As technology continues to advance and phase itself into many aspects of our lives, the discussion of digital currencies being used by central governments has been brought to the table time and time again. With countries like China already deciding to implement a digital currency through their central government, pressure has been brought on to other large forces of the global financial sector as to whether or not they will do the same.
globalEDGE Blog - By Author: Cameron Cieslik
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Having survived the COVID-19 pandemic, many countries are looking to strengthen their security measures by controlling private information, namely the Chinese and American governments. Throughout 2020, the United States government attempted to ban the controversial app “Tik Tok” from platforms like the App Store on Apple devices because of its former ties to China. Similarly, the Chinese government is now restricting the use of Tesla’s vehicles by military and state employees as a result of privacy concerns of their own. With back and forth blows struck between the two countries, an international privacy war could be looming on the horizon.
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In late January, a popular Reddit chat named “WallStreetBets” successfully inflated the stock price of many publicly traded companies. The group of bullish traders had been focused on buying stock and placing options on particular companies that hedge funds had been shorting in order to force them into a “short squeeze.” As a result of such an extensive army of traders all buying into these companies within a similar time frame, the WallStreetBets group was able to pump stock prices of companies like Gamestop (GME) from $20 a share to $483 in only two weeks. Now, hedge fund managers are flustered, brokerage dealers such as Robinhood are facing lawsuits, and federal prosecutors are investigating as to whether or not market manipulation or other criminal actions took place.
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The globalEDGE team has completed its update of the U.S. Commercial Service Trade Contacts. Being a part of the U.S. Department of Commerce’s International Trade Administration, the U.S. Commercial Service functions as a global network with resources, market information, and international buyer connections. Now that each state’s trade contacts have been updated, business professionals throughout the world will have easier access to receiving trade expertise to assist with exporting. For anyone looking to make their first export sale or expand to new markets, look to the U.S. Commercial Service to align yourself with the connections to enhance your business. To find these updated contacts you can look here on globalEDGE and choose which state you would like, then click the Trade Contacts tab for that particular state.
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Throughout the pandemic, countries within the European Union (EU) have been providing a great deal of financial support to businesses. Although this assistance is crucial in keeping many of the companies alive, some economists worry that a majority of these countries may be allocating an excessive amount of their funds toward aiding their nation's businesses. With bankruptcies down to levels that haven’t been seen in decades, some fear that there may be a delayed wave of bankruptcies approaching as soon as governments stop monetarily assisting these companies.
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Fiat Chrysler and Peugeot S.A. (PSA) announced back on December 18, 2019, that they had agreed to the terms of a merger that is now coming to fruition. The new company will be called Stellantis and will be selling Alfa Romeo, Dodge muscle cars, Fiat, Jeep, Maserati, Opel and Vauxhall, Peugeot and Citroën, and Ram Trucks. With PSA being the largest automaker in France and Fiat Chrysler being the third-largest based in the United States, after the merger, Stellantis will become the world’s fourth-largest automaker following the Renault-Nissan-Mitsubishi Alliance, Toyota, and Volkswagen Group.
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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.
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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.
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The team here at globalEDGE has completed this year’s update of the website’s Course Syllabi page. This page features undergraduate, graduate and masters, and doctoral level syllabi for universities and other educational institutions around the globe. The purpose of this bank of syllabi is to assist educators in international business with the development and enhancement of their courses. Now that the update has been completed, educators throughout the world have access to some of the most recent course syllabi content that can be used to their advantage when creating courses of their own.
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Throughout the past six months, the coronavirus has impacted almost every industry around the globe. Whether those industries are small or large, very few have excelled financially when discussing this year’s success. Nevertheless, through recent announcements and quarterly financial reports, it appears that we may begin to see some economic upturn for the global automakers.
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After a sixteen-month investigation, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalists (ICIJ) has announced that major banks throughout the world have taken part in allowing dirty and illegal money to pass through their institutions. The ICIJ’s investigation has concluded Bank of New York Mellon, Deutsche Bank, HSBC, JPMorgan, and Standard Chartered Bank as the five main financial institutions responsible for authorizing the moving of crime-financing funds.
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Throughout the past two fiscal quarters, the global markets have been in cahoots in relation to what is forthcoming for the world’s financial sectors. With the pandemic’s conclusion remaining unknown, the vulnerability of the global economy increases by the day.
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In the wake of the pandemic and desperate times, governments throughout the world have turned to automakers with the hope of increasing the global ventilator supply. As auto factories continue to stop making cars, the general public clamors for the transition to ventilators with hospitals, more specifically ICU wards across the globe, feeling the mounting pressure of increasing patients ill with coronavirus.
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Over the past several months, relations between the U.S. and China have continuously been unpredictable. With recent developments, it appears that the relationship may continue to worsen. On February 13, the U.S. government charged Huawei Technologies and two of its subsidiaries with federal racketeering and conspiracy to steal trade secrets from American companies. With Huawei technologies being one of China’s top tech companies, this may lead to future global issues.
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Over the past 10 years, advances in technology have led to economic growth as well as stability for many markets throughout the globe; however, one of the most exciting advances is still yet to come: the self-driving car. As tech companies continue to test and develop software that has the ability to control a car’s every move, there are some implications that have sparked global issues. Three of the world’s four largest economies are involved in a debate caused by issues relating to consumer privacy, trade disputes, and business opportunities.
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As Britain continues with the process of exiting the EU, it appears that globalism has slowed into a more stagnant condition; however, there is one area where globalism continues to expand rapidly: the flow of digital data and information. With blockchain acquiring most of its fame from being the back-end technology that powered cryptocurrencies like Bitcoin, it is now blossoming across multiple industries. The potential of this up-and-coming technology is full of surprising possibilities for the future of international business. In the coming times, we will not only see how blockchain technologies will lead to greater efficiency, but how they will drive the global economy into a new age.
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In the culmination of technology’s expansion, four companies have been placed above the rest as a result of their substantial growth: Apple, Amazon, Google, and Facebook. Due to each companies’ vast role throughout our world’s markets, the four businesses have been labeled as Big Tech when referenced to. Although the expansion of these companies may seem positive for the global economy, their industry dominance is perceived by many as the exact opposite. By becoming market leaders throughout the tech industry, the companies have forced out many other competitors leading to a tremendous decline in competition. If antitrust regulators would’ve noticed this issue sooner, they could've acted on laws that would have restricted each company’s growth. Instead, the public’s concerns for the market have increased, and many feel that the government must intervene in order to break up Big Tech.
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Over the past decade, undetected corruption has lead to instability throughout markets around the globe. In 2012, many banks began to struggle as a result of the London Interbank Offered Rate. More commonly referred to as LIBOR, this interest rate serves a much larger purpose than any other before it. The rate acts as a benchmark for almost all other interest rates to be based on throughout the world. However, due to the rate fluctuating for unknown reasons throughout past financial crises, suspicions emerged questioning its reliability. These speculations ended up leading to an investigation of a global market manipulation scandal that came to light in 2012.
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Expert analysts predict tough times ahead for the world’s global economy. Although only predictions, there are many factors throughout the world that support these anticipations of the future; undoubtedly, the most significant is the number of nations at risk of entering a recession. If the predictions were to end up being correct, factors like this would be the prime cause of what experts are calling a “global recession.”
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In the continuously growing global market, two key factors have led to new competition in the technology industry: trade war, and artificial intelligence (AI). The Hanguang 800, Alibaba's first AI chip, has the potential to affect the global market as it continues expanding the possibilities of what the world may become through AI. This extremely advanced AI processor was not expected to be produced in China for at least another year; however, the trade war between the U.S. and China forged new competition in the technology industry, leading to increased innovation.
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Thomas Philippon, French native, moved to the United States in 1999 to pursue a graduate’s degree. While in the U.S., he noticed that cell phone plans and airfare were much more expensive in comparison to the prices in France. Twenty years later, he discovered that these prices were not only lower in France, but in Europe and Asia as well.