globalEDGE Blog - Page 178

As Russia prepares to make Crimea part of Russia, other countries have watched from afar and have developed plans to impose economic sanctions on Russia. Government officials from the United States have already signed an order enabling economic sanctions against sectors of the Russian economy. Leaders from the European Union are also considering their options as they meet in Brussels to discuss economic sanctions against Russia. With economic sanctions on Russia looming, the impact on Russia and the global economy remains to be seen.

In an increasingly competitive business world, continuous technological advancements are providing businesses with more opportunities to get ahead of the curve. Specifically, geo-location is starting to become a big asset in helping businesses grow by giving them greater market reach. Successful businesses can only grow if they strategize to meet consumer demands that require services to be fast, reliable and relevant. Geo-location is able to fulfill this criterion because of the wide use of phones, tablets, and computers, but the collection of this sensitive data also pressures businesses to be cautious in their approach.

Technology has shaped our world in almost every way possible. Interaction with it is not only common on a day to day basis, but it is also required to get things accomplished. This simple fact has led to amazing feats and incredible efficiency, but there are also externalities. Technology can be good or bad depending on how it is used and how it is viewed. This is what lies at the core of high frequency trading.

High frequency trading is a relatively new development. Essentially, it is a collection of massive computing power that takes in stock market trading information in order to buy stocks before large orders can be fully processed. This is possible because of thirteen stock exchanging platforms. If a company, mutual fund, hedge fund, etc. places an order for a large block of shares, those shares must be found on the stock exchanges. When this information hits the first stock exchange, it is picked up by high frequency trading computers that quickly go out and purchase that very stock and then sell it to the purchasing institution at a higher price. All of this takes place in milliseconds.

The FBI has launched an investigation into this type of activity to test its legality. Basically what these high frequency trading computers are doing is front running stocks. Seeing orders in the pipeline and having computers that are faster by only milliseconds allows them to make slight profits on trades of others. Repeated millions of times a day, this quickly adds up. The investigation is a question of whether this constitutes insider trading and thus securities fraud. In order to be considered insider trading, the FBI must find evidence that this information is sufficiently out of the public's reach. When dealing with such quick time intervals, this portion may prove extremely difficult. The other finding that could lead to securities fraud is if the FBI can prove that some of these exchanges, especially the slower ones, simply serve as a way for traders to make money without actually serving a true purpose for trading fairly. Again, a difficult task.

The grayness of this issue is the same as many technological problems confronted today; the world’s technology is advancing so fast that laws and legal structures cannot keep up. Because there is no definitive authoritative texts on this matter, it will be tough to legally challenge this practice. The impact this has on the markets of the world is immense and the answers, as of right now, seem to be few.

On Saturday, Cuban legislators approved a new measure to help attract foreign investment into the country. The law makes initial investment in Cuba free of taxation and increases lawful protection over these finances. This new piece of legislation comes after a year of disappointing economic growth, which caused Raul Castro and Cuba's government to put forth a series of reforms to fix and modernize Cuba's economy. While many agree that increased foreign capital in Cuba would be highly beneficial to the nation, the fact remains it is still a very uneasy place to do business and the future impact of this law still remains uncertain.

When out shopping and buying clothes and other apparel merchandise, a lot of people forget how far a product has come.  The supply chains of the apparel and textile industry have been under a lot of scrutiny and are in need of change.  Whether this change is for the rights and conditions of workers or to accommodate the ever changing online market, current conditions will not last much longer.

For those of us who drive, we are well aware of how unavoidable major traffic can be. While en route to work or on a road trip, it can be a nuisance to have your estimated time of arrival continually pushed back. But can you imagine consistently attempting to travel somewhere, while living in a city with congested roadways? In Dubai, this is a daily reality. As an affluent city in the United Arab Emirates, the number of cars has grown so much that traffic is a rising issue for the country. Orthodox methods to combating the problem such as increasing prices of parking, fuel, and insurance have proved fruitless so government leaders are seeking a new strategy: putting in place an income threshold for the ownership of vehicles.

Last week, a panel from the World Trade Organization announced that China had broken international trade law by restricting its exports of rare earth metals and other metals critical to the global manufacturing industry. The panel discovered that the export taxes, quotas, and bureaucratic delays in Beijing artificially raised the prices of exports and created shortages for foreign buying nations. The panel also determined that these export quotas, which the Chinese argued were intended for environmental protection, were actually instituted to achieve industrial policy goals aimed at promoting the continued growth of the Chinese economy.

“Ten to 20 years from now, we may look back on the present as the dawn of the Smart Era: a time when rapid and continuous innovation changed almost everything about the way we live.”  This quote, spoken by Ernst & Young’s Global Technology Sector Leader Patrick Hyek, exhibits how quickly smart devices have inundated the business world.  The expansion of smart technology in the business world has created new opportunities for industries and companies around the globe that at one time had little interaction with technology.

For the first time in China’s history, a Chinese company defaulted on its bond payments, signaling a change in the country’s economic policy.  Shanghai Chaori Solar Energy Science and Technology, a company that produces solar panels, could not make its interest payments on a one billion yuan bond, and defaulted after the Chinese government refused to bail the firm out. This is a stark change from previous actions by China, which has always bailed out onshore companies that were on the verge of defaulting. This decision to allow Chaori to default shows China’s commitment to a more open economy, in which investors cannot fall back on the government to bailout bad business decisions.

Out of the millions of U.S. businesses, only about 300,000 individual companies made an international sale in 2012. Although the U.S. is the world’s number one exporter, there is potential to grow exports by small and medium sized businesses. In its book Exporters!, the U.S. Commercial Service interviews 28 of its current clients that are small businesses, which export their goods or services. Each company covered in the book is unique and has a different story of how they first began exporting. One common theme was the benefits and resources provided by the U.S. government.