December 2010 Edition
RESERVES
Iraq has raised the estimate of the country's proven oil reserves to over 143-billion barrels, an increase of almost 25 per cent. The new figure puts Iraq third in the world in terms of known reserves, after Saudi Arabia with 266-billion barrels and Canada with 178-billion barrels if the oil sands are included.
PATENTS
Between 2006 and 2009, the number of patent applications in America, Europe and South Korea largely held steady. But filings in Japan sank while those in China soared. If the pattern holds, more patents may be filed in China this year than in Japan for the first time, putting China in striking distance of the U.S. As recently as 2000, Japanese patent filings were four times greater than China. Patents are a crude but useful measure of innovation.
BEAUTY
The biggest trend in the health and beauty care category is the niche marketing of products designed to make us feel our personal best. Some retailers now devote entire sections to gender-specific health and beauty care consumers. In a recent survey, almost nine out of ten U.S. women (86 per cent) have used a makeup product that contains a skin care benefit in the past year. The market for natural beauty products, or "nutricosmetics" is projected to reach US$2.5-billion by 2010, up from the current $1.5-billion.
TOILETS
China's housing boom has unleashed a bull market in cutting edge plumbing. Nearly 19-million toilets are sold each year in the country, roughly twice the number sold in the U.S.
SHIPPING
Canada is waiving the 25-per cent tax on imported cargo vessels which will save ship owners C$25-million a year for 10 years. The measure applies to general cargo vessels, tankers and large ferries and responds to Canada's need to maintain a modern and efficient shipping industry that serves as a vital transportation link for Canada's internal and external trade in agriculture, mining and manufacturing.
CARPETS
Iran's carpet industry is likely to lose a major source of revenue when U.S. sanctions banning the import of Persian carpets are implemented. The export of hand-woven carpets generates about US$500-million annually for Iran's economy with 20 per cent of the total earned in the U.S. market.
COUPLES
Marriages in the U.S. fell to a record low in 2009, with just 52 per cent of adults 18 and over saying they were joined in wedlock, compared with 57 per cent in 2000. The never-married included 46.3 per cent of young adults 25-34, with sharp increases in single people in cities in the Midwest and Southeast. It was the first time the share of unmarried young adults exceeded those who were married. Sociologists say younger people are increasingly choosing to delay marriage as they struggle to find work and resist long-term commitments.
CROPS
Proposals to let European Union states decide for themselves whether to grow or ban genetically modified (GM) crops suffered a big setback as many of the bloc's largest governments confirmed they opposed the plans. To pass, the proposals put forward by the EU need the support of a majority of EU states and lawmakers under the bloc's weighted voting system which gives larger states a greater say in the final decision. Farm ministers from Germany, France, Italy and Spain have all expressed doubts about the viability of the plan.
SALES
Supermarket sales in the U.S. reached US$437-billion in 2009. Nielsen Homescan data shows that the average supermarket basket rings in at $41.44 per trip, up just one per cent from $41.03 in 2008. Grocery purchases fared better as losses for restaurants turned into gains for supermarkets. Fresh food categories, about 51 per cent of total supermarket sales, had sales of $255-billion. Egg sales dropped by 15 per cent and milk by 5 per cent. Packaged meat sales increased by 4 per cent to $55-billion.
INDIA
While digital technology is affecting traditional print newspapers in the rich countries, it is not so in India where, since 2005, the number of paid-for Indian daily newspaper titles has surged by 44 per cent to 2,700. One reason is that only 7 per cent of Indians surf the web regularly. The growth of Indian newspapers is driven by rising literacy and a booming economy. Granted, only 65 per cent of adult Indians can read, but this is twice as many as what it was three decades ago. Papers are cheap, only nine cents each, and many households buy more than one daily.
GRADUATES
Britain has lost its status as one of the world's leaders in producing graduates. The rate of students gaining degrees has dropped leaving the U.K trailing the likes of Poland, Denmark, Portugal and Norway. Figures released recently reveal that Britain has fallen from third in a table of developed countries in 2000 to 15th by 2008. In 2000, 37 per cent of 18 to 21 year-olds in the UK gained degrees. Only New Zealand with 50 per cent and Finland with 41 per cent were higher.
TVs
A historically large oversupply of LCD TV panels is causing television prices to fall in time for the holiday shopping season. It is estimated that prices will fall by 12 per cent from 2009 levels and perhaps by even more. The forecasted price plunge stems from an enormous surplus of LCD panels that accumulated over the first nine months of the year. Shipments of the panels rose to 52-million in the second quarter of 2010 but only 38.7-million TVs were shipped to retailers. The average cost of a 32-inch LCD TV in 2005 was US$1,566; today it is about $375.
FOOD
The amount of imported food landing on Canadian dinner plates is growing but the federal agency responsible for inspecting what Canadians eat relies to a large extent on inspectors in other countries to ensure it is safe. An internal audit of the way the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CIFA) manages the safety of imported food says the agency has failed to develop a strategy to ensure that health hazards are not entering Canada. The problem is largely related to a lack of resources which has dogged the agency for years. 77 per cent of Canadians are concerned about the safety of the food they eat.
WIND
A major UK report states that off shore wind farms cost twice as much to produce electricity as gas and coal powered stations and will need subsidies for at least 20 years. Britain is now the world's biggest off shore power generator, producing as much as the rest of the world put together. But costs of building the farms have doubled due to the spiralling prices for steel and the drop in the value of the pound. Wind farm power now cost 90 per cent more than fossil fuel generators and 50 per cent more than nuclear.
EMPLOYMENT
A study of 90 cities around the world has found Toronto is the most attractive place for employers. Montreal is fifth and Vancouver 13th in a "people risk" index that tracks challenges that employers face in recruiting, employing and relocating employees. The global report compares education, employment practices and government regulations. Canadian cities fare well because of their inflow of new people, equal opportunity, multilingual work force and high literacy. Toronto was followed by New York and Singapore/London tied.
HONG KONG
In 2004 a Hong Kong businessman leased a set of old munitions bunkers and converted them to wine cellars. This was at a time when few East Asians had a taste for wine. Despite a heavy sales tax that depressed demand, the venture flourished and four years later the bunkers contained 100,000 bottles. In early 2008, the tax was cut to zero and since then 400,000 more bottles have been added to the bunkers and a vast new warehouse is being built. The big wine auction houses say that Hong Kong is now more important than New York and London combined.
ENERGY
Electricity is taken for granted in rich countries. But the International Energy Agency estimates that 1.44-billion people lack access to electricity, all but 3-million living outside the rich world, the vast majority in villages. India, with 404-million citizens not connected to a grid has slightly more than half of all people in Asia's developing countries who live without electricity. Almost 587-million in sub-Saharan Africa do without electricity. Also, some 2.7-billion people across the world still cook on inefficient stoves that burn polluting fuels based on biomass like cowdung, firewood or crop residue.
GASOLINE
Most countries tax gasoline, but the amount varies enormously. According to the OECD U.S gas taxes are among the lowest in the world. Germans pay an average of $$3.25 in taxes on a gallon of gas, among the highest. Citizens of Britain, France and Finland pay more than $3.00 a gallon. Tax in the U.S. averages a mere $0.39. America's reluctance to tax gas more heavily helps to explain why Americans drive much more than Europeans, though the country's size is a factor too. Mexico is the only OECD country that subsidises gasoline.
COTTON
The steep rise in the price of raw cotton is rippling through the global supply chain in the textile and apparel sectors. Prices for cotton have almost doubled over the past year as supplies tightened amid robust demand. Recently, weather-related shortages in China and Pakistan and a curb on Indian exports have added to the supply restraints. However, some observers are calling for a drop in cotton prices over the next few months as global inventory is built up again thanks to bumper crops in the U.S. and the resumption of exports from India.
LUXURY
After luxury car market's most severe downturn in decades, smaller, less ostentatious models from premium automakers were expected to lead the rebound. Instead, the costliest and largest sedans made by BMW, Mercedez-Benz, Audi and Lexus have fuelled a sales boom this year, particularly in China and the U.S. China sales of all Mercedes models more than doubled through August, while BMW's have climbed 96 per cent and Audi's 68 per cent. Globally, total sales of all cars and light trucks are on track to climb 10 per cent to 70.4-million vehicles for all of 2010.
RESEARCH
A European project to develop an application environment for every internet-connected device has received 10-million Euros in funding. The project aims to sidestep operating systems and proprietary applications by providing a web-based approach. The idea would enable a given application to work, for example, on a web-ready television, in a car and cell phone, no matter the makers of the devices. However, industry insiders say the idea is not likely to get off the ground.
COLLAGES
Kodak, which suffered eroding profits over the last decade, has developed a patented technology that automatically enlarges, shrinks, crops, aligns and arranges as many as 13 images on one print to be put in precut cardboard mats. The company, which has installed 100,000 self-service kiosks at retail businesses worldwide since 1993 will roll-out the collage option in December in 5,000 U.S. pharmacies.
BENEFITS
In 2008, according to U.S. tax data, almost 3,000 millionaires received unemployment benefits.
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
Iraq has raised the estimate of the country's proven oil reserves to over 143-billion barrels, an increase of almost 25 per cent. The new figure puts Iraq third in the world in terms of known reserves, after Saudi Arabia with 266-billion barrels and Canada with 178-billion barrels if the oil sands are included.
PATENTS
Between 2006 and 2009, the number of patent applications in America, Europe and South Korea largely held steady. But filings in Japan sank while those in China soared. If the pattern holds, more patents may be filed in China this year than in Japan for the first time, putting China in striking distance of the U.S. As recently as 2000, Japanese patent filings were four times greater than China. Patents are a crude but useful measure of innovation.
BEAUTY
The biggest trend in the health and beauty care category is the niche marketing of products designed to make us feel our personal best. Some retailers now devote entire sections to gender-specific health and beauty care consumers. In a recent survey, almost nine out of ten U.S. women (86 per cent) have used a makeup product that contains a skin care benefit in the past year. The market for natural beauty products, or "nutricosmetics" is projected to reach US$2.5-billion by 2010, up from the current $1.5-billion.
TOILETS
China's housing boom has unleashed a bull market in cutting edge plumbing. Nearly 19-million toilets are sold each year in the country, roughly twice the number sold in the U.S.
SHIPPING
Canada is waiving the 25-per cent tax on imported cargo vessels which will save ship owners C$25-million a year for 10 years. The measure applies to general cargo vessels, tankers and large ferries and responds to Canada's need to maintain a modern and efficient shipping industry that serves as a vital transportation link for Canada's internal and external trade in agriculture, mining and manufacturing.
CARPETS
Iran's carpet industry is likely to lose a major source of revenue when U.S. sanctions banning the import of Persian carpets are implemented. The export of hand-woven carpets generates about US$500-million annually for Iran's economy with 20 per cent of the total earned in the U.S. market.
COUPLES
Marriages in the U.S. fell to a record low in 2009, with just 52 per cent of adults 18 and over saying they were joined in wedlock, compared with 57 per cent in 2000. The never-married included 46.3 per cent of young adults 25-34, with sharp increases in single people in cities in the Midwest and Southeast. It was the first time the share of unmarried young adults exceeded those who were married. Sociologists say younger people are increasingly choosing to delay marriage as they struggle to find work and resist long-term commitments.
CROPS
Proposals to let European Union states decide for themselves whether to grow or ban genetically modified (GM) crops suffered a big setback as many of the bloc's largest governments confirmed they opposed the plans. To pass, the proposals put forward by the EU need the support of a majority of EU states and lawmakers under the bloc's weighted voting system which gives larger states a greater say in the final decision. Farm ministers from Germany, France, Italy and Spain have all expressed doubts about the viability of the plan.
SALES
Supermarket sales in the U.S. reached US$437-billion in 2009. Nielsen Homescan data shows that the average supermarket basket rings in at $41.44 per trip, up just one per cent from $41.03 in 2008. Grocery purchases fared better as losses for restaurants turned into gains for supermarkets. Fresh food categories, about 51 per cent of total supermarket sales, had sales of $255-billion. Egg sales dropped by 15 per cent and milk by 5 per cent. Packaged meat sales increased by 4 per cent to $55-billion.
INDIA
While digital technology is affecting traditional print newspapers in the rich countries, it is not so in India where, since 2005, the number of paid-for Indian daily newspaper titles has surged by 44 per cent to 2,700. One reason is that only 7 per cent of Indians surf the web regularly. The growth of Indian newspapers is driven by rising literacy and a booming economy. Granted, only 65 per cent of adult Indians can read, but this is twice as many as what it was three decades ago. Papers are cheap, only nine cents each, and many households buy more than one daily.
GRADUATES
Britain has lost its status as one of the world's leaders in producing graduates. The rate of students gaining degrees has dropped leaving the U.K trailing the likes of Poland, Denmark, Portugal and Norway. Figures released recently reveal that Britain has fallen from third in a table of developed countries in 2000 to 15th by 2008. In 2000, 37 per cent of 18 to 21 year-olds in the UK gained degrees. Only New Zealand with 50 per cent and Finland with 41 per cent were higher.
TVs
A historically large oversupply of LCD TV panels is causing television prices to fall in time for the holiday shopping season. It is estimated that prices will fall by 12 per cent from 2009 levels and perhaps by even more. The forecasted price plunge stems from an enormous surplus of LCD panels that accumulated over the first nine months of the year. Shipments of the panels rose to 52-million in the second quarter of 2010 but only 38.7-million TVs were shipped to retailers. The average cost of a 32-inch LCD TV in 2005 was US$1,566; today it is about $375.
FOOD
The amount of imported food landing on Canadian dinner plates is growing but the federal agency responsible for inspecting what Canadians eat relies to a large extent on inspectors in other countries to ensure it is safe. An internal audit of the way the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CIFA) manages the safety of imported food says the agency has failed to develop a strategy to ensure that health hazards are not entering Canada. The problem is largely related to a lack of resources which has dogged the agency for years. 77 per cent of Canadians are concerned about the safety of the food they eat.
WIND
A major UK report states that off shore wind farms cost twice as much to produce electricity as gas and coal powered stations and will need subsidies for at least 20 years. Britain is now the world's biggest off shore power generator, producing as much as the rest of the world put together. But costs of building the farms have doubled due to the spiralling prices for steel and the drop in the value of the pound. Wind farm power now cost 90 per cent more than fossil fuel generators and 50 per cent more than nuclear.
EMPLOYMENT
A study of 90 cities around the world has found Toronto is the most attractive place for employers. Montreal is fifth and Vancouver 13th in a "people risk" index that tracks challenges that employers face in recruiting, employing and relocating employees. The global report compares education, employment practices and government regulations. Canadian cities fare well because of their inflow of new people, equal opportunity, multilingual work force and high literacy. Toronto was followed by New York and Singapore/London tied.
HONG KONG
In 2004 a Hong Kong businessman leased a set of old munitions bunkers and converted them to wine cellars. This was at a time when few East Asians had a taste for wine. Despite a heavy sales tax that depressed demand, the venture flourished and four years later the bunkers contained 100,000 bottles. In early 2008, the tax was cut to zero and since then 400,000 more bottles have been added to the bunkers and a vast new warehouse is being built. The big wine auction houses say that Hong Kong is now more important than New York and London combined.
ENERGY
Electricity is taken for granted in rich countries. But the International Energy Agency estimates that 1.44-billion people lack access to electricity, all but 3-million living outside the rich world, the vast majority in villages. India, with 404-million citizens not connected to a grid has slightly more than half of all people in Asia's developing countries who live without electricity. Almost 587-million in sub-Saharan Africa do without electricity. Also, some 2.7-billion people across the world still cook on inefficient stoves that burn polluting fuels based on biomass like cowdung, firewood or crop residue.
GASOLINE
Most countries tax gasoline, but the amount varies enormously. According to the OECD U.S gas taxes are among the lowest in the world. Germans pay an average of $$3.25 in taxes on a gallon of gas, among the highest. Citizens of Britain, France and Finland pay more than $3.00 a gallon. Tax in the U.S. averages a mere $0.39. America's reluctance to tax gas more heavily helps to explain why Americans drive much more than Europeans, though the country's size is a factor too. Mexico is the only OECD country that subsidises gasoline.
COTTON
The steep rise in the price of raw cotton is rippling through the global supply chain in the textile and apparel sectors. Prices for cotton have almost doubled over the past year as supplies tightened amid robust demand. Recently, weather-related shortages in China and Pakistan and a curb on Indian exports have added to the supply restraints. However, some observers are calling for a drop in cotton prices over the next few months as global inventory is built up again thanks to bumper crops in the U.S. and the resumption of exports from India.
LUXURY
After luxury car market's most severe downturn in decades, smaller, less ostentatious models from premium automakers were expected to lead the rebound. Instead, the costliest and largest sedans made by BMW, Mercedez-Benz, Audi and Lexus have fuelled a sales boom this year, particularly in China and the U.S. China sales of all Mercedes models more than doubled through August, while BMW's have climbed 96 per cent and Audi's 68 per cent. Globally, total sales of all cars and light trucks are on track to climb 10 per cent to 70.4-million vehicles for all of 2010.
RESEARCH
A European project to develop an application environment for every internet-connected device has received 10-million Euros in funding. The project aims to sidestep operating systems and proprietary applications by providing a web-based approach. The idea would enable a given application to work, for example, on a web-ready television, in a car and cell phone, no matter the makers of the devices. However, industry insiders say the idea is not likely to get off the ground.
COLLAGES
Kodak, which suffered eroding profits over the last decade, has developed a patented technology that automatically enlarges, shrinks, crops, aligns and arranges as many as 13 images on one print to be put in precut cardboard mats. The company, which has installed 100,000 self-service kiosks at retail businesses worldwide since 1993 will roll-out the collage option in December in 5,000 U.S. pharmacies.
BENEFITS
In 2008, according to U.S. tax data, almost 3,000 millionaires received unemployment benefits.
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
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