globalEDGE Blog - Page 42

This blog post is written by Cameron Levis

Over the past few centuries, the globalization of business and commerce has been happening rapidly. But in the past few years, and especially in 2020, the narrative is far different. With increasingly isolationist policies from the government of the United States, falling trust between the U.S. and other nations, and the coronavirus pandemic, 2020 has been a year in which globalization has decelerated for the first time in decades. It has been a year in which the international business environment is a more complex and tiresome world to explore than at any time in recent history.

The economic landscape has changed drastically over the last year. While there have been severe hits to industries such as travel and retail, others have seen increased growth. One of these thriving markets is e-commerce, with leading digital retailers like Amazon, which has seen tremendous growth since the middle of March. Specific medical industries are also thriving, with healthcare IT and medical textiles becoming exponentially more important to deal with issues brought on by COVID-19. While it is understandable that digital and healthcare industries are growing, there is a niche industry that has seen a surprising uptick in interest during 2020. The demand for the purchase and rental of private islands has skyrocketed at a time when most travel opportunities have been restricted.

Interested in learning more about international business?  Test your knowledge with the globalEDGE International Business Knowledge Quiz.  This quiz is the most recently updated portion of the site, with all questions on the quiz updated for the most recent data available.  To access the quiz, simply go to 'Tools and Data' and select 'Test Your Knowledge,' then click on the International Business Knowledge Quiz.  The quiz is also linked here.

At the most recent U.S. Federal Reserve meeting, chairman Jerome Powell announced that the Fed would be experimenting with the implementation of a “digital dollar.”  This news comes as an astounding 80% of central banks across the globe have already begun on the research, experimentation, and implementation of central bank digital currencies (CBDCs). 

Holiday season has always been a period of high spend. Retails are rushing last minute to increase their sales while consumers are all in the happy spirit of buying gifts for their loved ones. With desires from both the seller and the buyer, this is the perfect environment for buying. Brands around the world are preparing their products but this year will surely look different given the circumstances with COVID-19.

BTS, Justin Bieber, and The Rolling Stones; what do all these artists have in common? All have been forced to cancel or postpone their scheduled concerts or tours. These are just a few examples of the numerous concerts, festivals, and other large gatherings that have been forced to reschedule due to the pandemic and it’s sending shockwaves throughout the global music industry and more specifically, the music events industry.

The team here at globalEDGE has completed this year’s update of the website’s Course Syllabi page. This page features undergraduate, graduate and masters, and doctoral level syllabi for universities and other educational institutions around the globe. The purpose of this bank of syllabi is to assist educators in international business with the development and enhancement of their courses. Now that the update has been completed, educators throughout the world have access to some of the most recent course syllabi content that can be used to their advantage when creating courses of their own.  

Real estate is a massive market that contains multiple subsections such as residential real estate and commercial real estate.  With the current pandemic, many sectors of our economy have been left reeling.  Airlines have lost thousands of dollars, restaurants have found themselves under capacity by law, hotels are empty, and many more industries have been shaken by COVID-19.  But what about the real estate industry?  Today, we’ll take a look at the current state of the real estate industry around the world, as well as a few key trends to watch out for.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) has published its World Energy Outlook for the year 2020.  With the especially unique environment of the COVID-19 pandemic, this year’s outlook focuses on models that predict the pandemic’s potential implications over the next ten years.  This, along with the prospects for accelerated energy transitions, make up the two major themes of the report.

Around the globe, people enjoy the escapism, art, and joy brought about by the media and entertainment industry. In the United States alone, entertainment is worth $717 billion, a third of the entire world market. This monumental number continues to grow, with predictions that the industry will grow by over $100 billion more dollars by 2023. Which areas within this vast industry pull in the largest amounts of dollars?