Happy Holidays!

This is the season where we get together with family and friends and relax and enjoy.

It's also a fun time to learn about your family heritage. In the last year or so, I have found a great online program for connecting our family even closer.

The website is called Geni.com. You can quickly build your family tree and connect with relatives near an far.
One of the favourite features within our family is the Birthday reminder. The program will email you when there are Birthdays, anniversaries, etc., in your family - so you can send them a Birthday greeting.

Give it a try and let me know what you think.

I hope you have a safe and happy holiday!
Graham Jr.

December 2008 Economic Digest - Importing and Exporting

December 2008 Edition

BOARS

 
Wild boars are breeding at a huge rate in Germany and wreaking greater havoc than in any other European country by destroying crops, killing pets and even attacking humans. Germany's boar population rose by 320 per cent last year because of better access to food and bigger litters of young. The surge has caused the mounting destruction of crops and raised the risk of swine fever spreading.

PELTS

The number of ranch-raised pelts in Canada increased from 1,652,230 in 2006 to 1,806,050 in 2007. The value of the fur pelts increased 28 per cent to C$115-million. The value of wildlife pelts stood at $25.8-million in 2006-07, down 18 per cent from a year earlier.

WORTH

According to DLJ Merchant Banking Partners, there are now 90,000 families in the world with a net worth of more than US$360-million each. That number is expected to increase by 10 per cent over the next three years.

SUPERBUGS

Since it opened two years ago, there have been no reports of superbugs in a Bloomington, Indiana hospital despite more than 26,000 patients passing through its doors. Credit is being given to a British bacteria-killing disinfectant called Byotrol which works by killing bugs and then leaving behind a protective film which means future bacteria cannot attach themselves to the surface. Tests are presently underway in other hospitals.

HERBS

Coriander was recently named as Britain's best-selling herb. The plant now accounts for a quarter of all fresh herb sales, despite having only been grown commercially in Britain since the 1970s. Traditional favourites, basil and parsley, are second and third. The popularity of coriander is being driven by the love of curry and Asian food.

OOPS

A rare crystal jug mistakenly valued earlier in the year at US$200 has now sold for more than $6-million. The carved rock crystal pitcher, one of the most desirable works of art from the Islamic world, was believed to be a cheap French claret jug. Despite being valued as almost worthless, it fetched $440,00 at an initial auction. Fortunately for the owner, this sale was declared void.

ONLINE

Efforts to spur more Europeans to shop online and across national boundaries will be stepped up with plans for a new law to guarantee consumer rights across the 27-nation bloc. The proposed legislation will oblige retailers to make product information available before sale, guarantee delivery within a maximum of 30 days and allow a statutory 14-day cooling off period in which purchasers can change their minds. European officials forecast that online buying will have generated US$174-billion in 2008, a figure which could grow by 230 per cent in five years.

WINE

It is estimated that the global wine market will be worth US$273-billion by 2011. In 2005, Canada's share of worldwide wine production was 0.15 per cent and Canada was ranked 49th for per capita wine consumption. Per capita spending by Canadians on wine in 2006-07 was C$187. There are approximately 350 grape wineries in Canada of which 133 are in Ontario.

PHARMACIES

Supermarket pharmacies in the U.S. continue to post strong and steady performance figures. The median number of prescriptions dispensed per day in 2007 was 126 compared with 120 two years previously. The median weekly prescription sales per store rose to US$46,000 in 2007 from $42,000 in 2006. Prescription sales as a percentage of total store sales held steady at 9.4 per cent.

AFRICA

In the coming decades, Africa's oilfields may begin to rival the strategic significance of the Middle East reserves. As new discoveries elsewhere steadily diminish, the global balance of oil wealth shifts towards Africa with every passing year. By 2015, the U.S. will purchase one quarter of its oil from Africa compared with about 15 per cent from Saudi Arabia. The African continent will become the superpower's largest single supplier with the sole exception of Canada.

ASIA

The outlook for Asian economies is no longer so promising. New forecasts from the Asian Development Bank for GDP growth in 2009 are generally lower than previously forecast. While the projection for China remains at over 9 per cent, Vietnam is forecast to grow at 6 per cent rather than the original 8 per cent and India at 7 per cent compared with 8.5 per cent. The Asian markets are being hit by lower demand for its exports in developed economies and by costly access to global capital markets.

FIRING

After years of fat profits and bonuses, cost-cutting is again at the top of the corporate agenda. Costs for reducing staff can vary enormously across the world. America, New Zealand and Tonga are among the most company-friendly countries requiring no penalties or compensation to fire a full-time employee of 20-years. By contrast a business in Zimbabwe must shell out well over eight years' worth of pay. But companies in Venezuela and Bolivia are even more tied, workers there cannot be fired at all.

LAKES

A new report claims that invasive species that have reached the Great Lakes in the ballast tanks of oceangoing ships may be costing the surrounding region on the U.S. about US$200-million a year. Canada has also suffered similar losses. 57 of the 84 invasive species that became established after the St. Lawrence Seaway opened in 1959 were transported in ballast water.

PAY

Senior managers in the Middle East, Russia and China are better paid than those working in the West, once their cost of living is taken into account. A recent study compared managers' disposable income in 51 countries, by calculating average salaries adjusted for taxes and living expenses. On that basis managers in Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates have twice the spending power of their counterparts in America who rank only 41st in the survey.

CULTURE

Canada's export of culture goods declined for a fourth consecutive year in 2007. Exports in 2007 were just under C$2-billion, while imports were nearly $4-billion. The U.S. continued to be Canada's largest trading partner in culture goods, both in terms of exports and imports. In 2007, it was the destination of 90 per cent of Canada's exports and the source of 75 per cent of imports Writing and printed works accounted for 72 per cent of Canada's imports of culture goods and 36 per cent of exports.

AIRPORTS

In a worldwide passenger survey, Hong Kong International Airport has been named the best in the world. Second place was tied and was awarded to Seoul Inchon Airport in Korea and Singapore's Changi Airport. Vancouver International Airport came in eighth after being fifteenth the year before. The survey is based on more than 7.8-million detailed passenger surveys covering over 170 airports.

WATER

Snobbery, convenience and worries about tap water have propelled the American bottled-water industry from sales of US$4-billion in 1997 to $10.8-billion in 2006. Globally the industry is now worth about $60-billion. As well as the plain variety, there are now bottled waters laced with all sorts of extra ingredients, such as caffeine, appetite suppressants, skin enhancers and even laxatives.

SUN

EU scientists have claimed that a series of huge solar farms in the Sahara could supply the whole of Europe with clean electricity. The solar farms would produce electricity either through photovoltaic cells, or by concentrating the intense desert heat to boil water to drive turbines. This, along with power from other renewable sources, such as wind or geothermal, would be fed into a 5,000-mile electricity or supergrid from Siberia to Morocco and Egypt to Iceland.

LABELS

Disappearing labels could soon tell you when food in your fridge is out of date. Taiwan University has developed an ink, based on anthraquinone B-sulphonate, which fades from red to beige in the presence of oxygen. Varying the thickness of a gas-permeable polyacrylate film on top of a food label allows different sell-by dates to be programmed.

SHARIA

The modern history of Islamic finance is often dated to the 1970s with the launch of Islamic banks in Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, though its roots go back 14 centuries. Islamic finance rests on the application of Islamic law, or Sharia, whose primary sources are the Koran and the sayings of the Prophet Muhammad. In 2007, Sharia-compliant assets were valued at US$155-billion in Iran. Saudi Arabia had assets of $69-billion and Malaysia $65-billion. Britain had Sharia-compliant assets of over $10-billion.

MAGAZINES

Canadian consumer magazines have experienced a significant drop in sales this year compared with 2007. Of 62 English and French magazines sold on newsstands in the first six months of this year, 27, almost 44 per cent of the total, experienced double-digit declines. Only 18 magazines reported increased newsstand sales. Single copy newsstand sales historically have been the benchmark of a magazines's success in the market while generating more revenue per copy than those sold through subscription.

STUDENTS

The number of Chinese students applying to British universities has risen by a fifth in a year. A total of 7,880 Chinese students applied for places, an increase from 6,423 in 2007. The rise comes as educational experts have warned that individual institutions could suffer economically if they rely too much on a large intake from a single country. Overall, applications from non-UK students were up by 6.4 per cent from 73,870 to 78,594.

TEA

Tea was discovered by the Chinese 5,000 years ago and introduced to Britain as an expensive herbal medicine in the seventeenth century. The drink was so unfamiliar that many threw away the water and chewed the leaves. In 1937, seeing war with Germany as inevitable, the tea industry devised plans to make sure supplies were maintained. With the outbreak of war, Churchill insisted the Royal navy had an unrestricted supply and reserves of tea were shipped to 500 secret locations.

DIET

Canadian food preferences continue to change according to a 2007 snapshot of food available for consumption. The Canadian diet includes more fresh fruits, yogurts, cheeses, creams, red meats, exotic juices, low fat milk, wine and spirits. Canadians also prefer less cereal and sugar, and fewer oils, fats and eggs in their diets. Compared with 20 years ago, Canadians now have 10.9 per cent more vegetables, excluding potatoes, in their diet, four times more garlic and twice as much asparagus and cucumbers.

CARS

The Austin Allegro has been voted the worst car in Britain 25 years after production ceased. Made by British Leyland between 1973 and 1983, the car was plagued with many design problems. One example of its poor construction was that it was more aerodynamic when travelling backwards than when it was driven forwards. A total of 642,350 Allegros were produced.

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