Remember several years ago when microfinance was all the rage? People believed that by loaning small amounts of money to the poor in hard-to-reach rural areas they could potentially stimulate the economic development of those areas. globalEDGE even wrote a few blog posts about it here and there. It seems like microfinance would be a win-win for a financier who wants to give back to the world: they can help out the poor while making profits for themselves. However, looking at it retrospectively, is that how microfinance has worked out so far? It almost seems too good to be true…
globalEDGE Blog - Page 251
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A in the Harvard Business Review highlights the importance of living abroad, and the positive impacts it can have on your career. Not only will this benefit the individual manager, but the company sending their workers abroad as well.
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On November 23rd North Korea fired artillery on the South Korean island of Yeonpyeong as a response to South Korea performing military drills near disputed maritime border. Besides the obvious restrictions set on North Korea by global super powers, some businesses are also taking steps to protect their employees from the potential threat.
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Businesses and alike are finding new ways to protect the environment by reducing emissions of harmful pollutants. One of these ways is a market-based approach called carbon trading which provides economic incentives for business firms that limit their output of carbon emissions. These carbon trading markets are beginning to form all around the world and the country of plans to launch Africa’s first carbon exchange.
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I have been following the currency markets quite heavily in the past few weeks trying to gage the effects of the much discussed QE2 that the U.S. Federal Reserve implemented. Personally, I was expecting that to lead to more inflation in the U.S. dollar and depreciate its value relative to other currencies, including the Euro. Imagine my surprise when I found that I was correct in inflation being expected by the market (due to high treasury yields) but that the Euro was actually the one depreciating versus the dollar! How could this be?
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In the past few years, there has been a lot of speculation on companies’ labor and environmental standards. Consumers are finding it more and more important to buy from companies that are responsible with their resources and that are careful not to exploit developing countries and low wage workers. is a term that is often used to describe these obligations that corporations have to workers and their families, to consumers, to investors, and to the natural environment. Since this has become more of a priority worldwide, it has exposed several companies that have taken advantage of workers and the environment in the past. Luckily, many companies are making a big effort to improve their standards.
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Social media has swept the nation with nearly everyone and their grandmother posting daily updates on the likes of Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn. However a finds that 64% of CEOs at the world’s 50 largest companies do not engage in social media.
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The success of the National Export Initiative (NEI), which calls for the doubling of U.S. exports and adding millions of new jobs in 5 years, depends in part on the 265,000 plus U.S. exporters finding buyers in additional country markets. If an exporter is selling to Canada now, Mexico or Chile might be good places to expand. But how will the U.S. company know which market to choose?
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A few decades ago relied solely on its agriculture and was one of the poorest nations in the world. However, ever since the discovery of diamonds in the late 20th century, Botswana has become a success story. , the richest diamond mine in the world when measured by value of recovered diamonds, has been the main source of the . Not only has the per capita income increased to close to $6000 a year, but the infrastructure has been improved as well. The country's citizens have seen new roads, hospitals, and schools as well as an improved system to deal with the H.I.V and AIDS problem the country has had.
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The Wall Street Journal CEOs of 100 major corporations to on recent economic challenges. During the meeting in Washington D.C., CEOs argued that the only way to increase jobs in the United States is to embrace increased global trading relationships. This plan would necessitate government and business leaders to work together and promote free-trade agreements that would open doors to international markets.