Feature of the Month
: Summer Olympics
The 2012 Summer Olympics in London will not only bring the world’s best athletes together but will also attract major business players from countries all around the world. This year’s Olympic Games are being viewed as an opportunity to boost Britain’s struggling economy and will allow British businesses to build trade relationships with companies abroad. During the Summer Olympics, Prime Minister David Cameron will also be hosting a global investment conference and 17 global business summits. These events are designed to bring together British businesses with potential investors and trading partners from overseas. As you can see, the Olympics have evolved into more than just an athletic spectacle but now act as a platform for the business world to address the many challenges facing our global economy.
Alongside bringing together global businesses, the Olympic Games will also provide growth opportunities for small businesses throughout the UK. With over 11 million spectators arriving in London, innovative small businesses properly prepared will be able to take advantage of the many rewards that will be available from this influx of tourists. Perhaps more importantly, the Summer Olympics bring much needed positive news from an otherwise depressed European Union. The 2012 Summer Olympics give the United Kingdom and the European Union a chance to go for gold and erase years of economic hardships that have troubled the region.
Featured Resources
Eldis: Regional and Country Profiles
Eldis provides information on world development issues. The Country Profiles section of Eldis features news, statistics, organizations and sector information by country and region. Other information also available from the Eldis include resource guides, recent news and events, and links to key development websites.
Category: Multi-Country
Coface: Country Risk and Economic Research
Coface's Country Risk and Economic Research provides risk ratings for individual countries as well as industry sectors. Ratings for countries are based on criteria including economic, financial, and political data. Ratings also allow the user to evaluate the overall business climate in a given country.
Category: Rankings
Featured Academy
Doing Business in the European Union
The European Union module allows one to gain insight into the reasons for doing business in the European Union as well as doing business in several EU countries: France, the United Kingdom, Greece and Romania. The module also contains a case study that looks at the differences between Old Europe and New Europe.
Category: Doing Business In
The European Union
The European Union module includes information on the history of the EU, predecessors to the current EU, the history of expansion and an analysis of future expansion prospects, and a full section on EU-US trade agreements. It also includes a case study on the EU Constitution and implications of such a constitution for business.
Category: Institutions and Trade
globalEDGE Business Review
"Running a Global Corporation"
by Tomas Hult (Volume 2, Number 1, pp. 1-3, 2008)
What does it take to run a global corporation? Are there too many environmental and industry forces to think about? What about the strategy and organizational factors? No worries, it can all be paired down to a manageable few.
