xiamen University in China is requiring law and business students to take golf lessons to prepare them for a business world where deals are made on the links. Several other institutions offer golf lessons but this is the first one making them a required class. Some students complained the sport is too elitist but supporters defended it as a healthy social activity.
ELECTRICITY
A report by the North American Electric Reliability Council warns that demand for electricity is increasing three times as fast as resources are being added in the U.S., a trend that could shake electric-system reliability in the coming decade. US demand will increase by about 20 per cent from 2005 to 2015. Increasingly, it is left to a deregulated market to determine whether and when new resources are built.
TRENDS
The London black cab, an icon since the Second World War, will be built outside England for the first time to attract new buyers and lower costs. The taxis will be made in Shanghai in 2008 and will sell into the local market. In Britain, 100,000 black cabs have been sold since 1948. About one million taxis and limousines are sold annually in China. The black cab takes its name from a shortened version of cabriolet, a type of carriage available for hire in 19th century London.
LEFT-OVERS
The world's first dedicated doggie bag was invented in 1948. However, the doggie bag concept goes back at least as far as Renaissance England. In those days, hosts used oversized napkins, in part because they ate with their hands, but also to provide large containers for leftovers.
COVERAGE
If it's Sunday and you have a fender-bender in the Church parking lot in the U.S., no problem if you have a FaithGuard insurance policy. The policy is targeted at the nearly 150-million Americans who go to church regularly. There is no deductible as long as you are driving to a place of worship.
AUCTIONS
A model of the Starship Enterprise from the cult science fiction series Star Trek sold recently for US$600,000, 20 times the expected sale price. The 78 inch model made its TV debut in 1987. A replica of Captain James Kirk's command chair fetched $67,000.
THE WEB
The Internet has overtaken newspapers and magazines as Europeans' main source of news and feature-type information. But TV continues to be the dominant medium for most people, with Europeans spending three times as much time watching programmes as going online. On average, Europeans spend four hours per week online
STUDENTS
Over a quarter of New Zealand's university enrolments come from overseas. The U.S. has so many domestic students that it ranks much lower, even though it attracts 21.6 per cent of the world's 2.7-million foreign students. That, however, represents a sharp decline from its share of 25.3 per cent in 2000.
SCREENS
A Cambridge team have developed metal structures that can morph from flat screens into tubes and other shapes. In the future, the structures may form the basis for electronic displays that could be rolled up and placed in a bag or pocket. The scientists believe the material could also be used for re-usable packaging or roll-up keyboards
RENOVATIONS
Canadians continue to be enthusiastic home renovators with a majority saying that they plan to work on their bathrooms, basements or decks in the next two years. A survey of home renovation intentions found that those planning to work on their homes will spend C$8,982 on average, up $148 from last year.
FARMS
The Canada Year Book reports that Canada has roughly as much land devoted to agriculture as in the past, but far fewer farms. The number of farms peaked in 1941 and has been declining ever since.The average farm size in 1941 was 96 hectares, by 2001 it was 273 hectares. Some 32,500 farmers were foreign-born in 2001, comprising 9.4 per cent of total farm operators. The number of Prairie grain elevators declined to 412 in 2002 from 3,117 in 1981.
MANAGERS
A recent staffing company research study shows that the majority of bosses, 92 per cent, consider themselves to be excellent or good bosses. But employees differ with just 67 per cent rating their bosses so favourably. while 23 per cent say their boss is doing a fair job and 10 per cent a poor job.
ORTHOPAEDICS
A number of companies are making trendy crutches, walkers, wheelchairs, casts and slings. Crutches, for instance, now come in titanium and other high-tech metals and a palette of colours including steel blue, teal and magenta; they may be padded with sheepskin, a shapeable gel and given shock absorbing tips of polymer gel.
R&D
An unprecedented surge in research and development spending is helping China catch up with the two long-standing leaders in the field, the U.S. and Japan. R&D spending in China has been growing at a annual rate of about 17 per cent, and is far higher that the 4- to 5 per cent annual growth rates reported for the U.S., Japan and the European Union. China is increasingly making its mark with scientific discoveries and patents held by its scientists. America's share of the global R&D expenditures in 2007 is expected to be 32 per cent.
CHILE
Thousands of street vendors eke out a living in selling hairclips, underwear, pirated Cds and other inexpensive goods on almost every downtown street corner in Chile's capital. A recent study shows the amount of illegal commerce has increased almost 13 per cent in the past year despite government efforts to crack down. That is more than twice Chile's national rate of economic expansion which is about 5 per cent.
CELL PHONES
U.S. mobile-phone subscriptions rose to 213 million in 2005, 28 million more than a year earlier. Average monthly use of U.S. wireless voice services increased 17 per cent to more than 12 hours per user. Average per minute revenue fell to 7 cents from 9 cents.
MARMALADE
Celebrating its 125th anniversary, a U.K. jam maker has produced the world's most expensive marmalade. The Fine Cut Seville Orange Marmalade with Whisky, Champagne and Gold, mixes the finest Seville marmalade with vintage whisky and a dash of champagne garnished with gold leaf. The resulting spread, encased in a custom-made crystal jar, valued at US$2,200, would cost $150 to cover a single slice of toast.
SENSORS
Several major U.S. retailers are going high-tech to learn more about their shoppers'in-store shopping patterns. They are testing infrared sensors to measure customer traffic and generate "audience ratings" for products. The system's infrared beams track shoppers' movements and correlate them with actual sales data producing what could be the first scientific measurement of in-store sales tools.
TRADE
The European Union and India have agreed to negotiate a bilateral deal on trade and investment. The agreement would aim to eliminate 90 per cent of tariffs within seven years of the agreement coming into force. Trade between India and the EU is currently about 40 billion Euros (US$50-billion) each year.
ART
Not just Indian software and outsourcing firms that are benefitting from the rise of the internet. Indian modern art is also on an upward spiral on the web. Prices have risen around 20-fold since 2000. One picture that sold earlier in the year for $1.58-million would have gone for little more than $100,000 four years ago. Worldwide sales of Indian art, worth around US$200-million last year, are expected to have doubled in 2006. It is still a tiny fraction of the $30-billion global art market but is sizeable for an emerging market.
E-BAY
A three-year-old boy whose mother left her computer's E-Bay screen on, managed to buy a US$20,000 car on the auction site from a car dealership using the "buy it now" button.
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