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April 2009 Economic Digest - Importing and Exporting

April 2009 Edition

RAIL

A Chinese company has won a contract to build a US$1.8-billion monorail to carry pilgrims around the Islamic holy city of Mecca. The rail link will go between Mecca and the holy sites of Mina, Arafat and Muzdalifah which are visited by massive tides of pilgrims during the annual haj. More than two million pilgrims descend on Mecca each year. CHARGERS The mobile phone industry has at last decided to make one device that can recharge any cell phone. The announcement was made at the recent 2009 Mobile World Congress that a deal had been brokered among the world's leading handset makers to come up with a standard for charging cell phones. A single standard will not only make life easier for the more than three billion mobile phone users in the world but it will also help the environment. DIET The Valencia Agricultural Research Institute has launched a breeding program of the rare Valenciano rabbit and predicts that it could be on supermarket shelves within three years. It is hoped that the animals, which can grow as big as a lamb and produce 15lbs of meat, will prove popular as a healthy and cheap alternative to red meat. The Valenciano breed was established in 1912 when farmers cross bred large domestic Spanish rabbits with the imported Flemish Giant variety. During the first half of last century, the enormous rabbits were exported across Europe and to Cuba, Argentina and Chile. WORTH For the fourth consecutive year, Real Madrid remained the biggest revenue earner in the world football league in 2008. The Spanish club earned US$460-million. Manchester United was second with earnings of $402-million. FC Barcelona was next followed by Munich, Chelsea and Arsenal. The Spanish teams' dominance owes as much to swings in currencies as to on-field brilliance. TASTE After a couple of decades when the New York-style bagel became increasingly prevalent, British consumers spent more on croissants than on the bagel last year. According to retail figures, sales of croissants in 2008 climbed 30 per cent to hit US$120-million, overtaking sales of bagels which slipped nine per cent to $89-million. ENERGY The largest utility in California, squeezed by rising demand for electricity and looming state deadlines to curb fossil fuels, has signed a deal to buy solar power from seven immense arrays of mirrors, towers and turbines to be installed in the Mojave Desert. The contracts amount to the world's largest single deal for new solar energy capacity. When fully built, the solar arrays, on a sunny day, would supply 1,300 megawatts of electricity, more than a modern nuclear power plant. LEGO The Danish toy company is to take a radical step into the gadget market and launch a mobile phone. The slim mobile has a plastic casing made up of colourful Lego bricks, which the user can change according to their mood. It is understood that the phone, initially aimed at the US and Asian market, will be priced between $20.00 and $60.00, and will include an MP3 player, walkie-talkie and digital camera. Lego has become increasingly adventurous about moving its trusted toy brand into other areas and has experimented with Lego electronics before, unveiling a prototype camcorder. TREES New research shows that living near trees makes people live longer and feel happier. Leafy streets also encourage a lower crime rate and a more "civilized" atmosphere, even in poorer areas. Researchers believe that living close to parks and other green spaces is essential to our physical, psychological and social well-being. Japanese research show that older people live longer when their homes are within walking distance of a park or other green space. LEGAL AID In 2007\2008, legal aid plans in 10 Canadian provinces and territories spent C$670-million on the delivery of legal aid services. Just over half of direct legal aid expenditures spent went towards cases involving criminal matters, the remainder was spent on civil issues. Nearly 748,000 applications for legal assistance were submitted to the 10 reporting legal aid plans and 472,000 applications for full legal aid service were approved. RETAIL Lower-income shoppers are the fastest-growing income group in the United States and will generate US$84-billion in incremental spending during the next decade. Information Resources Inc.(IRI) contends that less affluent consumers represent an enormous opportunity for retailers and manufacturers during a slow economy. IRI studied five lower-income micro-segments which are positioned to drive a large share of sales growth for retailers: Singles and married couples aged 25-34, Seniors older than 65, Households with children, Hispanics and African-Americans. TRAVEL There is a revolution going on in Spanish travel as domestic airlines have lost a fifth of their passengers in the space of a year while long-distance trains have gained almost a third. Early mornings at Barcelona's rail station are filled with business people who will head to Madrid for meetings almost 500k away on trains travelling at speeds of up to 300kph. The opening of the Barcelona-Madrid line a year ago marked the beginning of the end of airlines' dominance. In the first ten months it carried 2-million passengers. Spain is to build another 9,000k of lines over the next decade. SANDWICHES Last year, the French munched their way through 13-billion sandwiches, 50-million more than in 2007. In 2008, bankruptcies of restaurants and cafes, affected also by the smoking ban, leapt by 26 per cent. Between 2003 and 2008, the sandwich market jumped by 28 per cent in volume and is now worth US$5.1-billion a year. The young seem particulary keen. The average 25-34-year-old consumes twice as many sandwiches every year as a 45-54-year-old. Working women also like le sandwich as it allows them more time to go shopping during lunchtime. ARTISTS In the last Canadian census, 140,000 people identified themselves as artists. A new study has revealed that artists overall are working for near-poverty levels with an average annual earnings in 2005 of $22,731, compared with $36,301 for all Canadian workers, a 37 per cent difference. Of the 140,000 artists analyzed, 43 per cent earned less than $10,000 and two per cent, 2,705, earned over $100,000. 39 per cent of all Canadian artists have a university degree. UNIONS The percentage of American workers belonging to a union jumped in 2008, the first statistically significant increase in the figure in the 25 years it has been reported. In 2008, union members represented 12.4 per cent of employed workers, up from 12.1 per cent a year earlier. The number of workers belonging to a union rose 428,000 to 16.1-million with much of that increase coming from growth of government employees in unions, which rose by 275,000 to 7.8-million. GOLD Jewellery dominates gold consumption though the metal is also critical in electronics as an efficient, noncorroding conductor. In 2007, 2,398 tons of gold was used for jewellery, 310 tons for electronics, 93 tons for other industrial uses and 58 tons in dentistry. 235 tons went for bar hoarding, 137 tons for official coins and 73 tons for medals and special coins. SMELL London's Harrods, the world's best known purveyor of luxury went for maximum impact when it played with scent for a few weeks last year. No fewer than 12 different fragrances permeated its departments in the boldest experiment yet in the use of aroma in retailing. In 2009, several other stores will follow Harrods lead in Britain, and beyond. They will include at least one supermarket, the owner of several shopping malls and a fast food chain. All will try out an array of new smells, sights and sounds hoping to make people stay longer and spend more. TOURISM The World Tourism Organization predicts that by 2020 some 100 million Chinese will be travelling overseas. Up to now, most Chinese travellers get no farther than Hong Kong or Macau. Fewer than four million a year venture beyond Asia. But hoteliers expect Chinese travellers, especially rich ones, to have a significant influence on their industry in the future, like the Japanese, Arabs and Russians before them. BULBS The Royal Society of Chemistry is seeking a British light bulb that has burnt for longer than a number of records in the U.S. and is offering a reward of $1,000 for the oldest authenticated bulb in Britain. It will have to better the light bulb in the Livermore fire station in California which dates back to 1901 and is still burning brightly. Another is the one installed at the Fort Worth Palace theatre on 21 September 1908, which, though now in a museum, is still working. So far, the oldest known bulb in Britain is only 70 years old. WINE In just three years' time, the U.S. will become the world's largest consumer of still wine. American consumption is expected to grow over the next five years despite the dismal economy, reaching 330-million cases or 3.96-billion bottles. CARS The German government is paying people who junk old cars a bonus equivalent to almost US$4,000 towards a newer, environmentally cleaner vehicle, as part of its $106-billion stimulus plan. Participants must have cars demolished at a government-recognized scrapyard and provide proof of purchase of a new car and two documents from the recycling facility. SICKNESS Approximately 76-million Americans, one in four, are sickened by foodborne diseases each year. Of these, an estimated 325,000 are hospitalized and 5,000 die, costing the U.S. $44-billion annually. President Obama has called for a "complete review" of the nation's food safety system. The FDA's resources have been cut over the past three years as it has lost 20 per cent of its science staff and 600 inspectors. REMITTANCES The money sent home by Mexican migrants fell in 2008 for the first time on record, part of a global trend that could worsen as emigrants from developing countries lose jobs in the global financial crisis. Remittances, the second-largest source of foreign income after oil, plunged 3.6 per cent to US$25-billion in 2008 compared with $26-billion the year before. PLACEMENT Product placement is big business. Between January and November 2008, Coca-Cola led the way with 3,091 product placement appearances in TV and movies. Both Nike footwear and apparel made the Top 10 list as well. Another popular category for product placement was technology--AT&T and Dell both made the list. MOSS A new bathmat made of moss is kept alive by water that drips from your body as you dry. The mat contains a total of 70 pieces of island and forest moss. It feels soft underfoot and does not smell when it gets damp. Each piece of moss is cut into a foam frame which prevents the moss from spreading or growing out of control. Its designer says the mat is very relaxing and needs little care. 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