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This week, the globalEDGE blog will be taking an in depth look at the , looking at the present trends in various sectors of the industry, as well as looking toward the future. For our purposes, we will consider the to be the collection of companies and businesses that cater to the needs of travelers. Major sectors include hotels, restaurants, and recreational businesses, such as casinos, sports and tourist attractions.

central bank, known as the Peoples Bank of China, or PBOC, is cracking down on the popular cryptocurrency Bitcoin, as part of their latest attempt to stem China’s capital outflow amidst the decline of the Yuan. The Chinese Yuan is currently under immense pressure due in part to the slowdown of growth in the Chinese economy and increasing uncertainty about its future prospects. The currency , and in order to prevent a further decline, the . This selloff, coupled with the comparative rise of the US Dollar caused

  Both countries are members of OPEC, the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries, and to keep oil prices at a stable point. Up to this time, however,  continued to increase their own production of oil. This is because Nigeria was exempted from cutting their oil production in the OPEC agreement.  

Do you ever wonder how, or to what extent, your online activity is being tracked? While browsing the internet, ads often pop up on the sides of webpages that are suspiciously similar to recent searches or website visits; this happens because internet activity is tracked and gathered through cookies placed by first or third-party trackers. , and their presence has been steadily increasing ever since. Are cookies placed by trackers something we should be worrying about?

Sarah Singer, assistant director at the International Business Center at Michigan State University and manager of globalEDGE, was recently to discuss how globalEDGE can assist in market research for exporters. Highlighted in the discussion were especially useful resources for exporters on globalEDGE, such as our , country , and country . Sarah also offered advice for exporters who want to research potential new markets, and how globalEDGE can be an important tool for this research.

A link to the interview is available here: 

Have you visited the recently? In last week's segments, Tomas Hult discussed a wide range of topics, including the refugee crisis and its impact on , relationship with the , and the current dynamics between the and . The Business Beat is hosted by Dr. Tomas Hult of the Broad College of Business at Michigan State University, and consists of brief audio segments that drive into current topics impacting the international business world. You can view past segments by date or by  on our .

As winter vacations come to a close, the global workforce is underway again, and there are several questions business and corporate travelers have regarding their upcoming costs of travel and stay. Among the many factors, the future of international business travel remains uncertain due to the prolonged set back in the economy, the monumental vote to depart from the , the controversial Presidential election, and increased security concerns across the globe. However, despite the uncertainties,

Real estate investment trusts (REITs) are a , and similar to stocks, they can be traded on major exchanges. In the , there are three major kinds of real estate investment trusts (REITs). Equity based REITs own and invest in properties, and are responsible for the value of their assets, and account for the majority of REITs. Mortgage REITs invest in and own property mortgages, and tend to either loan money to real estate owners for mortgages, or purchase mortgage-backed securities. Hybrid REITs are the third kind of REITs, and invest in both properties and mortgages.

As many of us know, the North American Free Trade Agreement () played a significant role in the elections, with president-elect Donald Trump clearly stating that he will renegotiate the agreement with and in order to stop the outflow of middle-class jobs. Changes in NAFTA would transform the auto industry in the US since it allows automakers, as well as other suppliers, to move production to Mexico without facing any tariffs and take advantage of the lower labor costs.

According to Eurostat, , which is a sharp increase compared to November’s rate of 0.6% It is believed that this jump can be attributed to increased costs of energy, food, alcohol, and tobacco. This inflation rate is the highest that the Eurozone has seen in over three years; in September 2013, the rate was also 1.1%.