Introduction: Volatile Asian Markets
The global stock market has been seesawing between significant gains and enormous losses these days. The London FTSE 100 index, for example, slid 4.66% over the last weekend of August and then it jumped 3.5% in a day the next week. Asia, specifically China, is the major player in this stock market roller coaster, as investors have different opinions about the global economic growth from the recent Asian countries’ manufacturing data.
The recent export data shows that the manufacturing sector is struggling across Asia: the weakest reading of exports in three years in China, an eleventh successive contraction in Indonesia, and a sixth contraction in South Korea. Some analysts think that countries that grow their manufacturing sectors via cheap labor are in the process of switching to more advanced business models, in response to the increased usage of technology across industries. They believe that the contraction is temporary and Asia's economy will rebound in the near future. However, others interpret this data as the signal of slowing global demand, as Asian factories serve as the upstream in the global manufacturing process. As the price of contracts for the future delivery of oil drops in Asian trading, the analysts also argue that the economic activities in Asia will continue to slow down.
Stock markets and currency markets have taken a hit from the manufacturing market malaise in Asia. The Asian stock market is fluctuating as investors constantly buy and sell off. The unstable money flows put the global stock and currency markets in volatility. For more information on the volatile Asian market, please visit the new gloablEDGE blog post!
Featured Resources
Asia Manufacturer
Asia Manufacturer is a website dedicated to posting trade leads solely originating from Asia. Its aim is to increase foreign trade between Asia and other nations interested in the trade leads provided. Leads can be searched by selling leads, manufacturers, products, and buying leads in the search bar at the top of the homepage. Free membership is required in order to use this site.
Categories: Trade Leads, Region Specific, Asia
MSU-CIBER: Market Potential Index (MPI)
The Market Potential Index (MPI), an indexing study conducted annually by MSU-CIBER, helps companies rank Emerging Markets on eight dimensions. The dimensions are then combined to create an overall market potential index. The latest rankings are provided on the site as well as access to past analysis.
Categories: Country Level, Rankings
Featured Academy
The World is Open for Business
This module was created in cooperation with the U.S. Commercial Service and is the first chapter of the book A Basic Guide to Exporting. In this module, we will cover: Why you should sell globally; agencies that specialize in helping small to medium-sized businesses export successfully; old assumptions about exporting that may not be accurate; and how to transform yourself and your business through exporting. A case study on the company Domes International is also included.
Analyzing a Company's Ability to Export
The Analyzing a Company's Ability to Export introduces one to the following concepts: how the CORE software helps to understand a company's ability to export; competitive capability in the domestic market; how to ensure defensive competitiveness; how motivation can influence a company's ability to export; how important the commitment of top management in a company can be for the firm's ability to export; how organizational readiness is important to a company's ability to export; and how product readiness can influence a firm’s ability to export. Also included is a case study on Advanced Biomedical Devices, Inc.'s readiness to export.
globalEDGE Business Beat
Maria-Alejandra Gonzalez-Perez
Tomas Hult speaks with Maria-Alejandra Gonzalez-Perez, Professor of Management at Universidad EAFIT in Colombia. Alejandra is also Coordinator of the Colombian universities in the institute of UNCTAD (United Nations Conference for Trade and Development) and Distinguished Fellow of the Association of Certified Commercial Diplomats. The interview focused on Alejandra’s wealth of background, experiences, and interests related to Latin America, and specifically on Corporate Social Responsibility.
Doug Barry
Tomas Hult speaks with Doug Barry, Deputy Director, Global Knowledge Center, International Trade Administration, U.S. Department of Commerce. The interview focused on eCommerce, or simply doing business using the Internet as a great potential way to export products.
