SBWire

Retail volume sales growth for ice cream in 2012 was up slightly on 2011, and also faster than the CAGR for the entire review period. This was partly due to its ongoing emergence from a comparatively low base, as per capita ice cream consumption in Ecuador is among the lowest of any country in the region. Retail volume growth was also bolstered by increased investment in marketing activities and the development of new products, particularly healthier variants. At the same time, the category...

Statistics show that the number of smokers increases annually in Kazakhstan and in 2012 the rate of increase was set at 1% compared to the previous year, reaching over 1,391,000 people. The government is actively seeking to reduce the number of smokers in the country. The public smoking ban, which came into force in late 2009 and the rise in excise tax in 2010 turned out to be less effective, since the number of smoking population rises on an annually basis. A number of very strong anti-smoking...

BMI View: The Central America region as a whole remains small in scale, with combined industry value of just US$9.3bn estimated for 2012. With that in mind, the high risks and small scale make the region broadly unattractive for new companies who do not have existing operations in the region or surrounding areas to leverage off. That said, we do see strong growth in a number of sectors, including social housing, renewables and hydropower, gas conversion, and airports and ports.

Zambia's mining sector is set to continue the recovery seen over the last decade. The country had declining copper output throughout the 1990s, but a mixture of low taxes, privatisation and elevated copper prices has seen a substantial boost to investment and output. We expect the value of the mining sector to reach US $1.0bn by 2017, from US$770mn in 2011, marking an annual average growth rate of 4.5%.

The primary issue in Indian shipping continues to be the state of the nation's ports. Investment in the 12 'major' state-run facilities has not kept up with the demand engendered by the rapid economic growth experienced in India over the past decade. This is leading to repeated issues of congestion in the ports; investment is now being made, but this may be a case of too little too late. The contrast between these creaking facilities and the newly built private ports which are increasing in number around the country is stark.

BMI View: Kuwait is set to remain dependent almost exclusively on oil and gas for its energy needs for the foreseeable future. Following the 2011 Fukushima accident, plans to move towards nuclear energy have been largely abandoned, while renewable energy remains only a very minor segment of the country's energy mix. Much of the planned new generating capacity is gas-fired, with oil often used as a back-up fuel. The government's goal is to make more of the country's oil available for export, even if this leads to a growing reliance on imported gas. Building new capacity is likely to become an increasing priority in the years ahead, as power consumption runs up against available capacity. Nevertheless, extremely low domestic power prices mean that projects are unlikely to attract foreign investors, leaving Kuwait to go it alone in meeting its growing power demand. Conventional thermal sources are likely to remain the dominant fuel for electricity generation in the coming years. Following the Fukushima tragedy in 2011, Kuwait ordered the National Nuclear Energy Committee to be dissolved and abandoned its pursuit of nuclear power. However, the country is nevertheless aiming to reduce its domestic oil consumption in an effort to free up additional barrels for export, with many power projects that are planned or under construction due to use gas. The electricity and water ministry wishes to more than double generating and desalination capacity by 2017 and an estimated US$2.5bn is expected to be invested over the medium term to cater for the projected power demand until 2015. Renewables could become part of the solution, particularly given the vast solar potential of the desert state - and the government has set ambitious targets in this regard - though there has been minimal progress made thus far.

The Romanian Retail Report examines the long-term potential of the local consumer market, but flags up short-term concerns about the impact on Romania's economic outlook of the uncertain domestic political environment.

BMI View: the Swedish IT market is one of the most dynamic in Western Europe, with high spending levels per capita and innovative deployments of IT services. We forecast the IT market will reach a total value of SEK120.5bn in 2013, a 5% increase from 2012. Growth was constrained by the economic environment in 2012, but with conditions improving from 2013 growth will rebound. There is however downside risk to this outlook from a worsening of conditions in the eurozone which could hit consumer and business confidence. Besides economic performance drivers of Swedish IT spending include innovation in form factors with the release of Windows 8 in October 2012, datacentre construction, real-time business software, purchases of computers for schools, a new national digital agenda and growing interest in cloud computing services.

The accompanying tables present the latest economic data and five-year forecast scenario for the country's banking system. Also included is SWOT analysis of the commercial banking system as a whole.

A recovery in the Spanish petrochemicals market is highly unlikely in 2013 with the probability of another year of contraction. Combined with the effects of the eurozone slowdown and increased competition from integrated facilities in the Middle East and Asia, we believe the situation create the conditions that could precipitate further closures of ageing Spanish petrochemicals units which are functioning at a far lower capacity than producers in these regions.

The anticipated post-football tournament slump is becoming more prominent in the Polish construction sector. A worrying combination of high competition, poorly structured tendering processes, unsustainably low project bids and a frontloaded project pipeline has caused us to highlight the cracks in Poland’s road building sector, as well as downgrade our outlook for construction sector growth in 2013. During the next five years to 2017, we forecast growth in the sector to remain significantly lower than the preceding five years as growth in the infrastructure sub-segment will remain lacklustre.

Key Insights And Key Risks

The whole world again turns the spotlight on Leawo Software just days after the gorgeous debut of the 2013 best Blu-ray media player, as the tech-savvy giant today proudly announced to the world that its long-prepared blockbuster Music Recorder comes shining through to refresh people's music entertainment to the extreme. To celebrate the grand coming of this all-new audio recording software, Leawo rewards it as a super-low $9.95 special offer as a return.

Currently, robotic industrial trucks have found a great niche in kitting applications, where users are taking this type of equipment, training it to run a route, and having it automatically transport kitted product to the manufacturing point.

Senator Barbara Boxer of California and Representative Peter DeFazio of Oregon on April 24 introduced companion bills in the Senate and the House of Representatives that would require the labeling of bioengineered foods. In each case, the bill is titled the Genetically Engineered Food Right-to-Know Act and would constitute an amendment to the Food, Drug and Cosmetic Act.

Medical Equipment Resources and Consulting (MERC), a group of medical equipment consultants that offers a variety of services including medical equipment appraisals, has just posted a new and informative article to its website. The article, which is titled “Inventory...Do It Yourself?” examines why it is important for healthcare facilities or organizations to arrange for a professional equipment inventory.

Jim Rodella, Regional Sales Manager of Northwest for Magline, Inc. refers to Pennwest as a strong partner, “PennWest is a recent addition to the Magline family and is a strong partner in the Western Pennsylvania and Northern West Virginia areas. Magline product sales have increased year over year since 2010 and are expected to double in 2013 vs. 2012 due to responsiveness, attention to detail, sensitivity to their customers’ needs and excellent customer service. Magline thanks PennWest for their continued support and efforts; we look forward to an enduring relationship in the future.”

Reflecting on his time spent at Seminary School, California’s Derald Hamilton sums it up as a hotbed of competitive showmanship glossed over by a thin veneer of spirituality. Bitingly sardonic in its tone and deportment, “The Call” issues a scathingly tongue in cheek indictment of institutionally imposed dogma and sanctimony as while at the same time offering readers a fictional yet frank escape into one man’s struggle with Seminary life while, at the same time, encountering opposition posed by his own personal demons.

Creative Real Spy Gear 2.7" TFT LCD Camera Detector, Security Tester with Audio/video Recording Function and TF Slot is Easy to Carry and Operate with Hand-hold Design.

Forget the competition: 40 Savile Row has been making the finest shirts known to mankind since 1938. Take it as read then, that the quality of the Savile Row Company shirts puts us top of the class.

1Lightbulbs.com, an online retailer that features a huge selection of affordable light bulbs, has just added eco friendly lighting products to its website.

Chat Roulette’s new rules and limitations have caused a run of bad PR against the brand, as many users feel the new criteria run against the very reason they flocked to the site in the first place. Free, anonymous, randomized web chat has become a popular hobby and social activity for millions around the globe, and now they search for easier, less restricted means to do so a huge number of competing sites have sprung up around the web. Rather than spend hours researching these alternatives, Chatroulette Sites provides a simple click and try listing of the top twenty alternatives so users can further randomize their discoveries in the random chat world.

Home security is a pressing concern for all those who wish to protect their loved ones and their possessions from the aggressions of thieves and criminals. Although a relative uncommon occurrence in some areas, it only takes one incident for people to realize their vulnerability and wish to take steps to increase their security measures. In Canada, Wireless Home Security Systems provides all the information someone could need to make pro-active changes to both their homes and their lives, to increase security and safety in the home.

Post being unveiled at the Geneva Motor Show held in March 2013, SX4 Crossover by Maruti Suzuki is being awaited to hit the Indian roads.

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