The World in Review

1. Canada: Major credit card issuers reported a rise in payment delinquency from 4 percent in 2007 to between 5 and 10 percent since October-November 2008, an analysis by consulting firm Deloitte showed. Even though consumer credit card debt has increased almost 40 percent since 2004, “credit card issuers in Canada have traditionally seen loss rates of less than 4%—a figure much lower than that of their American counterparts (6% and growing). But with Canadian consumers increasing their debt-to-disposable-income ratios to more than 130%, a rate currently higher than that of the U.S., Canadian issuers face new risks” (Deloitte).

2. United States:

Approximately one million gang members belonging to 20,000 gangs in the United States commit up to 80 percent of all crime nationwide, the National Gang Intelligence Center revealed. Since 2005, gang membership has surged by more than 200,000 members across the country, as criminal groups increasingly shift their operations from urban to rural areas.


“A record 19 million U.S. houses stood empty at the end of 2008 as banks seized homes faster than they could sell them and prices continued to fall…The vacancy rate, the share of empty homes for sale, rose to 2.9 percent in the quarter, the most in data that goes back to 1956” (Bloomberg). (See related news brief: “U.S. Housing Market Riddled with Uncertainty”)

The U.S. market for cancer pain treatment will value $5 billion by 2018, a new study by medical researcher WWMR Inc. found. The study said by 2018, an estimated 2.5 million cancer patients will need more than $5.3 billion worth of pain relief, primarily consisting of opioid drugs, which have morphine-like effects on the body. In 2008, the research firm estimates that the market was valued at $3.1 billion. (See related article: “Medicated! – Society’s Dependence on Prescription Drugs”)

3. Ireland: The number of people claiming unemployment benefits was 326,100 in January, up from 293,100 in December. It was the highest monthly level since records began in 1967 (BBC).

4. United Kingdom:

Premature births are costing Britain’s National Health Services (NHS) nearly £1 billion ($1.44 billion USD) each year, with an early birth costing one and a half times more than a full-term birth, according to research funded by baby charity Tommy’s. (See news brief: “Premature Births Cost UK $1.44 Billion Per Year”)

The Bank of England cut interest rates 0.5 percent to 1 percent, the lowest ever.

5. Zimbabwe: “The number of people infected by Zimbabwe’s cholera epidemic has exceeded 60,000, the latest data from the World Health Organisation agency showed” (AFP).

6. Iran: The government announced it had “launched a domestically made satellite into orbit for the first time.” The news prompted “further concern among Western powers and in Israel over Tehran’s nuclear ambitions. Iran said the launch of the Omid (Hope) research and telecom satellite was a major step in its space technology timed to coincide with the 30th anniversary of the 1979 Islamic revolution that ousted the U.S.-backed shah” (Reuters).

7. Japan:

“Homeless and suicide numbers in Japan may spike as manufacturers including Sony Corp., Panasonic Corp. and Honda Motor Co. fire thousands of workers to cut costs amid the country’s worst recession since World War II…Some 400,000 temporary workers will lose their jobs by March, according to the Japan Manufacturing Outsourcing Association. Japan’s unemployment rate jumped the most in 41 years in December, to 4.4 percent from 3.9 percent a month earlier, as companies laid off an estimated 88,000 temporary staff” (Bloomberg).

“A 69-year-old Japanese man injured in a traffic accident died after paramedics spent more than an hour negotiating with 14 hospitals before finding one to admit him, a fire department official said…It was the latest in a string of recent cases in Japan in which patients were denied treatment, underscoring the country’s health care woes that include a shortage of doctors…The death prompted the city to issue a directive ordering paramedics to better coordinate with an emergency call center so patients can find a hospital within 15 minutes” (Associated Press).

8. Australia:

“The South Australian Health Department says Adelaide’s week-long heatwave has so far resulted in about 550 extra people seeking medical treatment” (ABC News).

“Treasury Secretary Ken Henry said Australia needs the A$42 billion ($27.5 billion) stimulus package now to avoid a recession. ‘Given the macro-economic circumstances confronting the Australian economy there is a clear case for a very substantial fiscal stimulus,’ Henry told a Senate inquiry into the package…Prime Minister Kevin Rudd’s plan, spread over this and the next three fiscal years, includes A$12.7 billion in grants to families and low-income earners and A$28.8 billion in infrastructure spending. It will help send the nation’s budget into an A$22.5 billion deficit, the first shortfall in eight years and the largest as a percentage of GDP since 1995-96” (Bloomberg).