globalEDGE Blog Archive September 2010

Historically, China has gone to great lengths to shield their currency, the yuan, from the global markets. To coincide with this, the Chinese governments have off and on pegged the yuan with the U.S. dollar. Recently China has made some mini-steps to hopefully open up their currency to outside markets. Last month they said that a handful of foreign banks could invest some of the yuan they hold offshore in local Chinese bonds. Another step was that China ended the peg to the dollar in June. Even though this de facto peg was supposedly removed in June, the yuan has only appreciated less than 2% against the dollar. If you look at historical data you can tell that volatility has increased between the two, but barely enough to even notice. Is China holding back a potentially huge export, their currency, for a particular reason? Many believe that the yuan is artificially being kept undervalued. What kind of pressures is this putting on other economies to devalue their currency, as discussed in a previous post in the series?

Guido Mantega, the Brazilian Finance Minister, has recently came on record declaring that there is currently an “international currency war.” What in the world is Mr. Mantega talking about?

Universum, an employer branding company, released today the world’s Top 50 most attractive employers. From the world’s leading economies, nearly 130,000 students at top academic institutions chose their ideal companies to work for. This is a global index of employer attractiveness that highlights powerful global brands. These companies excel in talent attraction and retention. Students from Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Russia, Spain, U.K., and U.S. all contributed their employee preferences.

Do you look at your groceries receipt when you walk out the store and notice that it is higher than what it was a couple of months ago? That is because food prices in August reached a two-year high according to a food price index developed by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).

In the last few days, news of yet another product recall was released. Abbott Labs, a global pharmaceutical company, informed customers that one of their baby formulas called Similac was contaminated with small beetles. This time, the damage is limited and the worst of the symptoms is a sick tummy. In other recall cases, there are serious consequences for errors in judgment on the part of the manufacturer. Case in point: Toyota. Product recalls are on the rise – Why? In the flurry of new quality management techniques such as “six sigma”, what is causing companies to miss the mark and release potentially dangerous products to the unsuspecting public?

Africa is the second largest continent in the world by both size and population. The land in Africa is lush with many natural resources and the labor pool is massive. Yet, the economies and governments of most African countries are underdeveloped compared to the rest of the world. How is it that a continent so large and rich in resources is the least industrialized continent on Earth?

The United States has long been known as a global powerhouse when it comes to innovation – especially when it comes to manufacturing. These innovations may not necessarily be products (although some certainly were) but, rather, just tweaks to the manufacturing process that greatly improved efficiency (think of interchangeable parts or the assembly line, both developed by Americans). However, in today’s global economy, the United States is losing jobs in the industrial manufacturing sector, despite still being on the forefront of innovation. Many claim that this is simply because of the lower wages required in other countries, but is that the only reason why?

In the increasingly global landscape, globalization has become a goal for many businesses large and small. Free trade agreements, along with technology advancements have encouraged the globalization of companies. Trade is much easier and quicker than it used to be, but that does not eliminate the challenge that globalization presents to businesses. Small businesses that cannot afford to hire a foreign marketing agency sometimes struggle with the globalization and exporting process, luckily it can be done through careful planning and utilization of free and readily available resources.

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.

Say goodbye to your flat-screen TV and that new car battery you were going to buy. In late July China announced that they would be decreasing the supply of rare earth metals to the rest of the world. Now it may not seem like an obvious connection but these rare earth metals in question are the materials that help produce our flat-screen monitors, car batteries, and many more products we manufacture and sell. Now the question comes to, why is China doing this?

Learn how your company can tap into the Global Marketplace! This fall the Commerce Department’s Trade Information Center is offering a series of four one-hour webinars on the basics of exporting. These webinars have been especially designed to meet the needs of new exporters. There is no fee to participate, although registration is required. Content will include slides, live audio, and question-and-answer sessions.

They will be led by experts in their field, and will cover such topics as:

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.

This talk by Dan Cobley, a Director of Marketing at Google, brings great insight into the parallels between Newton’s Law and marketing. Specifically, why are new brands created instead of just extending current brands? He demonstrates that inertia can work for you or against you depending on the circumstances.

The view is a strange one for most foreign visitors to Chinese residential areas. An array of colorful fabric is draped from building to building in all directions. A local resident can often be seen reaching out of a high window to hook a cloth on the end of a long wooden stick. What is this strange ritual that appears unlike anything experienced in many Western cultures?

Following the recent financial crisis, many people are blaming the large banks almost solely for the collapse. Many feel that the banks must split their commercial banking divisions from their investment banking ones. People think that the banks should not be allowed to use the money they hold for customers in speculative investments for the bank's potential profit. Do these concerns sound familiar?

Exporters often want to know: “Does my product need a license before I can sell it to an overseas buyer?” The answer is often “no,” as 95% of goods shipped from the U.S. don’t require a license. But exporters must do additional due diligence to make sure their goods are not sold to denied parties. In a new series of videos produced by the U.S. Trade Information Center and Foreign Trade Statistics, the basics of export regulations are presented in a clear and engaging way. The series also contains videos on how to use trade statistics to pinpoint best markets and the role of freight forwarders and letters of credit in the export process. According to video team leader Doug Barry, there are now 20 short videos to help U.S. companies successfully participate in the National Export Initiative.

Did you know that by creating a building with a “green” design you can save 72% more energy, compared to a standard design? There is a great opportunity happening in China with green energy and building design. Of all the markets in the world, China is one which can leverage green building design more than most others. With the amount of new construction occurring over the next ten years, the country is poised to take advantage of significant overall energy savings, while reducing their carbon footprint. In fact, it is projected the China will add 20 billion square meters of buildings in the next ten years.

While many United States and European airlines have been floundering, the Latin American airline industry has been soaring and is expected to continue to grow into next year. New non-stop flights, frequent flier miles partnerships and alliances of airlines have propelled the airline industry in Latin American countries. While much of the globe has been hit hard in the airline sector, the International Air Transport Association expects Latin America to thrive.

As a second-year MBA student, I am constantly scanning the internet for articles and opinions about the future hiring prospects of people who earn a graduate degree in business. I recently came across a particularly interesting opinion about veterans of the Israeli army. The article asserted that veterans of the Israeli Defense Forces (IDF) not only have skills for combat, but are equipped to address everyday problems of regular consumers. Many of these veterans are valued for their strong values and ethics in the private sector. So, how is the MBA viewed out there in the international community? Is it worth the time and money?