Investor return on venture capital investment fell 147% during Q2 2005 from Q2 2004. Five-year returns on venture capital was a negative 6.3%, down from a positive 13.3% during Q2 2004, according to National Venture Capital Association.

In 2004, the number of cell phone users in Pakistan was 5.022 mln, Pakistan Telecom Authority says. In 2005 so far it has crossed 15 mln, which reflects that over 10 mln new cell phone connections have been added. Pakistan’s cell phone population would cross 30 mln mark within the next three years.

Taiwanese makers will deliver a total of 2.2 mln DVD recorders in 2005, up 18% from 2004, according to the Market Intelligence Center.

Number of online shoppers in the US will grow by 2.5 mln this holiday season. Overall online sales revenues will grow by more than $18 bln, according to Forrester Research.

Semiconductor Industry Association said worldwide chip sales grew to $19.6 bln in September 2005, a 5.2% rise over the $18.6 bln recorded in August 2005. YTY sales were also up 5.6%, from $18.5 bln, in September 2004. Total sales for Q3 2005 reached $58.7 bln, up almost 9% from Q2 2005.

Consumer spending climbed 0.5% in September 2005 after a 0.5% drop in August 2005, US Commerce Department said. But soaring fuel costs ate into the September 2005 gain, which when adjusted for inflation turned into a 0.4% drop. Personal incomes shot up 1.7%, the biggest rise since December 2004, as insurance payouts increased at a $120 bln annual rate in the wake of recent hurricanes.

IPTV in China will experience only moderate adoption before it takes off in 2008, reports In-Stat. With the emergence of salient applications and a maturing technology, the market is expected to get a boost from the 2008 Olympics hosted by Beijing. This is expected to result in 4.5 mln subscribers and $231.3 mln in set top box (STB) revenue in 2008. In China, 360 mln TV users and over 20 mln broadband users give IPTV a huge potential subscriber base.

Nearly 90% of the total volume of set top boxes will be sold to end-users through bundling with carriers’ service, with the remaining 10% being provided through traditional channels. Media groups like SMEG and EastTV have set up agreements with telecom carriers to develop specific IPTV content.

According to The Media Audit, Hispanics are growing in importance to the automobile market and the after-market. Of the 26.1 mln adults who plan to buy a vehicle during the next 12 months, 18.1%, or 4.7 mln, are Hispanic. Of the 26.1 mln, 11.4 mln plan to buy a new vehicle; of that total 16.7%, or 1.9 mln, are Hispanic. While 30.9% of all adults shopped at an auto parts store in the 30 days prior to the survey, 32.7% of all Hispanic adults did the same. While 29.5% of all adults surveyed have car loans, just 27.3% of all Hispanic adults have car loans.

IDC published its numbers on Europe, Middle East and Africa in Q3 2005.

Global sales of plasma television sets will reach $11.6 bln in 2005, while LCD TV sets will pass the $22 bln mark, i Suppli says.

US Census Bureau listed Utah and Alaska among the top US states by PC penetration.

In September 2005, the Shopzilla.com Network was the top online retail site with 15 mln unique visitors, Nielsen/NetRatings said. The #2 Shopping.com was close behind with 14.8 mln visitors, followed by Yahoo! Shopping, 11.1 mln; NexTag, 9.6 mln and Froogle, 6.4 mln, Nielsen//NetRatings said. The top 3 online retail categories in the month, based on purchases, were toys, games and hobbies, 8.9 mln purchases, or 15.6% of the total for the month; apparel and accessories, 8.2 mln, or 14.4%; and home and garden, 7.6 mln, or 13.3%.

There are 77 mln Americans aged 50+ with total spending power over $1 trillion a year, US Census Bureau says.

In line with expectations, the EMEA PC market displayed solid growth in Q3 2005, expanding by 20.2% YTY in Q3 2005, according to IDC. Boosted by strong back-to-school demand and continued momentum in the notebook space, shipments rose to 15.9 mln units across Europe, the Middle East, and Africa. Notebooks continued to drive overall growth across the region, but desktop sales maintained healthy growth at over 11%. Western Europe benefited from the strong back-to-school season and posted solid 16% growth in Q3 2005, while infrastructure investment and demand for notebooks continued to boost sales in CEE and MEA to 27% and 33%, respectively.

Consumers are expected to buy 500 mln cameraphones in 2005, which amounts to 2/3 mobile phones purchased. Future Image says that 5 out of every 6 digital cameras sold in 2005 would be embedded in phones. The buying spree is expected to continue at least through 2009, when camera-phone sales are expected to rise to 900 mln units, or 90% of the 1 bln mobile phones projected to be sold in 2009.

Nielsen//NetRatings says RedCross.org had 9.6 mln visitors in September 2005, more than five times the traffic in the prior month, and FEMA.gov, the Federal Emergency Management Agency, had 4.9 mln visitors, up 369% from August 2005.

A survey of online buyers by Shopzilla.com reveals that 40% of consumers have increased their online buying as a result of high gas prices. 15% saying they are shopping online a lot more to avoid burning gasoline going to stores and 25% saying somewhat more.

According to Gartner, Asia/Pacific server revenue in the first half of 2005 grew 12.9% YTY. In Q2 2005, the growth of server revenue was reported at 15.8% YTY.