Analysts expect India's user base to rise to 278 million by 2010 as the low call rates lure customers. At 93 million, now it exceeds the combined population of Germany and Belgium (via Reuters/Yahoo).

India's domestic market, forecast to grow to $5.8 billion by 2010, is expected to consume about 55 million handsets this year, up 71 percent from 2005. Between 4 million and 5 million new users are coming into the market each month, attracted to the world's cheapest local mobile call rates of as low as 2 U.S. cents a minute.

Continue reading... "India's cellphone users to reach 278 million by 2010" »

May 31, 2006 10:19 PM | Permalink

Continue reading... "CEO economic confidence remains positive, but expect pace of growth to slows" »

May 31, 2006 10:05 PM | Permalink

• If travelers today were to convert all their miles into free travel, airlines would be liable for an estimated 27 million free trips. Realistically, many of those miles will be diverted to seating upgrades, hotel stays or even merchandise. And about a quarter of all earned miles will never be used.
• Of the 180 million distinct members of frequent-flier programs — many are members of multiple programs — only about 28% are active participants in any one year.
• American's AAdvantage program is the oldest and largest program, claiming about 54 million members
• The average active member of a frequent-flier program earns 11,364 miles per year.
• An estimated 310,000 frequent fliers have earned at least 1 million miles in their programs.
• An award trip costs an airline at least $23.93, based on the food, beverage, fuel, reservations, liability insurance and miscellaneous costs. This assumes the seat occupied would have gone unsold and the airline didn't forgo revenue from a paying passenger.

Sources: Randy Petersen, publisher of WebFlyer.com (via USA Today Column)

May 31, 2006 9:53 AM | Permalink

The National Association of Purchasing Management-Chicago business barometer rose to 61.5 from 57.2 in April. Economists had forecast the index at 56.0. It was the highest level since October. A reading above 50 indicates expansion in the sector.

The employment component of the index rose to 52.8 from 47.2 in April. Prices paid eased to 76.9 from 77.2 and new orders rose to 69.6 from 60.8.

May 31, 2006 9:17 AM | Permalink

The Interactive Advertising Bureau (IAB) and PricewaterhouseCoopers (PwC) today announced that Internet advertising revenues reached a new record of $3.9 billion for the first quarter of 2006. The 2006 first quarter revenues represent a 38 percent increase over Q1 2005 at $2.8 billion and a 6 percent increase over Q4 2005 total at $3.6 billion.

Continue reading... "Internet advertising revenues at a record $3.9 billion for the first quarter of 2006" »

May 30, 2006 4:16 PM | Permalink

Net private capital flows to developing countries reached a record high of $491 billion in 2005, driven by privatizations, mergers and acquisitions, external debt refinancing, as well as strong investor interest in local-currency bond markets in Asia and Latin America, says the World Bank’s annual 2006 Global Development Finance report.

Private capital flows to South Asia reached a record $23.6 billion in 2005, up from $9.7 billion in 2000. This growth was largely driven by India, which received the majority of capital flows to the region. Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in South Asia rose to $8.4 billion in 2005, an increase of $1.2 billion from in 2004. In India, investment rose in industries such as cement, sugar, plastics and rubber, and hotels. In Pakistan, privatization and resource-related FDI led to a doubling of foreign investment from $1.1 billion in 2004 to $2.2 billion in 2005.

Continue reading... "Net private capital flows to developing countries reached a record high of $491 billion in 2005" »

May 30, 2006 3:53 PM | Permalink

In the past year, the number of adults who are online has increased by 5% to an estimated 172 million, according to the latest Harris Interactive poll. Approximately 77% of Americans are now online, up from 74% in the previous poll in 2005, and compared with 57% back in 2000. When Harris first began to track Internet use in 1995, only 9% of U.S. adults reported they went online.
	The latest survey of 2,032 adults, shows 70% are now online at home, up from 66% in 2005 and 55% in the spring of 2002.    Just over a third of U.S. adults say they are online at work, little changed from a year ago. Adults who are online at a location other than their home or work also remains steady at 22%.
The poll also gives a demographic look at who is online in the U.S.: More younger people are online than older people, and the affluent are more likely to be online than those with lower incomes. Those with less education are also less likely to be online, the poll shows.

May 30, 2006 3:15 PM | Permalink

Assets in global hedge funds have now reached more than $1.5 trillion according to new research from HedgeFund Intelligence.
• U.S. hedge funds reach well over $1 trillion
• European funds reach $325 billion
• Asia Pacific funds exceed $115 billion

Continue reading... "Global hedge fund assets surge to $1.5 trillion, US accounting for over $1 trillion" »

May 30, 2006 12:32 PM | Permalink

Integrated message management firm Postini found that out of 22 billion messages evaluated last month, 18.5 billion were considered unwanted. That means unwanted e-mail, or spam, accounted for 84 percent of e-mail in April. It is, however, 1 percent down from March. Read The Deadly Duo: Spam and Viruses, April 2006 posting at ClickZ for more details.

May 30, 2006 12:28 PM | Permalink

GE Chairman and CEO Jeff Immelt announced a US$250 million investment in infrastructure and healthcare projects in India and said that GE intends to dramatically expand its industrial and financial presence in the country. GE India is targeting $8 billion in revenues and $8 billion in assets in India by 2010. GE India had revenues of about $1.1 billion in 2005.

GE is expecting 60 percent of its revenue to come from outside the United States within a decade, particularly from China and India. GE expected sales in China to double to $10 billion by 2010.

Continue reading... "GE in India, for India: US$8 Billion in Revenues and US$8 Billion in Assets in India by 2010" »

May 30, 2006 12:08 PM | Permalink

The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Index, which had increased in April, declined 6.6 points in May to 103.2 (1985=100), down from 109.8 in April. The Present Situation Index decreased 3.7 points to 132.5 from 136.2. The Expectations Index fell 8.6 points to 83.7 from 92.3.

"Consumer confidence, which reached a four-year high in April, lost ground in May," says Lynn Franco, Director of The Conference Board Consumer Research Center. "Apprehension about the short-term outlook for the economy, the labor market and consumers' earning potential has driven the Expectations Index down to levels not seen since the aftermath of the hurricanes last summer."

Continue reading... "The Conference Board Consumer Confidence Declines Sharply In May" »

May 30, 2006 11:00 AM | Permalink

May 30, 2006 8:05 AM | Permalink

More Americans will travel this Memorial Day holiday despite high gas prices and increasing vacation costs, according to AAA. AAA estimates that 37.6 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more from home this holiday, a 0.9 percent increase from last year.

Approximately 31.4 million travelers (84 percent of all holiday travelers) expect to go by motor vehicle, a 0.7 percent increase from the 31.2 million who drove a year ago. Another 4.3 million (11 percent of holiday travelers) plan to travel by airplane, up 1.5 percent from last Memorial Day. A projected 1.9 million (5 percent of all holiday travelers) vacationers will travel by train, bus, or other mode of transportation, about even with a year ago.

Continue reading... "37.6 million Americans will travel 50 miles or more this Memorial Day holiday" »

May 26, 2006 3:22 PM | Permalink

Based on preliminary figures from U.S. publishers, Bowker is projecting that U.S. title output in 2005 decreased by more than 18,000 to 172,000 new titles and editions. This is the first decline in U.S. title output since 1999, and only the 10th downturn recorded in the last 50 years. It follows the record increase of more than 19,000 new books in 2004.

Great Britain, long the world’s per capita leader in the publication of new books in any language, now replaces the United States as the publisher of most new books in English. 206,000 new books were published in the U.K. in 2005, representing an increase of some 45,000 (28%) over 2004.

Only the very large academic, professional, and trade publishers managed to publish close to the number of new titles and editions that they did in 2004. Output from the smallest publishers dropped by more than 7%, while new titles from the small-to-medium and medium-to-large publishers declined by 10% and 15% respectively.

. The number of new titles released by the largest general trade houses decreased 4.7%, to 23,017.
. University presses increased their title output 1.8% to 14,746, their largest annual total since 2000.
. Since 1995, new titles have increased 51% for all U.S. publishers, 17% for the largest trade houses, and 14% for university presses.

General adult fiction and children’s books, two of the bellwether categories in U.S. book publishing, showed double-digit decreases in new titles and editions. Virtually every broad publishing category tracked by Bowker except legal showed significant decreases. Among adult non-fiction categories released by all U.S. publishers in 2005, religion, biography, history, and technology suffered the steepest declines. The largest general trade houses, on the other hand, did have a few bright spots. Sports & recreation led all categories with a 22% increase in new titles, followed by an 18% increase in new medical & health titles, and a 6.9% increase in adult fiction releases.

Meanwhile, university presses showed some growth in most categories, with science and law enjoying the largest increases.

In 2005, the average suggested retail price for adult hardcovers released by the largest general trade houses increased 3 cents to $27.55; adult fiction hardcovers decreased 7 cents to $25.01; and adult non-fiction hardcovers increased 3 cents to $28.52. Adult trade paperbacks increased 1 cent to $15.77; adult fiction trade paperbacks decreased 2 cents to $14.76; adult non- fiction trade paperbacks increased 10 cents to $16.26; and adult mass-market paperbacks increased 7 cents to $7.42. The average list price for juvenile hardcovers decreased 1 cent to $16.08. In all, the largest general trade publishers released 345 more titles as adult trade paperbacks and 301 fewer as adult hardcovers.

May 26, 2006 3:17 PM | Permalink

The cost of auto insurance is expected to rise by 0.5 percent in 2006, the smallest increase in six years, reports the Insurance Information Institute (I.I.I.).

The average cost for auto insurance nationwide for 2006 is estimated at $867—an increase of $4 per vehicle from last year, according to the I.I.I, despite record vehicle-related losses arising from the 2005 hurricane season. The projected increase represents a continued slowdown from 2005 when auto insurance costs rose by 2.5 percent.

Auto theft is a significant factor that affects rates. According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), an automobile is stolen every 26 seconds in the United States. While the number of auto thefts decreased by 1.9 percent in 2004, the first decrease in five years, there were still 1.24 million vehicles reported stolen. The good news is that preliminary FBI data for the first half of 2005 indicate that the auto theft rate fell by 2.1 percent. Declines were posted in every region except the West.

Factors Affecting What People Pay for Auto Insurance
The average driver will pay $867 in 2006. But what an individual driver pays will vary by state, insurance company and motorist characteristics.

Factors that influence the cost of coverage may include:

. Type of car and specific safety features;
. Number of miles driven and type of driving;
. Family claim record, including the number of accidents and their severity;
. Driving record, including speeding tickets;
. Age, gender and experience of driver; and
. Credit-based insurance score.

May 26, 2006 3:04 PM | Permalink

According to the NRF 2006 Father’s Day Consumer Intentions and Actions Survey, conducted by BIGresearch, spending on Father’s Day this year is anticipated to reach $9.0 billion, up from last year’s $8.2 billion. When it comes to spending on gifts for Dad, the average person is expected to spend $88.80, compared to the $122.16 spent earlier this year on Mom.

While last year consumers clung to big boxes (36.8%), this year they’re planning on hitting department (32%) and specialty stores (30.6%) instead of discounters (29.7%). Other popular locations include specialty clothing stores (6%), online (15%) and catalog orders (3%).

Most dads can expect at least a greeting card, with almost 69 percent of consumers expected to purchase at least one card for Father’s Day. Two other noticeable favorites for Dad this year are gift certificates (27%), and special meals or outings (38.1%). Other popular categories include clothing (32.0%), books or CDs (22.3%), electronics or computer-related accessories (15%), home improvement or gardening tools (10.9%), sporting goods or leisure items (9.1%), and tools or appliances (11.2%).

Not surprisingly, women are the lead spenders for this holiday, with average per-person spending anticipated to reach $90.41, about the same as 2005 spending at $91.46. Men will shell out approximately $87.07 for dad this year, slightly higher than the $79.42 last year.

May 26, 2006 2:48 PM | Permalink

During the first quarter of 2006 commercial and multifamily mortgage bankers' loan originations increased 34.2 percent compared to the same quarter last year, according to the Mortgage Bankers Association (MBA).

The increase in commercial/multifamily lending activity during the first quarter was across all property types. The increase over the first quarter of 2005 included a 26 percent increase in loans for office buildings, a 23 percent increase in loans for multifamily properties, a 55 percent increase in loans for retail, a 33 percent increase in loans for industrial space, and a 123 percent increase for health care properties. The largest percentage increase in lending was for hotel properties which saw a 165 percent increase from the first quarter of 2005.

Among investor types, commercial banks, life insurance companies and CMBS conduits drove much of the overall increase, although lending activity increased among almost all types. Mortgage bankers' originations for commercial mortgage-backed securities (CMBS) conduits increased 35 percent from the first quarter of 2005; originations for commercial banks increased by 64 percent; and originations for life insurance companies increased 2 percent. Originations for Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac increased 29 percent; originations for FHA increased 62 percent; and originations for pension funds dropped by 86 percent from the fourth quarter of 2005.

May 26, 2006 2:45 PM | Permalink

The combined assets of the nation's exchange-traded funds (ETFs) were $334.87 billion in April, according to ICI. The Institute's monthly statistical collection also includes the value of shares issued and redeemed by exchange-traded funds.

Assets of all exchange-traded funds rose in April by $13.58 billion, or 4.2 percent, to $334.87 billion. Over the past 12 months, ETF assets increased $113.89 billion, or 51.5 percent. Assets in domestic equity ETFs increased $58.49 billion since April 2005, and global equity ETFs assets rose $51.09 billion during this period.

During April, the value of all ETF shares issued exceeded that of shares redeemed by $7.32 billion. In 2006, ETFs have experienced a net issuance of $14.94 billion.

May 26, 2006 2:30 PM | Permalink