El Niño is a weather and climate phenomenon which is characterized by unusually warm sea and surface temperatures and can be measured by ocean temperatures and atmospheric convection activities. The change in the sea temperature can affect the timing of when the heat transfers from the oceans into the atmosphere, which can affect temperature and rainfall patterns. Historically, El Niño has immediately impacted the agriculture sector, but its effects can also be felt later in the global marketplace.
globalEDGE Blog - Page 138
Publish Date:
The ever-changing oil industry is currently facing a downturn, as the price of oil per barrel has been cut roughly in half since June 2014, the lowest since the economic recession in 2009. Over the last decade, oil prices were normally around $90 or $100 per barrel. On Tuesday, the international standard of Brent crude oil was trading at around $46 per barrel while American oil was trading at around $43 per barrel.
Publish Date:
Over the past month, there has been a surge in global terrorism. Major terrorist incidents include the downing of a Russian plane over the Sinai Peninsula, deadly assaults on Paris, and suicide bombings in Turkey, Lebanon, and Nigeria. There have also been several other attacks, mainly concentrated across the Middle East and Northern Africa. While these devastating attacks are first and foremost a humanitarian issue, they undoubtedly have business consequences, ranging from physical damage to property to potential long term alterations in consumer behavior. This being said, what impact does terrorism, and more specifically the recent surge in global terrorism, have on the global travel and tourism industry?
Publish Date:
For businesses seeking to further understand what it takes to expand operations internationally, CORE™ does just this for you. CORE™ is a self-assessment tool that will allow you to determine your company’s readiness to operate internationally and export a particular product. Upon completion of a questionnaire, CORE™ is able to identify a company’s strengths and weaknesses concerning exporting. These responses by CORE™ are separated into organizational readiness and product readiness to portray a company’s international readiness for the firm as a whole, or for an individual product.
Publish Date:
Do you need to find the U.S. Export Assistance Center (USEAC) that covers a certain ZIP code area in the United States? Then this new globalEDGE resource is just what you need. The new ‘Look Up’ tool, located in the Trade Contacts page of the Insights by State section, helps you search for any ZIP code within the U.S., and provides you with the contact information of the USEAC office(s) that covers that particular ZIP Code area. There are more than 100 USEACs located across the United States, and the centers assist U.S. businesses that are new to exporting, want to expand to additional export markets, or want to increase their market share in existing markets. USEACs also connect local U.S. companies with additional international trade resources, as well as work closely with the Small Business Administration (SBA) and the U.S. Export-Import Bank to counsel clients on export finance options.
Publish Date:
One of the many great resources available on globalEDGE is the export tutorials. This resource is located in the Reference Desk section of the globalEDGE website. The export tutorials offer information and helpful tips for individuals or companies looking to take their products internationally. There are five main headers: export readiness, government regulations, financial considerations, sales and marketing, and logistics. Under each header are important questions relating to that particular topic, accompanied by answers to those questions.
Publish Date:
2015 has been a huge year for mergers and acquisitions, with current projections predicting the total value for the year will be the highest since pre-recession levels. Well-known industry leaders such AbbVie and Pharmacyclics, Royal Dutch Shell and BG Group, and Kraft and Heinz have all announced mergers this year, creating huge international corporations to compete in the global market. Several sectors have seen a large share of the activity, one being the technology industry, especially in the electronics and semiconductor area. The semiconductor industry is the backbone of the technological industry, producing the chips used in computers, cell phones, and appliances.
Publish Date:
If you are looking to prepare for the Certified Global Business Professional Credential, find educational resources for your classroom, or learn more about all aspects of international business, look no further than globalEDGE's Online Course Modules. Our website contains over fifty modules, each with information on various issues in international business. Topics covered include country culture, exporting, microfinance, and doing business in different regions of the world, such as Africa, China, and the European Union. Along with knowledge on the selected material, our modules include interactive slides, quizzes, and relevant case studies. Our exporting modules, a product of a cooperation with the U.S. Commercial Service, also contain downloadable podcasts.
Publish Date:
Located in the Global Resource Directory, globalEDGE’s culture resources provide information about greetings, etiquette, and gestures in order to increase cultural understanding and cross-cultural communications. The information provided can be useful for a businessperson or casual traveler, and these resources contain information regarding the business culture of a wide variety of countries. This particular section also provides globalEDGE online course modules that cover the topics of culture, international negotiations, and world religions to prepare a businessperson to do business abroad.
Publish Date:
Are you looking to take your business global? Are you looking for ways to expand your business’s trade opportunities in the international marketplace? Are you simply looking to expand your international trade and business knowledge? If your answer to any of these questions is yes, globalEDGE has numerous resources that can be of great assistance to you and your business. Over the next few days, the globalEDGE blog will feature resources available on globalEDGE that can help any business maximize its potential in the global business arena.