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Home-cooked meals or "uchishoku" continued to be the key trend in 2012 in food preparation appliances. This led to increasing preparation of homemade meals at lower costs at home instead of eating out at foodservice establishments due to the continued slow economic recovery. While women are a major consumer segment of the category, untapped categories, such as men, also started purchasing food preparation appliances, including blenders in order to prepare their own lunchboxes. As blenders in...

According to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) Bolivia has the slowest and most expensive connection to the internet in the region, a factor that hinders the growth of internet retailing in Bolivia. Most consumers have access to the internet through internet cafes in urban and rural areas of the country. Moreover, as many consumers do not own a computer, their only access point is an internet cafe. However, to shop online the user must possess a credit card, which...

Bundled promotions continue to gain importance, and consumers are looking for these more often, as it is a way of saving in a highly competitive market, with a wide offer from low- to high-tier products. This strategy is being used to sell low turnover products, to promote new products and of course to drive volume sales.

Canada's mobile market continues to show slow but steady growth, with penetration as low as 77.4% and deployments of LTE technology, this trend is likely to continue. Unlike other developed markets, ARPU growth was reported throughout much of 2012, with the Q412 figure up at least CAD2 y-o-y among the three major operators. An increase is good news for operators across the board as costly investments in next-generation networks are ongoing and Canada's good economic outlook is also positive for operators in the market, suggesting ARPUs could continue to grow or at least stabilise. The news also bodes well for content providers and fixed broadband operators trying to encourage greater growth in services.

In 2012, home care in Guatemala registered healthy growth rates, both in volume and current value terms. Guatemala is a diversified country, with several consumer groups, and the home care market has products to cater to all their needs. The majority of categories in home care have premium, standard and economy products to reach all socio economic stratums of the population. Increased awareness of the importance of cleaning and disinfecting your home is also driving sales in this category.

2012 saw consumers' health consciousness continue to rise, alongside government campaigns promoting healthy lifestyles. This, in turn, saw consumers opting for health-positioned baked goods, for instance wheatmeal bread as opposed to white bread. At the same time, consumers were also restricting their intake of pastries and cakes, which are higher in fat content.

Executive Summary

The German chemicals market, which accounts for a quarter of EU sales, will be pivotal to growth in overall European chemicals production. Indeed, the slowdown in domestic demand will inevitably lead to a reduction in imports. As a result, European producers cannot bank on German demand to compensate for weaknesses elsewhere in the EU market, and many will fail to match the competitiveness of the country's diverse and highly integrated petrochemicals industry. Meanwhile, key growth drivers in the German industry will be in high-end specification plastics and speciality chemicals, rather than the basic chemicals and polymers traded by producers in the Gulf region. This should, in due course, spur investment into the expansion of existing capacity and increase research and development, with a focus on German operations.

Our outlook for the Italian agribusiness sector has turned more bearish, as dry conditions in Europe, high operating costs and bleak economic prospects have taken a toll on the grains, dairy and livestock sectors. Our long-held view has favoured the grains segment over rice, and we expect conditions to be particularly favourable for wheat and corn production over the forecast period to 2017. We also expect poultry and cheese to outperform sectors in the country, mainly bolstered by the economic recovery, change in consumption habits and opportunities for expansion into export markets.

There are serious moves underfoot to privatise much of the Kingdom's water assets, with talks reportedly under way between National Water Company (NWC) and a leading international adviser. This has led BMI to become increasingly confident that Saudi Arabia's water authorities are serious about bringing in the private sector to drive the much-needed expansion of capacity in desalination and wastewater segments. NWC is already committed to spending US$500mn in the near term on improving services to the capital Riyadh, and with state coffers flush, the Kingdom should be able to attract the biggest and best, providing contractual terms are clear.

GlobalData has released its new PharmaPoint Drug Evaluation report, "Zebinix (Epilepsy) - Forecast and Market Analysis to 2022". Epilepsy is a brain disorder characterized by spontaneously occurring and recurrent seizures. The market is heavily driven by the sales of antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) targeted at seizure reduction. The AED market is currently dominated by UCB's Keppra and GlaxoSmithKline's Lamictal. Although both drugs have experienced significant generic erosion, they form the mainstay of epilepsy treatment in the nine markets and will continue to have significant market share during the forecast period. Other key drugs include older generation AEDs such as Pfizer's Dilantin, Abbott's Depakote, and Novartis' Tegretol and Trileptal which still have significant usage due to their longevity in the market. However, the AED dominance landscape will continue to shift towards newer generation drugs particularly following the recent market entry of GlaxoSmithKline's Trobalt/Potiga and Eisai's Fycompa which both offer first-in-class mechanisms of action.

While the British petrochemicals industry is set to make a recovery in 2013, it will be from a low base and is likely to be lacklustre as the sector struggles with long-term capacity closure amid poor domestic and external market conditions. We believe that only the UK's external competitiveness will save the industry from a further contraction in 2013, but this will be dependent on a competitive exchange rate and continuity in the eurozone. Given the high degree of financial and trade interdependency with the eurozone, a failure among European politicians to resolve the debt crisis could lead to contraction in British chemicals markets.

Industry analysis specialist GlobalData has released its new report, "Healthcare, Regulatory and Reimbursement Landscape - Colombia". An essential source of information and analysis on the Colombian healthcare, regulatory, and reimbursement landscape, this report identifies the key trends in the healthcare market, and provides insights on the demographic, regulatory, and reimbursement landscape, and healthcare infrastructure. Most importantly, the report provides valuable insights into the trends and segmentation of the pharmaceutical market. It is built using data and information sourced from proprietary databases, secondary research, and in-house analysis by GlobalData's team of industry experts.

This comprehensive SWOT profile of Anel Telekomunikasyon Elektronik Sistemleri Sanayi Ve Ticaret A.S. provides you an in-depth strategic analysis of the company's businesses and operations. The profile has been compiled by GlobalData to bring to you a clear and an unbiased view of the company's key strengths and weaknesses and the potential opportunities and threats. The profile helps you formulate strategies that augment your business by enabling you to understand your partners, customers and competitors better.

The report presents detailed data on consumption trends in the Soap category in Brazil, analyzing consumption volumes and values at segment level. It also provides indispensable data on distribution channels, profiles of companies active in the Personal Hygiene sector, latest industry news and mergers and acquisitions in the sector.

A competitively priced comprehensive overview of the key categories in the soft drinks market.

The report presents detailed data on consumption trends in the Women's Disposable Razors & Blades category in Egypt, analyzing consumption volumes and values. It also provides indispensable data on distribution channels.

A competitively priced comprehensive overview of the Still Drinks market.

The report presents detailed data on consumption trends in the Male Fragrances category in Greece, analyzing consumption volumes and values at segment level. It also provides indispensable data on distribution channels, profiles of companies active in the Fragrances sector and latest industry news.

A competitively priced comprehensive overview of the Dilutables market.

The report presents detailed data on consumption trends in the Denture Care category in United Kingdom, analyzing consumption volumes and values at segment level. It also provides indispensable data on distribution channels, profiles of companies active in the Oral Hygiene sector, latest industry news and mergers & acquisitions in the sector.

The report presents detailed data on consumption trends in the Dry Cooking Sauce category in Japan, analyzing consumption volumes and values at segment level. It also provides indispensable data on distribution channels, profiles of companies active in the Seasonings, Dressings & Sauces sector, latest industry news and mergers & acquisitions in the sector.

Hair Styling Agents in China by Mintel Global Market Navigator provides you with annual year-end market size data, most recently updated in 2012. This market covers sprays, gels, cream, liquid, mousse and other hair styling agents. Market value is based on sales through all retail channels including direct to consumer, but excludes the professional sector including hairdresser sales to the consumer. Market size for Hair Styling Agents in China is given in CNY with a minimum of five years' historical data. Market Forecast is provided for five years. Included with this snapshot is socio-economic data for China. Population, Consumer Price Index (CPI), Gross Domestic Product (GDP), Exchange Rates.

Lifestyle changes, such as beginning a diet, require knowledge, persistence and commitment. Support has been proven to help dieters remain steadfast in the commitment to lose excess weight and stay on track with often arduous diet plans. Some diet plans offer on-line support via testimonials and forums. Other dieters seek support from friends, family or health care professionals. Diet Doc has taken clinical weight loss a step further than the typical diet plan by incorporating a dedicated and caring support team composed of doctors, nurses, nutritionists and coaches for each patient, during and up to one year after weight loss. The staff is specially trained in the science of fast weight loss and passionate about guiding each patient safely and smoothly into a future of improved health free of embarrassing and unhealthy excess fat. Available Monday through Saturday by phone or email, the support staff is committed to the safe and successful weight loss journey of each patient and is eager to lend guidance, encouragement and unlimited support before, during and even after the excess fat has disappeared.

Many weight loss companies claim to do the impossible and offer patients complete body transformations without changing the patient’s diet or lifestyle in any way. Diet Doc hCG diets promise to help clients learn how to lose weight and maintain their weight through education on how to lose weight fast, changes in eating habits and encouragement to eliminate poor lifestyle choices completely from their every day routines. For some patients, Diet Doc physicians recommend the use of the weight reduction aid hCG to assist in reaching initial weight loss goals and to target stubborn excess fat in areas such as the stomach and thighs. Diet Doc’s hCG diet plans have become the nation’s leader in medical weight loss by providing the necessary clinical support and motivation for each and every patient and by working together with patients toward a lifetime of great health.