March 2014 Edition
VALUE
The prospect of liquefied natural gas plants being built in northern British Columbia has sent assessed values for residential properties soaring in the region. In the District of Kitimat, the average assessed value for a single-family detached home was C$228,000 on July 1st last year, up 26.7 per cent from the previous 2012 evaluation. Across B.C the total value of the assessment rolls climbed a modest 1.35 per cent. Rental vacancy rates in Kitimat hit 40 per cent several years ago, now they are close to zero.
ROADS
Seven European countries, along with Switzerland, are levying fees to use roads for a particular period that tend to favour local drivers over foreign ones, which is against EU rules. In April, Britain will start charging foreign trucks up to US$16 a day to use its roads. Belgium and Latvia are considering similar levies. To get around EU rules, most of these schemes involve taxing all cars and trucks but in effect refunding domestic drivers by reducing vehicle taxes. Recent research shows that truck tolls like these not only harm economic growth but may also damage Europe's competitiveness.
THEFT
Crime in Britain has been falling since the mid-1990s but between 2010 and 2011, the cost of thefts of farm animals has shot up by 170 per cent and were up again last year when about 69,000 sheep were stolen. Over the past three years, US$676,000 worth of livestock, mainly sheep, were stolen in Cumbria. Rustlers target sheep because unlike cattle that have electronic ID tags and passports, sheep simply have ear tags that can be easily removed.
JETS
Ferraris and Rolls-Royces have become common sights in China's cities as a new class of super-rich indulge a growing appetite or luxury, but tight regulation has meant the private jet, the ultimate status symbol of the global elite, remains rare. Recent rule changes, however, indicate that China is preparing to open its skies to private aircraft, a move that may herald the greatest expansion of business and private aviation in the past 30 years.
WATER
Canadian agricultural producers used approximately 1.7-billion cubic metres of water for irrigation in 2012, more than double the amount reported in 2010. Irrigation volumes increased in all provinces, with the exception of British Columbia, where volumes remained the same. Alberta farmers accounted for just over three-quarters of the irrigation water applied to crops in 2012, with B.C. next with 14 per cent of the total. The majority of water was used to irrigate field crops (61 per cent) and forage crops (34 per cent). The remainder was applied to fruit crops (3 per cent and vegetable crops (2 per cent).
FORESTS
Tree loss in one of the world's largest rainforests has slowed according to a recent study. Satellite images of Africa's Congo Basin reveal that deforestation has fallen by about a third since 2000. It is believed that this is partly because of a focus on mining and oil rather than commercial agriculture, where swathes of forest are cleared. Sprawling across the heart of Africa, the Congo Basin rainforest is second only to the Amazon in size. It covers nearly 2-million square kilometres.
FISH
According to a major new study, many European fish stocks are on the road to recovery from overfishing. Many stocks in the northeast Atlantic were being fished sustainably and, given time, should recover. The study examined the status of 57 stocks monitored over 60 years in the northeast Atlantic. However, the status of some stocks, particularly cod, remains precarious.
TAGS
British Airways has announced plans to test reusable luggage tags made from electronic paper. Flight information can be transmitted to the tag via the ticket holder's smartphone, using data from the airline app stored after digital checkin. Currently, operators print off individual paper tags for every bag checked in before each flight. The tags were presently being tested by staff before being made available to travellers late in 2014.
LEAVE
The Canadian government is taking aim at sick leave in the public service where it says the absenteeism rate of 18.2 days a year is more than 2 1/2 times the private sector average. The current system of banked sick days leads to an absenteeism rate well above the private sector. The government plans to change the existing rules which have not been changed since 1970 with tow new programs, a short-term disability system for workers with temporary illness and the long term disability program will be reformed.
OBESITY
There are almost twice as many obese people in poor countries than in rich ones as fat and sugar consumption rises. The Overseas Development Institute puts the number of overweight and obese adults in developing countries at more than 900-million. This compares with 557-million in industrialized countries. Factors behind the increase in obesity include rising incomes and urbanization, which tend to lead to diets rich in animal products, fat, salt and sugar.
PENSIONS
Membership in registered pensions plans (RPPs) in Canada reached 6,114,600 in 2011, up 49,000 from a year earlier. Membership in public sector pension plans rose by 0.6 per cent to 3,160,000 while the number of members in private sector plans increased to 2,954,700. The participation of women in RPPs continued its long-term upward trend. In 2011 total employer and employee contributions to RPPs reached a record high of C$58.9-billion. The market value of assets in RPPs totalled $1.3-trillion, up 4.8 per cent from the previous year.
ANTIBIOTICS
The US food safety regulator is moving to phase out some use of antibiotics in livestock in an effort to curb growing antibiotic resistance in human disease. The FDA has asked pharmaceutical firms voluntarily to relabel their drugs to prevent them being used in healthy animals. In the US food supply, antibiotics are routinely fed to healthy livestock to enable them to gain weight faster. As many as 23,000 Americans a year die from antibiotic-resistant infection.
PULSES
A British company has demonstrated a prototype device capable of stopping cars and other vehicles using a blast of electromagnetic waves. The device uses radio frequency pulses to "confuse" a vehicles electronic systems, cutting its engine. It is believed the primary use would be as a non-lethal weapon for the military to defend sensitive locations from vehicles refusing to stop.
RAILWAYS
Kenya has formally launched a new, Chinese-financed, railway which should extend across East Africa to reach South Sudan, the Congo and Burundi. The first section will link the Kenyan port of Mombassa to the capital, Nairobi, reducing the travel time from 15 hours to about four. It is said to be the country's biggest infrastructure project since independence 50 years ago. The cost of the project will be US$3.2-billion, mostly funded by China.
DAIRY
At 36 trips a year, dairy is one of the most frequently shopped grocery departments in the US. New product dairy introductions are robust at approximately 12,000 to 13,000 products annually. Sales of yogurt projected to 2017 show an anticipated 17 per cent growth (an estimated US$9.1-billion). Yogurt is a growing breakfast and snack category.
GAS
Saudi Arabia's liquefied petroleum natural gas prices are headed for the worst year since the global financial crisis as record exports from the US loosen the Middle East hold on the Asian market. Saudi Arabia's monthly propane contract price, the benchmark for sales to Asia, dropped 9 per cent this year, the biggest loss since 2009. The slump in prices underscores how the North American shale gas boom is affecting energy markets around the world.
WATER
Despite the popularity of beverages such as coffee and soda, water stakes its claim as the top beverage consumed by American adults throughout the day. Although many Americans begin the day with coffee, as the day goes on, water plays a more important role in satisfying beverage needs. Tap and filtered and bottled water is the top beverage at lunch and dinner, followed closely by soft drinks. Younger consumers are less likely to consume water however.
HERDING
Robots could be used in the future to round up cows on dairy farms. A four-wheeled device, known as Rover, has been tested by a team at Sydney University. It was used to move a herd from a field to a dairy. Researchers were amazed how easily cows accepted the presence of the robot. They were not fazed by it and the herding process was calm and effective. Because the robot moved in a steady manner it allowed cows to move at their own speed which was important in reducing lameness among cattle.
TOXIC
Argentina, Indonesia and Nigeria are among the top 10 most polluted places on the planet. This is due to jewellery and other chemical processing. In these extraordinarily toxic places life spans are short and disease runs rampant among the millions of people who live and work there, often to provide the products used in richer countries. In some places in Indonesia, measurements of mercury, a poisonous, potent neurotoxin, used in processing gold are 350 times higher than what is considered safe.
DEBT
The average consumer debt in Vancouver, excluding mortgage, in the third quarter of last year was the highest in Canada at C$40,174. The second highest was Calgary's debt at $37,920. Nationally, the average consumer debt was $27,355. Across Canada, average debt was up 0.83 from the previous quarter and 2.19 per cent from a year ago.
PHONES
A majority of Canadian seniors now own a cellphone but only a small number have made the leap to using a smartphone. Researchers conducted interviews with over 6,000 Canadians to track how technology usage was trending, including among those in the seniors demographic, which was defined as 68 and older. About 61 per cent of the 774 seniors polled said they owned a cellphone, compared with 87 per cent of the younger respondents. Only 13 per cent of the seniors owned a smartphone, versus 63 per cent of the other Canadians polled. The seniors had a very slight preference for Apple’s iPhone but Blackberry’s and Google Android devices were owned in similar numbers.
ACCIDENTS
The annual figures for people dying in car crashes in England and Wales have fallen by 40 per cent in the past 50 years. This is despite the rise in the number of vehicles on the road. Men were more likely than women to die each year. Safety experts said measures including seat belts, speed cameras and curbs on drinking and driving had all helped curb deaths. About 1.3-million people die globally in crashed every year. Current trends suggest road accidents will become the fifth leading cause of death globally by 2030.
CANCER
The cost of cancer to the countries of the European Union is US$107-billion a year, according to recent research into the first EU-wide analysis of the economic impact of the disease. The figures include the cost of drugs and health care as well as earnings lost through sickness or families providing care. Lost productivity, because of work missed through sickness or dying young cost $52-billion.
AGING
In a recent UN report, Sweden ranked first for treatment of the elderly. Afghanistan ranked worst. The report examined the quality of life of the elderly in 91 countries using 13 different indicators.
OPTICS
In 2011, a 75 year old Georgian woman stole some fibre optic cables and cut off the internet to two entire countries.
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 prospect of liquefied natural gas plants being built in northern British Columbia has sent assessed values for residential properties soaring in the region. In the District of Kitimat, the average assessed value for a single-family detached home was C$228,000 on July 1st last year, up 26.7 per cent from the previous 2012 evaluation. Across B.C the total value of the assessment rolls climbed a modest 1.35 per cent. Rental vacancy rates in Kitimat hit 40 per cent several years ago, now they are close to zero.
ROADS
Seven European countries, along with Switzerland, are levying fees to use roads for a particular period that tend to favour local drivers over foreign ones, which is against EU rules. In April, Britain will start charging foreign trucks up to US$16 a day to use its roads. Belgium and Latvia are considering similar levies. To get around EU rules, most of these schemes involve taxing all cars and trucks but in effect refunding domestic drivers by reducing vehicle taxes. Recent research shows that truck tolls like these not only harm economic growth but may also damage Europe's competitiveness.
THEFT
Crime in Britain has been falling since the mid-1990s but between 2010 and 2011, the cost of thefts of farm animals has shot up by 170 per cent and were up again last year when about 69,000 sheep were stolen. Over the past three years, US$676,000 worth of livestock, mainly sheep, were stolen in Cumbria. Rustlers target sheep because unlike cattle that have electronic ID tags and passports, sheep simply have ear tags that can be easily removed.
JETS
Ferraris and Rolls-Royces have become common sights in China's cities as a new class of super-rich indulge a growing appetite or luxury, but tight regulation has meant the private jet, the ultimate status symbol of the global elite, remains rare. Recent rule changes, however, indicate that China is preparing to open its skies to private aircraft, a move that may herald the greatest expansion of business and private aviation in the past 30 years.
WATER
Canadian agricultural producers used approximately 1.7-billion cubic metres of water for irrigation in 2012, more than double the amount reported in 2010. Irrigation volumes increased in all provinces, with the exception of British Columbia, where volumes remained the same. Alberta farmers accounted for just over three-quarters of the irrigation water applied to crops in 2012, with B.C. next with 14 per cent of the total. The majority of water was used to irrigate field crops (61 per cent) and forage crops (34 per cent). The remainder was applied to fruit crops (3 per cent and vegetable crops (2 per cent).
FORESTS
Tree loss in one of the world's largest rainforests has slowed according to a recent study. Satellite images of Africa's Congo Basin reveal that deforestation has fallen by about a third since 2000. It is believed that this is partly because of a focus on mining and oil rather than commercial agriculture, where swathes of forest are cleared. Sprawling across the heart of Africa, the Congo Basin rainforest is second only to the Amazon in size. It covers nearly 2-million square kilometres.
FISH
According to a major new study, many European fish stocks are on the road to recovery from overfishing. Many stocks in the northeast Atlantic were being fished sustainably and, given time, should recover. The study examined the status of 57 stocks monitored over 60 years in the northeast Atlantic. However, the status of some stocks, particularly cod, remains precarious.
TAGS
British Airways has announced plans to test reusable luggage tags made from electronic paper. Flight information can be transmitted to the tag via the ticket holder's smartphone, using data from the airline app stored after digital checkin. Currently, operators print off individual paper tags for every bag checked in before each flight. The tags were presently being tested by staff before being made available to travellers late in 2014.
LEAVE
The Canadian government is taking aim at sick leave in the public service where it says the absenteeism rate of 18.2 days a year is more than 2 1/2 times the private sector average. The current system of banked sick days leads to an absenteeism rate well above the private sector. The government plans to change the existing rules which have not been changed since 1970 with tow new programs, a short-term disability system for workers with temporary illness and the long term disability program will be reformed.
OBESITY
There are almost twice as many obese people in poor countries than in rich ones as fat and sugar consumption rises. The Overseas Development Institute puts the number of overweight and obese adults in developing countries at more than 900-million. This compares with 557-million in industrialized countries. Factors behind the increase in obesity include rising incomes and urbanization, which tend to lead to diets rich in animal products, fat, salt and sugar.
PENSIONS
Membership in registered pensions plans (RPPs) in Canada reached 6,114,600 in 2011, up 49,000 from a year earlier. Membership in public sector pension plans rose by 0.6 per cent to 3,160,000 while the number of members in private sector plans increased to 2,954,700. The participation of women in RPPs continued its long-term upward trend. In 2011 total employer and employee contributions to RPPs reached a record high of C$58.9-billion. The market value of assets in RPPs totalled $1.3-trillion, up 4.8 per cent from the previous year.
ANTIBIOTICS
The US food safety regulator is moving to phase out some use of antibiotics in livestock in an effort to curb growing antibiotic resistance in human disease. The FDA has asked pharmaceutical firms voluntarily to relabel their drugs to prevent them being used in healthy animals. In the US food supply, antibiotics are routinely fed to healthy livestock to enable them to gain weight faster. As many as 23,000 Americans a year die from antibiotic-resistant infection.
PULSES
A British company has demonstrated a prototype device capable of stopping cars and other vehicles using a blast of electromagnetic waves. The device uses radio frequency pulses to "confuse" a vehicles electronic systems, cutting its engine. It is believed the primary use would be as a non-lethal weapon for the military to defend sensitive locations from vehicles refusing to stop.
RAILWAYS
Kenya has formally launched a new, Chinese-financed, railway which should extend across East Africa to reach South Sudan, the Congo and Burundi. The first section will link the Kenyan port of Mombassa to the capital, Nairobi, reducing the travel time from 15 hours to about four. It is said to be the country's biggest infrastructure project since independence 50 years ago. The cost of the project will be US$3.2-billion, mostly funded by China.
DAIRY
At 36 trips a year, dairy is one of the most frequently shopped grocery departments in the US. New product dairy introductions are robust at approximately 12,000 to 13,000 products annually. Sales of yogurt projected to 2017 show an anticipated 17 per cent growth (an estimated US$9.1-billion). Yogurt is a growing breakfast and snack category.
GAS
Saudi Arabia's liquefied petroleum natural gas prices are headed for the worst year since the global financial crisis as record exports from the US loosen the Middle East hold on the Asian market. Saudi Arabia's monthly propane contract price, the benchmark for sales to Asia, dropped 9 per cent this year, the biggest loss since 2009. The slump in prices underscores how the North American shale gas boom is affecting energy markets around the world.
WATER
Despite the popularity of beverages such as coffee and soda, water stakes its claim as the top beverage consumed by American adults throughout the day. Although many Americans begin the day with coffee, as the day goes on, water plays a more important role in satisfying beverage needs. Tap and filtered and bottled water is the top beverage at lunch and dinner, followed closely by soft drinks. Younger consumers are less likely to consume water however.
HERDING
Robots could be used in the future to round up cows on dairy farms. A four-wheeled device, known as Rover, has been tested by a team at Sydney University. It was used to move a herd from a field to a dairy. Researchers were amazed how easily cows accepted the presence of the robot. They were not fazed by it and the herding process was calm and effective. Because the robot moved in a steady manner it allowed cows to move at their own speed which was important in reducing lameness among cattle.
TOXIC
Argentina, Indonesia and Nigeria are among the top 10 most polluted places on the planet. This is due to jewellery and other chemical processing. In these extraordinarily toxic places life spans are short and disease runs rampant among the millions of people who live and work there, often to provide the products used in richer countries. In some places in Indonesia, measurements of mercury, a poisonous, potent neurotoxin, used in processing gold are 350 times higher than what is considered safe.
DEBT
The average consumer debt in Vancouver, excluding mortgage, in the third quarter of last year was the highest in Canada at C$40,174. The second highest was Calgary's debt at $37,920. Nationally, the average consumer debt was $27,355. Across Canada, average debt was up 0.83 from the previous quarter and 2.19 per cent from a year ago.
PHONES
A majority of Canadian seniors now own a cellphone but only a small number have made the leap to using a smartphone. Researchers conducted interviews with over 6,000 Canadians to track how technology usage was trending, including among those in the seniors demographic, which was defined as 68 and older. About 61 per cent of the 774 seniors polled said they owned a cellphone, compared with 87 per cent of the younger respondents. Only 13 per cent of the seniors owned a smartphone, versus 63 per cent of the other Canadians polled. The seniors had a very slight preference for Apple’s iPhone but Blackberry’s and Google Android devices were owned in similar numbers.
ACCIDENTS
The annual figures for people dying in car crashes in England and Wales have fallen by 40 per cent in the past 50 years. This is despite the rise in the number of vehicles on the road. Men were more likely than women to die each year. Safety experts said measures including seat belts, speed cameras and curbs on drinking and driving had all helped curb deaths. About 1.3-million people die globally in crashed every year. Current trends suggest road accidents will become the fifth leading cause of death globally by 2030.
CANCER
The cost of cancer to the countries of the European Union is US$107-billion a year, according to recent research into the first EU-wide analysis of the economic impact of the disease. The figures include the cost of drugs and health care as well as earnings lost through sickness or families providing care. Lost productivity, because of work missed through sickness or dying young cost $52-billion.
AGING
In a recent UN report, Sweden ranked first for treatment of the elderly. Afghanistan ranked worst. The report examined the quality of life of the elderly in 91 countries using 13 different indicators.
OPTICS
In 2011, a 75 year old Georgian woman stole some fibre optic cables and cut off the internet to two entire countries.
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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