The United States remains the world’s largest market for cocaine, with 4.8 million users, although its importance has been reduced in recent years, according to the INCB (International Board for Narcotics Control).
“In 2009, 4.8 million people consumed some form of cocaine in the U.S., compared with 5.3 million in 2008,” the INCB said in its report in 2010. With this number of consumers, the U.S. represents 41% of the international drug market, ahead of Europe, with 29%, according to the board, stating that “Although the market for cocaine has been reduced in North America, it continues to grow in Europe.” (more…)
*Brands with Strong Local Presence Top List as Most-Visited Online Banking Destinations*
*comScore Presents ‘The State of the Internet Southeast Asia’ *
Singapore, March 4, 2011 – comScore, Inc., a leader in measuring the digital world, today released the latest results from a study of Internet usage in Southeast Asia. The report found that an increasing number of consumers across the region turned to online banking throughout 2010. In each of the six markets included in the study (Malaysia, Hong Kong, Vietnam, Singapore, Indonesia and the Philippines), visitation to the online banking category grew by double-digits percentages, outpacing overall Internet growth by a factor of two in most cases. These results will be presented along with other key online trends via a complimentary, live webinar The State of the Internet Southeast Asia on Wednesday, March 9. For more information and to register, please visit: https://www1.gotomeeting.com/register/302171344(more…)
*Report Highlights 2010 Mobile Trends in U.S., Europe and Japan*
BARCELONA, SPAIN, February 14, 2011 – comScore, Inc., a leader in measuring the digital world, today released The comScore 2010 Mobile Year in Review. This inaugural report recaps key trends in the mobile landscape in 2010 throughout the U.S., Europe (EU5) and Japan. The report highlights important components of the mobile market including device trends, smartphone adoption, browser/application usage and mobile content consumption, with a look at how marketers can utilize the mobile medium in 2011.
“2010 was a game-changing year for the mobile industry,” said Mark Donovan, comScore senior vice president of mobile. “Smartphone adoption, 3G penetration and unlimited data plans drove a surge of mobile media consumption across geographies and deepened the integration of mobile devices into everyday life. And, the coming year has the potential to be even more exciting. As the mobile ecosystem continues to develop, including progress in mobile advertising and commerce, it’s clear that mobile is destined to become an increasingly important platform for digital marketers across all industries.”(more…)
Research by the University of Exeter has revealed that ants have a big impact on their local environment as a result of their activity as ‘ecosystem engineers’ and predators.
The study, published in the Journal of Animal Ecology, found that ants have two distinct effects on their local environment. (more…)
*The 5th annual Microsoft Firenze BXT Student Innovation Competition brings together business, design and engineering students to showcase how innovation happens in the real world. This year’s finals take place this weekend on Microsoft’s Redmond campus*
REDMOND, Wash. – Feb. 4, 2011 – Midway through last year’s Microsoft Firenze BXT student innovation competition, James Liu realized something he wasn’t expecting.
Russia’s computer security company Kaspersky Lab, the fourth-largest global antivirus vendor, sold a large shareholding to US-based private equity firm General Atlantic. GA will become the second-largest shareholder of the Russian company, giving Kaspersky Lab an opportunity to improve its positions on the US market. The financial details of the deal have not been exposed yet, although it reportedly goes about 15-17 percent of the shares of the Russian company evaluated at $200 million. (more…)
*New Metrics Offer Detailed Market Intelligence for UK Industry*
London, UK, 13 January, 2010: comScore, Inc., a leader in measuring the digital world, today announced the UK launch of Video Metrix 2.0, the next generation of comScore’s industry leading online video measurement service. The new service offers several enhancements – including reporting of online video ad impressions – designed to better align with the realities of today’s online video landscape. For more information on Video Metrix 2.0, please visit www.videometrix2.com.(more…)
*The Global Plants Initiative Meets at the Smithsonian in Panama Jan. 11-13*
For centuries, jungle explorers from Europe and North America have created art of the plants they discover—pressing bright flowers and green tendrils onto herbarium sheets for prestigious museums and plant collections. But scientists in the most biodiverse countries lack easy access to this basic information needed to identify plants. The Global Plants Initiative, meeting Jan. 11-13 at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama, catapults biodiversity research to a new level, sharing plant collections in a massive online database of high-resolution scans. (more…)
