globalEDGE

globalEDGE Newsletter             December 2004               Vol. 3 - Issue 6 


INSIDE THIS ISSUE
  1. New @ globalEDGE: Online Course Ratings
  2. Featured Country: Australia
  3. Special Reports
  4. Media Updates
  5. Recently Added Sites
  6. Newsletter Information


Please participate in our Featured Discussion: The economic effects of the political issues in the Ukraine.

Join our online community to discuss this and many other current business topics!



1) NEW @ globalEDGE: ONLINE COURSE RATINGS

With the option of so many online course modules, how do you really know which would be beneficial to you without spending hours going through each module? By utilizing the new Course Rating system provided for the
Online Course Modules under Academy. The new ratings system allows registered users to rank the material and comment on the quality of the individual modules. The overall rankings along with individual rankings and their attached comments will be available for all globalEDGE users to view. Visit the Online Course Modules to plan your curriculum or just learn about international business, culture, exporting, market research, and other topics.

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2) FEATURED COUNTRY

Our featured country this month is Australia.

The world's smallest continent but sixth-largest country, The Commonwealth of Australia has a prosperous Western-style capitalist economy, with a per capita GDP on par with the four dominant West European economies. Even though Australia's developed market economy is dominated by its services sector, it is the agricultural and mining sectors that account for the bulk of the country's exports.

The current government of the conservative and recently reelected Prime Minister John Howard is characterized by many recent actions: a series of privatizations; a strong support of the U.S. engagement in the Asia-Pacific region; and deployment of troops to support the coalitions in Afghanistan and Iraq.

globalEDGE has more information and links on Australia at:
http://globaledge.msu.edu/ibrd/CountryIntro.asp?CountryID=155

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3) SPECIAL REPORTS

Waking up to International Accounting Standards
AccountancyAge.com (November 30, 2004)
http://www.accountancyage.com/Specials/1134711
As of January 1, 2005, European businesses will have to adopt International Accounting Standards (IAS). The objective of the IAS is to standardize accounting practices and make companies' accounting results in different countries comparable with one another. This special report is constantly updated with the latest news on this subject.

Global Consumer Confidence and Opinions Survey
ACNielsen (October 1, 2004)
http://acnielsen.com/press/data.shtml
ACNielsen presents a survey of 14,000 consumers in 28 international markets. Issues addressed range from opinions of their home economies to disposable income as well as fears and apprehensions towards various topics.

More "Special Reports" from globalEDGE at:
http://globaledge.msu.edu/KnowledgeRoom/SpecialReports/


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4) MEDIA UPDATES

$US Dive Makes Crucial Ripples
NEWS.com.au (November 25, 2004)
http://finance.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,4057,11490862%255E521,00.html
Robert Gottliebsen provides a brief description of the world's currency scenario, and the impact of the falling dollar value in the global market, with special attention to Australia. The Australian import and export scenario described in this article can be applied to most countries that have a cheaper currency in relation to the US dollar. China and Japan appear to be the antagonists of this scenario. In order to increase their sales to US, they have devaluated their currency, propping up the US dollar. Russia started a move to make some of its dollar reserves into Euro reserves due to the increase in oil prices.

Cocoa Prices Soar on Ivory Unrest
BBC News (November 8, 2004)
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/3991939.stm
The anti-French Ivorian protests continue; The Ivory Coast, the world's largest cocoa producer, has appealed for an end to the mob violence which erupted after France destroyed most of the West African's air force in retaliation of the killing of nine French peacekeepers. Due to the unrest, the price of cocoa has risen sharply in London. This violence not only has an effect on cocoa, but also threatens stability in a country that has been plagued by conflicts for years.

More "Media Updates" from globalEDGE at:
http://globaledge.msu.edu/KnowledgeRoom/MediaUpdate/


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5) RECENTLY ADDED SITES

A sample of some of our recently added sites:

AFRICA: The African Development Bank Group
http://www.afdb.org
The African Development Bank is the premier financial development institution of Africa, dedicated to combating poverty and improving the lives of people of the continent. It is engaged in the task of mobilizing resources towards the economic and social progress of its Regional Member Countries. The web site provides publications and a list of the main events on development issues.
Listed in the following region: Africa
Listed in the following category: Research: Organizations

Exhibitions World
http://www.exhibitions-world.com/
Exhibitions World by Interface Global Corporation is a trade show database with a focus on Asia. Most functions require free registration, which will provide users with a personalized calendar of events, email alerts, and searchable exhibition information. Exhibitions may be searched by show name, organizers, industry, and region. Hyperlinks to the organizers and URLs to the exhibitions' own websites are also provided. Organizers, facilities, services, and conferences can also be searched.
Listed in the following region: Asia & Middle East
Listed in the following category: Trade: Shows and Events

ITALY: Sviluppo Italia
http://www.sviluppoitalia.it/default.jsp
The mission of Sviluppo Italia is to promote, speed-up, and spread production and development throughout Italy by leveraging a European-wide network of companies and investors. Sviluppo Italia is a private organization that has more than 54,000 company members. The web site provides a monthly newsletter, information about new initiatives, projects and investment opportunities divided by regions. An up-to-date list of regional, national and European events is also available.
Listed in the following country: Italy
Listed in the following category: Research: Organizations

A list of recently added sites to globalEDGE is available at:
http://globaledge.msu.edu/ibrd/whatsnew.asp


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Really Useful Sites for International Trade Professionals is recognized worldwide as a valuable source of information for international professionals worldwide. The bi-weekly newsletter pinpoints international trade-related resources on the Web that subscribers can use in their daily business (and personal) lives. Subscribers in more than 30 countries depend on the newsletter to stay up to date in their work and business development. One subscriber says "Of all the newsletters and magazines that I receive - both email and paper - yours is the one that is the most useful, the first one I route to others regularly and the only one I take home from work." Really Useful Sites for International Trade Professionals is free and new subscribers can sign up at http://fita.org/usefulregister.html.


6) NEWSLETTER INFORMATION

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