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What happens when you mix a close proximity to fast growing nations and an abundant supply of natural resources? An impressive economic boom, but a fear of being highly dependent on a few key nations. Australia is currently enjoying not only a very lucrative demand for its natural resources from China and India, but is also becoming a tourism hotspot for the people of China.

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Natural gas is a relatively obscure energy source compared to its more popular companion oil. Most people rarely think about it - it heats their house and if there is a particularly cold winter, their heating bill tends to rise. Thought process done. However, natural gas has started to become more mainstream as pricing patterns around the globe and new technologies are awakening the industry.

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Two years after pulling its search engine from main land China, Google is once again pushing to expand in the enormous market. The original disagreement between Google and Chinese officials started after Google traced a cyberattack to Chinese hackers. The hackers attempted to not only steal proprietary computer code, but also attempted to spy on Chinese activists' Gmail accounts. Although officials denied any connection to the hackers, Google moved its search site to Hong Kong where censorship requirements are not as strict.

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Globalization and the growth in emerging markets have driven significant changes in nearly every industry around the globe. This no different in philanthropy where the “old” standard of donations being led by wealthy Westerners is being turned upside down. Explosive growth has led to tremendous wealth creation in many developing countries and veteran donors are urging the new rich to donate to important causes. Philanthropy has also been repackaged into a businesses where consumers help donate products to needy causes.

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What is one to do when their country pushes austerity measures on citizens who are already being hurt by an economic recession? One way is to simply exchange your unused jewelry and gold at pawnshops and gold dealers for much needed cash. This simple business transaction becomes very popular as countries struggle through slow economic environments. One country that has seen a massive increase it these business outfits is Greece.

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With the announcement of North Korea's Kim Jong II's death on Monday, many business and world leaders are trying to figure out what will happen with the historically volatile country. Although the US places strict restrictions on how US businesses can interact with North Korea, other countries are much more liberal and have created many opportunities for their businesses to profit from relations with North Korea.

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Most people view pirates as bandits dressed in funny outfits who sail around the world stealing treasure and stashing it on small, hidden islands. This may be a fun way to imagine the world, but modern day pirates are a real concern for shipping companies. Instead of stealing golden treasure, pirates commandeer ships with precious cargo and demand large ransoms from its owners.

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The Olympic games are designed to be the final decider of the best athletes across the globe. Although hosting countries respect the competition, their main goal is completely different – provide as much stimulus as possible to their economy. London is in the midst of a massive advertising and building spree in preparation for the 2012 Olympics. In the process, Prime Minister David Cameron is busy promoting the tourism opportunities available in London and the London Chamber of Commerce and Industry (LCCI) is working to prepare local businesses for the expected influx of economic activity.

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Entrepreneurship is the key, long-term growth driver of any country's economy. Not only do small businesses, in aggregate, add more jobs than large corporations, they are usually the companies leading technological breakthroughs. These small businesses are clearly very important to every country, but they face different challenges and rewards when operating in developed and emerging markets.

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It is hard to imagine life without food – in fact, it is impossible. And although many people don't recognize it, there is big business behind getting food from the farm to your kitchen table. The agribusiness sector is a broad industry covering the entire business of food production ranging from planting to the distribution and selling of the end product. New technologies and global trends are changing the way these businesses operate. The Agribusiness Blog Series will cover many of these topics including organic farming, new sales methods, and the new uses of agriculture products.

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One of the great things about capitalism is that it encourages entrepreneurship and fuels the creation of disruptive technologies. The tech industry has been a breeding ground for these new technologies and one of their latest creations is cloud computing. Like any new technology, early leaders benefit greatly - usually at the expense of slower, older competitors. Cloud computing touches many industries within the technology sector and each one will be affected in different ways.

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In chaos theory, the butterfly effect is where a small change in one place can result in large differences to a later state. One application of this theory is determining how policy decisions being made across the globe will affect the world economy. Many are aware of the economic problems in Greece, Ireland, Spain and Portugal, but Europe’s core economies (Germany and France) and now the United States have also seen their GDP growth slow significantly. Leaders have responded to the dangerously high debt-loads in many countries by increasing taxes and cutting spending. This has many, including the International Monetary Fund, worried that decreased world spending could put the economic recovery in jeopardy and possibly cause another recession.

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With all the talk of the future growth of electric cars, many people might think that it will be as simple as plugging in their car next to the old refrigerator in their garage. Unfortunately, using a standard 120V outlet would take around 20 hours to charge a typical electric car. Most cars will require a 220V charging station that is connected directly to the home's circuit. Even with the shorter charging time, many batteries will only last between 25 and 100 miles. These short distances will require customers to charge their cars throughout the day and many companies are working to become the "go-to" method.

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In October 2010's newsletter, I discussed some of the statistics regarding the global water supply. To summarize: the situation is not good. Many industry experts and market pundits have suggested that the combination of low supply and higher demand will lead water to one day be traded just like other commodities such as gold and oil. Companies are catching onto the trend and are seeking to strengthen their water pipeline divisions in order to supply the expected future demand.

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Brazil has been growing like a weed and companies from all over the country and in all different industries have been benefiting. As the Brazilian economy continues to expand, consumers have found more and more discretionary income that needs to be spent. Two industries that have received a lot of this new wealth are the fast and casual dining sectors. Consumers have voted with their wallets - they are very hungry and are willing to pay for it.

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Supply chains have received a lot of attention lately including being featured in globalEDGE’s April Newsletter on the emerging industry of Reverse Supply Chains. However, another important part of a product’s life cycle is end-of-life management. Historically consumers’ only choice was to throw unwanted products away and manufacturers could help the environment by reducing packaging or making it biodegradable. Many consumers are now being offered the opportunity to recycle and companies around the world have sprung up to offer products and services that create profit while helping municipalities and citizens "Go Green!"

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When most people think of emerging markets they instantly think of the most famous four: China, India, Brazil and Russia. All have had staggering economic growth in recent years and continue to have great prospects for the future. However, are these necessarily the best countries for your business? The Market Potential Index by MSU-CIBER gives entrepreneurs an alternative to guessing by offering a comprehensive ranking tool that helps answer the question, “Now What?”

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A quick look around the globe can show you that the continued growth in emerging markets have led to rapid changes in many industries. One of the industries that many people seem to overlook is the entertainment industry. Global entertainment is actually in the crosswinds of many trends that have changed (and will continue to change) the face of entertainment.

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Retailers around the world are beginning to test new strategies that are designed to strengthen their brand and increase their relevance to customers. One strategy that is gaining increasing popularity around the world is Fast Fashion – read more about it in February's Newsletter.  Another strategy being used by clothing manufacturers is producing their products using Fair Trade principles.

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To most people in the developed world, banks have become an integral part of our lives. For the most part they have operated silently in background just as we would wish. We take out a mortgage (or two), pay our credit cards and deposit any extra money into a savings account. We don’t really think about it – they have always been there and we assume they will always be there to serve us. This lifestyle is in direct contrast with low-income citizens from small towns in developing countries.

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A global recession did very little to slow down the demand for one of life’s more entertaining sins: gambling. The only difference now is how they’re doing it and where they’re doing it. Macau, China has been flexing its increasing dominance in the gambling industry and local and state governments are increasingly pushing to legalize gambling as a way to increase tax revenues. Some states are even using mobile computing to allow gambling on the go!

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Ahh Silicon Valley – a beautiful 50-mile strip located right on San Francisco Bay between San Francisco and San Jose. It's home to innumerous technology companies including global chip heavyweights Intel and AMD. Silicon Valley used to be the go to place to start a new chip company however startups are starting to attract less funding and much of the development can now be done in China.

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When most people think about rare earth mining, they think miners extract a chunk of lanthanum or cerium, send it to Apple, and they put it in their newest iGadget. However, few know that there are two different types of rare earths with wide ranging uses and prices. In addition, raw minerals must be processed using a complicated (and often dangerous) process to extract the individual elements.

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On November 23rd North Korea fired artillery on the South Korean island of Yeonpyeong as a response to South Korea performing military drills near disputed maritime border. Besides the obvious restrictions set on North Korea by global super powers, some businesses are also taking steps to protect their employees from the potential threat.

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Nine trillion dollars are spent annually on worldwide logistics costs. When most people look at this figure their heads spins thinking about the number of zeros in that number and the scope of activities that it represents. Corporate leaders have also started to look at this number as a huge opportunity to streamline processes and reduce expenses. Everything from agriculture to manufacturing is being analyzed in a whole new light and directors have been pleasantly surprised by the possibilities.

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Global water usage has exploded in recent years. This has been led by emerging markets demanding increasing amounts of clean water for consumption, and the agriculture industry needing more water to produce the food required to meet their new demand. These two increases in demand combined with the shrinking supply of clean water have led many to predict a water shortage sometime in the future. To fight this problem there are two options: decrease demand or increase supply. The globalEDGE October Newsletter addresses the option of increasing supply while this post will discuss efforts to decrease demand.

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As globalEDGE has discussed in the previous posts for this month’s blog series, not only are frontier markets growing extremely fast, they also have a lot of systematic risks. These risks can range from extremely prohibitive government regulations to a communist run government that feels it’s appropriate to expropriate private assets when it deems necessary. To transition to a stable growing economy these countries must remove these risks and increase its population’s education and consumption. These will create sustainable investment opportunities and the increase in consumer spending will continue to fuel economic growth.

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How many times were you told as a child that chocolate was not good for you? Hundreds?

Well now you can call your mom up and in a sweet, loving way let her know she may have been wrong. Not only is cocoa helping roughly 50 million people make a living, but new discoveries that cocoa may have cardiovascular health benefits is helping increase the demand for this little black bean.

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Although many people would not expect it, the eighth largest economy in the world is gradually remaking itself into the silicon valley of the rainforest and the next hot venture capital market. This is being fueled by a predicted growth rate of 7.1% and expectations to continue this tear through the end of the decade. It also sports 1.7 million IT professionals, 123 national institutes of science and 400 technology incubators throughout the country. There is also a great political environment where the government and private companies are currently spending 1% of GDP on developing high-tech industries such as aerospace, agribusiness, information technology, business-process outsourcing, semiconductors and telecommunications.

Investors have their checkbooks ready and are catching up on their Portuguese.