This past week, the Midwest United States was swept by a deadly winter storm. With wind chills, some areas' temperature reached a staggering negative 60 degrees Fahrenheit. Extreme weather, like this storm, impedes many industries and processes, creating inconveniences and delays. In response to weather, many factors change including demand, production, and delivery. As a result, the supply chains of numerous companies have been impacted in a negative way.
globalEDGE Blog - Page 61
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This Sunday the New England Patriots will be facing the Los Angeles Rams in Superbowl LIII in Atlanta, GA. For the uninitiated, the Superbowl is the championship game of the National Football League (NFL), which is the highest level of professional American football in the United States. In addition to being the biggest day of the year for die-hard football fans, the Superbowl is also a peak time for advertisers around the globe.
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The globalEDGE team recently updated all of the country risk assessments, which can be found on our Country Insights pages. Using data provided by Coface, the country risk assessment pages display an index rating for each countries overall risk and business environment. In addition to these indices, strengths, weaknesses, and current trends that impact risk profile are presented for every country. Check out these updated pages today to see how every country's risk profile has changed over the past year.
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After recent meetings in Switzerland, the International Monetary Fund cut forecasts of global economic growth in 2019 to 3.5%. This is down from a projected 3.7% released in October and 3.9% in July. In past meetings, the organization characterized growth as “plateauing” but now has come to the agreement that the “global expansion has weakened”.
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Long distance trading began during the domestication of pack animals and the invention of ships thousands of years ago. International trade is essential for individuals, firms, machinery and technology, and to whole countries. Trade occurs due to a countries' inability to satisfy their own needs and wants with their own resources. There are two fundamental principles (Division of Labor and Specialization) that are related to the production of goods and services in countries that want to trade.
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In the 2019 World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, representatives from every nation and from the world’s largest businesses have gathered together to discuss new developments, problems, and initiatives around the world. The first two days of this year’s summit featured an address from Brazil’s recently elected president Jair Bolsonaro, discussion on shale oil by John Hess of Hess Corporation, and discussion of the IMF’s lower prospects on 2019’s economic growth.
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Over the past several decades, many countries in the Middle East, Asia, and South America have experienced unprecedented growth. Reduced restrictions combined with increased globalization sparked interest from the worlds largest corporations and investors. Numerous Fortune 500 companies are opening international headquarters for better reach and lower production costs. Business hubs are shifting locations from the West to a better balance across the world. Read below for details on several specific countries and cities.
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A whirlwind news topic that seems to reveal new headlines and developments each day, technology is changing society more than ever before. As companies and consumers key in on how technology has the potential to positively and negatively impact their futures, research, testing, and product roll-outs are being conducted around the clock to create new innovations and introduce them to a global market hungry for personalization and advancement. This blog will aim to shed light on how technology will impact three key economic industries: transportation, 3D printing, and online consumption.
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Global mining companies have taken a beating in the past decade in one of the industry’s longest bear markets. The MSCI World Metals and Mining Index tracks the stock performance of 39 metals and mining companies across 23 developed nations and serves as a proxy for the overall global metals and mining industry. This index fell 18% in 2018 closing the year out 55 percentage points lower than its 2008 peak.
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Later this year, the United States and the European Union will begin trade negotiations, which the EU has already been preparing for. The relationship, which fosters $1 trillion in commercial trade could see a complete overhaul in 2019. The EU’s executive body will begin to meet this month and will structure the bloc’s parameters for which it will use in negotiations.