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src="http://www.ibisworld.com/common/newsletter/images/TOCtopleft.gif" alt="" /> </td> <td class="WhiteTop"> <img src="http://www.ibisworld.com/common/newsletter/images/cp.gif" alt="" height="1" width="1" /> </td> <td style="width: 5px"> <img src="http://www.ibisworld.com/common/newsletter/images/TOCtopright.gif" alt="" /> </td> </tr> </table> <table border="0" style="width: 354px" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tr> <td class="DarkGray"> <img border="0" src="http://www.ibisworld.com/common/newsletter/images/cp.gif" alt="" height="1" width="1" /> </td> <td valign="top"> <table border="0" cellpadding="3" cellspacing="0"> <tr> <td rowspan="8"> <img border="0" src="http://www.ibisworld.com/common/newsletter/images/cp.gif" alt="" height="170" width="1" /> </td> <td colspan="2"> <p class="heading1"> IN THIS EDITION:</p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="30" align="center"> <a href="#aIndustry"> <img border="0" src="http://www.ibisworld.com/common/newsletter/images/placeholderarrow.gif" alt="" /></a> </td> <td class="tdToc"> <a class="menuitem" href="#aFeature">Feature Article: 2008  The Year Ahead. into 2008?</a> </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="center"> <a href="#aFocus"> <img border="0" src="http://www.ibisworld.com/common/newsletter/images/placeholderarrow.gif" alt="" /> </a> </td> <td class="tdToc"> <a class="menuitem" href="#aFocus">Trends: 2008  Big Movers on the World Stage.</a> </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="center"> <a href="#aRisk"> <img border="0" src="http://www.ibisworld.com/common/newsletter/images/placeholderarrow.gif" alt="" /> </a> </td> <td class="tdToc"> <a class="menuitem" href="#aRisk">Risk Analysis</a> </td> </tr> <!--<tr> <td align="center"> <a href="#aEconomic"> <img border="0" src="http://www.ibisworld.com/common/newsletter/images/placeholderarrow.gif" alt="" /> </a> </td> <td> <a class="menuitem" href="#aEconomic">Economics & Demographics</a> </td> </tr>--> <tr> <td align="center"> <a href="#aEconomic"> <img border="0" src="http://www.ibisworld.com/common/newsletter/images/placeholderarrow.gif" alt="" /> </a> </td> <td> <a class="menuitem" href="#aEconomic">Economic Scoreboard </a> </td> </tr> <!-- <tr> <td align="center"> <a href="#aRuthven"> <img border="0" src="http://www.ibisworld.com/common/newsletter/images/placeholderarrow.gif" alt="" /> </a> </td> <td> <a class="menuitem" href="#aUpdated">Phil Ruthven - Presentation Material</a> </td> </tr>--> <tr> <td align="center"> <a href="#aNew"> <img border="0" src="http://www.ibisworld.com/common/newsletter/images/placeholderarrow.gif" alt="" /> </a> </td> <td> <a class="menuitem" href="#aNew">What's New?</a> </td> </tr> <tr> <td align="center"> <a href="#aUpdated"> <img border="0" src="http://www.ibisworld.com/common/newsletter/images/placeholderarrow.gif" alt="" /> </a> </td> <td> <a class="menuitem" href="#aUpdated">Updated Reports</a> </td> </tr> </table> </td> <td class="DarkGray"> <img src="http://www.ibisworld.com/common/newsletter/images/cp.gif" alt="" height="1" width="1" /> </td> </tr> </table> <table border="0" style="width: 354px" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tr> <td style="width: 5px"> <img src="http://www.ibisworld.com/common/newsletter/images/TOCbottomleft.gif" alt="" /> </td> <td class="WhiteBottom"> <img src="http://www.ibisworld.com/common/newsletter/images/cp.gif" alt="" height="1" width="1" /> </td> <td style="width: 5px"> <img src="http://www.ibisworld.com/common/newsletter/images/TOCbottomright.gif" alt="" /> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> </table> </td> <td valign="top"> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" border="0"> <tr> <td valign="top"> <img src="http://www.ibisworld.com/common/newsletter/images/usdate.gif" alt="" /> </td> </tr> <tr> <td height="10" /> </tr> <tr> <td> <table border="0" style="width: 256px" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tr> <td style="width: 5px"> <img src="http://www.ibisworld.com/common/newsletter/images/PinkTOCtopleft.gif" alt="" /> </td> <td class="WhiteTop" style="background-color: #DDCDC6;"> <img src="http://www.ibisworld.com/common/newsletter/images/cp.gif" alt="" height="1" width="1" /> </td> <td style="width: 5px"> <img src="http://www.ibisworld.com/common/newsletter/images/PinkTOCtopright.gif" alt="" /> </td> </tr> </table> <table border="0" style="background-color: #DDCDC6; width: 256px" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tr> <td class="DarkGray"> <img src="http://www.ibisworld.com/common/newsletter/images/cp.gif" alt="" height="148" width="1" /> </td> <td height="146" width="308"> <p class="heading1" style="text-align: center;"> DID YOU KNOW?</p> <p class="textCenter"> Political organizations in the US are expected to increase their revenue by over 12% in 2008, as private and corporate donors attempt to buy influence leading up to the November Presidential election. </p> </td> <td class="DarkGray"> <img src="http://www.ibisworld.com/common/newsletter/images/cp.gif" alt="" height="1" width="1" /> </td> </tr> </table> <table border="0" style="width: 256px" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tr> <td style="width: 5px"> <img src="http://www.ibisworld.com/common/newsletter/images/PinkTOCbottomleft.gif" alt="" /> </td> <td class="WhiteBottom" style="background-color: #DDCDC6;"> <img src="http://www.ibisworld.com/common/newsletter/images/cp.gif" alt="" height="1" width="1" /> </td> <td style="width: 5px"> <img src="http://www.ibisworld.com/common/newsletter/images/PinkTOCbottomright.gif" alt="" /> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> </table> <!-- end header--> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" border="0"> <!-- main content--> <!-- industry in focus article --> <!--<tr> <td> <a id="aIndustry" name="aFeature"></a> <p class="heading2"> <br /> Easter</p> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tr> <td valign="top" width="620" align="left"> <p>You know its Easter when the sky greys and, helped by daylight savings, darkens earlier each night. You know it's close when fluffy bunnies and bright yellow chicks start to appear in the windows of high street shops. But most of all you know its Easter when you see brightly covered chocolate eggs and animals, and smell the freshly baked hot cross buns. With Easter now behind us, it is a good time to take a look at the confectionary manufacturing industry. </p> </td> </tr> </table> </td> --> <tr> <td> <a id="a3" name="aFeature"></a> <p class="heading2"> <br /> 2008  The Year Ahead.</p> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tr> <td valign="top" width="620" align="left"> <p>The year 2007 saw a US economy in tumult. The subprime loans crisis, which started being labeled a crisis in August caused billions of dollars to be lost on the stock market, and hundreds of thousands of Americans to lose their homes. Forecasts of a recession in 2008 are becoming louder and more frequent. So what industries are likely to buck the trend and go from strength to strength? Here is IBISWorld's list of forecast movers and shakers for 2008.</p> <p>Growth industries:</p> <ul><li><a href="http://www.ibisworld.com/redirect.aspx?partnerid=News&indid=1269">Voice Over Internet Protocol (VoIP) Providers</a>  24.3% to $3.19 billion </li><li><a href="http://www.ibisworld.com/redirect.aspx?partnerid=News&indid=8">Corn Farming</a>  15% to $29.54 billion </li><li><a href="http://www.ibisworld.com/redirect.aspx?partnerid=News&indid=1304">Activities Related to Credit Intermediation</a>  13.5% to $27.84 billion </li><li><a href="http://www.ibisworld.com/redirect.aspx?partnerid=News&indid=1902">Web Search Portals</a>  13.4% to $19.1 billion </li><li><a href="http://www.ibisworld.com/redirect.aspx?partnerid=News&indid=2001">Biotechnology</a>  12.9% to $85.7 billion </li><li><a href="http://www.ibisworld.com/redirect.aspx?partnerid=News&indid=1517">Remediation Services</a>  11% to $13.91 billion </li><li><a href="http://www.ibisworld.com/redirect.aspx?partnerid=News&indid=1474">Collection Agencies</a>  10% to $15.14 billion </li></ul> <p>The US economy in 2008 is likely to be buffered from the most severe effects of the subprime affair by industries which are highly technologic intensive. Voiceover Internet Protocol, or VoIP, is the practice of making phone calls over the internet, and VoIP provider Skype, the largest dedicated VoIP provider, grew 677% in 2006, and is expected to register strong growth in 2008. </p><p><a href="http://www.ibisworld.com/redirect.aspx?partnerid=News&indid=1902">Web Search Portals</a>, led by Google, grew markedly in 2007 and should continue that trend as internet use becomes increasingly common, and competitors step up efforts to match the dominance of Google and Yahoo!. <a href="http://www.ibisworld.com/redirect.aspx?partnerid=News&indid=2001">Biotechnology</a> is expected to become more and more relevant to a variety of industries, and its use in health and agriculture services is set to increase. </p><p>The <a href="http://www.ibisworld.com/redirect.aspx?partnerid=News&indid=8">Corn Farming</a> industry is expected to grow strongly on the back of continuing subsidies for the manufacture of ethanol, which requires corn. One industry that is expected to directly benefit from the subprime affair is the <a href="http://www.ibisworld.com/redirect.aspx?partnerid=News&indid=1474">Collection Agencies</a> industry, which is likely to be utilized frequently tracking down delinquent payments from those who have been disadvantaged by the trauma in the real estate sector. </p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td> <!--<p class="ReportSectionTitle"> <br /> Industry reports relating to this article are:</p> <table border="0"> <tr> <td width="30" align="center"> <img src="http://www.ibisworld.com/common/newsletter/images/documenticon.gif" alt="" /> </td> <td> <a href="http://www.ibisworld.com/redirect.aspx?partnerid=News&indid=1123">Scheduled Air Transportation Industry</a> </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="30" align="center"> <img src="http://www.ibisworld.com/common/newsletter/images/documenticon.gif" alt="" /> </td> <td> <a href="http://www.ibisworld.com/redirect.aspx?partnerid=News&indid=1127">Nonscheduled Air Transportation in the US</a> </td> </tr> </table>--> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> <!--end industry in focus article --> <tr> <!-- company focus article --> <td border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <a id="aFocus" name="aFocus"></a> <p class="heading2"> <br /> <br /> 2008  Big Movers on the World Stage. </p> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tr> <td valign="top" width="620"><p>Meanwhile, as the global economy continues to power on, supported by explosive growth in China, India Russia and Brazil, many high tech industries which are growing rapidly in developed countries are not reaching the same heights globally, although there are some tech industries doing well. The big winners internationally are those that are assisting with Asian expansion, including logistics and transport industries, which dominate IBISWorld's forecast global growers for 2008:</p> <ul><li><a href="http://www.ibisworld.com.au/redirect.aspx?partnerid=news&type=global&indid=2010">Biotechnology</a>  14.9% to $143.92 billion </li><li><a href="http://www.ibisworld.com.au/redirect.aspx?partnerid=news&type=global&indid=1002">Heavy Duty Truck Manufacturing</a>  9.7% to $298.13 billion </li><li><a href="http://www.ibisworld.com.au/redirect.aspx?partnerid=news&type=global&indid=1716">Internet Service Providers</a>  9.4% to $127.3 billion </li><li><a href="http://www.ibisworld.com.au/redirect.aspx?partnerid=news&type=global&indid=1660">Logistics  Couriers</a>  8.9% to $203.75 billion </li><li><a href="http://www.ibisworld.com.au/redirect.aspx?partnerid=news&type=global&indid=1050">Civil Aerospace Products Manufacturing</a>  8.8% to $138.32 billion </li><li><a href="http://www.ibisworld.com.au/redirect.aspx?partnerid=news&type=global&indid=2150">Movie Production and Distribution</a>  8.7% to $119.33 billion </li><li><a href="http://www.ibisworld.com.au/redirect.aspx?partnerid=news&type=global&indid=1540">Logistics  Shipping</a>  7.2% to $143.66 billion </li><li><a href="http://www.ibisworld.com.au/redirect.aspx?partnerid=news&type=global&indid=1800">Direct Life, Health and Medical Insurance Carriers</a>  7% to $3.49 trillion </li><li><a href="http://www.ibisworld.com.au/redirect.aspx?partnerid=news&type=global&indid=1030">Civil Ship and Boat Building</a>  6.7% to $99.75 billion </li><li><a href="http://www.ibisworld.com.au/redirect.aspx?partnerid=news&type=global&indid=1822">Compulsory Pension Provision Funds</a>  6.5% to $138.96 billion </li></ul> <p>Half of IBISWorld's top ten global growth industries are transportation or logistics oriented. Increasing international trade is directly responsible for continually increasing demand for means to transport goods, and the design and construction of better methods by which to do so. </p><p>The technology-based industries, <a href="http://www.ibisworld.com.au/redirect.aspx?partnerid=news&type=global&indid=2010">Biotechnolog</a> and <a href="http://www.ibisworld.com.au/redirect.aspx?partnerid=news&type=global&indid=1716">Internet Service Providers</a>, service expansion in healthcare and agriculture, and global finance and interconnectivity, respectively. Continued international adoption of internet technology, and expansion by companies like Google and Microsoft into burgeoning Chinese and Indian markets suggest that this growth is set to continue. </p><p>The <a href="http://www.ibisworld.com.au/redirect.aspx?partnerid=news&type=global&indid=2150">Movie Production and Distribution</a> industry is also booming, and is likely to do so in 2008 despite the Screen Writers' Guild going on strike in the US. The lack of material is likely to hit the US industry in 2009, as most films for 2008 are finished or already written, while the Indian 'Bollywood' scene continues to grow apace. </p><p>Finally, the presence of <a href="http://www.ibisworld.com.au/redirect.aspx?partnerid=news&type=global&indid=1800">Insurance</a> and <a href="http://www.ibisworld.com.au/redirect.aspx?partnerid=news&type=global&indid=1822">Pension Provision</a> industries in IBISWorld's global growth list is an indication of the increasing standard of living in developing countries, as large multinational financial institutions spread to Asia and Latin America as a means to grow and simultaneously mitigate repercussions of the subprime affair. </p> </td> </table> </td> </tr> <!--end industry focus article --> <tr> <td> <table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> <tr> <td> <a id="a5" name="aRisk" class=""></a> <p class="heading2"> <br /> <br /> Super Bowl Sunday  Big Bucks at the Big Game <br /> <br /> </p> </td> </tr> <tr> <td valign="top" width="620"><p>The NFL Playoffs kicked off on January 5, and the eyes of football fans across the nation will be on Glendale, AZ, on February 3 for Super Bowl XLII. Though most attention will be on the game itself, much will also be made of advertisements run during the broadcast, including the obligatory "I'm going to Disney World!" spot. Super Bowl ads have become legendary for their expense due to the massive television audience, with 30 seconds of advertising time during Super Bowl XLI costing $2.6 million. </p><p>Despite the stimuli of a Presidential election and Olympic Games on the <a href="http://www.ibisworld.com/redirect.aspx?partnerid=News&riskid=1433"> Advertising Agencies</a> industry in 2008, slow forecast growth in Real GDP is expected to put pressure on companies to trim back their promotional and public relations budgets. In addition, the importance of "below-the-line" forms of advertising, such as leaflets, direct mail and email has increased over time, and now provides a greater level of competition to traditional advertising. </p><p>Risk in the Advertising Agencies industry is forecast to be at a MEDIUM-HIGH level over 2008, a similar level to that observed in 2007. Moving back to a sporting theme, the <a href="http://www.ibisworld.com/redirect.aspx?partnerid=News&riskid=1628"> Franchise Sports industry</a> is expected to see its risk level increase from MEDIUM-LOW to MEDIUM, driven by forecast slow growth in per capita disposable income and strong competition from other spectator sports. </p><p>Below is an outline of the historical and forecast risk score of the above mentioned industries. These can be compared to overall risk for the US economy. </p> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tbl"> <tr> <td width="" class="tbcDarkGreen"> <strong>Industry Name</strong> </td> <td width="" class="tbcLightGreen"> <strong>2004</strong> </td> <td width="" class="tbcLightGreen"> <strong>2005</strong> </td> <td width="" class="tbcLightGreen"> <strong>2006</strong> </td> <td width="" class="tbcLightGreen"> <strong>2007</strong> </td> <td width="" class="tbcLightGreen"> <strong>2008</strong> </td> </tr> <tr> <td class="tbcMidGreen-leftalign"> <strong>Advertising Agencies</strong> </td> <td class="tbcWhiteLeftAlign"> 4.04 </td> <td class="tbcWhiteLeftAlign"> 5.13 </td> <td class="tbcWhiteLeftAlign"> 4.97 </td> <td class="tbcWhiteLeftAlign"> 5.55 </td> <td class="tbcWhiteLeftAlign"> 5.37 </td> </tr> <tr> <td class="tbcMidGreen-leftalign"> <strong>Franchise Sports</strong> </td> <td class="tbcWhiteLeftAlign"> 4.40 </td> <td class="tbcWhiteLeftAlign"> 6.16 </td> <td class="tbcWhiteLeftAlign"> 4.99 </td> <td class="tbcWhiteLeftAlign"> 4.35 </td> <td class="tbcWhiteLeftAlign"> 4.95 </td> </tr> <tr> <td class="tbcMidGreen-leftalign"> <strong>US Economy</strong> </td> <td class="tbcWhiteLeftAlign"> 4.56 </td> <td class="tbcWhiteLeftAlign"> 5.01 </td> <td class="tbcWhiteLeftAlign"> 4.97 </td> <td class="tbcWhiteLeftAlign"> 4.97 </td> <td class="tbcWhiteLeftAlign"> 4.99 </td> </tr> </table> <tr> <td> <p class="ReportSectionTitle"> <br /> Industry reports relating to this article are:</p> <table border="0"> <tr> <td width="30" align="center"> <img src="http://www.ibisworld.com/common/newsletter/images/documenticon.gif" alt="" /> </td> <td> <a href="http://www.ibisworld.com/redirect.aspx?partnerid=News&riskid=1433"> Advertising Agencies</a> </td> </tr> <tr> <td width="30" align="center"> <img src="http://www.ibisworld.com/common/newsletter/images/documenticon.gif" alt="" /> </td> <td> <a href="http://www.ibisworld.com/redirect.aspx?partnerid=News&riskid=1628"> Franchise Sports industry</a> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> <!-- end industry risk article --> <!--end industry focus article --> <tr> <!-- economics article --> <td> <a id="aEconomic" name="aEconomic" class=""></a> <!-- <table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> <tr> <td> <a id="aEconomic" name="aEconomic" class=""></a> <p class="heading2"> <br /> <br /> Economics and Demographics: Exchange Rates ? Australian dollar vs US dollar. </p> </td> </tr> </table> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tr> <td width="620"> <p> Over the second half of FY2005-06, the <a href="http://www.ibisworld.com/bed/retail.aspx?bedid=90"> Australian dollar</a> continued to fluctuate around the US$0.75 mark. The Aussie fell to a low of US$0.7021 in late March, but recovered to a high of US$0.7692 in mid-May. The Australian unit ended the financial year slightly below the annual average of US$0.7572. At the end of June, the Australian dollar was buying US$0.7433. </p> <p> The Australian dollar has been appreciating against the US dollar since its lows in 2001. The combination of low US interest rates, which created a large interest rate differential, and the commodity boom that has boosted demand for the Australian dollar. </p> <p> In the second quarter of 2006 the <a href="http://www.ibisworld.com/bed/retail.aspx?bedid=383"> Australian Consumer Price Index (CPI)</a> rose by 1.6%. This pushed the headline inflation rate up to 4% and the underlying inflation rate to 3% (the upper end of the Australian Reserve Bank's target range). In the US, consumer inflation slowed sharply in July and increased only 0.2% in August ? a reduction of half from the July figure. </p> <p> Easing inflationary pressures are evidence of a slowing US economy. With Australian inflation growing a higher rate than the US, interest rate changes will help determine the exchange rate. In August, the Reserve bank in Australia increased <a href="http://www.ibisworld.com/bed/retail.aspx?bedid=2610"> interest rates</a> to 6% and put Australia on inflation rate alert. When the US Fed met in August, they left rates unchanged in light of recent consumer prices and seem unlikely to increase rates when they meet again in September. IBISWorld forecasts that the Australian dollar will slowly devalue over the next year period. For the five year outlook the Australian dollar is estimated to buy on average US$0.65. </p> </td> </tr> </table>--> <table border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0"> <tr> <td> <a id="a4" name="aEconomic" class=""></a> <p class="heading2"> <br /> <br /> Economic Scoreboard & Observations</p> </td> </tr> </table> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tr> <td> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tr> <td valign="top" width="620"> <!-- <ul> <li>Preliminary figures for the third quarter of 2007 indicate that real GDP increased at an annualized rate of 4.9% over the quarter. This is a significant increase from the 3.9% figure originally released by the Bureau of Economic Analysis. The impact of the falling US dollar on trade has become more apparent with these new figures, indicating an 18.9% increase in exports for the quarter. However, imports (a subtraction from GDP) also increased. In addition to exports, a significant upward revision also occurred in gross private domestic investment.</li> <li>Real personal consumption expenditures increased 2.7% compared with an increase of 1.4% in the second. Real non-residential fixed investment increased 9.4%, while investment in equipment and software increased 7.2%. </li> <li>The number of unemployed persons (7.2 million) and the unemployment rate (4.7%) were unchanged in October. Non-farm payroll employment rose by 94,000 following increases of 170,000 in October and 44,000 in September (both revised).</li> </ul>--> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> <tr> <td colspan="3" align="left" width="620"> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tr> <td width="620" align="left"> <strong></strong> </td> </tr> </table> </td> </tr> </table> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"> <tr> <td colspan="3" style="padding: 3px;" align="left" width="620"> <table border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tbl"> <tr> <td class="tbcDarkGreen"> Economic Scoreboard </td> <td class="tbcLightGreen"> 2005 </td> <td class="tbcLightGreen"> 2006 </td> <td class="tbcLightGreen"> 2006:Q4 </td> <td class="tbcLightGreen"> 2007:Q1 </td> <td class="tbcLightGreen"> 2007:Q2 </td> <td class="tbcLightGreen"> 2007:Q3 </td> </tr> <tr> <td class="tbcMidGreen" colspan="8"> Annual change, % </td> </tr> <tr> <td class="tbcMidGreen"> <a href="http://www.ibisworld.com/bed/retail.aspx?bedtid=360&bedpid=2434&bedid=2436&chid=1"> Gross domestic product (GDP)</a> </td> <td class="tbcWhite"> 3.1 </td> <td class="tbcWhite"> 2.9 </td> <td class="tbcWhite"> 2.1 </td> <td class="tbcWhite"> 0.6 </td> <td class="tbcWhite"> 3.8 </td> <td class="tbcWhite"> 4.9 </td> </tr> <tr>