globalEDGE Blog - By Author: Kaleb Davis

globalEDGE is excited to announce that the site's Coface Country Risk Assessment has officially been updated. Our Coface system depicts the risk assessment, business climate, population, and GDP per capita for a given country. Additionally, it also features the different strengths, weaknesses, and the entire risk assessment as a whole on a per country basis. This part of the site is normally updated once a year and is an amazing resource to monitor the economic status of any given country. To learn more about our sites Coface Country Risk Assessment, visit this link!

Animal rights have been a topic of discussion for a substantial amount of time. The debate as to what rights animals truly have has been an essential issue for many animal rights organizations. One notable organization that has been at the forefront of these issues is PETA. Its main goal is to stop animal suffering as a whole.

Since being introduced to the public on November 30th of 2022, ChatGPT has taken over the world by storm. It is an AI chatbot designed and created by OpenAI, an AI research and deployment company. ChatGPT is a natural language processing tool driven by AI technology that allows for users to have human-like conversations, conduct research, answer questions, and assist with tasks. But, the question being asked is what are the applications of the newfound AI technology?

Global markets around the world are expected to plummet as protests in China continue. The protests are due in part to China’s strict zero-Covid policy and citizens' disapproval of such rules. This has been one of the first major government challenges since the Tiananmen crisis more than 30 years ago. China has seen a high number of positive Covid-19 cases, and on Saturday, the nation saw a new high of 40,000 cases. China is the second leading consumer of oil in the world, yet with the intense Covid-19 restrictions, the country is seeing a dip in the amount of production. The nation’s high-risk districts make up close to 65% of China’s gross national domestic product. The country has seen protests for three days and there is no sign of them slowing down.

This year's high inflation rates are going to cause some problems for suppliers and consumers this holiday season. Unlike in past years, suppliers are facing the issue of having too much supply and not enough buyers. Because of the outrageous prices being applied to housing and gas, consumers are being forced to put their money into more essential needs instead of holiday shopping.

The World Cup is making history in 2022! This year marks the first time in the 92-year history of the World Cup that it is hosted by a Middle Eastern nation. Qatar put in its bid in 2009 while competing against Australia, South Korea, Japan, and the U.S. for the chance to host this prestigious event. Hosting sports events as globally recognized as the World Cup ensures economic benefits that will provide the nation with a great opportunity to not only capitalize on profit but also show off its unique culture and traditions throughout the event, resulting in progress for the nation of Qatar.

As the world continues to resurrect itself amidst the pandemic, another tragedy has struck. Hurricane Ian, a category four storm, has ravaged the state of Florida more than anyone expected. A few major cities in the area were warned of the destruction that the storm was expected to bring, including Miami, Fort Myers, Tampa, Atlanta, Jacksonville, and many more. Hurricane Ian caused extensive damage and flooding to the housing and infrastructure as it transformed from a tropical storm to a hurricane. On top of this, the entire eastern end of Cuba was hit, causing 1 million people to lose power. With Hurricane Ian leaving its mark up the eastern coast to South Carolina, the wind damage alone is ranking this as the fifth-strongest storm to hit the United States, tied alongside many others. The size and magnitude of the storm were intense compared to past storms, leaving Florida and bordering states expecting major effects on supply chain functions along the coast.

The United States housing market has been on a steady increase over the past few years. There has been a major increase in the number of new homes being bought and sold across the nation. During the start of the pandemic, the interest rates on houses were lowered to help revive the economy and keep it afloat during hard times. This year, there is a steady rise in mortgage rates outside of slight dips here and there. This rise in mortgage rates combined with an already high-priced housing market is making the market even less affordable. However, there recently has been a change in the amount of time houses have been sitting on the market. For the first time in almost two years, the first annual increase in the amount of time a house spends on the market is being noticed. This extra time on the market is also reflecting the steady drop in the asking prices of houses seen by many owners.

Over the last few decades, inflation has been steady and rampant incline. Inflation is the rate of increase in prices over a given period. The current cost of living for a single person in the United States is $38,266 per year. Yet, in 2002, the cost of living was around $27,924 per year. This is a notable jump over the last 20 years. To add to this, the cost to attend college has increased by 169% spanning from 1980 to 2019. One of the steady indicators of economic conditions has been the automotive industry. Specifically, in the piece, the status of the used car industry will be highlighted.

With many of the day-to-day costs worldwide continuing to surge, new measures are being taken to help lessen the amount of money spent by the average citizen. On Wednesday, March 30th, President Biden of the United States announced his pending plan to spend $3.16 billion on adding new components to hundreds of thousands of homes in low-income areas to make them more energy-efficient. This new plan was possible because of Biden’s $1.2 trillion bipartisan infrastructure bill signed into law in 2021. Around 450,000 new homes will be retrofitted because of the newly acquired budget. This amount of homes is a major increase over the previous amount, around 38,000. The new additions and renovations will involve electrification, heat pumps, LED lighting, insulation, and sealing up leaks. These upgrades will help make homes more energy-efficient and help cut down on monthly energy bills and gas emissions.

The Super Bowl has been one of the most lucrative earning events each year making this year's game no different. For years it has brought in major profits through media coverage, ad revenue, and ticket sales. The extravagant Super Bowl LVI featured the Los Angeles Rams battling with the Cincinnati Bengals leading to a 23-20 victory in favor of the Rams. On top of the nail-biting game, was the all-time great halftime performance by artists Kendrick Lamar, Mary J. Blige, Snoop Dogg, Dr. Dre, Eminem, and 50 Cent.

Travel has been a delicacy over the past few years. Due to the ongoing pandemic, many previous flyers have been less frequent with their travel. With the recent merger of two major airlines, the world of traveling is in for a major change. The Spirit Airlines franchise and Frontier Airline franchise completed their merger over the weekend. The two franchises have been hit hard by the pandemic, and the merger can help with their recovery. These airlines have been major players in the low-cost flight industry in the United States and Latin America, including Puerto Rico, Mexico, Jamaica, and El Salvador. This move will help them grow and move past the pandemic. The union between Spirit and Frontier is expected to create enhanced values for shareholders of both airline industries and allow the companies to better compete with rival airlines.

Space has become a more useful commodity than ever throughout the past few years. The pandemic forced many to seek out space and shelter as we were forced into isolation. In the UK, the true effects of the pandemic were unleashed amongst the country's housing market. Buyers pursued new houses during the lockdown and made the most of their free time. The demand for houses began to surmount the amount that we're able to be built and supplied. Due to this, the United Kingdom’s house prices rose an astonishing 9.8% last year leaving customers satisfied with places to live.

Over the course of a lifetime, career changes happen. People resigning from or changing careers is normal in moderation. However, employees quitting their jobs in bulk is not a normal occurrence in the workforce. In September, a record high of 4.4 million people, or 3% of workers, quit their jobs and with the holiday season approaching, this causes a major hassle for businesses. Employers are having to take drastic measures to make up for the lost employees. On top of this, roughly 34.4 million workers have quit their jobs this year.

The COVID-19 pandemic has taken a toll on the amount of available jobs across the nation. Unemployment benefits offered during these hard times have also played a significant role in stealing workers away from their companies. The car service industry is among these careers being negatively impacted. Many people working for Uber or Lyft were forced to retire for the time being due to lack of work. Despite the world beginning to open back up, these former workers have not been returning back to work. On the other hand, with the world opening back up, more and more people have been taking advantage of this and beginning to return back to living a normal life. Companies such as Uber and Lyft expected their workers to return once unemployment benefits halted, however that was not the case. As a result, current drivers are making more money while customers pay higher fare rates.

Since the beginning of Bitcoin in 2009, the implementation of the cryptocurrency has been very apparent to the public. The new form of currency has established itself as a popular and viable source of currency across the world because of its autonomy and convenient nature. Different forms of cryptocurrency were invented to serve as an alternative source of currency.

Since the year 2015, the percentage of Americans who watch television via cable or satellite has dropped from 76% to 56%. This recent drop in cable users can be directly related to the rise in popularity of streaming services such as Netflix and Hulu. It is believed that dating back to 2020, about 25 million United States households are expected to cancel their television subscriptions. To add to this, since 2012, 25 million families have already abandoned their television subscriptions. This rapid decline in subscription holders is expected to continue unless a new solution is produced.

With the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic still looming, the Tokyo Olympics were forced to make many changes to the formatting of the historic event. These changes in turn affected the revenue. The most controversial change that had to take place was the halt of fan attendance. Since the first Olympic Games which first took place on April 6, 1896, the events have always had fans in attendance. However, to maintain the safety of its attendees Japan had to make the financially critical decision.