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Excessive flooding in has not only made life a challenge for locals, but global businesses are experiencing hardships due to the harsh monsoon season as well. Many technology suppliers are located in Thailand and have suffered because of the massive flooding and have caused a significant supply chain back up. Several have lost large amounts of inventory and suffered excessive property damage. Some say it could take up to a year for these plants to begin operating at normal capacity again.

As the earth’s conventional oil supply continues to diminish, the discovery of new fuel types is becoming as important as ever.  The Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) has recently released a statement stating that could produce as many as 300 billion barrels.  Tight oil is another name for shale oil, which is a form of light crude oil found in shale deep below the earth’s surface.  Although it will most likely be a decade before big supplies of tight oil are produced, the future production could rival the conventional oil production in .

While many governments are trying to help unemployed workers find jobs in the domestic marketplace, the government of is implementing systems to make it easier for their citizens to seek employment abroad in countries overseas. This offers many advantages for the and also provides opportunities for the people of Bangladesh. Workers from Bangladesh living abroad earn large amounts of foreign currency for the country. By helping citizens in Bangladesh find work overseas, the government hopes it will also provide more opportunities for young citizens of Bangladesh struggling to find employment at home. To do this, the government has for citizens working abroad using business technology.

When looking at Latin America, is usually looked upon as the top country of the region with the strongest emerging economy. However, the country of is leading in another aspect of business. According to the 2011 Latin Business Index, Chile remains the country with the in Latin America. The index studied 18 countries in Latin America and broadly measured the climate for business in each country with Chile coming in at the top of the list. Five major categories were the focus of the study including the macro environment, corporate environment, , infrastructure levels, and the political environment. There were many business factors in Chile that accounted for its success in each of these categories.

While Asia and North America have been making large strides in the mobile industry, , even though it previously had a large competitive advantage over other regions. This is mainly due to lack of focus on emerging products, less advanced software, and lack of government support.

In the early 90’s Europe was a strong player in the mainly due to its cooperative take on the market. The European countries worked together to coordinate an infrastructure that worked through out the continent. In North America, multiple different standards and products that made it more complex and expensive for customers. This structure forced the North American cell phone producers to step up their game and look into a more structured format.

The constant rise in fuel prices and the movement to cut fuel emissions are leading airline companies to develop biofuels.  This year alone, the world’s airlines will emit 650 million tons of carbon emissions in the process of burning over 200 million tons of fuel.  In recent years, the popularity of has increased and is now becoming more of a reality than a theory.

With the setting a goal to double exports in the next four years, small businesses play a very important role in accomplishing this mission. The , the official title of this export growth objective, has a website designed to help small businesses export products to new markets and attain business growth abroad. Doug Barry of the U.S. Department of Commerce is an expert in for small businesses and has helped many small businesses accomplish their exporting goals. Last week, we posted a where he explains how a small bio-business used international markets to achieve remarkable levels of business growth. This week, Doug Barry has conducted additional interviews where he shares his small business expertise and knowledge.

The way we shop changes rapidly from year to year. This is due to the various technological improvements that are introduced to the market so often. From laptops, to tablets, to smart phones, and reliable networks it is extremely convenient to switch from the traditional brick and mortar stores to online shopping which has increased tremendously in the past few years. Consumers in , for example, spent last year alone. Social media provides just the right push to turn users in the direction of shopping at the click of a button. Customized advertisement on Facebook based on user preferences listed in their profiles and opinions expressed on Twitter open the door for users to explore different shopping websites and possibly find items that they would not be able to find in stores otherwise. Furthermore, the internet provides a wider variety of products and comparing prices is much easier because when online, a customer can be searching multiple websites simultaneously.

For small businesses, exporting products to new markets may appear unattainable.  With assistance from partners such as the U.S. Commercial Service, business leaders with minimal international experience can soon of exporting.  This can be an enormous opportunity for business growth, attainable without unnecessary levels of risk.  Jim Blasingame of “The Small Business Advocate” recently sat down with Doug Barry, the Director of Marketing and Communication for the U.S. Commercial Service, to discuss such a success story.  One small bio-business used international markets to quickly achieve levels of wealth that otherwise would have seemed impossible. 

While social media sites are becoming increasingly popular worldwide, there is one region in particular where has nearly unlimited growth potential. That region is the Middle East and although there has been much concern surrounding the use of social networks for protest demonstrations, social media sites provide great opportunities for businesses of the region. In the Middle East the number of in the past year. Now, the question is whether businesses of the region will take advantage of social networks and use them as a brand building tool.