globalEDGE Blog - Page 137

Over the last month, India has been making quite a few changes to its foreign investment policy with a goal of facilitating more money coming into the country. So far, India has eased local-sourcing requirements for international businesses setting up shop in the country, lifted foreign investment restrictions in a multitude of industries, and has publicized a series of other measures meant to invite investment from overseas.

Earlier this year, we wrote about how the Brazilian e-commerce industry was growing rapidly despite a troubling economic state. This is due in part to the growth of an online payment system called EBANX. Partnered with local banks, this system allows Brazilians to make online purchases from international vendors. More than 60% of Brazilian citizens lack access to an international credit card, and before EBANX, this segment was unable to purchase from international e-commerce sites at all.

Brazil’s economy shrank 1.7% between July and September, marking the third straight period of economic contraction. As Brazil’s economy has slipped further into recession, it has led to the downfall of its surrounding nations’ economies. Being the largest economy in Latin America, the slowdown could be detrimental to its neighboring nations’ economic growth.

Since American shale oil has joined the oil industry, oil prices have plummeted. Brent crude oil is down more than 60% since last summer, pricing at under $43 a barrel. American light crude oil is trading at the lowest prices in 10 years at under $40 a barrel. Predictions from Goldman Sachs suggest that prices could fall even further. The main concern driving this price drop is supply and demand imbalances--there is too much oil being produced and not enough customers purchasing it all.

Have you had the chance to check out the latest segments from the globalEDGE Business Beat? These brief audio segments feature conversations between globalEDGE Director Tomas Hult and prominent members of the international business community. The most recent segments feature the following topics: the appeal of Brazil as a market, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development put forth by the United Nations Foundation Advocacy, the business climate in Greece, the viability of franchising, the driving forces behind entrepreneurship, and the importance of measuring customer satisfaction.

China, Africa’s 50-year trading partner, just announced a $60 billion funding support for development in Africa at the recent China-Africa Cooperation Forum. This strategic funding plan aims to not only assist Africa in improving its poor infrastructures, but also maintaining the long-time trade relationship between Africa and China.

With the holiday season on the near horizon, it’s crunch time for people across the globe to find the best deals on presents, especially those that aren’t usually affected by seasonal sales. This past weekend and subsequent “Cyber Monday” marks the annual event of the consumer discretionary sector marking down retail goods, offering exceptional savings for a very limited time. Generally, a jolt in sales due to Black Friday is expected to be a harbinger of a relatively healthier Q4 earnings report, especially if previous periods had stagnant growth or lackluster earnings. The holiday shopping season is vital to the fiscal success of many retailers and yet historically, sales during this time of year don’t follow any particular pattern or have any distinctly profound impact on overall economic trends. But for many, Black Friday is a time of year that can make or break a company’s financial statements.

From November 30 to December 11, leaders and negotiators from 195 countries are meeting in Paris to reach a deal on global carbon emissions and rising global temperatures. The meeting is officially known as the United Nations Paris Climate Change Conference and the 21st session of the Conference of the Parties, or COP21 for short. The Conference of the Parties is an annual U.N.-supervised global meeting that has taken place since 1995 and is dedicated to reducing the effects of climate change. COP21 is one of the largest conferences organized yet, meeting with the goal of creating the first legally binding global climate agreement. Past climate change agreements, including the Kyoto Protocol and the Copenhagen Accord, either focused mainly on curbing carbon emissions or introduced measures that did not reach unanimous global approval. The nations meeting in COP21 aim to change this with a new agreement.

On December 1st, the SPDR S&P 500 Fossil Fuel Free ETF (SPYX) will be launched as the greener version of the SDPR S&P 500 ETF Trust (SPY). This shows an overall global trend to investing in lowering our carbon footprint. This trend could have huge implications as the world shifts to less fossil fuel based industries because it could spell trouble for companies that rely heavily on the non-renewable energy business. The new ETF (Exchange Traded Fund) breaks up the S&P 500 of companies that own fossil fuel reserves. “While that's far from totally cleaning up an index that includes several carbon-emitting companies in different industries—namely, transportation—it does remove Big Oil, one of the largest offenders.” This statement made from Bloomberg Business also shows how important this could be, as it could set off a chain of events that cause more companies to invest more heavily in renewable energy, as well as cutting off companies who are huge in the oil business.

2015 has been a tough year for international trade, as new statistics show this year is on pace to be the worst year for trade since 2009. The numbers were a surprise compared with earlier projections, and have led to worries among some economists about the health of the global economy. The IMF had expected a 3.1% increase in trade volume compared to last year, but through three quarters of 2015, trade has only grown 0.7%. Analysts have highlighted lower demand from the Eurozone as well as an economic slowdown in China as major factors in the low trade numbers.