Ethanol Demand Boosts Corn Planting 15% in 2007, Biggest Since 1944
Corn planting will be up 15% this year to 90.5 million acres and
12.1 million more acres than in 2006, the biggest
U.S. corn planting since 1944, boosted by high demand from the ethanol industry and
strong export sales, reports AP, citing the U.S. Department of Agriculture's
annual prospective plantings report.
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Personal income increased $65.4 billion, or 0.6% in February while ,
consumer spending also rose by 0.6% or $55.5 billion, 
The
US federal government's largest
telecommunications contract ever, a 10-year deal worth up to $48 billion,
was awarded to AT&T, Qwest
Communications and Verizon on Thursday, according to the General Services
Administration. The contract winners
beat out Sprint Nextel Corp.
US
GDP, a measure of total goods and services output within U.S. borders,
grew at a 2.5% annual rate during Q4 2006, higher than the 2.2% reported a
month ago, and up from 2% in the third quarter, according to the Commerce
Department, reports Reuters.
What
emerging channels will nab the most marketer interest this year? It's not
the much buzzed-about areas such as mobile and gaming. More marketers will
use the less sexy staples such as e-mail and search in 2007 than in
previous years because they're the most measurable and the most
indispensable, 
American
consumers are eager to celebrate Easter with their family and friends,
with the tTotal holiday spending estimated to reach $14.37 billion, 
Portable
Media Players (PMP)/MP3 players represent one of the fastest-growing
segments of the consumer electronics industry today, with unit shipments
expected to more than double between 2005 and 2011, according to iSuppli
Corp. Global PMP/MP3 factory revenue
will rise to $21.5 billion by 2011, expanding at a CAGR of 7.4% from $14
billion in 2005. PMP/MP3 revenue this year will rise to $20.6 billion, up
14.4% from $18 billion in 2006.
Nokia
leads the smartphone market a 56.4% share of the 70.9 million units
shipped in 2006, 
Strong
consumer electronics (CE) sales are expected to continue for several
years, with total shipments increasing from 2.1 billion units in 2006 to 3
billion units in 2010, 
The
Forrester/ITAA Tech Sector Index — which measures the health of the US
technology industry — reached its highest level in five and a half years
in Q4 2006, rising two points to 128.8, 
Private-equity
funds continued to increase their dominant position on both ends of the
domestic markets; they accounted for roughly one-fourth of M&A
activity and sponsored more than 40% of all IPOs, with the time between
purchase and sale often shrinking to mere months, reports Dealmaker
magazine.
China
is on course to become the world's second-largest consumer market by 2015,
according to Credit Suisse, reports Reuters. Credit Suisse projects that
the value of Chinese consumption will hit $8.8 trillion by 2020, fueled
partly by a 5% yearly appreciation in the yuan between now and then.
Existing-home sales rose
a strong 3.9% to annual rate1 of 6.69 million units in February following a healthy gain in January, reaching the highest level since last April,
