http://www.aacb.com/A & A - Economic Digest - A & A Contract Customs Brokers LtdBringing Cross-Border Opportunities to You. Business Without Borders.en-usafan@aacb.com?2005 A & A Contract Customs Brokers Ltd.Thu, 2 Sep 2010 12:18:12 PDThttp://www.aacb.com/images/PoweredByAA.gifhttp://www.aacb.comA & A Contract Customs Brokers Ltd.15546Wed, 1 Sep 2010 00:00:00 -0800http://www.aacb.com/publications/ed/view.asp?type=economic&newsletterID=166Economic Digesthttp://www.aacb.com/publications/ed/view.asp?type=economic&newsletterID=166Economic Digest MARKETS According to a U.S. rating agency, America's stockmarkets, with a total market capitalization of US$15.1-trillion at ...
OUTSOURCING After years of whittling staff and cutting back services, U.S. cities and towns are now outsourcing some of the most ...
BROADBAND Finland has become the first country in the world to make broadband a legal right for every citizen. As of last July,...
LABOUR As economies across the developed world fell into recession, legal permanent immigration to the mostly rich members o...
MILK European grocery shelves may soon be stocked by milk from camels. Promoters from the United Arab Emirates say the mil...
FLOODING Heavy rains have washed away two million seeded acres in Western Canada this summer, lowering the yearly total 10-mil...
OPIUM According to the U.N Office of Drugs, The global production of opium declined from 8,890 tonnes in 2007 to 7,750 ton...
CONSCRIPTION If a young person refuses to undertake military conscription in Germany, they are obliged to spend nine months in com...
WORTH The Economist reports that in 2009, the world was home to 10-million people who had at least US$1-million to invest....
WASTE A new study indicates that Americans are wasting billions by tossing food mistakenly believed to be spoiled. 76 per c...
CYCLING Mexico City has now installed 1,200 "pay-as-you-go" rental bikes at 85 docking stations. Since February, 7,000 people...
INCOME The State Senate of California has endorsed a feasibility study to have the Department of Motor Vehicles experiment w...
CHRISTMAS Selfridges in Oxford Street, London started its Christmas sales on August 2nd of this year, 145 days before the holida...
CHAMPAGNE Divers have found 30 bottles of champagne thought to pre-date the French Revolution on the Baltic seabed. When one wa...
CLAIMS About one Italian car in 12 is involved in a claim each year, compared with one in 23 in France which has a similar n...
RULES British shoppers are to be banned from buying eggs by the dozen under new regulations approved by the European Parlia...
ONLINE Nearly two million Britains have come online during the last year, over half of which are over 50 years of age. The n...
TRADE Canada and the European Union will meet their target to sign an ambitious free trade agreement in 2011. Canada has be...
PROPERTY Canadians bought more U.S. properties than the citizens of any other country in the past year. Canadians bought 23 pe...
CHILDREN More American women are choosing not to have children than three decades ago. Nearly 20 per cent of older women do no...
LIVESTOCK The genetic diversity of Africa's indigenous livestock needs to be tapped before it is lost forever according to expe...
ENDORSEMENTS Inmates at eight prisons in Alberta and Saskatchewan recently voted on which treats to stock in their prison snack ba...
]]>Sun, 1 Aug 2010 00:00:00 -0800http://www.aacb.com/publications/ed/view.asp?type=economic&newsletterID=165Economic Digesthttp://www.aacb.com/publications/ed/view.asp?type=economic&newsletterID=165Economic Digest EARNINGS US government statistics show that women in 35 per cent of professional dual-income homes are now making more than th...
SIZE An offshore turbine more than 500 feet tall with a diameter of 475 feet is due to make an appearance in British water...
MANUFACTURING The US remained the world's biggest manufacturing nation in 2009 by output but is poised to relinquish this slot in 2...
COUNTERFEIT The United Nations reports that China with the aid of organized criminal networks, control the US$8.2-billion Europe...
BUSHMEAT A new study estimates that about 270 tonnes of illegal bushmeat may be passing through one of Europe's busiest airpor...
MARKETING Nestle's is to begin sailing a supermarket barge down two Amazon river tributaries as it competes with Unilever to re...
TREES African leaders met recently in Chad to push the idea of planting a tree belt across Africa from Senegal in the west ...
AGRICULTURE A new report suggests that the emerging economies of Brazil, Russia, India, and China (BRIC) will enjoy an agricultur...
RETIREMENT The right to retire at the age of 60 has been a untouchable tenet of the generous French system of worker benefits si...
OLIVE OIL Globally, Spain continues to be the powerhouse in the production of extra-virgin olive oil (EVOO), with Italy second....
DIRECTORIES Canada's largest directory publisher will no longer distribute residential phone books in seven of Canada's largest c...
PHONES Nokia, the world's largest mobile phone maker has launched four low-priced handsets and a charger that can be connect...
HEALTH Retail sales within the U.S. consumer packaged goods health-and-wellness industry reached almost US$125-billion in 20...
SHIPS Lower than normal water levels in the Montreal area of the St. Lawrence Seaway are forcing oceangoing container ships...
SCOTCH For years, Scotch whisky exports remained flat while vodka production rose by 3.5 per cent a year for 20 years. Whil...
MINERALS The U.S. has discovered nearly US1-trillion in untapped mineral deposits in Afghanistan, far beyond any previously kn...
SIZE Humanity's total digital output currently stands at eight million petabytes, each of which represents a million gigab...
FOOD The world's biggest maker of nitrogen fertilizer says that Africa will be the key to boosting global food output to m...
TIMBER The European Union is set to finally ban illegal timber in 2012. After two years of negotiations, legislators reached...
REVENUE As the world headed into recession in 2008, newspapers in different countries varied greatly in the extent to which t...
DRINKS PepsiCo is to invest US$2.5-billion in China over the next three years. The world's second biggest drinks maker is to...
DISTANCE The longest distance from a McDonald's restaurant in the U.S. has now been identified. It lies between the two tiny h...
]]>Thu, 1 Jul 2010 00:00:00 -0800http://www.aacb.com/publications/ed/view.asp?type=economic&newsletterID=164Economic Digesthttp://www.aacb.com/publications/ed/view.asp?type=economic&newsletterID=164Economic Digest CRIMEMembers and associates of the Transport Asset Protection Association (TAPA) reported 3,873 cargo crimes in Europe, the M...
REFINING Nigeria has signed a US$23-billion agreement with China to build three gasoline refineries and a fuel complex in the ...
PANAMA Canada has now signed a free trade agreement with Panama as well as side agreements on the environment and labour coo...
LUXURY Abu Dhabi's Emirates Palace has become one of the first hotels to install a gold vending machine. The exterior of the...
TRANSPORT A new bridge has been opened between Mozambique and Tanzania that will allow the first road traffic between the count...
SUBWAYS China is to spend more than US$146-billion to triple the size of its subway system over the next five years. The coun...
SUBSIDIES More than 1,200 beneficiaries of European farm aid received payments worth at least US$1.2-million last year. Sugar p...
GAS New data confirms that Canada has enough natural gas to maintain its current output for a full century. In a country ...
SPACE It is estimated that in less than 18 months there will be no more big blocks of net addresses to give out. Prediction...
BIOMETRICS A Polish bank is claiming to be the first in Europe to install a biometric ATM allowing its clients to use their fing...
WINEA Chilean wine recently beat two of Bordeaux's Premier crus, two Californian wines and a Super Tuscan in a blind tasting...
INTERNET Statistics Canada reports that the vast majority of Canadians are connected to the Web. In 2009, 80 per cent of Canad...
MUSIC In 2009, sales of recorded music totalled US$17-billion globally. Overall sales were hit by the recession falling by ...
FISHING Over-fishing now means that UK trawlers have to work 17 times as hard for the same catch as 120 years ago. Four times...
DUBAI The long-awaited Al Maktoum International Airport opened its cargo operation in June with plans to receive passengers...
HOTELS The hotel industry suffered one of its worst years in 2009 as investment evaporated and some hotel owners even opted ...
CAPITAL The Milken Institute recently ranked 122 countries in a annual exercise designed to capture the ease with which busin...
TIRES The by-products of oil are the basis of many of the materials, such as plastics, from which cars are made. One of the...
SHIPS Fresh orders for the world's shipyards are at a low ebb. Last year they were more than 80 per cent lower than in 2007...
BEES Japanese bee-keepers have been warned to be on their guard following a spate of hive thefts. The price of honeybees h...
REMITTANCES Migrants from developing countries sent home US$316-billion during 2009, or 6 per cent less than they did during the ...
DEVELOPMENT The premiers of B.C., Alberta and Saskatchewan have signed a deal designed to help the three western Canadian provinc...
AUTOS The UK is now the fourth largest automotive manufacturer in Europe, building two million engines and one million vehi...
PROGRESSThe first modern antiperspirant, EverDry, hit the stores in 1903 and was so acidic that it regularly ate through clothin...
]]>Tue, 1 Jun 2010 00:00:00 -0800http://www.aacb.com/publications/ed/view.asp?type=economic&newsletterID=163Economic Digesthttp://www.aacb.com/publications/ed/view.asp?type=economic&newsletterID=163Economic Digest PHONESThere are now over 545-million cell-phones in India, thanks to its booming emerging economy. This number is expected to ...
POWER Electricity rationing in Ethiopia, which has curbed domestic manufacturers' power use by half, will continue for seve...
FISH Canadian seafood exports are opening new lines of business for the East Coast industry. There is a growing European a...
COSTS According to a KPMG study, Canada ranks second among 10 key countries as a cost-effective place to do business. Mexic...
RULES The Canadian government may relax the labelling rules for food products to qualify as "Products of Canada", to allow ...
BARLEY The Canadian Wheat Board has signed its largest long-term agreement to sell 500,000 tonnes of malting barley over thr...
PACKAGING Sporting goods maker Puma is to launch eco-friendly packaging for its sneakers next year to reduce its carbon footpri...
RAIL From one end of the country to the other, China is in the midst of a railway boom that promises to transform the worl...
CHAMPAGNE The champagne bubble has finally burst as the French turn instead to the cheaper sparkling wine Cremant. Not just in ...
CARGO Theft of cargo in the U.S. is big business, totalling as much as US$10-billion a year. The average net gain for cargo...
GROWTH Four years, ago when Saudi Arabia relaxed its banking laws to allow foreign direct investment, there were just 11 inv...
ALCOHOL Europeans put away over nine litres of alcohol a year per person and the European Commission has declared that alcoho...
BULK Many grocers in the U.S. are expanding their bulk food sections across a variety of categories, which in turn prompte...
ASHES Kenya's flower industry was badly hit by the cancellation of flights across Europe because of the ash cloud caused by...
POPULATION In 1800 the world's population was one billion. Thanks to advances in public health and the industrial revolution, th...
FINES New York City's oldest library says one of its ledgers shows that George Washington, the first U.S. president, has ra...
TAXES Amazon.com Inc. says it is taking a stand for free speech by fighting a request from North Carolina tax authorities f...
CONTAINERS South Korea's biggest port, after having been overwhelmed with empty containers a year ago, is now dealing with shipp...
GOLD The World Gold Council forecasts that Chinese demand for gold will soon outstrip its domestic supplies. Although the ...
MAGAZINESThe Canadian-English-language edition of Reader's Digest has experienced pronounced declines in circulation and readersh...
MAIL The United States Postal Service (USPS) is America's second biggest civilian employer. It has more outlets than McDon...
SERVICES China may have overtaken Germany to become the world's largest exporter of goods in 2009, but the U.S remained the bi...
WORTH According to Forbes Magazine, the number of Russian billionaires and their combined fortunes doubled last year. There...
]]>Mon, 3 May 2010 00:00:00 -0800http://www.aacb.com/publications/ed/view.asp?type=economic&newsletterID=162Economic Digesthttp://www.aacb.com/publications/ed/view.asp?type=economic&newsletterID=162Economic Digest ANTI-DUMPINGDumping investigations are initiated when a country suspects that its domestic industry is threatened by imports sold at...
RAILA program to reduce train congestion in the Chicago area is getting a boost with US$100-million in federal stimulus mone...
WATERVenezuelan officials are battling the effects of a severe drought by sharply increasing rates for people who use too muc...
DRINK French exports of expensive Champagne and cognacs suffered a record drop last year as people drank less and switched to...
AID Foreign aid to poor countries from the rich countries in the OECD's Development Assistance Committee will reach a recor...
TRENDS An itinerant footloose army of available and wiling retirees in their 60s and 70s is marching through the American outb...
TAXES For post-communist Romanians, a Big Mac and soda meant much more than a meal: It was a culinary signpost from the free ...
VANCOUVER The Conference Board of Canada forecasts that the Olympic effect will give Vancouver's economy enough of a boost to mak...
RUNNING New research suggests that we don't throw away our old fashioned plimsolls as they may be better for us than high-tech ...
POWER China vaulted over competitors in Denmark, Germany, Spain and the United States last year to become the world's largest...
GREEN Playing golf and remaining green can be a problem especially if you tend to land in water hazards where it is estimated...
SAFETYAn estimated 120-billion riders enter about 750,000 elevators in the United States each year and these devices represent...
TRADE A free trade agreement between Peru and China has now come into effect. Peru's exports to China are expected to increas...
GROWTH Wal-Mart Stores Inc. says it will create up to 6,500 jobs in retail and construction this year as part of a plan to ope...
BREAKFAST Restaurant breakfast sales across the U.S. are down sharply and analysts blame the troubled economy for the dip because...
PLASTICBritish scientists have developed food packaging made from sugar. Although there are already plastics on the market made...
TRANSPORTATION There are more than 12,000 RV-related businesses in the U.S. with combined annual revenue of more than US$37.5-billion....
E-WASTE Electronic waste is becoming an increasing problem in developing countries as sales of electronics surge and enforceme...
MOVIESMovies in 3-D are becoming such big potential money makers that Hollywood studios are cramming them into U.S. theatres, ...
PIRACY An industry report estimates that the growth in illegal file-sharing could cost European countries 1.2-million jobs and...
DATA A recent U.S. Commerce Department report highlights the differences between official trade statistics produced by the U...
BARBIEIn her 51 years, the toy doll Barbie has held 125 jobs. She has been an astronaut and a rock star but has moved on. Her ...
]]>Thu, 1 Apr 2010 00:00:00 -0800http://www.aacb.com/publications/ed/view.asp?type=economic&newsletterID=161Economic Digesthttp://www.aacb.com/publications/ed/view.asp?type=economic&newsletterID=161Economic Digest CRUISINGIn 2009, cruise companies invested US$4.7-billion to build 14 new ships and they will launch a further 12 vessels this y...
PETSThe breeding of snakes is a serious business in the U.S. Revenue from the sales of boas and pythons amounts to about US$...
TURKEYOver the next decade, Turkey is to invest about US$12-billion to build a high-speed railway network and shift more traff...
SCHOOLSAn imbalance in U.S. medical schools has been growing for a quarter century. Many bright students have had to study offs...
WIND Canada expanded its wind power production in 2009 at a record pace, putting it among the top 10 countries that built ...
CHEESEHard economic times has not put a hole in the global appetite for Swiss cheese as exports grew last year to record level...
PORTS As trade in the region grows more lucrative, China is spending millions on building new port facilities in India, Pak...
COSTS It used to be that a basic US$25 a month phone bill was the main telecommunications expense. But by 2004, the average...
AIR TRAVEL The International Air Transport Association (IATA) reports that 2009 saw the biggest post-war decline in internationa...
FLOWERS Valentine's Day generates 12 per cent of annual sales of flowers in Columbia and employs 200,000 Colombians directly ...
SPENDING In a down economy, women are more frugal than men. Research by a Toronto-based company reports that in a survey of mo...
SEATS Japan's Kioto Industries has admitted to fabricating safety data for seats in more than 1,000 aircraft used by 32 car...
BRIDGES Transport Canada is in talks to buy the Ambassador Bridge which spans the Detroit River to connect Windsor, Ontario w...
WINE The first commercially-produced wine from grapes ripened in Scotland is to be launched, if there is enough sunshine. ...
SALARIES Spain's government is using emergency legislation to rein in its air traffic controllers who earn up to US$1.3-millio...
SOIL An estimated 75-billion tonnes of soil is lost annually with more than 80 per cent of the world's farming land modera...
INFLUENCECanada's influence in the world has worsened sharply in the past year in an international poll of 20,176 people in 20 co...
WASTE Thirteen Spanish towns have bid to host a major new nuclear waste storage site, a long-delayed project that is fierce...
LIQUOR Americans' love affair with top-shelf liquor cooled last year as the recession took its toll on high-priced liquor. A...
DIAMONDS Canada is set to open its first official diamond trading marketplace in downtown Toronto, a move spurred by the rush ...
GOLD The world's gold mines increased production by 144 tonnes last year. This more than offset the drop in output in 2008...
CONSUMERS Wielding buying power that will approach US$1-trillion this year, the 40-million strong African-American population i...
COINSThe general manager of the Chilean mint has been dismissed after thousands of coins were issued with the name of the cou...
]]>Mon, 1 Mar 2010 00:00:00 -0800http://www.aacb.com/publications/ed/view.asp?type=economic&newsletterID=160Economic Digesthttp://www.aacb.com/publications/ed/view.asp?type=economic&newsletterID=160Economic Digest OECDThe Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, described as the most prestigious economic club in the world...
GASThe volume of greenhouse gases emitted by 40 industrialized countries that report under the United Nations Framework Con...
TVsPower-hungry TVs will be banned from store shelves in California after state regulators adopted a first-in-the-nation ma...
SPICESIndia exports about 180 varieties of spices to over 150 countries around the world. Mint products account for the bulk o...
SINKINGSProcessing and safely storing waste from the chemical, pharmaceutical and other industries can cost hundreds, even thous...
SAVINGSPension funds in the OECD had a bad time, losing over 20% of their value between the end of 2007 and the end of 2008. Fu...
PIRACYArmed robbery and piracy against ships surged nearly 39% in 2009 to a total of 406 incidents around the world. The sharp...
CARSU.S. luxury-car sales, once considered resistant to recessions, have plunged 40% over the past two years compared with t...
TECHNOLOGYPharmaceutical firms are embracing the "smart-pill" technology. Proteus technology enables pills to relay data about a p...
COMMODITIESBy the end of last year, metals prices had more than doubled from the depths of December 2008. Demand was fuelled by eme...
HANDBAGSNew British research has found that the weight of handbags has dropped 57% in the last two years to 1.5 kilograms and th...
PHARMACIESA recent study shows that Canada has 8,214 licensed community pharmacies (ones not located in hospitals) and 31,284 lice...
AIRPORTSChina plans to build the world's highest airport in the Himalayan region of Tibet, at an elevation of nearly 4,500 metre...
BOOKSBookseller Barnes & Noble is launching a textbook rental program for college students. The new program, available throug...
ONLINE Many major retailers are beefing up their web business to get some of the continuing growth online and to keep their ...
AGEA United Nation report says that the elderly will outnumber children for the first time in 2045, increasing demand on nu...
SPYINGThe war between the U.S. and its former cold war adversaries has moved to cyberspace. In the new cyber war, the targets ...
SMOKEDThe European Union Food Safety Authority (EFSA) says one of the flavourings used to give smoke flavour to meat, cheese o...
SOLARThe technology behind solar energy is constantly evolving. Portable devices that charge up gadgets from the sun are beco...
HEIGHTIn recent years Dubai has grabbed the headlines with audacious offshore islands and rotating buildings. Now it has opene...
CARPThe Great Lakes are threatened by the voracious Asian carp that have evaded poisoning, lock gates and hi-tech electronic...
STUDENTSForeign students flock to the U.S. from all over the world. According to the OECD, over 40% of the 106,123 foreign stude...
OPPORTUNITIESIn Manchester and London, the Holiday Inn hotel chain is trying out human bed warmers. The walking electric blankets dre...
]]>Mon, 1 Feb 2010 00:00:00 -0800http://www.aacb.com/publications/ed/view.asp?type=economic&newsletterID=159Economic Digesthttp://www.aacb.com/publications/ed/view.asp?type=economic&newsletterID=159Economic Digest WINEAustralian wineries are bulldozing and selling vineyards in a desperate attempt to clear cellars choked with more than 1...
KETCHUPMexicans eat more ketchup by sales value than consumers in all but eight other countries. At the start of 2007, ketchup ...
TRADE Leaders from five East African nations have signed a common market treaty. Kenya, Tanzania, Rwanda, Uganda and Burund...
BABIESA baby bottle called the Yoomi that heats milk to a perfect temperature at the touch of a button has gone on sale in the...
R&DToyota spent most on research and development (R&D) of any company in the world in 2008. The company spent US$10.6-billi...
FISHINGAfter years of decline, freshwater sports fishing is on the rebound in British Columbia, according to a new study that f...
WEATHERFrom a devastating food crisis in Guatemala to water cuts in Venezuela, El Nino compounded drought damage across Latin A...
SIZEThe skinniest house in Britain is only 66 inches wide but has gone on the market for over one million dollars. The house...
COUNTERFEITAccording to U.S. Customs, China remains the top country of origin for counterfeit and pirated goods. In fiscal 2009, 14...
NOISEMP3 players, including iPods, will be fitted with maximum volume restrictions to protect users' hearing under new Europe...
INDIA Heineken has reached an agreement with India-based United Breweries that allows the Dutch company to brew and sell it...
AUTOSFor the first time, China has overtaken the United States as the world's biggest market for automobiles. Now that the Ch...
SWEETENERSThe artificial sweeteners saccharin and aspartame were found accidentally when lab workers doing research that had nothi...
AIRLINESAfter a difficult year battling the recession, the airline industry appears to be headed toward a recovery as fuller pla...
GASAustralia has signed a US$82-billion deal to supply liquefied natural gas (LNG) to a Japanese power company in what is b...
PATENTSEuropean ministers have agreed on a plan to introduce a common EU-wide patent system and a single European Patent Court ...
TRENDSA U.S.-based market research company has released its consumer packaged trend predictions for 2010 and identified six ke...
GRANTSThe World Bank is to give India at least US$1-billion over five years for a Ganges River cleanup, part of a commitment t...
ENERGY The UK government wants to have 47 smart electricity meters installed in 26 million homes by 2020 to help people cut ...
CATALOGUESLast year, an estimated 17-billion catalogues were sent to U.S. households, which is about 56 for every man, woman and c...
SHAPEWEARUnderwear makers are finding the desire for a svelte silhouette has created a booming line for women, and now men, in sh...
VACATIONWhen it comes to time off, Canadians receive among the least-generous entitlements in the world. At 31 days a year of p...
GUARANTEESThe Economist reports that shoppers typically pay 10 to 50 per cent of the cost of a product to insure it beyond the ter...
]]>Fri, 1 Jan 2010 00:00:00 -0800http://www.aacb.com/publications/ed/view.asp?type=economic&newsletterID=158Economic Digesthttp://www.aacb.com/publications/ed/view.asp?type=economic&newsletterID=158Economic Digest WATERChina has postponed a plan to raise the Three Gorges reservoir to its ideal height of 175 metres due to a lack of water....
TICKETSThe average price for a ticket to a National Basketball Association game has fallen for the first time in eight years, a...
NEWSPAPERSLast October, the Audit Bureau of Circulations found that the Los Angeles Times had lost 11 per cent of its paying reade...
CAREBoasting a highly skilled work force of medical practitioners and top notch private health care facilities, India is act...
ABROADAn estimated 2.8-million Canadians live abroad with naturalized Canadians leaving the country at a rate three times high...
TASTEA new report shows sales of ethnic foods in the U.S. have climbed steadily since 2004 and reached a record high of US$2....
CLAIMSA US$250,000 compensation claim has been made against Saudi Arabia's oil giant Saudi Aramco for causing the death of a p...
GIVINGStatistics Canada reports that Canadians donated C$8.19-billion to charities in 2008, a 5.3 per cent drop from the previ...
REMITTANCESUnemployment has hit migrant communities in the United States so hard that a startling new phenomenon has been detected:...
SIZE Russia, the world's largest country, has grown even bigger, thanks to an earthquake and volcanic eruption in its seismic...
CHEESECheddar cheese eaten in Britain is now more likely to come from Latvia that from the area of Somerset from which it take...
DEFORESTATIONThe level of deforestation in the Amazon has dropped by 45 per cent and is the lowest on record since monitoring began 2...
B&W Almost 30,000 people across the UK still tune into their favourite programmes on black and white TV sets. The figures we...
ENERGYAccording to the International Energy Agency, energy demand in the OECD countries is expected to fall slightly by 2015. ...
GOLDGlobal gold production is in decline despite record prices and efforts by mining companies to find fresh sources of ore ...
GIFTSGift cards are profitable because retailers receive money up front for them and around 10 per cent are never redeemed. A...
LABELSConsumers may no longer have to deal with those annoying little adhesive stickers tacked on to fruit and vegetables than...
COKECoca-Cola has introduced a new bottle that is 30 per cent derived from plant-based waste material. The new bottle, marke...
MISSINGA beverage company has asked a team to drill through Antarctica's ice for a lost cache of some vintage scotch whiskey th...
SPEEDChina has now become one of a handful of nations to own one of the top five supercomputers in the world. Its Tinhe-1 com...
GMOJapan has found genetically modified flaxseed, which has not been approved by Japan, in imports from Canada. In Japan, t...
WINEThe 7-Eleven convenience store chain has announced that it is getting into the value wine business, releasing two low-pr...
FARMINGThe Republic of Congo has signed an agreement to lease 200,000 hectares of land to South African farmers. Congo's agricu...
]]>Mon, 30 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800http://www.aacb.com/publications/ed/view.asp?type=economic&newsletterID=157December 2009http://www.aacb.com/publications/ed/view.asp?type=economic&newsletterID=157December 2009 SAFETY A recently released report states that an 80-year-old vehicular bridge that handles a fourth of U.S.-Canada trade, ne...
PLOTS In Japan there is a chronic shortage of burial plots which, in Tokyo, can now cost more than US$100,000. There is now...
BRANDING Kellogg's has developed a high-tech method to help stamp out imitation cereals by branding Corn Flakes with the compa...
PENSIONSIn a recent survey involving 11 countries conducted on behalf of the government of Victoria in Australia, Canada ranks f...
FAITH A new survey by Pew Research estimates the total number of Muslims in the world to be 1.57-billion, or about 23 per c...
PARTNERS In 2007, Chinese-Russian trade reached US$48-billion, up from $5.7-billion in 1999, making China Russia's second bigg...
WHISKY The American whisky market is seeing domestic sales flatten but overseas business is booming and driving overall growth...
AIRSHIP Engineers for Boeing Co. say they have advanced their design of a massive airship that could cut costs for energy com...
SAHARA A dozen companies have agree to draw up blueprints for a project to harness power from the Sahara Desert sun to bring...
SWEETENERS The natural sweetener stevia looks set to become the next big thing according to research firm Mintel. Since December...
CHRISTMAS A British retailer is selling half Christmas trees this year. The artificial tree appears bushy and full from the fro...
URUGUAY This South American country has become the first one to provide a laptop for every child attending a state primary scho...
GOLFIn 1998, golf replaced hockey as the most popular sport in Canada based on participation. In 2006, Canada's golf partici...
POWER Researchers have discovered a magnetic equivalent to electricity: simple magnetic charges that can behave and interac...
CRIMEAn estimated 15 per cent of the world's economy is the proceeds of crime according to a recent Interpol conference. The ...
INDIAMcDonald's Corp is staking its future in India on burgers made from mashed potatoes, peas and spices. The company is exp...
TRADE The European Union and South Korea have initialled a free-trade deal despite protests from EU car makers which fear A...
CONTAINERSThe new port facility in Montevideo which has now opened, will expand handling to over 1.1-million containers annually, ...
MAURITIUSThis Indian Ocean island is hoping to boost its struggling real estate sector by allowing foreigners to buy rooms and su...
TIMBITS Building on its ambitious expansion in the U.S., the Canadian coffee giant Tim Hortons has opened a restaurant in For...
MAGAZINES So far this year, 383 magazine titles have disappeared in North America, or will soon. Another 64 magazines have gone...
STUDENTS In 2008, there were 42,000 students from mainland China studying in Canada. It costs up to C$18,000 in tuition fees f...
SURGERY A race is on in the U.S. to develop the potentially big thing in heart surgery: a replacement valve that can be impla...
FRUITChile's fresh fruit exports for the 2008/2009 season totalled US$3.14-billion or $188-million less than the previous sea...
]]>Sun, 1 Nov 2009 00:00:00 -0800http://www.aacb.com/publications/ed/view.asp?type=economic&newsletterID=156Economic Digesthttp://www.aacb.com/publications/ed/view.asp?type=economic&newsletterID=156Economic Digest BUDGETS A majority of American employees are finding themselves hard-pressed to live up to their household budgets. A survey of...
TARIFFSThe Canadian government plans to permanently eliminate all remaining tariffs on imports of machinery and equipment used ...
ADVERTISINGFor the past few years, New York and London have been engaged in a transatlantic catfight over which is the superior cit...
AUDIOA device that allows blind people to attach and read audio labels on everyday objects has been developed. The PenFriend ...
FREIGHTFrance is to invest C$12.3-billion to develop freight transport by rail and reduce road traffic. At a crossroads between...
INVESTMENTThe Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada (APFC) suggests that Canada should be ready for a growing influx of Chinese invest...
DRIVINGCanadians drove less in the first quarter of this year. Compared to the same quarter last year, there were fewer vehicle...
DIAMONDSAfter virtually abandoning diamonds last year amid the global economic crisis, consumers are once again buying the shiny...
CAMELSSome experts feel that the camel is an incredible resource for the planet and are ideally placed to become the "new live...
BANKSCanada retained its position as home to the world's soundest banks according to the World Economic Forum which supports ...
SOLARA U.S. company has received approval from the Chinese government to build what may become the largest solar field in the...
COUPONSThe Neilson Company reports that coupon enthusiasts in the U.S. are the driving force behind exploding redemption rates....
SCRAPMaritime experts report that the number of container vessels sold for demolition so far this year has reached record hig...
VACANCIESHotels in most big cities around the world are emptier than they were last year. London has weathered the global downtur...
THEFTRetailers in the U.S. lost US$6-billion to theft by shoplifters and dishonest employees in 2008. Apprehension of thieves...
POLLUTIONWestern governments pushing China to use clean-coal technology may need to lower their expectations for the world's larg...
GARMENTSBangladeshi entrepreneurs say the garment sector, a mainstay of the country's exports, is feeling the pinch of the globa...
BIKES Harley-Davidson Inc. is to start selling motorcycles in India next year, the world's second-largest motorcycle market...
TRENDSThe Swiss postal service is offering a new service to customers wanting to receive their physical letters over the Inter...
GREENA washing machine using thousands of nylon beads and just a cup of water has been developed to provide a greener way to ...
TRADEIn 2001, there were just 49 bilateral and regional free-trade agreements (FTAs) in place. After a deal signed in August ...
EATINGA U.S.survey of nearly 2,200 shoppers has found that 68 per cent of adults have changed their cooking and eating behavio...
VANILLASome vanilla growers In Madagascar, the world's biggest producer of the flavourant, are demanding a minimum price for th...
CONGESTIONThere has been traffic chaos recently in two Paris suburbs after their feuding mayors declared the same street one-way, ...
]]>Thu, 1 Oct 2009 00:00:00 -0800http://www.aacb.com/publications/ed/view.asp?type=economic&newsletterID=155Economic Digesthttp://www.aacb.com/publications/ed/view.asp?type=economic&newsletterID=155Economic Digest LAND Canadian farmland is still cheap by global standards but unlikely to stay that way for long. Large global funds are in...
WATER Scientists have warned Asian countries that they face chronic food shortages and likely social unrest if they do not im...
COMFORTA survey of 3,700 people about their comfort food preferences confirms that consumers are passionate about their comfort...
GASChina's gas consumption is set to nearly triple over the next ten years, potentially rising to around 18-billion cubic f...
SAVINGSAccording to the National Funeral Directors Association in the U.S., Americans have cut their spending on funerals consi...
VACANCIESThe global recession has led to an increase in empty office space in most big cities across the world. Beijing's office ...
COLLATERALOne regional bank in Italy stores more than 15,000 tonnes of parmesan cheese which it keeps as collateral for loans. The...
SUGARThe price of raw sugar has increased to the highest level since 1981 as supply concerns grow. This is due to growing dem...
RENTALFor the first time, U.S. auto rental companies are buying more foreign vehicles than domestic brands. Through the first ...
SUBSIDIESThe OECD estimates that its member countries spent US$265-billion on farm subsidies in 2008, more than a fifth of their...
STOCKMARKETSJust over 49,000 domestic companies were listed on the world's stockmarkets in 2008. Of these, 54 per cent were listed i...
EXPORTSGermany is set to lose its unofficial title of world's top exporter this year to China as the recession hits demand for ...
TRAFFICIn 2007, for the first time in 16 years, congestion in America's 439 recognized urban areas actually declined. Even thou...
VACATIONS Europe's tourism industry is hurting. In the first five months of this year, the number of overnight stays by foreign v...
CHANGEAs consumers abandon the dining table and eat meals on their laps in front of the television, knives could soon go the w...
COMMERCIALISMUp to now, Vatican Radio has been wholly funded by the Roman Catholic Church at a cost of about US$30-million a year but...
AGEBritain's oldest working television has been tracked down in a house in London. The 1936 Marconiphone has a 12 inch (30 ...
INSURANCEThe world's biggest insurance markets collected US$4.3-trillion in premiums in 2008. After adjusting for inflation, tota...
FAKESeizure of counterfeit goods being smuggled into the European Union more than doubled last year. Customs authorities sei...
TRENDSBritish supermarkets are offering pre-cooked eggs to shoppers who lack the skills to boil their own. The free-range eggs...
CHOCOLATEDubai's Al Nassma, the world's first brand of chocolate made with camels' milk, plans to expand into new Arab markets, E...
GIVINGThe global recession has failed to dampen philanthropic spirit with many rich people increasing their charitable giving....
SERVICEPetSmart Inc., the largest U.S. pet-store chain with 1,137 stores, is considering expansion into in-home services includ...
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