globalEDGE Blog - Page 161

There is no question that Nigeria will face many challenges in early 2015, which could individually or collectively have serious economic implications for the nation and the region. The constant threat of violence from the militant Islamist group Boko Haram, upcoming political elections, and the decline in oil prices all threaten the political and economic stability in Nigeria. The question is will Nigeria be able to weather the economic onslaught that these events could produce.

The coming 2015 year will prove to be a very important twelve months for the world economy. There are large issues still at play that could bring either forceful restoration or another global recession. Guardian News and Media published an article explaining the five main topics that could either make-or-break the world economy in the current year.

After nearly 16 years, European beef will once again be making the trip across the Atlantic to American stores and restaurants. Ireland and its beef industry have become the first from Europe to be granted permission into the United States market, following over a decade long ban on beef from Europe. The ban resulted from the mad cow disease outbreak in the 1990s, and fears that it could begin an epidemic in the United States. The lifting of the ban could be a big help to Irish farmers, as well as the possible reopening of the United States market to all European cattle farmers.

In a recent Harvard Business Review article, Michael Porter reported on how the ‘Internet of Things’ is changing everything. The aforementioned phrase has arisen to reflect the growing number of smart, connected products and highlight the new opportunities they can represent. With an estimated impact of $140 trillion, this industrial transformation is the third wave of IT-driven competition in the global economy.

Just last week, Russia's currency, the ruble, fell sharply in value by almost 20%. This drastic event sent Russia's central banks into chaos as they consistently increased interest rates to try to rebalance the ruble. On Thursday, Putin declared that the ruble has reached its highest value in three weeks and is stable again. Unfortunately, economists warn that the fall and subsequent recovery of the ruble is not going to pass without adverse effects, both for Russia and for the global economy. Russia, which has already had a rough year economically, now is forced to withstand the threat of an impending recession. Other regions of the world will also have to be wary of the impact of the ruble dilemma.

On December 17, President Obama announced that the United States would normalize relations with Cuba. Before relations are entirely healed, the US Treasury and other related agencies are required to complete certain business-related tasks. The Treasury Department Office of Foreign Assets Control, for example, will enact its treasury specific changes in the form of amendments to the Cuban Assets Control Regulations. The Department of Congress will additionally need to enact changes through amendments to Export Administration Regulations. However, these changes will improve the Cuban private sector as a whole and make it much less difficult for its citizens to access inexpensive goods while becoming more independent from Cuba.

Earlier this week construction began on a canal that will link Venado on Nicaragua's Caribbean coast to Puerto Brito on the country's Pacific side. The secretive project has an estimated price tag of $50 billion, which is four times the size of Nicaragua's economy, and the government claims it would create at least 50,000 jobs for construction and 200,000 more upon completion. A rival to the Panama Canal, this channel hopes to fuel growth within the agricultural, industrial, and manufacturing industries by facilitating heavy freight transportation.

Within the past few weeks, news of the cyber-hack into Sony Pictures' confidential files has demonstrated once again the undeniable influence that individuals can hold over a major corporation due to the empowerment of the globalization of modern technology. Unlike any other time in human history, the rise of the "Information Age," which has led largely to positive global effects like easing barriers to trade, efficiency in communication or sharing ideas, and enhancing the private citizen's ability to raise awareness for social progress, has also enabled criminal activity to pose serious threats to not only fellow individuals, but massive corporations and governments as well. For this reason, the White House has called the attacks on Sony a "serious national security matter" due to the effects that cybercrime can inflict not only on a nation's informational security, but also on the global economy.

The Jasmine Revolution of Tunisia was the first in a series of democratic uprisings that extended to a number of North African and Middle Eastern countries, in what became known collectively as the Arab Spring. Earlier this month, Tunisia’s new unicameral parliament held its inaugural session at the nation’s capital. Although the landmark transition towards a new republic has been fraught, a novel, egalitarian constitution was adopted, while a majority of the other participating nations deteriorated into extremism.

Found under the social responsibility section of globalEDGE’s Global Resource Directory, the Corporate Giving by the FTSE 100 report offers in-depth information on charitable contributions made by the United Kingdom’s largest companies. The report is provided by the Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) and contains data related to corporate philanthropy, as well as emphasizes the importance of transparent social responsibility. This resource also aims to bridge the gap between what United Kingdom businesses are actually doing in terms of corporate giving and the public’s perception of these corporations’ charitable actions.