globalEDGE Blog Archive November 2020

Scientists and pharmaceutical companies alike are finally nearing the ending stages of preparing a vaccine for COVID-19 for commercial use. With at least 10 vaccine candidates currently in the early phases of human testing and two candidates likely to receive FDA authorization in the coming weeks, governments and citizens worldwide are eager to begin the end of the ongoing pandemic.

As the days continue to get colder and darker, many Americans flock to the grocery store to prepare for Thanksgiving dinner. Families gather to celebrate with turkey, potatoes, pumpkin pie, parades, and football. The holiday is commemorative of the original feast between Pilgrims and Native Americans. While Thanksgiving has been a national holiday in the United States since the Civil War, many other countries have their own version of Thanksgiving.

Since the United States of America was founded, food has played an important role, especially meat on holidays; burgers on the Fourth of July, turkey on Thanksgiving, and much more. Yet, within the last two decades, different meat alternatives have started to disrupt sales in the meat industry. Does this mean the meat industry as we know it is coming to an end?

The pandemic has largely stood to benefit the gaming industry, as discussed in my blog from early April.   Since that point, we have seen a large increase in gaming screen time, as well as increased revenues across the board generated from video game companies.

As the Coronavirus pandemic continues to surge uncontrollably, several countries are going back on lockdown and the retail industry is still trying to figure out how to reinvent themselves to standout as the world becomes more digital. The pandemic has put many brick and mortar businesses in a difficult position with a decrease in in-person shoppers and websites that have not been updated or modified in many years. Consumers are not necessarily looking for stores that have the best goods or services, but for stores that can make them feel safe and comfortable with in-person and online shopping options.

5G is the next generation of wireless networks expected to change our culture fundamentally. Due to its almost zero request time, 5G will be able to download a two-hour movie onto your phone in less than 10 seconds.

As the stock markets begin to take a turn for the better with news on a potential vaccine, the Financial Stability Board (F.S.B.) warns that vulnerability in the global markets still persists. With many company’s stock prices rising comes more volatility as the coronavirus has left a lasting impact on global businesses.

As a new generation of women is graduating from colleges, universities, and trade schools around the world, they still face an issue a very present issue that has plagued generations of working women for decades: the gender pay gap. The general consensus is that globally, men tend to earn more than women. This is despite the greater number of women with higher education levels, more women breaking barriers and entering industries that are male-dominated, and a push by all women for higher pay. This blog will dive into why there is a gender pay gap and why it is persistent worldwide.

As the seasons continue to change, fall is in full swing and will soon give way to winter in the Northern Hemisphere.  For many people, this means we are in the heart of the American football season—the game serves as a center point for holidays like Thanksgiving and, with more lockdowns imminent as a result of COVID-19, will likely be a major pastime during the winter months.  So, how does American football (which I’ll refer to as just football for the rest of this blog) fare as an overall market?

As the world progresses into more and more technological advances, electric vehicles are a growing industry with amazing potential. Benefits ranging from financial savings to reduced carbon emissions are catalyzing electric vehicle commercial fleets to emerge as an intelligent transition to be made.

London, the capital of the UK, was the top financial hub of the world for many years until it was surpassed by New York in 2018. This was mainly due to the financial complications that arose from Brexit, which was initialized in 2016, and will officially be set into motion on January 1st, 2021.

With the 2020 U.S. Election having been decided, talks have turned to the next American stimulus package, which stalled in Congress prior to the election.  Legislators on both sides of the aisle have stressed the importance of providing stimulus in order to provide economic relief to American households.  There has been a lot of discussion in regards to the size needed to effectively boost the recovery, with current proposals having ranged from $500 billion to a $2.2 trillion stimulus package which was passed through the House in October. 

The Industry Events section was recently updated by the globalEDGE team. The industry events page contains upcoming conferences, meetings, webinars, and other types of events covering current trends and topics in each industry. These events take place internationally and each event listed on the page links to the event's official website. Due to COVID, many upcoming events will be held virtually. This is a valuable destination for professionals in each specific industry to connect with others while expanding their own knowledge.

Have you ever gotten into an Uber or a Lyft and expected either a good or bad experience? This is because it is a gig economy company. This past week, Uber, Lyft, and DoorDash have almost guaranteed approval on Proposition 22, which will change the way that these companies expand and treat their workers.

It has almost been a year since the first outbreak of covid-19 occurred in Wuhan, China. Since then, the virus has spread furiously from continent to continent still leaving the public with little idea as to when it may end. In the time the virus has grown within nations across the globe, many implications have been imposed on our world’s developing countries that could set them back years if not decades.

Taxes have never been more important than they are today. One of the most debated policies in the 2020 U.S. Presidential Election has been taxes. Biden seeks to reduce tariffs, raise the top capital gains tax rate to 40%, and raise corporate income tax rates to 28%. Trump plans to maintain tariffs, continue the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA), which lowered the top capital gains tax rate to 20% and corporate income tax to 21%. In this blog, I will highlight different types of taxes, and their effects on international business.

This blog post is written by Cameron Levis

Over the past few centuries, the globalization of business and commerce has been happening rapidly. But in the past few years, and especially in 2020, the narrative is far different. With increasingly isolationist policies from the government of the United States, falling trust between the U.S. and other nations, and the coronavirus pandemic, 2020 has been a year in which globalization has decelerated for the first time in decades. It has been a year in which the international business environment is a more complex and tiresome world to explore than at any time in recent history.