In this issue: SUPERMARKETS AS BANKS MIND GYMS RENTING VERSUS OWNING And much, much more... ------------------------------------------------------------ ____ ____ ___ _____ ____ ______ ______ * / __ )/ __ \/ | / _/ | / / |/ / | / _/ / / __ / /_/ / /| | / // |/ / /|_/ / /| | / // / / /_/ / _ _/ ___ |_/ // /| / / / / ___ |_/ // /___ /_____/_/ |_/_/ |_/___/_/ |_/_/ /_/_/ |_/___/_____/ *Feeding hungry minds since 2004 ------------------------------------------------------------ Brainmail email issue 50 - April 2009 ------------------------------------------------------------ Brainmail is a free snack-sized newsletter dedicated to trends, innovations and other miscellany. To subscribe or unsubscribe to the world's best online cache of curiosities go to http://brainmail.nowandnext.com Tell the whole world about brainmail forward this to zillions of friends. ------------------------------------------------------------ > Make-up simulators A number of Japanese cosmetics firms are experimenting with free online makeup simulators than allow women to test the application of virtual make-up on their faces before applying real life products. Ref: Nikkei Weekly (Japan) > Supermarkets as banks Tesco, the UKs largest chain of supermarkets, is opening bank branches in 30 of its UK stores. The retailer also has plans to offer current accounts in an attempt to attract customers from rival high street banks. Ref: Sunday Telegraph (UK) > The relative value of time According to a study by Prof. Christopher Ruhm at the University of North Carolina, mortality rates typically decline during recessions. The reason for this is that during recessions the value of time is lower. Therefore people work less and do more of the things that are good for their mental and physical health. Ref: New York Times (US) > A naughty gene Researchers at Michigan State University claim that males of all ages are drawn to rebellious individuals and that rule-breaking behaviour can be explained by the existence of a rather naughty serotonin related gene. Ref: Journal of Personality and Social Psychology (US) > Business technology trends According to McKinsey, key business technology trends for 2009 will include; the use of IT assets to generate income, the selling and leasing back of hard IT resources (e.g. data centres), a sharp decline in discretionary IT spending and the demand from government that firms use IT systems to capture data to allow government to regulate industries. Ref: McKinsey Quarterly (US) > The end of upward mobility? The top 1% of US households hold the same amount of wealth as they did in 1913. Moreover, the net worth of the top 1% exceeds the combined value of the bottom 90%. Ref: Newsweek (US) > Mind gyms Vibrant brains is a San Francisco gym that offers mental workouts via workstations. Similar mental workouts are offered by firms such as sparks of genuis.com and fit brains.com. Ref: The Independent (UK) > Home health monitoring AT&T in the US is developing software and networking platforms that can use data from various wireless devices in a person's home to collect medical data that is then sent to doctors. Devices that could be added to such networks include blood pressure monitors, smart weighing scales, pill dispensers, pulse meters and emergency contact beepers. Ref: Fast Company (US) > Renting versus owning According to a survey by Grace Wong, an economist at the Wharton School of Business, homeowners are no happier than home renters, even when you factor in income levels and demographics. Ref: Creativeclass.com (US) > A planet-wide sensing network One of the by-products of nanotechnology may well be a planetary scale-sensing network (almost a central nervous system for the planet) whereby every natural and made-made environment is constantly monitored by tiny (in some case very tiny) sensors. Such sensors could send alerts when things like bridges and roads need repair or when pollution reaches dangerous levels. Ref: Harvard Business Review (US) > Word detective: Amortality Amortality is a word coined by Catherine Mayer to describe the desire by baby boomers to look and feel as young as possible. Amortality rejects age-appropriate behaviour. Examples of individuals that have entered an amortal phase include Simon Cowell, Madonna and Nicholas Sarkozy. Ref: Time (US) ------------------------------------------------------------ : FAST FACTS It is predicted that by 2025 there will be 22 million vacant homes in the US sitting on plots of more than 675m (1/6 of an acre). Ref: Metropolitan Institute at Virginia Tech (US) Two years ago (2007) there were 489,000 millionaires in Britain. There are now (2009) 242,000 - a fall of roughly half. This number is not expected to increase again until 2011. Ref: Centre for Economics and Business Research (UK) In 2005 20 billion music files were downloaded from the internet. Of these less than 1 billion were legally purchased. Ref: A Brief History of the Future by Jacques Attali In 1989 share holdings represented 28% of a typical family's financial assets (average value US$14,000). By 2007 this had grown to 57% (worth, on average, US$35,000). Ref: Time (US) In 2008 the internet was responsible for 10% of global GDP Ref: A Brief History of the Future by Jacques Attali Is is estimated that 148,000 stores closed in the US during 2008. Ref: Time (US) Last year, 66% of Americans qualified in science and engineering were of Asian origin. Ref: A Brief History of the Future by Jacques Attali There was a 55% increase in the amount of venture capital allocated to clean technology in the third quarter of 2008 compared to the same period in 2007. Ref: Ernst and Young (US) The use of cosmetic surgery procedures has tripled in the UK since 2003. Ref: Time (US) By 2020, between 35 million and 40 million Chinese men will be unable to find a Chinese woman to marry. Ref: FT (UK) People of Chinese and Indian descent were responsible for 40% of the patents filed by Intel in 2005. Ref: The Economist (UK) 99.4% of Ethiopians live in slums. Ref: A Brief History of the Future by Jacques Attali The German renewable energy industry employs 250,000 people and is worth US$240 million annually. By the year 2020 the sector is expected to provide more jobs than the German automobile industry. Ref: Newsweek (US) 47% of engineers and scientists in America are immigrants Ref: 2000 Census (US) Insurance on property and people represents 15% of US GDP Ref: A Brief History of the Future by Jacques Attali According to the International Air transport Association (IATA), global air cargo traffic fell by 23% in December 2008 versus the previous year. Ref: The Economist (UK) The phrase 'New Cold War' appeared 1,358 times on Lexus-Nexus between 8 August and 23 September 2008. For the 12-months before 8 August the phrase appeared 1,325 times. Ref: New York Review of Books (US) 70% of oil consumed in the US is used for transportation purposes. Ref: Newsweek (US) During the second six-months of 2008 international tourist arrivals declined by 1% globally according to the World Tourism Organisation. Ref: The Economist (UK) 40% of Fortune 500 companies say that water shortages would be a severe or catastrophic problem but only 17% have made plans for such a scenario. Ref: Marsh Centre for Risk Insights (US). 630 million people live within 10km (6 miles) of the sea worldwide. Ref: Economist (UK) According to the Chartered Institute for Personnel around 600,000 people in the UK are likely to loose their job in 2009 with about 33% of these job losses occurring in the retail and manufacturing sectors. Ref: Chartered Institute for Personnel (UK) 75% of all marine fish species are either below or at the cusp of falling below sustainable levels. Ref: Economist (UK) ------------------------------------------------------------ : WEB SIGHT OF THE MONTH In praise of slow activities... www.caughtbytheriver.net ------------------------------------------------------------ : BOOK OF THE MONTH How to be free by Tom Hodgkinson ------------------------------------------------------------ : QUOTE OF THE MONTH "A crisis is a terrible thing to waste" Paul Romer (Stanford Economist) ------------------------------------------------------------ : STILL HUNGRY? If this snack-sized newsletter still leaves you feeling hungry feed your brain with something a little more substantial at www.nowandnext.com (and yes, that's free too). ---------------------------------------------------- : LOOKING FOR AN INSIGHTFUL AND ENTERTAINING SPEAKER? If you are looking for an inspiring speaker for your next event ask your speaker agency about Richard Watson or contact him direct via http://nowandnext.com Recent speaker clients have included IBM, McDonald's, Virgin, Commonwealth Bank and Disney. ----------------------------------------------------- : SMALL PRINT The stories, statistics and 'facts' appearing in brainmail are sourced from a variety of reliable publications worldwide. However, brainmail cannot guarantee the truthfulness of stories and a degree of commonsense should be applied before quoting or using any of this material in a commercial context.