May 2011 Edition
SIZE
The Subway sandwich chain has now surpassed McDonald's as the world's largest restaurant chain by units. McDonald's is still largest in sales. High unemployment and economic uncertainty have battered the restaurant industry in the U.S. and chains are increasingly looking overseas for growth, particularly in Asia. Subway has 33,749 restaurants worldwide compared to McDonald's which has 32,737. Subway has 24,000 outlets in the U.S. and 1,000 in Asia. Subway's revenue was US$15.2-billion last year compared with $24-billion for McDonald's.
AFRICA
Consumer spending in Africa was US$860-billion in 2008, a figure which is estimated to grow to $1.4-trillion by 2020. Africa has a total population of one billion and has 100 companies with annual revenues over $1-billion. 37 per cent of Africans currently live in cities, a figure expected to grow to 50 per cent by 2030. In 2008 the net foreign investment in African was $29-billion, up from $6-billion in 2000. Sub-Saharan Africa in particular is emerging as a top destination for foreign investment.
MAGAZINES
Canadians have drastically reduced their spending on magazines over the past few years. Consumer purchases of magazines decreased by 22 per cent between 2001 and 2008, dropping from C$801-million to $623-million. In 2008, 46 per cent of Canadian households spent money on magazines. In 2001 that figure was 54 per cent. The lowest average expenditure per household was in Newfoundland and Labrador with $86, while Saskatchewan was the highest at $112 per household.
CARDS
The Amex corporation has introduced the Amex Centurion which is a charge card, so monthly balances must be paid in full. The card is made from a sheet of titanium and names have to be etched into it. The annual fee for this card is US$2,500 with an initiation fee of $5,000. Clients get access to a personal concierge, who can arrange anything from flights and hotels to golf times around the world, Insurance, retail protection and emergency assistance and an extensive rewards program that can take customers to Wimbledon or backstage at the Oscars.
AIRPORTS
Beijing became the world's second-busiest airport last year eclipsing London Heathrow and narrowing the gap to Atlanta. The same Chinese growth also pushed Hong Kong to the top spot for air-freight volumes. Bejing's passenger total jumped 13 per cent to 73.9-million and Heathrow dropped to 65.9-million, as a sluggish UK economy and cancellations after a volcanic eruption hurt demand, putting it fourth. As recently as five years ago, Beijing's airport was 14th in the world with 41-million passengers.
ACCIDENTS
Grain bin accidents, a little-known peril of the workplace in farming country have risen in the U.S. Last year, 51 men and boys were engulfed by grains stored in towering metal structures that dot rural landscapes, and 26 died. In less than 10 seconds, a man who steps into flowing corn can sink up to his chest, becoming immobilized. In another 10 seconds he'll be completely submerged and unable to breathe and essentially drown in the corn.
PRICES
The U.K.'s official statistics agency has updated the contents of the "typical" shopping basket of about 650 items it uses to calculate the consumer price index. In are: iPhone apps, sparkling wines, on-line dating agency fees, oven-ready pork joints and TV's bigger than 32 inches. Out are: ring tones, rosebushes, mobile phones, wallpapers, pork shoulders and vending machine cigarettes.
TOURISM
Kenya's overseas tourist arrivals hit a record 1.1-million in 2010, short of a 1.2-million target, but up from 950,000 in 2009. Last year, Kenya changed its strategy to open new markets such as China, Russia and India which has paid off. Earnings from tourism, Kenya's top source of foreign currency, soared 18 per cent in 2010.
MALLS
Two of Canada's top shopping centre developers are squaring off over plans to bring U.S.-style premium outlet malls to Canada. The first two will be just outside Toronto and will feature high-end U.S. retailers, many of them not yet in Canada. The race to build factory outlet centres underscored the growing appetite among U.S. retailers and developers to operate in the Canadian market. At stake for Canadian developers is getting a piece of a potentially lucrative business as growth in traditional malls and big-box centres reaches a saturation point.
MANUFACTURING
Last year China topped the U.S. as the world's largest manufacturer for the first time, accounting for 19.8 per cent of global manufacturing. However, by measure of productivity, China remained far behind the U.S. with U.S. manufacturing workers generating more than eight times the value per person than China's. Put another way, the U.S. manufactures the same output with 11.5-million workers than China does with 100-million workers.
GPS
Scientists are warning that the U.K has become dangerously reliant on satellite-navigation systems. Use of space-borne positioning and timing data is now widespread in everything from freight movement to synchronization of computer networks and it is felt that too many applications have little or no back-up were these signals to go down. The European Union has estimated that about 6-7 per cent of Europe's GDP, about 800-billion euros is dependent on GPS signals.
TECHNOLOGY
People stuck for a stamp in Denmark can now send a text message to pay the postage on a letter. The Danish post office has introduced The Mobile Postage service that does away with stamps for standard sized letters. Instead, people send a text to the post office and get back a code they write on the envelope. Codes must be used within seven days of purchase. Sweden is considering a similar system for letters as well as small parcels.
FUNDS
The total assets held by pension funds in the 13 biggest markets were worth more than US$26-trillion at the end of 2010, 12 per cent more than a year earlier. Taken together, these countries accounted for 85 per cent of the holdings of the global pension industry. Funds in America, the world's largest pension market, had assets of $15-trillion. Canada's were worth $1.1-trillion. South Africa was the fastest growing big market last year with assets up 28 per cent from the previous year.
LIVING
For the fifth straight year, Vancouver has topped the Economist's list of the world's most livable cities. Australian and Canadian cities dominated the top ten places in the annual survey. Vancouver scored 98 per cent on a combination of stability, health care, culture,and environment, education and infrastructure. Second was Melbourne followed by Vienna, Toronto and Calgary. Pittsburgh was the top U.S. city at 29th. The top Asian city was Osaka, tying Geneva at 12th.
SHIPPING
A Danish shipping company has ordered ten colossal vessels from a South Korean shipyard at a cost of US$1.9-billion with an option to order 20 more. Each will carry 18,000 containers, 2,500 more than the biggest container ships now in service. The new vessels will use 50 per cent less fuel per container than the present average. The new ships will ply the routes between Asia and Europe.
POWER
Iceland is considering building the world's longest sub-sea electric cable to allow it to sell its geothermal and volcanic energy to Europe. The project is currently in the research stage and a final decision will likely come in about four years. After taking a hit last year when a volcano paralysed European skies, Iceland is seeking instead to draw benefits from its geology with the cable which would allow it to sell energy extracted from volcanoes and geysers.
TOBACCO
China is starting to wake to the health-care costs of its citizens' enthusiastic tobacco habit. Profits from producing cigarettes, the country makes and consumes more than any other nation, will not be enough to pay the eventual cost of smoking related diseases. There are 300-million smokers in China which produces 800 brands of cigarettes. 2.3-trillion cigarettes were produced in 2009 and one million Chinese die from tobacco-related diseases each year. The government collected US$75-billion in tobacco taxes in 2010.
INSURANCE
The European Union's highest court has declared illegal the widespread practice of charging men and women different rates for insurance. The judgement, which can't be appealed, has vast implications and will set in motion an overhaul of how life, auto and health policies are written across Europe.
SNOWBIRDS
Between 2000 and 2008, the number of Canadian snowbirds travelling to the United States have increased 102 per cent. They contribute US$3-billion annually to the economy of Florida and $520-million to that of Arizona. 75 per cent of snowbirds go to Florida, 15 per cent to Arizona and 5 per cent each to Texas and California. It is estimated that Canadians bought $5.6-billion worth of homes in the U.S. in 2008 at a median price of $205,800.
GM
The area of the world's farmland used for growing genetically modified crops grew by about 10 per cent last year. GM use grew fastest in Brazil but fell in Europe. Virtually all GM strains used were engineered for just two traits, disease resistance and herbicide tolerance. It's estimated that more than a billion hectares have been cultivated with GM crops since their introduction in 1996 and that more than 15-million farmers are involved in GM agriculture.
ARMS
India has overtaken China to become the world's largest importer of arms. India accounted for nine per cent of all weapons imports between 2006 and 2010. With a defence budget of US$32.5-billion, India imports more than 70 per cent of its arms. China has dropped to second place with six per cent of global weapons as it develops its domestic arms industry.
NEWSROOMS
Nearly three-quarters of top management jobs in news media across the world are held by men, as are two-thirds of reporting jobs. In a study of 170,000 people in 522 news companies, women were best represented in Europe and worst in Asia. Across the entire newspaper, radio and television work force studied, the survey found 65 per cent of jobs were held by men compared to 35 per cent by women.
JOBS
Almost three-quarters of 4,500 Canadians responding to a survey said they would be willing to make a move for the right job, with many even prepared to leave Canada. The most mobile workers were the youngest, aged 18 to 29. 48 per cent would move within the country and 22 per cent to another country.
TOOTHPASTE
There has been an explosion of specialized pastes and gels that brag about their powers to whiten teeth, reduce plaque, curb sensitivity and fight gingivitis. Last year, 69 new toothpastes hit the store shelves.
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
The Subway sandwich chain has now surpassed McDonald's as the world's largest restaurant chain by units. McDonald's is still largest in sales. High unemployment and economic uncertainty have battered the restaurant industry in the U.S. and chains are increasingly looking overseas for growth, particularly in Asia. Subway has 33,749 restaurants worldwide compared to McDonald's which has 32,737. Subway has 24,000 outlets in the U.S. and 1,000 in Asia. Subway's revenue was US$15.2-billion last year compared with $24-billion for McDonald's.
AFRICA
Consumer spending in Africa was US$860-billion in 2008, a figure which is estimated to grow to $1.4-trillion by 2020. Africa has a total population of one billion and has 100 companies with annual revenues over $1-billion. 37 per cent of Africans currently live in cities, a figure expected to grow to 50 per cent by 2030. In 2008 the net foreign investment in African was $29-billion, up from $6-billion in 2000. Sub-Saharan Africa in particular is emerging as a top destination for foreign investment.
MAGAZINES
Canadians have drastically reduced their spending on magazines over the past few years. Consumer purchases of magazines decreased by 22 per cent between 2001 and 2008, dropping from C$801-million to $623-million. In 2008, 46 per cent of Canadian households spent money on magazines. In 2001 that figure was 54 per cent. The lowest average expenditure per household was in Newfoundland and Labrador with $86, while Saskatchewan was the highest at $112 per household.
CARDS
The Amex corporation has introduced the Amex Centurion which is a charge card, so monthly balances must be paid in full. The card is made from a sheet of titanium and names have to be etched into it. The annual fee for this card is US$2,500 with an initiation fee of $5,000. Clients get access to a personal concierge, who can arrange anything from flights and hotels to golf times around the world, Insurance, retail protection and emergency assistance and an extensive rewards program that can take customers to Wimbledon or backstage at the Oscars.
AIRPORTS
Beijing became the world's second-busiest airport last year eclipsing London Heathrow and narrowing the gap to Atlanta. The same Chinese growth also pushed Hong Kong to the top spot for air-freight volumes. Bejing's passenger total jumped 13 per cent to 73.9-million and Heathrow dropped to 65.9-million, as a sluggish UK economy and cancellations after a volcanic eruption hurt demand, putting it fourth. As recently as five years ago, Beijing's airport was 14th in the world with 41-million passengers.
ACCIDENTS
Grain bin accidents, a little-known peril of the workplace in farming country have risen in the U.S. Last year, 51 men and boys were engulfed by grains stored in towering metal structures that dot rural landscapes, and 26 died. In less than 10 seconds, a man who steps into flowing corn can sink up to his chest, becoming immobilized. In another 10 seconds he'll be completely submerged and unable to breathe and essentially drown in the corn.
PRICES
The U.K.'s official statistics agency has updated the contents of the "typical" shopping basket of about 650 items it uses to calculate the consumer price index. In are: iPhone apps, sparkling wines, on-line dating agency fees, oven-ready pork joints and TV's bigger than 32 inches. Out are: ring tones, rosebushes, mobile phones, wallpapers, pork shoulders and vending machine cigarettes.
TOURISM
Kenya's overseas tourist arrivals hit a record 1.1-million in 2010, short of a 1.2-million target, but up from 950,000 in 2009. Last year, Kenya changed its strategy to open new markets such as China, Russia and India which has paid off. Earnings from tourism, Kenya's top source of foreign currency, soared 18 per cent in 2010.
MALLS
Two of Canada's top shopping centre developers are squaring off over plans to bring U.S.-style premium outlet malls to Canada. The first two will be just outside Toronto and will feature high-end U.S. retailers, many of them not yet in Canada. The race to build factory outlet centres underscored the growing appetite among U.S. retailers and developers to operate in the Canadian market. At stake for Canadian developers is getting a piece of a potentially lucrative business as growth in traditional malls and big-box centres reaches a saturation point.
MANUFACTURING
Last year China topped the U.S. as the world's largest manufacturer for the first time, accounting for 19.8 per cent of global manufacturing. However, by measure of productivity, China remained far behind the U.S. with U.S. manufacturing workers generating more than eight times the value per person than China's. Put another way, the U.S. manufactures the same output with 11.5-million workers than China does with 100-million workers.
GPS
Scientists are warning that the U.K has become dangerously reliant on satellite-navigation systems. Use of space-borne positioning and timing data is now widespread in everything from freight movement to synchronization of computer networks and it is felt that too many applications have little or no back-up were these signals to go down. The European Union has estimated that about 6-7 per cent of Europe's GDP, about 800-billion euros is dependent on GPS signals.
TECHNOLOGY
People stuck for a stamp in Denmark can now send a text message to pay the postage on a letter. The Danish post office has introduced The Mobile Postage service that does away with stamps for standard sized letters. Instead, people send a text to the post office and get back a code they write on the envelope. Codes must be used within seven days of purchase. Sweden is considering a similar system for letters as well as small parcels.
FUNDS
The total assets held by pension funds in the 13 biggest markets were worth more than US$26-trillion at the end of 2010, 12 per cent more than a year earlier. Taken together, these countries accounted for 85 per cent of the holdings of the global pension industry. Funds in America, the world's largest pension market, had assets of $15-trillion. Canada's were worth $1.1-trillion. South Africa was the fastest growing big market last year with assets up 28 per cent from the previous year.
LIVING
For the fifth straight year, Vancouver has topped the Economist's list of the world's most livable cities. Australian and Canadian cities dominated the top ten places in the annual survey. Vancouver scored 98 per cent on a combination of stability, health care, culture,and environment, education and infrastructure. Second was Melbourne followed by Vienna, Toronto and Calgary. Pittsburgh was the top U.S. city at 29th. The top Asian city was Osaka, tying Geneva at 12th.
SHIPPING
A Danish shipping company has ordered ten colossal vessels from a South Korean shipyard at a cost of US$1.9-billion with an option to order 20 more. Each will carry 18,000 containers, 2,500 more than the biggest container ships now in service. The new vessels will use 50 per cent less fuel per container than the present average. The new ships will ply the routes between Asia and Europe.
POWER
Iceland is considering building the world's longest sub-sea electric cable to allow it to sell its geothermal and volcanic energy to Europe. The project is currently in the research stage and a final decision will likely come in about four years. After taking a hit last year when a volcano paralysed European skies, Iceland is seeking instead to draw benefits from its geology with the cable which would allow it to sell energy extracted from volcanoes and geysers.
TOBACCO
China is starting to wake to the health-care costs of its citizens' enthusiastic tobacco habit. Profits from producing cigarettes, the country makes and consumes more than any other nation, will not be enough to pay the eventual cost of smoking related diseases. There are 300-million smokers in China which produces 800 brands of cigarettes. 2.3-trillion cigarettes were produced in 2009 and one million Chinese die from tobacco-related diseases each year. The government collected US$75-billion in tobacco taxes in 2010.
INSURANCE
The European Union's highest court has declared illegal the widespread practice of charging men and women different rates for insurance. The judgement, which can't be appealed, has vast implications and will set in motion an overhaul of how life, auto and health policies are written across Europe.
SNOWBIRDS
Between 2000 and 2008, the number of Canadian snowbirds travelling to the United States have increased 102 per cent. They contribute US$3-billion annually to the economy of Florida and $520-million to that of Arizona. 75 per cent of snowbirds go to Florida, 15 per cent to Arizona and 5 per cent each to Texas and California. It is estimated that Canadians bought $5.6-billion worth of homes in the U.S. in 2008 at a median price of $205,800.
GM
The area of the world's farmland used for growing genetically modified crops grew by about 10 per cent last year. GM use grew fastest in Brazil but fell in Europe. Virtually all GM strains used were engineered for just two traits, disease resistance and herbicide tolerance. It's estimated that more than a billion hectares have been cultivated with GM crops since their introduction in 1996 and that more than 15-million farmers are involved in GM agriculture.
ARMS
India has overtaken China to become the world's largest importer of arms. India accounted for nine per cent of all weapons imports between 2006 and 2010. With a defence budget of US$32.5-billion, India imports more than 70 per cent of its arms. China has dropped to second place with six per cent of global weapons as it develops its domestic arms industry.
NEWSROOMS
Nearly three-quarters of top management jobs in news media across the world are held by men, as are two-thirds of reporting jobs. In a study of 170,000 people in 522 news companies, women were best represented in Europe and worst in Asia. Across the entire newspaper, radio and television work force studied, the survey found 65 per cent of jobs were held by men compared to 35 per cent by women.
JOBS
Almost three-quarters of 4,500 Canadians responding to a survey said they would be willing to make a move for the right job, with many even prepared to leave Canada. The most mobile workers were the youngest, aged 18 to 29. 48 per cent would move within the country and 22 per cent to another country.
TOOTHPASTE
There has been an explosion of specialized pastes and gels that brag about their powers to whiten teeth, reduce plaque, curb sensitivity and fight gingivitis. Last year, 69 new toothpastes hit the store shelves.
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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