Present-day society has become extremely technologically advanced, and economic sectors with on-demand technologies are continuing to evolve at a rapid pace. Specifically, on-demand refers to services with digital platforms that give you instant access to the services they provide. While these technological advances are often seen as beneficial and representative of how far we may advance in the 21st century, many businesses have been negatively affected by unforeseen issues.
globalEDGE Blog - Page 110
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The International Monetary Fund has lowered its global outlook for the 2016-2017 year, despite a fairly strong performance during 2016. The U.K.’s vote to leave the European Union has led to uncertainty macro economically and may lead to a negative impact due to damaging investor confidence and market sentiment. The IMF is projecting that the advanced economies will hold steady with growth at 1.8% for both 2016 and 2017, and the overall global growth is projected to increase by 3.1% in 2016, 3.4% in 2017.
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In the third installment of the long-term mega trends blog series from globalEDGE we will examine urbanization and its implications for economic growth. Urbanization is taking place across the globe from the developed nations of North America & Western Europe, to some of the poorest places on Earth, including Sub-Saharan Africa and Southern Asia. Each region of the world is urbanizing at different paces and are creating different degrees of economic growth as a result of urbanization. In this blog we will examine how the world is urbanizing and the differences in urban population growth rate/population percentage throughout the world.
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This week, the globalEDGE blog is taking a look at long-term mega trends that will have a major impact on international business in the coming years. Today, the focus is on changes in demographics and society, and how these factors can influence business decisions. Being aware of demographic and social shifts is vital for businesses, especially those who are conducting business across international borders. Changes in population or consumer attitudes can force businesses to adapt, or risk losing their place in the industry. Because of this, many businesses are constantly looking to the future to try to get ahead of the trends before their competitors can.
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Traditional grocery shopping will be changing in a big way starting in 2017. Amazon has ventured away from their online domain to shake up the in-person shopping industry. On Monday, Amazon released a video showing off their newest project: Amazon Go. This store has eliminated checkouts, cash registers, and most importantly, lines. What better way to propel an industry into the future than fresh competition.
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It is expected that Beijing will tighten capital controls after the foreign exchange reserves fell by nearly $70 billion due the Central Bank’s policy to prevent the Renminbi from further depreciating due to high capital outflows. According the Institute of International Finance, October was the 33rd consecutive month of net outflow of capital.
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The Business Language Syllabi section of globalEDGE provides a number of language course syllabi focused on the business vocabulary for a given language. Syllabi are provided by a variety of community colleges and universities, and include languages such as Arabic, Chinese, English, French, German, Russian, and Spanish. Take a look at this section if you are looking to further develop your business language course! Other International Business syllabi can be found on globalEDGE in the Course Syllabi and Community College Course Syllabi sections.
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On December 4, Italian Prime Minister Matteo Renzi mandated a referendum for a major constitutional reform. The goal was remove certain powers from the Senate—the upper house of the national legislature—so as to establish sole approval power in the lower house and expedite the legislative process. A powerful movement against the referendum was led by populist coalition Five Star Movement, reflective of a global trend of increased populism in national governments over the world. The results mirrored this: 60% of referendum voters chose to reject the measure, causing Renzi to meet with Italian President Sergio Mattarella the following day and offer his resignation. However, the referendum results have not just shaken Renzi's political career; Italy's entire future now lays in the balance, with several potential crises at hand. Questions have risen over probable political changes, the future of Italy's place in the European Union, and the effects on the banking system.
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Last month we wrote a blog series on Central Banking policy in several regions of the world. One region that was not covered in that series was the second biggest country by population, and the world’s 7th largest economy by GDP; India. India has come into focus in recent weeks as Prime Minister Narendra Modi has called for India to demonetize, particularly calling for a ban on high-value bank notes in an effort to cut down on corruption and tax evasion. This has had several side effects on the Indian economy, most of which seem to be negatively impacting the nation as a whole, and sending India on a path towards cutting interest rates at a time when the US is heading towards possibly a series of rate hikes.
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Second Shift: The Inside Story of the Keep GM Movement, looks at how Lansing, Michigan was able to save one of its auto plants from closing. Tomas Hult, professor and director of the International Business Center at Michigan State, co-authored the book along with David Hollister, Ray Tadgerson, and David Closs. The four authors recently gave a talk at Google, highlighting their research and perspectives on the efforts to save the General Motors plant from closing.