December 2007 Edition
SCOTCH
Soaring sales in the Far East and emerging markets worldwide have led to an unprecedented boom in the Scotch whisky industry. Total export volumes for Scotch are expected to be up 17 per cent on last year, the equivalent of 71 million bottles, or US$190-million in shipment value. The most important period for the industry is typically the last two months of the year. Predictions are that the full-year exports could well be above $5-billion.
CARS
The average midsized sports utility vehicle has grown 25cm longer, 10cm in width and gained 215 kilograms weight in the past decade. Midsize and large sedans also weigh hundreds of pounds more. Auto makers say they are just catering to the desires of customers but boosting the size of vehicles helps foster brand loyalty as customers stick with the models they know and love.
EMISSIONS
Cement is a vary basic material with no obvious substitutes in terms of satisfying basic needs of housing and infrastructure all over the world. Building construction eats up concrete, and to make one tonne of cement, a key ingredient of concrete, 900kg of carbon dioxide (CO2) are released into the atmosphere. Production of cement causes twice as many carbon emissions as the world's airline industry currently does. Eighteen major cement manufacturers produce a combined one billion tonnes of cement a year, just under half the global output.
RECRUITING
The British spy agency Government Communications Headquarters (GCHQ) which is responsible for surveillance, hopes to attract computer-savvy recruits by embedding job advertisements in video games. The GCHQ, which employs about 5,000 people, says it hopes this will capture the imagination of people with a particular interest in Information Technology.
DIGITAL
The U.S. Library of Congress has announced a plan to digitalize a collection of the world's rare cultural materials, artifacts ranging from a photo collection of a 19th century Brazilian empress to a crackly recording of a 101-year-old grandson of a slave. The Library has signed an agreement with UNESCO in Paris to move ahead with their World Digital Library. The World Digital Library started two years ago with a US$3-million grant from Google.
WEDDINGS
In 1998, the last year for which Statistics Canada numbers could be found, Canada's wedding industry was worth an estimated C$4-billion a year. More recent figures from the U.S. put the value of the industry at US$50-billion a year. In 2005, 714,000 Japanese brides spent an average of US$70,000 per wedding and in India, estimates of the size of the wedding market range as high as $20-billion a year.
WASTE
The paperless office, predicted in an 1975 article called the Office of the Future, has proven to be greatly exaggerated. Although an estimated nine trillion pages a year are confined to computer screens, the number of printed pages stands at between 2.5 and 2.8 trillion pages worldwide, a figure that is expected to grow over the next 10 years. About one trillion of these sheets, churned out by office printers, are estimated to be thrown out within hours. Xerox found that office workers throw away 48 per cent of everything they print within a day.
RETAIL
A new PricewaterhouseCoopers study suggests that the retail industry will become more segmented and customer-driven by the year 2015. The study identifies 15 growth drivers and predicts 15 trends that will redefine the retail environment in 2015. Among shifting demographics, household downsizing and new marketing channels, the retail industry will face a variety of new challenges. Overall, the retail industry will need to adopt a more targeted approach in order to reach its customers.
RADIO
U.S. scientists have unveiled a detector thousands of times smaller than the diameter of a human hair that can translate radio waves into sound. This is the first time a nano-sized detector has been demonstrated in a working radio system. Made of carbon nanotubes a few atoms across, it is almost 1,000 times smaller than current radio technology. Many companies are interested in the long-term potential of carbon nanotubes, tiny cylinders of carbon that measure just a few billionths of a metre across.
VIETNAM
Growth in Vietnamese shipments to the U.S. is outpacing overall export growth for the Asian nation, whose government is banking on the American market to help ease a widening trade deficit. Exports to the U.S., Vietnam's largest market, climbed 22 per cent to August of this year reaching US$6.69-billion. Vietnam has set a target of 20.5 per cent for overall exports to grow.
GAMING
Canada's video games firms have developed an international reputation for being among the best and most innovative developers with annual revenues reaching upwards of $2-billion. The Canadian video game industry comprises more than 260 firms and a combined 9,000 employees in nine provinces. About 20 per cent of the top selling games in North America are developed in Canadian studios. It is estimated that the worldwide market will top US$55-billion by 2009.
INDIA
The retail sector in India has sales of US$300-billion annually which is projected to rise to $560-billion by 2010. Some 95 per cent is accounted for by small, family-run stores but it is predicted that their share will have shrunk to about four-fifths by 2012 as bigger stores, such as Reliance Retail, start to lure shoppers. Reliance has opened more than 300 stores in the past year, including grocery stores.
TOYS
There are over 200 companies in Canada that manufacture toys and games. Annual retail sales of toys and games in Canada are worth C$1.4-billion. Since the massive recall of toys manufactured in China earlier in the year which saw 21 million toys recalled by Mattel Inc., some Canadian manufacturers have seen their sales increase by 10 per cent in Canada and 25 per cent internationally.
HOTELS
The most expensive five-star hotel rooms in the world may be found in New York, San Francisco and Nice. The cheapest are in Cape Town, Cairo and Warsaw.
COTTON
The US could face billions of dollars in trade sanctions for failing to scrap illegal subsidies paid to American cotton growers. The ruling by the World Trade Organization is a victory for Brazil's cotton industry and for West African countries which say the payments harm their producers. Brazil has reserved the right to impose annual sanctions of up to US$4-billion on the U.S. but would likely settle for less.
SIZE
PetroChina Co gained the most in five months in Hong Kong trading as oil rose to over $85 a barrel, vaulting the state-owned oil producer over General Electric to become the world's second largest company. The largest is still Exxon Mobil Corp. with a value of over $518-billion. PetroChina's stock has soared 14-fold since its 2000 public share sale.
DEVELOPMENT
The Netherlands, Denmark, Norway and Sweden have the most effective policies to help poor countries according to a Washington, DC think tank. The report grades 21 rich countries each year on how well they support development in poor countries. Each country is assessed on its policies in seven areas including aid, migration, investment and trade.
RAIL
Canada's railways collectively operate one of the largest railway systems in the world and are fully integrated with the U.S. rail system. According to industry figures, Canada's freight railways handle more than 65 per cent of surface traffic, more than 4.3 million carloads of freight and containers annually. Passenger railways move over 60.6 million commuters annually. Overall, Canada's railways directly employ 34,500 people and contribute approximately $10-billion to the Canadian economy.
MAFIA
Revenue from organized crime amounts to an estimated US$127-billion annually in Italy, making it the largest segment of the economy. The figure, representing about 7 per cent of the country's gross domestic product, is made from illicit activities such as extortion, drug trafficking, loan sharking and prostitution.
BEER
Trouble is predicted for small beer makers across North America as the price of hops and barley, two of the essential ingredients in brewing, continue to rise, as do the costs of shipping and transport. Ironically, some farmers abandoned the growing of hops and barley after a glut in the market. Because of lifestyle changes, it is estimated that for the next five years, sales of wine will increase 3.5 per cent. sales of spirits increase 2 per cent but beer sales only by 0.5 per cent.
CANS
The American Iron and Steel Institute (AISI), in cooperation with a major supermarket chain, have rolled out a campaign to educate consumers on the nutritional and safety benefits of canned food. Research shows that canned foods are nutritionally comparable to their cooked fresh and frozen counterparts, and in some cases even more nutritious. The ASAI has 31 member companies, including integrated and electric furnace steelmakers and 130 associate and affiliated member companies representing about 75 per cent of U.S. and North American steel capacity.
TECHNOLOGY
When the northern pygmies of Congo-Brazzaville go into the forest these days, besides their traditional bows and arrows, they are carrying hand-held satellite tracking systems. They use the GPS handsets to pinpoint sacred sites and hunting areas. They are protecting their livelihoods and habitats against the chainsaws and bulldozers of commercial logging.
OUTSOURCING
Smarties, the famous British candy, is to be produced in Germany after 70 years in England. Also, Black Magic is now manufactured in the Czech Republic and Dairy Box is manufactured in Spain. The Smarties move will cost about 650 jobs. About 73 million pounds of Smarties are sold annually.
SAFETY
An endangered species of whale is to get extra protection after a safe haven from shipping has been set aside off Nova Scotia in Canada. The voluntary restriction asks ships captains to avoid a 1,800-sq-km area. Collisions with container ships are seen as a key threat to some whales.
COAL
The coal that has powered China's economic growth is also choking its people. The country is home to 16 of the world's most polluted cities. Coal provides about 70 per cent of China's energy needs. The country consumed some 2.4 billion tons in 2006, more than the U.S., Japan and the United Kingdom combined. In 2000, China anticipated doubling its coal consumption by 2020. It is now expected to have done so by the end of 2007.
SUNSCREEN
New research shows that broccoli juice is better than conventional sunscreens when it comes to protecting against the sun's harmful ultraviolet rays. The extract reduced sunburn symptoms by up to 78 per cent.
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