We are thrilled to have Richard join the Firm

consumers expressed thatintention. Furthermore, 58 percent of Canadians said that they will significantlycut spending on nonessential items, compared with only 50 percent of U.S.consumers. The categories that Canadians and U.S. It's notable that when asked why they intend to cutspending this year, 51 percent of Canadians said one of the reasons isthat they expect to save more money; only 45 percent of U.S consumersgave that reason," he added. "It's worth keeping in mind that mostCanadians, 64 percent, said that they think the downturn will last a yearor more and that more than a quarter, 26 percent, said that U.S. Our researchsuggests that women control 68 percent of consumer spending in Canada.They are the accountants of the household budget, and, increasingly,they're responsible for producing the income too. It's not surprisingthat the shift in the economy is registering more profoundly with them,"said Grevler.He added, "Canadian consumers are bracing for a tough year ahead. Thechallenge for consumer businesses here is to be better than theircompetitors at understanding consumers and their concerns and at providingnew angles on value. The survey focused on 1,000adults aged 18 and older who do the majority of shopping for theirhousehold.

A similar version of the survey, fielded at the end of October2008, was conducted in the United States and Europe, providing basis forcomparison.References to "consumers" reflect respondent samples of adults aged 18 andolder with a household income of more than $50,000 who conduct at leasthalf of the shopping for their household. These consumers represent morethan 75 percent of Canadian household spending.All sample surveys and polls, whether or not they use probabilitysampling, are subject to multiple sources of errors that are most oftennot possible to quantify or estimate. These include errors associatedwith sampling, coverage, nonresponse, wording of questions and responseoptions, and post-survey weighting and adjustments. The margin of errorfor this survey is as high as 3.8 percent. All that can be calculated aredifferent possible sampling errors with different probabilities for pure,unweighted, random samples with 100 percent response rates. These areonly theoretical: no published polls come close to this ideal.Respondents for this survey were selected from among those who had agreedto participate in Research Now surveys.

The data have been weighted toreflect the composition of the Canadian adult population. Because thesample is based on those who agreed to be invited to participate in theResearch Now online research panel, no estimates of theoretical samplingerror can be calculated.About The Boston Consulting GroupThe Boston Consulting Group (BCG) is a global management consulting firmand the world's leading advisor on business strategy. We partner withclients in all sectors and regions to identify their highest-valueopportunities, address their most critical challenges, and transform theirbusinesses. This ensures that our clients achievesustainable competitive advantage, build more capable organizations, andsecure lasting results.

Founded in 1963, BCG is a private company with 66offices in 38 countries. DALLAS, Jan. 5 /PRNewswire/ The global law firm of Thompson & Knight LLP ispleased to announce Richard B. Roper, III has joined the Firm as a TrialPartner in the Dallas office, where he will focus his practice on white collarcriminal litigation.Roper previously served as United States Attorney forthe Northern District of Texas from 2004-2008.He is Board Certified inCriminal Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization."We are thrilled to have Richard join the Firm.The breadth of his experienceas a United States Attorney is invaluable.He's a seasoned trial attorney,and his expertise in white collar criminal litigation is a tremendous additionto our growing white collar crime practice," says William L.