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BMI View: According to the Canadian Institute for Health Information, the growth of spending on prescription drugs in Canada slowed to its lowest level since 1996 in 2011, when it came in at just 4% year-on-year (y-o-y). This slowdown was attributed to the expiration of certain blockbuster drugs' patents, which will continue to place downward pressure on the growth of the overall pharmaceutical market in the country. Nevertheless, epidemiological demands of an ageing population will serve to counterbalance some of those pressures to a degree, even though we continue to expect that the generic drug market will significantly outperform its patented counterpart. In the meantime, market access for innovative products remains hampered by differential reimbursement policies across Canada's provinces and also by the lacking patent protection environment.

BMI View: We retain a cautious outlook on the UAE banking sector in 2012 and are pencilling in only a moderate expansion in the industry's consolidated balance sheet. Domestically, weakness in the real estate market and Dubai's debt repayment schedule are likely to cap an aggressive expansion in banks' loan portfolios. We are projecting anaemic growth in the UAE's banking sector in 2012, with the consolidated balance sheet of the industry forecast to expand by only 4.0% year-on-year (y-o-y) following estimated growth of only 2.0% y-o-y in 2011. Private sector deleveraging, ongoing declines in the real estate market, concerns over Dubai's debt-repayment schedule, higher loan loss provisioning, and increasingly tight liquidity conditions do not augur well for the sector over the coming quarters. While the industry, in aggregate, has remained profitable, a host of recently released and relatively uninspiring data points lend credit to the view that a significant degree of caution is still warranted. The total stock of credit outstanding in the economy expanded by only 3.3% in November 2011. This marked the 26th consecutive month of single-digit growth in the industry's loan books. The headline figure continues to mask a significant degree of divergence at the individual industry level, however, with United Arab Emirates Commercial Banking Report Q2 2012 © Business Monitor International Ltd Page 35 credit to the trade and government sectors increasing steadily in contrast with ongoing declines for transport, financial and personal loans for consumption purposes. The latter is particularly instructive, as ongoing deleveraging by UAE households continues to weaken the demand for new credit. While we expect new lending to remain subdued, our forecast for the total stock of credit in the economy to expand 5.0% y-o-y would nevertheless mark the highest rate of growth in five years. Matching broader trends in more developed markets, interbank liquidity has been gradually drying up over the past several months, which does not bode well for those still waiting for a more fundamental improvement in credit conditions. Indeed, the three-month Emirates Interbank Offered Rate (EIBOR) has gradually been ticking higher, coming in at 1.5200 on January 13, from 1.4725 in September 2011. That said, the rate of increase has been less pronounced than that seen in Europe, with the spread of three month EIBOR over LIBOR (the London Interbank Offered Rate) falling to a multi-year low of 0.9485 at the start of January. With concerns over the strength of the global economy elevated, and risk aversion associated with Dubai's onerous debt repayment schedule unlikely to dissipate, we expect interbank rates to gradually head higher over the coming months, which will only dampen new lending activity further. Profitability Remains, With Abu Dhabi Outperformance Broadly speaking, we expect Abu Dhabi's banking sector to continue outperforming their pe

Peanuts recovered positive growth rates during the last three years of the review period, after a negative performance in 2008. The crop is used in a comprehensive manner, for direct human consumption, as fodder for livestock, or for the manufacture of industrial products. In the first case it is consumed as roasted nuts and confectionery, for the preparation of breads, cakes, cookies, salads, etc.

The first two years of the review period saw a strong growth for most areas across travel and tourism. Good economic growth in the United Arab Emirates in these years and strong investments in the country's tourism infrastructure boosted both incoming tourist receipts and outgoing tourist expenditure. However, the economic downturn of 2009 resulted in a sharp decline in this year for most areas,

The Indonesian travel intermediaries industry is expected to grow due to the growing number of tourism related activities in the country. Domestic tourism is expected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 2.80% over the forecast period (2012-2016), and primarily be driven by the country's rising levels of disposable income coupled with government incentives to modernize infrastructure. Indonesian inbound tourism is projected to grow at a CAGR of 5.38% over the forecast period, which will be driven by promotional measures undertaken by the ministry of tourism. The Indonesian travel intermediaries industry is expected to register a CAGR of 5.70% over the forecast period.

We expect a poorer performance from the Australian economy in 2012, and are downgrading our growth forecast to 0.8% on the back of lower domestic demand and weaker offsetting factors. Although 2011 has been a relatively smooth sailing year, our view of a hard landing in China and a collapse in the domestic housing bubble mean that there will be very few supporting factors for the Australian economy in 2012.

GlobalData's pharmaceuticals report, "Brinavess (Atrial Fibrillation) - Analysis and Forecasts to 2022" provides Brinavess global sales estimates. In addition, it covers detailed clinical assessment of the drug, factors impacting drug sales, competitive landscape, and analysis of sales performance during the forecast period (2010-2022). The report also includes information on Atrial Fibrillation market. This report is built using data and information sourced from GlobalData's proprietary databases, primary and secondary research using Company's corporate website, SEC filings, investor presentations and featured press releases, both from company and industry-specific third party sources, put together with in-house analysis, by GlobalData's team of industry experts.

GlobalData's report, Caustic Soda Industry Outlook in the UK to 2016 - Market Size, Company Share, Price Trends, Capacity Forecasts of All Active and Planned Plants provides an in-depth coverage of the UK Caustic Soda industry. The research presents major market trends affecting the Caustic Soda industry in the UK. The report covers the UK Caustic Soda plants and presents installed capacity by key feedstock, process and technology. In addition, it presents Caustic Soda demand and production forecasts, end use demand forecasts, price trends, trade balance data and company shares of the major Caustic Soda producers in the UK. Overall, the report presents a comprehensive coverage of the UK Caustic Soda industry including all the major parameters.

With Iran scheduled to hold talks about its nuclear programme with the P5+1 group of countries (which comprises the five UN security council members plus Germany) on April 13-14, the Israeli government was waiting to see whether a diplomatic solution could be agreed that would give Israel sufficient security guarantees to enable it to hold back from striking Iran militarily.

"China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation" Analysis Across the Oil and Gas Value Chain is an essential source for data, analysis and strategic insight into "China Petroleum & Chemical Corporation". The report provides key information relating to oil and gas assets of the company along with its operations across the value chain. The report examines the company's business structure, operations and products, and provides an analysis of its key revenue lines.