October 2007 Edition
SIZE
Houses in the U.S. keep growing. One in five American homes had at least four bedrooms in 2005, up from one in six in 1990, despite shrinking families and increasing costs for construction and energy. Houses with five or more bedrooms were the fastest growing type in that time. Utah leads the nation with 40 per cent of homes having at least four bedrooms. This was followed by Maryland, Virginia, Colorado and Minnisota. Arkansas had the smallest share at 12.6 per cent.
TUNGSTEN
Canada's planned ban on incandescent light bulbs will have no impact on Canada's resurgent tungsten mining business, experts say, because lighting makes up such a small proportion of the overall demand for the heavy metal. In fact, tungsten mining and exploration in Canada and around the world is enjoying a boom caused by significantly higher prices for the metal. More than half of tungsten production goes into superhard alloys of steel, which are used to make cutting tools and saw blades.
WINE
Consumer tastes for wine are becoming more upscale in the U.S. driving sales of premium-priced rose wines up 45 per cent in the past year. In the year to March 2007, rose table wine accounted for more than US$9-million in sales in food, drug and liquor stores. Twenty-eight new brands of premium rose wine were introduced in 2006, nearly twice as many as the 15 brands launched in 2005.
COINS
Because of a surge in the price of copper, the U.S. Mint decided 25 years ago to manufacture the U.S. penny almost entirely from zinc, save for the coating on which Abraham Lincoln's profile is engraved. Now, the fate of the penny is up in the air once again. With the price of zinc soaring it costs the government almost 2 cents to make each 1-cent-coin.
CAMP
In a country where credit is king, this summer, U.S. parents have been sending their kids to "money camps" designed to teach the value of saving and the pitfalls of massive debt.
SUDS
U.S. soap and detergent makers say they are being hurt by a double whammy of federal subsidies and mandates that has reduced the supply and pushed up the costs of a key ingredient, beef tallow. The steeply rising price of corn, driven by federal requirements to use more ethanol, has pushed up corn prices, making animal feed more expensive and prompting farmers to blend the less expensive tallow and other fats into their feeds. In the past year, tallow fats have doubled.
TOYS
India is struggling to prevent millions of condoms from being made into toys or sold as balloons. The contraceptives were distributed free to control the country's population and restrict the AIDS virus. However, they are being used to strengthen roads, provide extra waterproofing for houses and to carry water. Millions were melted down for their latex and made into toys. Others were dyed and sold as balloons.
DATA
The UK National Archives is warning that there is a growing problem of accessing old digital file formats which it describes as a "ticking time bomb." There is a possibility that we may lose years of critical knowledge because modern PCs cannot always open old formats. The National Archives holds 900 years of written material and has more than 580 terabytes of data, the equivalent of 580,000 encyclopaedias in older file formats that are no longer commercially available.
CITIES
Most of humanity will be living in cities by next year, raising the threat of increased poverty and religious extremism unless the needs of the growing urban populations are met, according to the United Nations. Some 3.3-billion people will live in cities by 2008 and by 2030, the number of city dwellers is expected to climb to 5-billion.
READING
Britons, particularly women, are spending more time reading than 30 years ago. The average time women spent reading a book jumped from two minutes a day in 1975 to eight minutes in 2000. Men's reading rose from three minutes to five minutes a day. The number of people reading books in Britain also rose over the same period, from a low of only 13 per cent to 17 per cent.
INDIA
Part of India's economic boom has been the growing emancipation of women. This trend is being watched carefully by Indian and global companies hoping to sell to the country's fast-growing middle class. It is predicted that the rising incomes and consumption of women could add US$35-billion to India's gross domestic product over the next five years, lifting consumer demand by 10 per cent.
LAND
Some charities are attacking the drive to grow more biofuels which are being heavily promoted by the U.S. and Europe as a solution to climate change. The UN says basic food prices for poor countries are being pushed up by competition for land from biofuels. A new report says governments and biofuel firms in developing countries are collaborating to push hundreds of thousands of indigenous people and peasant communities off their land
POST-PRODUCTION
Total revenues in the Canadian film, television and video post-production has been increasing, but a large increase in expenses have eaten into profits. The industry recorded total revenues of C$844-million in 2005, an 8 per cent increase over the previous year while expenses rose 10 per cent. Profits totalled $47-million. Ontario and Quebec companies accounted for 90 per cent of total operating post-production revenue.
MACHINES
When the first cash machine appeared at a bank in the UK in 1967, plastic cards had not been invented. so the machine used cheques that were impregnated with carbon 14, a mildly radioactive substance. The machine detected it and then matched it against a PIN number. The first machine paid out a maximum of ten pounds. There are now more than 1.6-million cash machines worldwide.
FUEL
U.S. scientists say that the sugar found in fruit such as apples and oranges can be converted into a new type of low-carbon fuel for cars. The fuel, made from fructose, contains far more energy than ethanol. In a separate report on biofuels, UK scientists say all types of waste products, including plastic bags can be used to make biodiesel fuel.
GIVING
Americans set a new record for charitable giving in 2006, donating nearly US$300-billion for a one per cent increase over 2005. Individuals gave a combined 75.6 per cent of the total, with 32.8 per cent of that going to religious organizations, followed by 13.9 per cent going to educational causes.
AFRICA
There is more trade going on today between China and Africa than ever before. In the late 1980s, trade between the country and the continent was US$12-million. Last year, according to official Chinese figures, it reached a record $55-billion. The backbone of China's blossoming relationship with the continent is raw materials. China, with its rapid economic and industrial growth, needs them and Africa has them in abundance. Some 30 per cent of China's oil imports now come from Africa.
LOCAL
Food safety issues and America's growing health and wellness segment are two key factors driving a surge in locally grown food sales, which could jump to US$5-billion this year and reach $7-billion by 2011. Restaurants, drug stores, convenience stores and even academic foodservice venues are turning to the fresh and local consciousness which is becoming so popular in America.
RAILWAYS
Nobody likes the rising price of oil better than the U.S. railroads. As the cost of crude soars, rail is gaining a competitive edge after losing ground to trucks for half a century. Even as automotive plants closings and reduced U.S. housing starts have contributed to a 4.4 per cent drop in train shipments this year, serious investors are flocking to railroad shares, betting that higher oil prices and surging Asian imports along with congested highways will boost long-term demand.
SERVICE
Time-starved shoppers are more likely to patronize retailers that enable them to take care of their own business through self-service devices according to a new North American study. Among the top three locations where the 633 U.S. and Canadian consumers surveyed would like to see this kind of convenience were grocery stores, chosen by 55 per cent. Only airports and malls ranked higher at 70 and 65 per cent respectively. However, a significant number still say they prefer person-to-person interaction.
KRILL
A food oil is being manufactured from Antarctic krill, a species of tiny shrimp-like zooplankton that thrive in the Antarctic Ocean. The oil is rich in omega-3 fatty acids and antioxidants. The oil shows considerable promise in treating a variety of human ailments from osteoarthritis to high cholesterol. It is being marketed in North America, Asia and Europe as a dietary supplement.
POWER
China is now building two power stations every week. and a Dutch think tank reports that China has now overtaken the U.S. as the world's biggest emitter of CO2. Much of China's emission growth is being driven by consumers in the West buying Chinese goods. China's emissions per person are still well below those of rich nations.
SOAP
A team of U.S. scientists has conducted the first known comprehensive analysis of whether anti-bacterial soap works better than plain soap. Their conclusion is that expensive anti-bacterial washes are no better at cleaning hands than ordinary soap and may actually encourage superbugs.
GROWTH
Since the inception of the Web, online commerce has enjoyed hypergrowth with annual overall sales increasing more than 25 per cent, and far more rapidly in some sectors. But last year, growth slowed sharply in major categories like books, tickets and office supplies. Online sales also dropped in diverse categories such as health and beauty products, computer peripherals and pet supplies.. However, sales on the internet are expected to reach US$116-billion this year, or five per cent of all retail sales.
HOURS
One in five, or more than 600-million people worldwide work excessively long hours with Peruvians topping the list and British employers the worst among rich nations. This comes from an International Labour Organization report on working trends in 50 countries. Progress towards a maximum 48-hour week is still uneven nearly 100 years after the standard was agreed by ILO members.
GAMBLING
Canadians gambled away C$14.5-billion last year playing slot machines, buying lottery tickets and betting at the racetrack. The industry took in more than $15-billion in revenue including $700-million on non-gambling activities such as food and drinks. Profits were massive, pegged at $10.6 billion, including commissions and taxes, with roughly $7.4-billion enriching provincial coffers and $3.2-billion going to charities.
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