globalEDGE Blog Archive July 2017

There has been an increase in research on how studying and living abroad can affect one's performance at work. In a world more connected than ever before, employers are looking for applicants who can think critically and adapt to an evolving business environment. Experience abroad can help offer unique talking points during an interview, and it might offer the competitive edge that lands the job.

As industry processes around the world become more digitized, businesses find themselves increasingly prone to vicious cyberattacks. In May, a ransomware attack named WannaCry infected software in over 150 countries, upsetting procedures in the technology, finance, healthcare, transportation, manufacturing, and communications industries. Although a security patch for WannaCry was issued and installed in several systems, it wasn't enough to prevent a separate ransomware attack called Petya, which spread in June and affected thousands of machines in over 65 countries. Virtual epidemics such as these, which have become quite frequent over the past year, can prove devastating to international business, causing technological destruction, operation disruption, and widespread theft of money and intellectual property.

Have you ever tried streaming a show, watching a YouTube video, or downloading an album, only to discover that the media is unavailable due to your location? This common occurrence in the media and communications industry is known as geo-blocking. Platforms such as Netflix, Hulu, iTunes, and YouTube are entertainment services in which geo-blocking frequently occurs, due to the companies’ negotiations with studios. As media piracy has increased in recent years, studios are becoming more particular about which regions have access to on-demand streaming. Such precautions have been made in certain countries to increase incentive for purchase and to decrease illegal production of copyrighted material.

Climate change has become a prominent issue within the past few decades. To stay in tune with global efforts to improve global climate, several nations have committed to the terms of the Paris Climate Agreement, a multinational deal made with the United Nations to curb worldwide carbon emissions. According to the New York Times, many "countries and businesses all over the world [have] already made advances based on the agreement," including rich and poor nations alike. The world's largest emitter of greenhouse gases, China, remains fully "committed in the fight against climate change and to participating in international efforts for a greener world." Brussels and Beijing have been cooperating in order to move forward together with the agreement, and India has pledged its commitment as well.

Recent indicators by top battery and automotive manufacturers have sparked interest in the revolution of the electric vehicle (EV) market. Though electric vehicles have not hit mainstream markets yet, many industry analysts believe that EV technology is developing faster than consumers think. Additionally, an updated report by Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF) reveals an optimistic forecast of the EV market due to falling prices of batteries and the aggressive policies promoting zero-emission vehicles in China and Europe. Previous pessimistic reports of higher sticker prices and government subsidies have become outdated, and BNEF includes detailed material to prove it.

A recent article by the Motley Fool analyzes why “the ‘big three’ cruise lines,” Carnival Corporation, Royal Caribbean Cruises, and Norwegian Cruise Line, saw increases of over 25% in their stock prices in the first half of 2017. The article suggests current trends in the hospitality and travel industry, such as “lower fuel prices, higher consumer spending in developed countries, and burgeoning travel demand among Asian tourists" as possible factors. However, the article also explores another trend in consumer purchasing patterns: “a penchant among millennials to spend their earnings on experiences instead of material products.”

globalEDGE has added a Best Countries Index to our Country Indices pages. The index, compiled using data from the U.S. News and World Report, assigns a ranking and score to 80 separate countries, based on how global perceptions on a variety of attributes could potentially increase trade, travel, and investment in each country. The information also takes into account how these perceptions could potentially affect the national economy of each country. The factors considered are qualitative instead of quantitative, giving varying amounts of weight to these subrankings: adventure, citizenship, cultural influence, entrepreneurship, heritage, movers, open for business, power, and quality of life. Check out our new indices today.