April 2010 Edition
CRUISING
In 2009, cruise companies invested US$4.7-billion to build 14 new ships and they will launch a further 12 vessels this year. Many of these were planned before the economic downturn. To entice customers, cruise lines have cut prices dramatically, sometimes by as much as 40 per cent. Because of these discounts, more people are taking cruises: 13.4-million in 2009, up from 12.6-million in 2007. There are around 30 ports of embarkation in the U.S. alone and the industry hopes to attract more customers in the next few years. Only 20 per cent of Americans have been on a cruise.
PETS
The breeding of snakes is a serious business in the U.S. Revenue from the sales of boas and pythons amounts to about US$1.6- to 1.8-billion a year. Americans own more than 2.5-million snakes. The recession has hurt what used to be a lucrative hobby. Fewer people want to splurge on snakes that cost thousands, if not tens of thousands, of dollars.
TURKEY
Over the next decade, Turkey is to invest about US$12-billion to build a high-speed railway network and shift more traffic to trains. Railways carry 3 per cent of passenger and per cent of freight traffic in Turkey. The country opened its first high-speed railway last March, a $4-billion line that links Ankara to the city of Eskisehir. In total, almost 2,300 kilometres of high-speed rail are planned.
SCHOOLS
An imbalance in U.S. medical schools has been growing for a quarter century. Many bright students have had to study offshore while American hospitals were using foreign-trained and foreign-born physicians to fill medical residencies. Now, two dozen new medical schools have opened or may open across the country this year, the most since the 1960s and '70s. The proliferation of new schools is a market response to a rare convergence of forces: Growing population; the aging of the health-conscious baby-boom generation and the impending retirement of as many as a third of current doctors.
WIND
Canada expanded its wind power production in 2009 at a record pace, putting it among the top 10 countries that built new turbines in 2009, but it still supplies only one per cent of the total power produced in the country. The U.S. has the most wind farms, with Germany second, China third followed by Spain. In Canada, hydro-electric power still rules with 59 per cent of Canadian energy produced in this manner followed by nuclear energy. In Europe, burning coal is the most common power source.
CHEESE
Hard economic times has not put a hole in the global appetite for Swiss cheese as exports grew last year to record levels. Some 62,146 tonnes of hard and soft cheeses were exported, an increase of 1.6 per cent over the previous year. An increase in German, French and Italian demand offset a drop in the United States. Emmentaler cheese with its distinctive holes, remained the favourite, accounting for one kilo in three of Swiss cheese eaten abroad.
PORTS
As trade in the region grows more lucrative, China is spending millions on building new port facilities in India, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Myanmar. China recently became India's largest trading partner and both have worked together to advance similar positions in global trade. India and China are the world's two fastest growing economies. In the last 10 years, Chinese companies have become the biggest suppliers to ports of cranes used to move shipping containers, displacing South Korean and Japanese companies. It is estimated that China is involved in US$6-billion worth of projects in Sri Lanka.
COSTS
It used to be that a basic US$25 a month phone bill was the main telecommunications expense. But by 2004, the average American spent $770.95 annually on services like cable television, Internet connectivity and video games. By 2008, the figure rose to $903.00, outstripping inflation. By the end of this year, it is expected to have grown to $997.07. Add another $1000.00 or more for cellphone service and the average family is spending as much on devices as on dining out or buying gasoline.
AIR TRAVEL
The International Air Transport Association (IATA) reports that 2009 saw the biggest post-war decline in internationally scheduled air traffic. Passenger demand was down 3.5 per cent with an average load factor of 75.6 per cent. Freight showed a full-year decline of 10.1 per cent with an average load factor of 49.1 per cent. Carriers in Africa, Asia-Pacific, Europe and North America all showed declines while carriers in the Middle East and Latin America both showed positive growth.
FLOWERS
Valentine's Day generates 12 per cent of annual sales of flowers in Columbia and employs 200,000 Colombians directly or indirectly. In order to meet demand on Valentine's Day, the Columbian industry dispatched 500-million flowers daily on 28 flights destined for international markets, particularly the United States, Canada and some European countries, primarily roses and farm-made bouquets. 80 per cent of all flowers imported by 43,000 florists and supermarkets come from Columbia.
SPENDING
In a down economy, women are more frugal than men. Research by a Toronto-based company reports that in a survey of more than 7,200 American consumers, 72 per cent of U.S. women cut their spending in 2009 compared with only 62 per cent of men. Only four out of 15 industry sectors were unaffected by gender differences in spending, with gas stations, bars, hotels and airlines having similar levels of reduced spending. Restaurants were the most affected by gender differences.
SEATS
Japan's Kioto Industries has admitted to fabricating safety data for seats in more than 1,000 aircraft used by 32 carriers. The company uses fake strength test data for more than 150,000 seats used in the Boeing and Airbus aircraft of customers including Air Canada, KLM, Scandinavian and Singapore Airlines. The company, an auto parts maker affiliated with Toyota, has been ordered to retest the products.
BRIDGES
Transport Canada is in talks to buy the Ambassador Bridge which spans the Detroit River to connect Windsor, Ontario with Detroit. If successful, Transport Canada says it would have no effect on plans for a new bridge further downriver. The Canadian government has purchased land from the city of Windsor to help build a new six-lane bridge. Officials have been working for years to add capacity at the busiest border crossing between Canada and the U.S., now served by the current bridge and a tunnel that runs under the river.
WINE
The first commercially-produced wine from grapes ripened in Scotland is to be launched, if there is enough sunshine. Wine has even been produced in the Outer Hebrides on the Isle of Lewis. Scientists predict that global warming will create a more favourable climate for making wine in Britain, including Scotland. There are already 416 vineyards in England and 2,732 acres of vines under cultivation, an increase of 45 per cent over the past four years.
SALARIES
Spain's government is using emergency legislation to rein in its air traffic controllers who earn up to US$1.3-million a year in a country suffering a recession and nearly 20 per cent unemployment. The controllers are technically civil servants but they signed an agreement in 1999 giving them autonomy and control over their salaries. The high annual salaries average over $541,000 and defeat the government's goal of cutting costs.
SOIL
An estimated 75-billion tonnes of soil is lost annually with more than 80 per cent of the world's farming land moderately or severely eroded. Soil in China is being lost 57 times faster than it can be replaced through natural processes. In Europe that figure is 17 times and in the United States 10 times and five times as much soil is being lost in Australia. A recent conference was told that world soil could vanish within 60 years if action is not taken.
INFLUENCE
Canada's influence in the world has worsened sharply in the past year in an international poll of 20,176 people in 20 countries suggests. Positive views of Canada fell most steeply in the U.S., Britain and China. This is the first time Canada's popularity among its major trading partners has declined since polling began in 2005. This deterioration could hurt Canada's business interests. Much of the decline is blamed on negative media coverage of Canada's environmental policies. However, in Indonesia, Russia and Germany, perceptions of Canadian influence has improved.
WASTE
Thirteen Spanish towns have bid to host a major new nuclear waste storage site, a long-delayed project that is fiercely opposed by environmentalists. Spain's six nuclear plants currently store their own spent fuel. The eventual location of the site is expected to cost US$1-billion and employ about 100 people when operational. The site will bring millions of euros in government subsidies to its host town.
LIQUOR
Americans' love affair with top-shelf liquor cooled last year as the recession took its toll on high-priced liquor. A new report shows people drank more but turned to cheaper brands. They also drank more at home and less in pricier bars and restaurants. Industry growth slowed in 2009 with the amount of liquor sold by suppliers up 1.4 per cent, the smallest increase since 2001 and below the 10-year average of 2.6 per cent. Vodka remained Americas favourite liquor accounting for almost a third of all spirit sold and sales of US$4.56-billion.
DIAMONDS
Canada is set to open its first official diamond trading marketplace in downtown Toronto, a move spurred by the rush in recent years to mine and market the homegrown stones nationally and worldwide. Both polished and rough stones will be bought and sold. There are 28 diamond bourses in places such as Belgium, Israel and South Africa. Diamonds were first discovered in Canada in 1991 and is now the third-largest producer of gem-quality stones. Canada now produces about 15 per cent of the world's annual rough diamonds.
GOLD
The world's gold mines increased production by 144 tonnes last year. This more than offset the drop in output in 2008 caused in part by a slump in production in Indonesia. China remains the largest gold producer accounting for 13 per cent of the world's supply in 2009. It produced half as much again as Australia, the next largest supplier.
CONSUMERS
Wielding buying power that will approach US$1-trillion this year, the 40-million strong African-American population is an important component of an economy increasingly dependent on the needs and preferences of multicultural shoppers. The African-American population isn't as large as the U.S.Hispanic market but the disposable personal income of both demographic groups is projected to trend comparably over the next five years.
COINS
The general manager of the Chilean mint has been dismissed after thousands of coins were issued with the name of the country spelled incorrectly. The coins were issued in 2008 but no one noticed the error until last year.
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