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For decades, Coca-Cola’s main competitor has been Pepsi. However, in recent years Coca-Cola has faced increasing competition from non-carbonated drinks such as tea, coffee, and fruit juices. This has been especially true in . In response to this growing trend, Coca-Cola has developed a new product – green tea-flavored Coke. The product targets mainly health concious women in their 20s and 30s. In response to this product, Pepsi is planning on launching basil-flvaored Pepsi. As of right now these new products are going to be sold in Japan only, however if Coca-Cola’s new bevarage is met well by customers, it will be marketed in other countries such as the and countries in Western .

Recently, CNN Money’s Small Business section featured a great article on the "" of entrepreneurship. According to , a nonprofit in support of entrepreneurial success, 2007 saw over 560,000 small business closures and over 28,000 bankruptcies! Additionally, only 31% of small businesses survive for seven years or more.

has long-held a reputation of being one of the world’s top exporters. 2007 World Bank Figures amount China’s exports to around $1.22 trillion, or 37% of its GDP. It is the behind , and is currently number one on Market Growth Rate. The annual growth rate of China’s exports had traditionally been around 25 percent, although effects from the current economic downturn now project these numbers dropping to a modest 10 percent. So with a 15 percent drop, ?

Facebook has become quite popular among people from all countries and age groups. The website is very convinient and easy to use. Most importantly it is free. However, there are rumors that facebook will start requiring its members to pay for certain applications and there is a possibility that users will have to pay for having an account on facebook in the future.

has endured a long courtship period with the World Trade Organization - 16 years of talks and counting - yet official membership has always remained just out of reach. There are currently 153 members in the WTO, ranging from Albania to Zimbabwe. Russia is now the only BRIC country not to join, and is by far the largest economy of all the world’s non-members.

A and Health found that employees who who went into work while sick were 53 percent more likely to take a sick leave of two weeks or more and 74 percent more likely to take a sick leave of two months or more.

A recent report done by Small Business Trends highlights the :

1. Disruptive innovation will be both the coolest and hottest new growth strategy in 2009 because it will transcend all boundaries and transform businesses.

In response to the growing need for globally-minded business leaders, more business schools are now offering international MBA programs. The easy way to create such a program is to throw in a few international business courses into the school’s core curriculum. Yet many of the top American b-schools wouldn’t exactly be “international” if they basically stuck to the same curriculum while catering primarily to American students on soil. More and more schools are now courting foreign students, and some are even transplanting faculty and students alike to sister schools abroad. by Latin Trade encapsulated the trend very well.

There was a time when trains dominated most of the transit taking place in countries such as the . Today, high-speed trains are a cheap and effective means to get across many places in the world, like , , and , and are important conduits of these economies. Yet it still seems that whenever people want to get away on vacation, they either fly to their desired destination or take a cruise. A growing trend, however, is the . This trend could change the dynamic of the , as these trains offer both.

The International Trade Association launched a great blog last month, which you can check out by clicking . The blog offers information on how trade can help your business, trade policy, and general awareness of topics within trade.