In an age of rapid consumerism and capitalism, there’s nothing more festive than participating in “Black Friday,” the annual shopping extravaganza of special markdowns and sales. Held November 24, the day after Thanksgiving, this dark weekday originated in the United States in the early 1960s, but has since transcended national borders to become a global phenomenon.
globalEDGE Blog - By Tag: capitalism
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China currently has a Coface rating of B for Country Risk and B for Business Climate. With high levels of foreign exchange reserves, there is a very low level of the overall risk of over-indebtedness, and the structure of a highly competent service industry with reliable infrastructure makes the market potential, comprised of several key factors, in China even stronger. However, it cannot be denied that investing in China as a manufacturing firm is beneficial but leaves the risk of counterfeiting and intellectual property violations on account of a collectivistic culture.
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The world electric car market could get a shake up soon as Porsche unveiled a concept for a four door electric sports car known as the Mission E. This so called “Tesla Killer” won’t hit the streets until at least 2019, but it puts a statement out there that other companies have put a target on Tesla’s back. This is all part of Porsche’s parent company, Volkswagen (VLKAY), push to have a greater presence in the electric car market. The impact this could have the global economy could be huge as the United States is the world’s largest purchaser of hybrid/electric vehicles in 2015, with the Tesla Model S near the top of the list. Tesla is an American company so the impact that a prominent foreign electric car manufacturer could be huge as Porsche claims their car will charge faster and last longer than the current Model S. All hope isn’t lost for Tesla as they still have at least four to five years to improve their current battery technology to compete the Mission E.
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The figures are showing a stark truth: the levels of income inequality all around the world remain on the rise. In several countries, especially the largest and richest ones, the rich get richer while poverty becomes worse day after day. While it is a common argument that a degree of inequality is necessary for motivating people to work harder, it is also true that such extreme levels of it can be detrimental to the economy. As a result, this trend is proving to be a concern to economists and political figures everywhere.
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Is it wrong to pay children for getting good grades? Should there be a market for jumping the queue and cutting in line? Is it ethical to buy and sell human organs? It is quite apparent that in today’s society there are markets for many goods and services that have not historically been for sale, such as the right to pollute the atmosphere, auctioning citizenship and many other topics. Michael Sandel attempts to answer one of the biggest ethical questions of our time in What Money Can’t Buy: is there something wrong with a world in which everything is for sale?
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Many people in the international community have perhaps visited or at least heard of Adbusters.org, the Canadian anti-consumerist activist organization. I remember browsing through the site a couple years ago and watching a few videos, laughing a little bit, and happily forgetting that it existed. Recently, the self proclaimed “journal of the mental environment” and I crossed paths again when a friend of mine received an online invitation to participate in Buy Nothing Day, an international campaign supported by Adbusters in which participants refrain from spending money on absolutely anything on November 27th or 28th (depending on location) in order to create “a chain reaction of refusal against consumer capitalism … a sudden, unexpected moment of truth … the first ever global revolution.” Participating countries include Denmark, France, Israel, Italy, and the United Kingdom.
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Over two million people crowded the streets of Paris on Thursday, in protest of President Nicolas Sarkozy’s recent inaction in light of increasing unemployment. Job loss in France, according to the Telegraph, was the final straw in a string of incidents that have decreased Sarkozy’s popularity exponentially in recent months. Critics, including dissenters within his own party, are calling for his removal. In a nation where people depend largely on the “welfare state” to take action, little is being done.
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A recent Business Week article highlights how South African companies such as SABMiller, Standard Bank, and others are unlocking Sub-Saharan Africa as the biggest investor in the region - $8.5 billion thus far! While South African beer maker SABMiller leads the way in the region, Johannesburg cellular provider MTN is defying conventional wisdom by providing cell phones to people earning less than $2 a day. And neither the combat in Congo nor the drop in commodity prices have ruffled South Africa's mining company Metorex. In fact, the knowhow South Africans have gained on the continent is making their companies attractive to foreigners with ambitions in the region.
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In the midst of a housing bubble, sub-prime mortgage crisis, an unpopular war, and the stock market steadily declining, it stands to reason that many Americans, nay, citizens of the world are worried about the future of the financial world. Our business world has been built on the "magic of the market" and "success of the fittest," which provided the booms throughout the century that shaped the contemporary market. However, in an article by Breitbart, Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd argues, the global economic crisis is a result of the "comprehensive failure of extreme capitalism."