globalEDGE Blog - Page 91

This is the first post in a five-part blog series focused on International Education Week.

This week’s globablEDGE blog series will highlight the 18th annual International Education Week (IEW) that occurs November 13-November 17. IEW is an initiative of the US Department of State and US Department of Education that encourages educational institutions, businesses, and organizations around the world to host events in celebration of international students, study abroad programs, and exchange opportunities. The goal of IEW is to promote the importance of international experience as a key way for Americans to prepare for a global environment, as well as to invite people from abroad to study in the United States and share their diverse perspectives.

Inflation is a huge problem for many economies worldwide.   In countries like Venezuela, Argentina, and Ukraine the average consumer has been largely affected by the inflation currently occurring.  A basic definition of inflation is when the currency used in a country experiencing inflation buys fewer goods, the purchasing power decreases.  This is often bad for consumers, especially in countries experiencing very high inflation rates because they are not paid enough to compensate for the rising cost of goods and services.

Artificial intelligence is starting to have a great impact on the transportation sector worldwide. Self-balancing electric flying vehicles are pushing the future means of transportation to a whole new level. The first certified multicopter was tested in Bruchsal, Germany last year. Since then, different countries and companies around the world have shown interest in this new technology.

According to the World Economic Forum, at least $700 Billion should be invested yearly in order to monitor and maintain stable carbon levels. ‘Green financing’ is an innovative solution to this monetary issue that promotes the investment of private funds. Holistically, green financing is an idea that allows investors to profit off eco-friendly projects.

Many companies seek growth opportunities through integrating either vertically or horizontally with other companies. Vertical integration is a strategy where companies expand their business into their production chain (backward integration) or distribution path (forward integration), and these are generally achieved by M&A or internal growth. While horizontal integration is when a company acquires or merges with another company on the same level of the value chain, in other words, a competitor.

The Olympics have been a household staple occurring biannually for multiple centuries now. In less than 100 days, PyeongChang, South Korea will join the ranks of other cities who have had the honor of hosting the Games. This event kicks off with opening ceremonies starting on February 9th, with competitive events beginning on the 8th, till the 25th with 102 events in 15 sports. This year will be the first year for big air snowboarding, which is replacing the parallel slalom, mixed doubles curling, mass start speed skating and mixed team alpine skiing. However, with the hype of Olympics still growing, through social media, ticket sales have not been following the same trend.

As Halloween week winds down, consumers across the nation will begin the process of slowly making a dent in a pile of over 600 million pounds of one of the world’s most coveted treats—candy.  Candy—also called confectionery and comprised of chocolate, sugar, and gum products—has been one of the most popular goods on the globe since 1894, with worldwide confectionery sales anticipated to increase 3.2 percent by 2022 and valued at 85.5 billion dollars in 2016.

Virtual reality has been making great strides in the gaming industry, but also has many possible benefits within business.  Virtual reality is not yet widely accepted by the public, with devices such as the Oculus Rift and HTC Vive still not having as much success as was expected.  However, there has been an increasing interest in virtual reality technology by the public and by major companies as new uses for the technology are being discovered.  According to Reuters, there has been a 375% increase in companies that included virtual reality as part of their business plans from just last year; companies included are the New York Times, GoPro, and Wayfair.

#BeurreGate, which translates to “Butter Gate”, has been trending across France as consumers are finding the butter shelves at their local supermarkets empty. Many of these social media posts have been satirical in nature including false advertisements with absurd prices and even a short film, which depicts a post-apocalyptic France that has descended into anarchy without access to the national staple. While the true situation is not nearly as dire, French consumers are finding it increasingly difficult to purchase butter at their local supermarket.

This year, the International Air Transport Association anticipates four billion people will engage in global travel. By the year 2036, it is expected to nearly double to 7.8 billion—half of which will solely be from people living in Asia. High rates of international travel indicate economic well-being, and increased globalization will continue to drive demand. Areas experiencing a spike in international travel will benefit from the influx of money from tourism, but not without enduring the consequences of expansion.