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This article talks about Cambodia's growing aquaculture sector and the opportunities for U.S.soy in aquaculture feed, which shows market size, because the United States is currently find a way and seeking to also expand their soy protein make. This expansion of market would shift demand curve right, and potentially generate more consumers who have the demand of soy due to the larger market.

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The American Soybean Association's WISHH Program is launching the Commercialization of Aquaculture for Sustainable Trade (CAST) - Cambodia. CAST will connect trade and development by accelerating production of high-demand fish species for the Cambodian market and developing a lasting aquaculture industry that recognizes the value of soy protein in feed.

USDA has selected WISHH to implement CAST under the USDA Food for Progress Program. WISHH's previous FEEDing Pakistan project, also funded by USDA, played a groundbreaking role in introducing tilapia and U.S. soybean meal to Pakistan's aquaculture industry. Now the fifth most populous country in the world, Pakistan continues to be an important U.S. soy customer. In West Africa, WISHH is currently implementing the AMPLIFIES Ghana project that improves Ghana's poultry feed production capacity and increases efficiency in poultry value chains.

"CAST is an exciting affirmation of WISHH's ability to connect trade and development," said WISHH Chairman Daryl Cates, an Illinois soybean grower. "WISHH is a trailblazer for trade through CAST, which will improve agricultural productivity and expand trade of agricultural products through commercial aquaculture sector growth in Cambodia."

The Southeast Asian country's GDP has increased by more than 7% per year since 2011, growing the demand for animal and aquaculture-sourced protein. CAST's anticipated local economic impact exceeds $300 million over the life of the project, and, Cambodia's aquaculture industry demand for soybean protein is projected to reach 100,000 metric tons per year by 2030.

WISHH committee members have traveled to Cambodia and are eye witnesses to the potential for U.S. soy in the country. "I had the opportunity to represent Missouri soybean farmers on a trade mission to Cambodia last year," said soybean grower David Lueck of Alma, Mo., who also serves on the WISHH Program Committee." The Cambodian feed sector is growing rapidly, and they are increasing their consumption of U.S. soy."

North Dakota soybean grower Matt Gast also serves on the WISHH Committee and joined WISHH staff in a variety of meetings in the region. "Aquaculture is really taking off in Cambodia, and soy protein demand will grow with it," Gast said. "An importer of U.S. beans is building a brand new fish feed plant in Phnom Penh!"

The CAST project will benefit from the expertise of key partners, including Kansas State University, Auburn University and local universities in Cambodia. Importantly, Cambodia's local private-sector feed mills and hatcheries and the Cambodian Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries are all collaborating with WISHH to implement CAST.

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CAST-Cambodia hopes to expand soy protein market

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The American Soybean Association's WISHH Program is launching the Commercialization of Aquaculture for Sustainable Trade (CAST) - Cambodia. CAST will connect trade and development by accelerating production of high-demand fish species for the Cambodian market and developing a lasting aquaculture industry that recognizes the value of soy protein in feed.

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This article states that while our economy is humming and the unemployment rate is at one of the lowest points in half a century, pay for salaried employees could go down in 2019. This possible drop in people's income would affect demand and shit the demand curve left because with lower income, people would no longer have the financial ability to demand and buy whatever they want.

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The economy is humming, the unemployment rate is at one of the lowest points in half a century and job growth is on the rise as employers complain about being unable to fill open jobs.

But despite all that, pay for salaried employees could go down in 2019.

A survey released by the human resources consultancy Aon projects that the increase in the amount companies spend on cash compensation for salaried workers in 2019 (a combination of base salary and "variable pay," or incentives, signing bonuses or recognition awards) will drop slightly, falling from 15.5 percent of companies' total payroll to 15.2 percent in 2019. That 15.5 percent also represents a decrease for 2018, the survey found: Companies set aside 15.6 percent of their payroll in 2017.

Aon's survey, which collects data from 1,026 U.S. companies, found that companies expect to boost raises in 2019, budgeting 3.1 percent, the highest figure since the recession. But the part set aside for bonuses is expected to fall in 2019, from 12.5 percent to 12.1 percent.
[How much people really make in the 'gig economy']
That drop, Aon's report said, is counterintuitive. It's surprising, said Ken Abosch, Aon's broad-based compensation leader, that "the outlook for 2019 is so conservative from a bonus perspective, given the strength of the economy and corporate performance."

Of course, data that shows slow wage growth is nothing new. Although worker pay grew at the fastest rate in nine years in August, according to the U.S. Labor Department, it comes off years of sluggish growth, and raises employees do see are often being wiped out by inflation.

But the Aon survey suggests another interesting dynamic. For years, companies have shifted their compensation dollars into more variable pay for two reasons. One is a bid to boost performance: Employees have come to expect that pay is increasingly tied to higher performance. The other is a concern that doling out higher base pay locks employers in to paying higher salaries that can't be taken away, while bonuses are easy to pull back when lean times strike again.

Now, the report says, they appear to be shifting money out of variable pay and into base salary as a way of attracting candidates with initially higher pay - even if that means cutting into bonuses in the future.

Companies, Abosch said, "have established a limit of what they're willing to spend" on payroll, and when that happens, "if you're going to increase one component, you have to take from the other."

Why not just spend more, overall? Abosch says that despite a strong economy, labor costs are such big expenses, and they're under such enormous pressure from investors to keep a lid on those costs, that companies "are not going to be easily persuaded to lift" them.
[What a 'silver tsunami' of retiring baby boomer business owners could mean for their workers]
Brian Kropp, group vice president of Gartner's human resources practice, said he has not consistently seen companies start to make that shift in pay.

"But what is true is that it's incredibly difficult to attract talent" right now, he said. Gartner's survey data of U.S. employees, Kropp said, showed that the boost workers expect in order to be lured to change jobs has gone from a 14 percent bump in 2013 to a 16 percent increase now.

Kropp cited several problems that could result if companies end up shifting pay from incentive pay to salary. If new employees are being paid more to get them in the door, he said, it could create a sense of "inequity" in the workplace. It could also mean a lower budget to reward top people at a time when it's easier than ever for them to quit and go elsewhere.

"Managers don't give people 'zero' bonuses unless employees are really, really bad - they try to 'peanut butter' [the budget] and spread it around," he said. "When you've got less to give, you limit your ability to actually reward the highest performers, demotivating them."

Meanwhile, it leaves companies with less room to cut costs, which could lead to difficult choices about cutting jobs. "When winter comes - and it will come - you've got less flexibility," he said. "It's really hard to pull back people's salary."

Abosch said he believes the shift is temporary and that companies will eventually revert.

"The most disappointing piece of this," he said, "is that organizations seem to be abandoning a longer-term strategy in order to stop a short-term gap."
Read also: U.S. wages growing at fastest rate in nine years as unemployment stays at 3.9 percent

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Analysis | Pay for salaried workers could decrease next year - despite a strong job market

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The economy is humming, the unemployment rate is at one of the lowest points in half a century and job growth is on the rise as employers complain about being unable to fill open jobs. But despite all that, pay for salaried employees could go down in 2019.

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The article says that researchers have recently developed technology that could predict heart attacks years before they happen. The researchers report using mathematical algorithms to examine computed tomography, or CT, images of a patient's heart. The supply of this new ability to detect people's heart attacks might not be availability without the technology that is efficient and practical enough to adopt in the real life.

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Researchers say they have developed technology that could predict heart attacks years before they happen.

The researchers report using mathematical algorithms to examine computed tomography, or CT, images of a patient's heart. A CT scan uses X-rays and a computer to make detailed pictures of bones, organs and other tissue inside the body.

The new method was developed by researchers at the University of Oxford in England. A report on their study was published in the medical journal The Lancet. Also taking part in the study were teams from Friedrich-Alexander-University in Erlangen, Germany, and the Cleveland Clinic in the United States.

Most heart attacks result from a build-up of fatty tissue inside arteries that carry blood from the heart to other areas of the body. Too much buildup can block this flow of blood and cause a heart attack.

Currently, doctors use CT scans to learn when a sticky substance called plaque has already built up inside an artery. The new technology is designed to predict which arteries are at risk for future buildup.

The researchers reported using computer algorithms to examine CT scans to measure how much fat is present around heart arteries. That fat changes when an artery becomes inflamed, serving as an early warning system for heart attacks.

Charalambos Antoniades is a professor of cardiovascular medicine at Oxford University. He told the Reuters news agency he believes the research shows this method could be very effective in getting patients to take early steps to prevent future problems.

"Say your arteries are inflamed and a narrowing will be developed five years down the line. So maybe you can start preventive measures to avoid this formation of plaques," he said.

"If you are able to identify inflammation in the arteries of the heart, then you can say which arteries...will cause heart attacks."

Antoniades added that researchers had yet to estimate exactly how many heart attacks could be prevented. But he said he believes the technique could help identify between 20 to 30 percent of people at risk of having one.

He added that the new technology will make such predictions easier because it works together with existing CT technology.

The research was based on two large, independent studies of 4,000 patients in Erlangen, Germany, and the Cleveland Clinic.

A company with ties to Oxford University is developing a service to examine CT scans of patients around the world, Reuters reported.

I'm Bryan Lynn.
Bryan Lynn wrote this story for VOA Learning English. It was based on reports by Reuters and The Lancet. George Grow was the editor. We want to hear from you. Write to us in the Comments section, and visit our Facebook page. ________________________________________________________________
Words in This Story

algorithm - n. set of steps that are followed in order to solve a mathematical problem or to complete a computer process

scan - n. looking at the inside of something by using a special machine

artery - n. one of the tubes in the body that carries blood from the heart

inflammation - n. a swelling of part of the body

narrow - v. to limit, restrict or make smaller

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New Technology Provides Early Warning for Heart Attacks

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Researchers say they have developed technology that could predict heart attacks years before they happen. The researchers report using mathematical algorithms to examine computed tomography, or CT, images of a patient's heart. A CT scan uses X-rays and a computer to make detailed pictures of bones, organs and other tissue inside the body.

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This article talks about the recent decline of consumers in the United States. The financially stressed consumers, due to the recent slightly economic recession and the slightly rise of unemployment rate, decide to save more and be more conserved instead of spend all or the majority of their money. This decline of numbers of consumers in general would shift the demand curve left, causing people's less demand in market goods.

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Banks are reporting an uptick in the number of new savings accounts but, although some customers might be saving, many continue to rely on credit.

The country is in a technical recession as of last month because of poor first- and second-quarter performances, and unemployment has risen. Statistics South Africa has reported that 69 000 jobs in the formal sector were shed in the last quarter.

More South Africans might be saving in response to the tougher times but others are spending on credit.
Economist Mike Schussler says "people are moving to a different kind of debt", with consumers asking for smaller loans rather than drawing on mortgages.

Although more consumers are applying for credit, a greater number are being declined. The National Credit Regulator reported this week that the total value of new credit granted increased by 8.25% quarter on quarter, and the number of applications for credit has increased by 5.79% quarter on quarter, and 18.1% year on year, to more than 11-million. This is the highest number of credit applications since the fourth quarter of 2015, says Absa economist Peter Worthington.

But the rejection rate for new credit also increased, from 48.5% in the first quarter this year to 50.1% in the second quarter.

Worthington says this suggests "that lenders tilted towards stronger discrimination in the face of higher demand for credit, which would make sense if some of the credit applications were coming from financially stressed consumers".

"There is also a slower rate of net credit extension," he adds, which means "households elected to continue servicing their debts but trim optional consumption spending in response to financial pressures".

This year, Absa, Capitec, Standard Bank and African Bank have reported that retail deposits are up.

In the past financial year, the value of Capitec has rebounded since a Viceroy report earlier this year, which caused the bank to lose 25% of its value. It has now reported a 28% increase to R23-billion in total retail fixed savings, with retail deposits increasing by 20%. Capitec has attributed this to a "sustained increase in clients' trust of our brand". The bank has 9.9-million clients.

African Bank, which collapsed in 2014, reported a 90% increase, to R680-million, in savings deposits as of March this year.

According to the bank's interim financial results, the number of retail depositors increased from 9 246 to 13 121, and the average deposit increased to R52 000.

Although the bank had the highest percentage increase in clients
opening retail deposits, Standard Bank and Absa reflected moderate growth in their retail deposits and an increase in their loans and advances.

Absa, in its financial results ending June 30, reported an increase in savings deposits by 7% to R189-billion (up from last year's R177-billion) and an increase of 24% to R3 724-million in gross loans and advances.

At Standard Bank both gross customer loans and deposits have grown at 15%. But it reported a "pleasing balance growth of 18% in current and savings accounts".

The reason more consumers could be saving, and applying for less credit, could be attributed to consumer wariness.

"We think consumers, despite the apparent surge in Ramaphoria-induced confidence in Q1 and Q2, are simply less willing to borrow to fund optional expenditure, having been traumatised by the debt burdens of the global financial crisis and the splurge of seemingly cheap but actually unaffordable credit in the subsequent unsecured lending boom domestically," according to Worthington.

Schussler says this week's results have shown that consumer credit is healthier, and banks and financial institutions are being more conservative about lending.

The ratio of debt to consumer income is 71.9%, according to the South African Reserve Bank, an improvement from 86.4% in 2008.

On average, consumers are spending 14%of their budget on savings, according to the 2018 Old Mutual savings and investment monitor, a decrease from last year's 15%. The Old Mutual report shows that consumers are spending 67% of their income on living expenses, up from 62% in 2017. Households also spent 3% less on servicing debt this year than they did in the previous financial year.

As of June, 11-million consumers have applied for credit, which is not surprising because many consumers "tend to turn towards credit during tough economic times", Debt Rescue chief executive Neil Roets says.

"The reality is that the dramatic increases in fuel and the secondary effect on all goods is placing enormous strain on consumers' finances."

He says the rising cost of living makes it more difficult for consumers who already have debt to meet the increases and pay off their credit instalments.

In a June report, Debt Rescue says more than half of South Africa's
consumers are more than three months behind with their repayments. The recent National Credit Regulator results indicate that, at the end of June, the total credit consumers owed was R1.8-trillion, a 1.14% quarter-on-quarter increase and 4.76% up year on year.

Although the regulator reports that the number of credit-active consumers has decreased by 3.44% from 25.46-million to 24.59-million, the number of consumers whose debt is in good standing also decreased.

According to Absa macroeconomists Miyelani Maluleke and Worthington, "consumers have been slow to borrow".

They add that, according to the Bureau for Economic Research's second quarter survey for the year, consumers "appear exceptionally optimistic", and the consumer confidence survey conducted between April 20 and June 7 showed that household confidence in the economy and their financial positions "remained close to the record figures" seen in the first quarter.

"Even though credit may be available generally, at least to the more creditworthy borrowers, it may be coming at a relatively higher price," they add.

"Consumers do not want to contract debt for optional spending. But they may, during a difficult downturn, such as the current one, be willing to borrow to fund essential spending."

Using the Reserve Bank's analysis of Stats SA's data, Maluleke and Worthington say the data in the second quarter of 2018 shows that "real household disposable income growth slowed to a mere 1.5% year on year".

But Worthington says the data also shows that "households have been deleveraging [reducing debt by selling off assets] since about 2014, even after the cost of servicing the household debt [relative to disposable income] started to fall in 2016".

An increased reliance on credit has been touted by financial institutions as one of the reasons South Africans are less likely to save.

The institutions have also said that low levels of financial literacy, a weak saving culture and the growing unemployment rate are hindering banks' attempts to encourage more people to save.

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Banks are reporting an uptick in the number of new savings accounts but, although some customers might be saving, many continue to rely on credit. The country is in a technical recession as of last month because of poor first- and second-quarter performances, and unemployment has risen.