A new survey of 2,000 Australian consumers conducted by independent market analyst Datamonitor show that almost a quarter of credit card customers admit to sometimes buying items they can’t afford with their card. In addition, most consumers use their credit prudently, nine percent of card customers admit to only managing the minimum payment each month. This figure corresponds to one million Australians - these are the customers that are more likely to have problems managing their credit card debt.

Continue reading “Australians Prefer Lower Credit Card Fees over Attractive Interest Rates” »

Cost inflation has compounded the problems facing the UK’s footwear specialists. Despite rising costs, footwear retailers are unable to raise prices due to the high level of competition in the market – particularly from clothing retailers. As a result, even the UK’s largest footwear specialists continue to suffer despite shoppers’ growing appetite for new footwear.

According to a new report of the UK’s Top 10 footwear specialists, eight either saw profit margins fall or made a loss during 2006, and in 2007 this trend will have continued for most specialists. Indeed, footwear chain Dolcis has now been placed in administration – becoming 2008’s first high profile casualty in the sector. One of the biggest problems plaguing footwear specialists is cost inflation, not least from the EU anti-dumping tariffs, which exacerbated more general retail issues of higher rents, fuel costs and energy prices.

Continue reading “Footwear Retailers Suffer Despite UK’s Growing Love of Shoes” »

The obesity epidemic is sweeping the globe and it seems no country is immune. The US is regarded as the most obese nation in the western world, however, the UK is not far behind. By 2015, almost 16 million Britons over the age of 20 are forecast to be obese which is about the current population of the Netherlands.

While anti-obesity drugs are available, the growth in their use is not mirroring the growth in the obese population because they are not reimbursed by governmental health bodies, most of whom consider obesity a ‘lifestyle’ disease. While some believe obesity is a bigger public health threat than climate change, according to a new report, the anti-obesity drug development pipeline is unlikely to produce a pharmacological ‘silver bullet’.

Continue reading “No ‘Silver Bullet’ Cure for Obesity Epidemic” »

January is a time when many smokers strengthen their resolve to kick their habit, with 1.2 million estimated to have embarked on this journey this New Year’s Day in the UK alone. However, as smokers who have attempted and failed to quit will agree, will power by itself is often insufficient and smoking cessation aids are often needed. Estimated to be worth just $213 million in 2006, a new report finds that the prescription nicotine dependence market is set to grow strongly at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 16% to reach $4.6 billion by 2016, driven by the launch of two promising pipeline nicotine vaccines and the continued uptake of Pfizer’s popular nicotine receptor agonist Chantix (varenicline).

Continue reading “Anti-Smoking Vaccines Helping to Kick the Habit & Ignite Underdeveloped Prescription Market” »

2008 will see new card products emerge in the small business sector as oil companies need to make their fuel cards more attractive to untapped business sectors. Many small businesses want a payment card that is widely accepted as well as offering fuel rebates and management facilities. A new report titled Commercial Credit Cards and the Response of Fuel Card Providers’, states that on this basis, bank-issued cards will become more focused on the provision of fuel management services, forcing oil companies to reconsider their proprietary fuel cards and maximise fuel sales through partnerships with these expert card providers.

Continue reading “Fuel Cards Under Threat from Visa and Mastercard” »

Hybrid Disk Drives (HDD), the combination of a standard hard disk drive and a NAND chip, are a budding phenomenon enabled by new features of Microsoft’s Windows Vista operating system. It is different from standard hard drives in that it employs a large buffer of non-volatile flash memory to cache data during normal use.

A new report shows that this technology promised to sweep the PC hard drive market. However, some say Hybrid Hard Drives have been a disappointment for consumers, and the makers admit Hard Drives with cache fall short of expectations.

Continue reading “Hybrid Hard Drives Fall Short of Consumer Expectations” »

Lung infections are a major problem for patients with cystic fibrosis (CF) and can ultimately lead to their death. Pathogens often develop resistance to the currently used antibiotics, which makes the prevention and treatment of infections difficult. As covered by an indepth report into the field, monoclonal antibodies, like KaloBios’ KB001, may circumvent this problem and therefore represent significant commercial opportunities.

KaloBios Pharmaceuticals, a privately held biopharmaceutical company, has announced the initiation of a Phase I/II clinical trial of KB001, a high-affinity antibody fragment that the company is developing for the treatment of Pseudomonas aeruginosa infections. As with much drug development in CF, this trial is being conducted in conjunction with the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation.
Continue reading “KaloBios: A Step Forward to Tackling Unmet Needs in Cystic Fibrosis” »

Are you one of many women embarrassed about having spent a fortune on every wrinkle cream out there, without noticing any results? Well, there might be a new solution to get rid of those facial lines, at least if you believe that ‘true beauty comes from within’. A new study shows that ingredients long used in beauty lotions and skin care products are becoming ever more popular in the food and drinks sector.

Originating in Japan, this movement has seen ingredients such as collagen and hyaluronic acid becoming a natural extension to personal care, providing a more holistic approach to beauty with its message of ‘beauty from within’. As appearance is increasingly associated with health, happiness and an overall feeling of wellness, there is growing recognition of the importance of a good diet for inner and outer health and beauty.

Continue reading “Time to Binge Yourself in Shape with Anti-Ageing Beer” »

In America, increased focus on ecological and natural products, has led to huge growth in this sector. By ‘mainstreaming’ these products in mass market, retailers like Wal-Mart have been able to expand product ranges and launch exclusive products. It is no surprise then, that the natural and organic sector is the fastest growing in the North American cosmetics and toiletries industry, with sales increasing by 20% a year.

A new report finds that product penetration is increasing in all channels such as specialty personal care stores and department stores, which are introducing premium natural and organic brands, spas, salons, beauty centres, television shopping and online retailers. Greater segmentation is leading to dedicated brands being developed for some channels.

Continue reading “Organic Products sector Fastest Growing in the North American Cosmetics Industry” »

Europe’s environment chief, Stavros Dimas, has gone on record to say that that the EU did not foresee the problems raised by its policy to get 10% of Europe ’s road fuels from plants. Several reports have made a damning link between rising food prices and rainforest destruction with increased biofuel production.

Biofuels, which consist of ethanol and diesel, made from crops including corn, sugarcane and now increasingly, palm, were once seen as a partial solution to moving away from conventional fuel. Today, they’ve earned their share of vocal critics, like George Monbiot, who believes that biofuels could actually be doing more harm than good. Continue reading “EU Set to Rethink Biofuel Targets Based on Recent Warning Reports” »