Stone-Ideas.com 
GfK releases 2016 purchasing power data for Austria and Switzerland
For Austria, each citizen has an average of €22,536 for consumption, rent and living costs / Switzerland: per capita €42,300
„Gorgonized“: electric guitars in natural stone
Frank Scheucher achieves „a unique sound and volume“ for his instruments with a body with a thin stone layer
Exposure to crystalline silica: US office for occupational health releases new rules
Stone Associations call companies „to contact their legislative representatives immediately“
Ecuador earthquake caused death toll of at least 500
Along the Pacific coast the Nazca plate subducts (submerges) under the South American plate
Turkey: falling back to the 2-billion-US-$-mark after the second weak export year in a row
Turnover of value-added products to the USA stable / Country going to great lengths in seeking new markets
Xiamen Stone Fair (2): Barack Obama at the lectern and international speakers at the World Stone Congress
For the first time the Lundhs-Cup soccer tournament took place on the fair grounds
Briefly noted
The Indoor-Trade-Fair for Marble Blocks in the Turkish city of Bursa counted 14,728 visitors and 148 exhibitors in its 40,000 m², 7-hall, exhibit area
All about stone: Lists of trade fairs in natural stone, architecture/construction and design/interior-design/lifestyle
Stone-Ideas.com has compiled a list of interesting trade fairs – google ranking now first place
US demand for decorative tile is forecast to increase 3.5% annually to 3.1 billion square feet in 2020
Shares of porcelain and natural stone will grow but ceramics remain dominant / Italian companies are market leaders in high-end-products
Laboratorio del Marmo: „Samurai“ and „Shiodome“ – new tables on stone foundations
Italian design studio sees objects as functional sculptures