http://www.ausstats.abs.gov.au/Ausstats/subscriber.nsf/0/33A138F3B3CD34C7CA25760000175284/$File/34120_2007-08.pdf

http://www.ausstats.abs.gov.au/Ausstats/subscriber.nsf/0/33A138F3B3CD34C7CA25760000175284/$File/34120_2007-08.pdf

موتور محرکه اقتصاد آمریکا

شواهد حاکی از خروج کارخانجات آمریکایی از بدترین رکود چند دهه اخیر است. در هفته جاری گزارش درآمدی تولیدکنندگان آمریکا منتشر خواهد شد و سرمایه‌گذاران درخواهندیافت که کارخانجات این کشور در چه سطحی از بیداری قرار گرفته‌اند.

تولیدکنندگان بزرگی چون بویینگ، کاترپیلار و تری‌ام نتایج درآمدی خود را گزارش خواهند داد. پیش‌بینی می‌شود این گزارش‌ها نشان دهد شرکت‌ها و مصرف‌کنندگان آمریکایی بار دیگر شروع به صرف هزینه کرده‌اند.
البته اقتصاد آمریکا به اندازه 20 سال پیش به کارخانجات خود وابسته نیست. بلکه این هزینه مصرف‌کنندگان است که موتور محرکه اقتصاد این کشور است، اما این اواخر هزینه مصرف‌کنندگان به‌خاطر از بین رفتن مشاغل و تعطیلی کارخانجات کاهش یافت. اکنون سخن از احیای اقتصادی تولید محور به میان آمده است.
گزارش‌هایی که قرار است در این هفته منتشر شوند به‌طور مستقیم بستگی به خریداران غذا، اسباب‌بازی، پوشاک و سایر محصولات دارند، اما از سوی دیگر این کارخانجات تولیداتی را به فروش می‌رسانند که قشر متوسط جامعه اقدام به خرید آنها نمی‌کند. بنابراین آنها از برنامه‌های بزرگ محرک اقتصادی دولت مانند جاده‌سازی، بخش رو به رشد بهداشت‌و‌درمان و نیاز بخش نظامی به هواپیماهای باری بیشتر یا نیاز شرکت‌های هواپیمایی به هواپیما‌های بیشتر، منتفع می‌شوند.
فعالیت کارخانجات آمریکایی جهش یافته است. طی ماه‌های اخیر مجموع تولیدات کارخانه‌ای کشور بهبود یافته است و روز جمعه شرکت جنرال الکتریک اعلام کرد که در فصل گذشته سود حاصل از تولید این شرکت تا 4 درصد رشد داشته است. در سایه بحرانی که کارخانجات آمریکا را زیر بار فشارها خرد کرد، اکنون یک رشد اندک در سود حاصل از تولید آن‌ها می‌تواند به مثابه نوک پیکانی باشد که روند صعودی قابل توجهی را در رشد بخش کارخانه‌ای نشان می‌دهد. از زمانی که رکود اقتصادی در دسامبر سال 2007 پا گرفت، دو میلیون شغل در بخش کارخانجات آمریکا از میان رفت و احتمالا زمان طولانی لازم است تا تولید‌کنندگان به نقطه پیش از بحران بازگردند.
توماس دستربرگ، رییس یک سازمان تحقیقات در زمینه سیاست‌های اقتصادی به نام ام ای پی آی می‌گوید: «ما به نقطه صفر رسیدیم و از آن نقطه بازگشتیم.» قرار است شرکت‌های کوچکتر نیز که مواد اولیه تولید می‌کنند گزارش‌های درآمدی خود را ارائه دهند. اگر آن‌طور که پیش‌بینی می‌شود بخش کارخانجات در حال احیا باشد، با بهبود فعالیت‌های کارخانجات تولید مس، سیم‌های مسی، لوله‌ها و سایر مصالح ساختمانی، پنجره‌ای جدید به روی سرمایه‌گذاران بخش مسکن آمريكا گشوده خواهد شد.

Facebook users

http://blog.nielsen.com/nielsenwire/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/nielsen_globalfaces_mar09.pdf



http://www.nickburcher.com/2009/03/facebook-usage-statistics-by-country.html


Australian Facebook Demographics

According to CheckFacebook.com, over 6.4 Million Australian use Facebook, which represent a huge 38.48% of the Australian online population

In terms of demographics, the Australian Facebook population is made of 55.6% of female and 44% of Male.
In terms age, Facebook remains a generation Y social network. The biggest segment is the 25-34 years old with 29.3% followed by the 18-24 with 28.8%.
The 35 years + segment currently accounts for 30.4% of the Australian Facebook population and is according to Nielsen Online, the fastest growing segment.


Top 30 countries with highest number of Facebook users per head of population in July 2008:

Rank	Country	Latest Population figure	No. of Facebook Users	% Facebook penetration
1	Iceland	320,500	150,280	46.89%
2	Norway	4,813,000	1,937,320	40.25%
3	Denmark	5,511,451	2,109,900	38.28%
4	Canada	33,618,000	11,556,180	34.37%
5	UK	61,612,300	17,540,660	28.47%
6	Chile	16,895,000	4,480,480	26.52%
7	Hong Kong	7,008,900	1,755,580	25.05%
8	Australia	21,730,255	5,409,900	24.9%
9	Sweden	9,264,000	2,139,720	23.1%
10	Singapore	4,839,400	1,096,680	22.66%
11	Luxembourg	491,700	100,880	20.52%
12	Belgium	10,741,000	2,190,380	20.39%
13	Finland	5,332,029	1,051,400	19.72%
14	USA	306,227,000	59,977,740	19.55%
15	Switzerland	7,705,800	1,407,780	18.27%
16	Cyprus	801,600	143,380	17.89%
17	New Zealand	4,304,509	768,100	17.84%
18	Malta	412,600	71,320	17.29%
19	The Bahamas	342,000	56,280	16.46%
20	Puerto Rico	3,982,000	651,580	16.36%
21	Italy	60,090,400	8,882,260	14.78%
22	Israel	7,390,600	1,091,520	14.77%
23	France	65,073,482	9,579,240	14.72%
24	Turkey	71,517,100	10,477,320	14.65%
25	Croatia	4,432,000	639,300	14.42%
26	Slovenia	2,053,355	294,500	14.34%
28	Ireland	4,517,800	639,020	14.14%
29	Maldives	309,000	42,260	13.68%
30	Trinidad & Tobago	1,339,000	182,480	13.63%

There are now 27 countries with over 1 million people using Facebook. Here are the latest statistics for March 2009 (taken from the Facebook interface):

Country	Facebook users 30/12/08	Facebook users 17/03/09	% growth Dec 08 - Mar 09
USA	42,078,960	55,329,460	31.5%
UK	14,937,810	17,765,160	19%
Canada	10,862,040	11,655,980	7.3%
Turkey	7,394,340	9,957,180	25.5%
France	6,587,240	8,742,900	32.7%
Italy	5,585,700	8,678,000	55.4%
Australia	4,330,040	5,152,960	19%
Colombia	3,632,760	4,508,960	24.1%
Chile	4,153,020	4,341,240	4.5%
Spain	2,596,080	3,948,300	52.1%
Argentina	2,255,300	3,353,280	48.7%
Venezuela	1,874,220	2,578,540	37.6%
Indonesia	897,040	2,236,380	149.3%
Sweden	1,696,700	2,097,840	23.6%
Denmark	1,776,260	2,093,900	17.9%
Belgium	1,655,940	2,043,380	23.4%
Mexico	1,440,640	1,932,940	34.2%
Norway	1,456,140	1,884,800	29.4%
Germany	1,255,480	1,772,380	41.2%
Hong Kong	1,458,520	1,683,980	15.5%
Switzerland	1,122,900	1,391,220	23.9%
India	1,071,280	1,367,560	27.7%
Greece	999,580	1,360,620	36.1%
South Africa	920,200	1,227,220	33.4%
Finland	918,940	1,131,580	23.1%
Egypt	822,560	1,125,900	36.9%
Malaysia	850,420	1,069,260	25.7%

Here are the Top 30 countries with highest number of Facebook users (2nd July 2009 - data from Facebook):

Rank	Country	Number of Facebook users	12 month growth %	6 month growth %
1	USA	69,378,980	149.5%	64.9%
2	UK	18,711,160	67.5%	25.3%
3	Turkey	12,382,320	257.4%	56.1%
4	Canada	11,961,020	24.3%	10.1%
5	France	10,781,480	338.1%	63.7%
6	Italy	10,218,400	1980.7%	82.9%
7	Indonesia	6,496,960	2997.3%	624.3%
8	Australia	6,053,560	88.2%	39.8%
9	Spain	5,773,200	729.6%	122.3%
10	Colombia	5,760,300	138.8%	58.6%
11	Argentina	4,906,220	1073.8%	117.5%
12	Chile	4,830,680	129.4%	16.3%
13	Mexico	3,644,400	249.5%	153%
14	Venezuela	3,578,740	270.2%	91%
15	India	3,236,140	354.8%	202.1%
16	Germany	3,136,680	407.5%	149.9%
17	Philippines	2,719,560	1572.1%	596.1%
18	Belgium	2,372,460	346.2%	43.3%
19	Sweden	2,287,240	100.3%	34.8%
20	Hong Kong	2,087,580	149.1%	43.1%
21	Malaysia	1,995,040	342.8%	134.6%
22	Denmark	1,961,880	152.4%	10.5%
23	Norway	1,853,840	58.4%	27.3%
24	South Africa	1,720,820	96%	87%
25	Greece	1,638,980	224.6%	64%
26	Egypt	1,618,040	106.5%	96.7%
27	Switzerland	1,491,940	280.1%	32.9%
28	Israel	1,433,540	142.2%	66.4%
29	Singapore	1,384,760	198%	87.1%
30	Finland	1,097,600	109.9%	19.4%

Australia Post profit

Australia Post's pre-tax profit for 2008/09 of $380.9 million was down on the record high of $592.2 million booked in the previous financial year.

Net profit of $260.6 million was down from $432.2 million in the previous year, while revenue grew by 0.5 per cent to $4.97 billion.

For the first time in six years, the volume of all items sent through the post fell, to 5.3 billion from 5.6 billion in the previous year.

As well, letter volumes fell by 4.1 per cent in the year to 4.9 billion, and revenue, boosted by a 5 cent increase in the price of postage stamps, increased by just 0.7 per cent to $2.8 billion.

Australia Post's parcels and logistics business posted annual revenue of $1.3 billion, up 2.5 per cent on the previous year.

The popularity of parcels continues to increase due to improvements in tracking and security, the company said, which is highly valued by online traders.

Agency services and retail products, including passport applications and the sale of products from post offices, delivered revenue growth of 3.2 per cent to $736 million.

Mr John received total remuneration of $2.58 million for the year, down approximately 10 per cent on the previous year.

http://www.news.com.au/business/money/story/0,28323,26163403-5013951,00.html

Timing it right to beat the property clock

The timing of your property purchase can cost you thousands or make you a bumper profit / news.com.au

BUYING in a boom or selling in a slump can cost you tens of thousands of dollars if you are on the wrong end of the deal, or it can set you up for a bumper profit if you get the timing right.

When to make your move, either as a vendor or buyer, is second in importance only to location, according to many property experts.

Even just a $20,000 overpayment on your purchase price can add another $40,000 in interest repayments over the life your mortgage.

Or losing out on a potential $20,000 in the sale price can mean another $40,000 loss in equivalent investment earnings or having to fork out more to borrow for your next property.

Within the property market there are many different economic forces at play and the face of a clock can be used to show where the market is at any given time.

Typically, there are good times to buy and bad and the same goes for selling. Knowing where you are in the property cycle can help you make the most of your sale or let you snap up a bargain purchase.

The two main positions on the property clock are undersupply and oversupply. Everything else is either leading in to one of these market conditions or coming out of it. But let’s start with undersupply.

12 o’clock

Undersupply, or midnight, is "party time" for investors and property sellers.

This is when demand from rental tenants and property buyers is so high that the number of properties available can’t keep up.

Landlords put their rents up and tenants just keep rolling in. As the rents get higher, the number of wannabe investors increases, as they see high rents as a good investment option.

At the same time owners who list their properties for sale also get a high number of bids and offers because there are a plethora of buyers out there bidding against each other.

Undersupply is caused by several factors, including strong immigration and population growth.

The construction cycle also has a role to play, as does the economy and the share market. When construction is down, the shortage, or undersupply of properties, gets worse.

And when the economy is strong and people are getting regular pay rises and secure work, this gives them extra confidence to borrow more and pay a higher price. The share market also joins in the mix of market forces.

When the share market is too risky – prices are unstable or falling (sound familiar?) – then people also switch out of shares and in to property, further increasing the number of buyers.

As more buyers flood the market they are forced to compete against each other and the only way to win in this situation is to pay a higher price.

But as is the case with all market forces, there is always an opposite effect. While property sellers are partying, enjoying their inflated property prices, the opposite is happening for would-be buyers.

For buyers considering purchasing a property at 12 o’clock, it’s more likely to be a nightmare then a party.

3 o’clock

By now all those ripper high sale prices and rising rents are attracting every man, woman and dog to the property market.

Suddenly there are developers wanting to get a piece of the action building new projects to sell for high prices.

Soon new construction gets under way to help meet all this pent-up demand as the investors continue to want a slice of those big rental incomes and cashed up former home owners look to trade up to their next home – not to mention the backlog of first-home buyers.

However, gradually the number of new properties starts to catch up with the demand. At the same time, many buyers, despite their desire, are simply priced out of the market.

No matter how secure their job or how optimistic they are about borrowing more money, they simply can’t make the finances stack up.

Tenants, too, start to withdraw or at least say no to more rent increases and the whole market starts to ease back.

This is what’s called afternoon nap time, 3 o’clock.

The heat of the market and high prices have become overwhelming and people are starting to feel less confident.

Sellers lower their price ranges and buyers are fewer and farther between as they start to realise if they hold out a bit longer they might have more control over how much they pay.

This time is now one of evensupply, where the number of properties and the number of buyers are roughly matched.

There’s no frantic hurry to buy before the price goes even higher. In fact this is often when many buyers take a siesta.

6 o’clock

Unfortunately for the developers, speculators and the sellers, as the clock ticks down to 6 o’clock the tables have turned and there are now more properties than there are buyers.

This is the typical oversupply time, the bottom of the market and the bottom on the property clock.

This can often coincide with hard economic times and the tail end of high interest rates.

People no longer feel confident about borrowing too much and might feel their income or jobs are at risk.

For a seller this is definitely not the right time to put your house up for sale. Not only will there be few buyers willing to consider your property but their offers are also likely to be considerably lower than you expect.

But it is good news for buyers. With lots of properties to choose from and very few buyers to compete with, you now have the highest chance of snapping up a bargain.

This is also the time when investors have to discount their rents and the attraction of residential property as an investment starts to lose its shine.

During the next three years or so it’s a buyers’ (and a renters’) market.

9 o’clock

Guess what? It’s time to wake up and get real.

Property prices have sunk so low that people have decided not to sell. All those highrise units and new housing estate homes have been sitting floundering on the market with no buyers. Suddenly the developers are getting realistic and stop building.

They also start to face up to their losses and it becomes a case of a little less cash in the bank or a lot more debt on the books if they don’t sell for what they can get.

Prices come down and, hey presto, the buyers come back. As the property clock heads up to 9 o’clock so do the prices.

Gradually activity returns. This usually coincides with improved economic conditions and improved consumer confidence.

The economy, the workforce, the consumers are all back on a roll and things are looking up again. And before you know it, it’s midnight again!

Australians threatening their health by downing 773 drinks a year

http://www.news.com.au/story/0,27574,26181107-36398,00.html

HUNDREDS of thousands of Australians would be saved from alcohol-related disease if the nation's thirst for booze dried up by a third, a new report has found.

On average, Australians down 773 standard drinks a year - the equivalent of 703 pots of beer, 552 stubbies, 93 bottles of wine or 39 bottles of spirits.

On average, each Australian drinks 9.8 litres of pure alcohol a year - more than Americans (8.4 litres), Canadians (8 litres), Swedes (6.6 litres) and Norwegians (6.4 litres).

If the average intake could be cut to 6.4 litres - about 505 standard drinks, or 459 pots - more than 380 deaths would be avoided each year.

Cutting the nation's alcohol thirst would also save the health sector $789 million and the leisure industry $435 million, according to the report.