What In The World Tops This?

London is the world's most popular city in 2012

. MasterCard based this on the number of overseas visitors and the average amount they spent. Although Paris remains second, it has experienced a 0.6% decrease in visitors since 2011. Bangkok is third, leading the Asia/Pacific region in visitors and spending. Singapore being fourth is attributed to English being the dominant language; and with a 14.7% increase in visitors and a 20.7% increase in spending, Istanbul replaced Hong Kong as fifth. New York City is thirteenth, but it's second only to London in visitor spending. The Big Apple hasn't lost its shine.

Melbourne, Australia is the world's most livable city for the second year in a row. That's according to the 2012 Economist Intelligence Unit's Global Livability Survey. The rankings are based on 5 factors: stability, healthcare, culture/environment, education and infrastructure. Of the 140 cities that were surveyed, the top cities are primarily "mid-size cities in wealthier countries with a relatively low population density". Honolulu, ranked 26th, was the most livable city in the U.S. Worldwide, Vienna was the second most livable city followed by Vancouver, Toronto and Calgary. Regarding livability, it seems we Americans should "look up to" Canada.

New Zealand is the best country to start a business. The Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development based its 2012 report on the time it takes to start a business, number of procedures required, cost of completing the procedures compared to the national income per capita, and minimum paid-in capital necessary as a percentage of income per capita. New Zealand requires 1 day/1 procedure followed by Australia with 2 days/2 procedures, Canada with 5 days/1 procedure, United States with 6 days/6 procedures and Ireland with 13 days/4 procedures. In these countries it's easier to "mind your own business".

Globally, smoking statistics aren't good. A survey published in The Lancet interviewed approximately 250,000 adults in 14 low- and middle-income countries known for having large numbers of smokers. Between 2008 and 2010 more than 50% of men in Russia, China and Ukraine smoked. For women it was considerably less - about 11%. However, the percentage of those quitting was under 20% in China and India. In 2012, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 20% of Americans smoke; and tobacco use has dropped 30% in the past decade. However, there are still about 850 million smokers worldwide - and that's a "smoke bomb".

by: Knight Pierce Hirst

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