Global Innovation 2010: Total R&D spending among the world’s top spenders on innovation fell in 2009 for the first time in the 13 years studied, according to the 2010 Global Innovation 1000, the sixth annual study of corporate innovation spending, released this month by global management consulting firm Booz & Company. The study revealed that the 1,000 companies that spent the most on research and development decreased their total R&D spending by 3.5% to $503bn in 2009. This followed a relatively strong 2008 during which R&D spending continued to grow despite the recession. Apple showed again that it gets a bigger bang for its spending on research, which is far outpaced by Microsoft and Nokia.