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The globalEDGE team is pleased to announce new updates to our industry insight pages. In the introduction sections, we have added detailed visual breakdowns for each industry and have revised Primary Demand Drivers and Profitability Drivers with the most current information available. The related blog posts displayed at the bottom of the page now include include pictures for more visually-appealing previews. The corporations sections now more prominently display our special pie chart which shows which countries are the dominant players in each industry. Check out our updated industry pages today!

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Clean and renewable energy has continued to gain worldwide importance and is growing at a rapid rate in today's society. Globally, almost 10 million people were employed by the renewable energy sector in 2016 alone. According to reports from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA), that is a 1.1% increase from the number employed in 2015. The report indicates that the main employers in renewable energy were the United States, China, India, Brazil, and Germany, with most jobs coming from the solar power sector. Additionally, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported that wind turbine service technician is the fastest-growing occupation in the United States.

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On June 27, antitrust officials from the European Union levied a fine of 2.42 billion euros ($2.7 billion) on Google, citing market interference and obstruction of competition. The ruling targets Google Shopping, the e-commerce service that displays related products for sale on top of results pages for search terms. Margrethe Vestager, Competition Commissioner for the EU, alleged that Google's promotion of its Shopping results provides an unfair advantage to the service, impeding fair competition from rival e-retailers and violating EU antitrust rules. The decision, coming at the end of a seven-year investigation by the European Commission, makes for the largest fine ever imposed by the EU upon an individual company for antitrust infractions.

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Are you interested in learning more about market classification? globalEDGE’s Global Insights by Classification feature explores Emerging Markets, Frontier Markets, and Mature Markets. Each classification has its own page that includes a description of the market’s main characteristics, an interactive map of the countries in the market, and a table that provides insight to the market’s economic averages compared to least developed and most developed countries. The market pages also contain Statistics, a Risk Comparator, and Resources. Visit the Statistics section to compare the market's countries to each other using an interactive graph of data. The graph contains data about the economy, education, finance, the government, infrastructure, labor, people, and trade and investment.

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The U.S. retail industry has been experiencing a changing landscape in recent years due to the closing of numerous big-name, brick-and-mortar stores throughout the country. Major apparel retailers such as Sears, Kmart, Macy’s, and J.C. Penney announced the closures of several stores this year while BCBG Max Azria, American Apparel, Payless Inc., and Gymboree have all filed for bankruptcy. Earlier, this month, a Credit Suisse report predicted that 20 to 25% of U.S. shopping malls will close down in the next five years, and 8,640 stores will close by the end of the year.

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The Fifth International Women’s Coffee Alliance (IWCA) Convention will take place Thursday, August 3rd through Saturday, August 5th, in Puebla, Mexico, along with the Latin American Coffee Summit. The mission of IWCA, which has 21 chapters around the world, is to empower women in the coffee industry who “face additional challenges due to gender inequality that often manifests itself into being excluded from training, education, and financing opportunities.” IWCA hosts events like the convention not only as a method to fund the non-profit organization, but also as an opportunity for women in the industry to network with each other, share their experiences, and gain valuable knowledge and skills.

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globalEDGE is currently at the Global Internship Conference in Santiago, Chile! This year, all of the conference’s plenaries, sessions, and workshops are being presented in both English and Spanish. Some of the sessions being hosted at the conference include:

  • Using Multimedia in Internship Courses
  • Creating and Sustaining a Global Internship Partnership
  • Refining the Internship for Academic Credit in Study Abroad
  • Creating and Managing Effective Collaborations
  • Developing Global Leaders: Experiential Training for Student Interns
  • Exploring Mentorship as a Means of Supporting Student Interns

Our own Assistant Director, Sarah Singer, will be representing MSU-CIBER by giving a presentation on globalEDGE today. To learn more about the Global Internship Conference and its variety of session offerings, click here.

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A new video published by Dr Jagdish N. Sheth from Emory University discusses the economic factors that caused many United States citizens to vote for Donald Trump in the 2016 presidential election. 25 years ago, world leaders decided to create the G7 and G8 agreements to liberalize trade as a growth engine. As a result, general tariffs were abolished, the World Trade Organization (WTO) was created, and trade increased across borders. NAFTA and the European Union were also created, but in the process, jobs began to shift.

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The scope of global business and international trade has seen optimistic improvements throughout recent years. Many analysts and companies are becoming increasingly confident regarding global trade and overseas opportunities. This confidence is due to global trade growth exceeding initial forecasts as well as the stabilization of China's economy and demand. These particular factors could be indicative of a year without a major economy falling into recession, a benchmark that has never previously been reached.

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Due to unsuccessful harvests and rises in demand, avocado prices are predicted to double this summer. This delicious green fruit has grown in popularity over the past few years because of the nutrients and vitamins it contains, “making it a favorite for fitness gurus and the health conscious,” according to The Independent. However, due to high demand, prices have climbed significantly.

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On June 5, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, Bahrain, Yemen, the Maldives, and Libya all cut diplomatic ties with Qatar, citing the country's alleged financial ties to extremist groups. Although Qatar has denied the allegations, more countries are following suit—Senegal and Mauritania likewise broke ties on June 7, and the Philippines, which has been dealing with extremist militants in Marawi City, has temporarily forbidden workers from travelling to Qatar. The immediate economic shockwaves following the announcement have been immense—Qatar's stock market has plunged by 7.27%, costs of food have shot up, oil prices have dropped, the riyal currency has sharply depreciated, transport from and in to the country has been disrupted, and entire trade and import routes have been eliminated altogether. Although Qatar is one of the richest countries in the world, it will have to make monumental adjustments to its economic structure to adjust to these rifts. 

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The country of Germany has been known as Europe’s economic powerhouse for quite some time, and recent reports regarding the country's projected economic growth seem to confirm it. According to official data from the National Statistical Office, Germany's gross domestic product (GDP) expanded by 0.6 percent during the first quarter of 2017. German economic institutes accredit this surge in economic growth to healthy domestic consumption as well as investments and exports. This recent report has shifted projections by German economists; leading German economic research institutes have increased their growth in GDP forecasts for 2017 from 1.4% to 1.5%.

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Forbes released the 2017 rankings for the World’s Biggest Public Companies, or the Global 2000, on Wednesday, May 24. Company rankings are composite scores determined by weighing sales, profits, assets, and market value. The United States contributes the most companies to the list with 565 members. China and Hong Kong supply the second largest with 263 companies. According to Forbes, “the world’s biggest companies have gotten bigger, more profitable and more valuable in the past year. 58 countries were represented, down from last year's 62 with Cyprus, Kazakhstan, Romania and Malta no longer boasting companies on the list.”