Removing Obstacles That Prevent Small Firms From Seizing Global Opportunities

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The Federation of Small Businesses (FSB) has revealed its SME Export task force – a transformative blueprint designed to remove the obstacles that prevent small firms from seizing global opportunities.

Despite their agility, only 10 percent of small firms trade internationally. Imagine economic growth if we could double that figure.

It’s time for small firms to take their place on the global stage – backed by a supportive framework designed solely for their success.

Setting Up Overseas Special Zones in Taiwan

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The Taiwanese government should play an active role in Taiwanese small-and-medium enterprises' (SME) international expansion, possibly through "overseas special zones," Minister of Economic Affairs Kuo Jyh-huei has said.

Kuo said he envisions a special arrangement designed by the government to help Taiwanese SMEs that do not have the same kind of resources and bargaining power of industry giants such as TSMC and GlobalWafers Co., gain a foothold overseas.

Learn more about other ideas Kuo proposed such as setting up 'sogo shosha' style Japanese general trading companies.

Questions to Ask When Selecting a Master's Program in International Business and Trade

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The Hinrich Foundation Guide to Master’s in International Business and Trade (Hinrich Foundation Guide – requires completing a short form) is a comprehensive resource to assist students and professionals to identify the right master’s program to accelerate their careers in global trade. 

Here are key questions to ask to evaluate master's programs in international business and trade.

VP Kamala Harris: How SHE May Lead

©iStock/Thanumporn Thongkongkaew

Vice President Kamala Harris is now the leading Democratic standard-bearer in the 2024 elections after President Joe Biden ended his reelection bid and endorsed her on Sunday, July 21, 2024.

According to Time, Harris’ long record in public office—from being San Francisco’s district attorney in 2003, to becoming California state attorney general in 2011, to a Senator from California in 2017, and then Vice President—offers more clues on how she may lead as Democratic nominee and President.

Today in Global Small Business: President Joe Biden Is Not Seeking Reelection

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What's affecting me, my clients, my colleagues and other global small business owners:

• President Joe Biden is not seeking reelection.
• Biden to step down as Democratic presidential nominee.
• Quote of the week:  "I believe today [7/21/24] what I always have: that there is nothing America can't do - when we do it together. We just have to remember we are the United States of America." – President Joe Biden on X announcing his exit from the 2024 presidential race
• Joe Biden drops out of US presidential race.
• VP Kamala Harris is ready to step in.
• President Biden no longer seeking reelection.

The Cars We Drive

©2024 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

"The cars we drive say a lot about us." – Alexandra Paul

The Demand for Spanish in China is Increasing

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In China, the demand for Spanish is increasing, and it is now taught in high schools and universities. Since the opening of the headquarters of the Cervantes Institute in Beijing in 2006 and of the Biblioteca Miguel de Cervantes in Shanghai, the number of Spanish students in China has grown to around 60,000.

With Spain being a stable trading partner of China, mastery of Spanish opens multiple opportunities in business, tourism, and education, not only with Spain but with the entire American continent.

Good News For Global Entrepreneurs! Foreign Startups Can Stay in U.S. For 5 Years

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The U.S. is making it easier for startups, business owners and entrepreneurs to extend their stay.  Remember the Obama-era program called the International Entrepreneurs Rule (IER)?

Under this programme, foreign entrepreneurs were initially allowed to stay in the US for two-and-a-half years. Now, according to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services (USCIS), they can remain for up to five years if their ventures meet specific criteria such as funding milestones and job creation.

Learn the particulars here.

Top 10 Global Risks in 2024

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The World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report 2024 says the biggest short-term risk stems from misinformation and disinformation. 

In the longer term, climate-related threats dominate the top 10 risks global populations will face.

Two-thirds of global experts anticipate a multipolar or fragmented order to take shape over the next decade.

The key findings of the World Economic Forum’s Global Risks Report 2024 reflect these most pressing challenges faced by people in every region of the world.

Is Free Trade Under Attack?

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One of the defining transformations of the 20th century was globalization. Since the end of World War II, countries and cultures have become more interconnected than ever before, through free trade agreements, technology, multi-national corporations, and the creation of structures such as the IMF and the World Trade Organization.

Trade economists liked to think that the benefits of globalization—economic growth, more consumer choice, lower prices—had made it unassailable. But cracks in the international order have started to appear. 

Today in Global Small Business: Designing Across Cultures

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What's affecting me, my clients, my colleagues and other global small business owners:

• Designing across cultures refers to the process of creating products and services that are tailored to the needs and preferences of diverse cultural groups.
• Stancé, a designer art toy company, proudly announces its global partnership with UFC, the world’s premier mixed martial arts organization. 
• Quote of the week:  "You can design and create, and build the most wonderful place in the world. But it takes people to make the dream a reality." – Walt Disney
• Why human-centered transformation design is critical for universities.
• Elevating interior design globally.
• OpenAI, the AI company behind the viral AI-powered chatbot ChatGPT, has acquired Global Illumination, a New York–based startup leveraging AI to build creative tools, infrastructure and digital experiences.

Loves You More Than You Love Yourself

©2024 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

"A dog is the only thing on earth that loves you more than you love yourself." – Josh Billings

Updated Rules for International Trade

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Globalization refers to the process of connecting the world economy more closely through the flow of goods, services, investment, technology, data, ideas, and workers. It began around 1870 and took off in the decades after World War II as countries started reducing restrictions on capital and trade flows in anticipation of benefits to growth and welfare.

Today we may be at another turning point in globalization’s history. So what is this powerful force that does so much to influence the world economy? How is it changing? And can it be improved?

Updated rules for international trade, coupled with stronger domestic policies, could make globalization more inclusive and sustainable.

Two Men Guilty of Illegally Exporting U.S. Electronics Used in Russian Weapons In Ukraine

©iStock/Dragon Claws

Two men – Nikolay Goltsev, 38, of Montreal, and Salimdzhon Nasriddinov, 53, of Brooklyn – have pleaded guilty to illegally exporting US electronics used in Russian weapons in Ukraine, the Justice Department said.

Goltsev and Nasriddinov face up to 20 years in prison for conspiring to commit export control violations, the department said in a statement.

"The defendants shipped millions of dollars of US electronics critical to the missiles and drones Russia uses to attack Ukraine, and they now face US prison time for their scheme," Deputy Attorney General Lisa Monaco said.

Read more here.

SPECIAL: Robert Marovich's Response to Peggy Noonan, Opinion Columnist at the Wall Street Journal

©2024 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

The letter below by Robert Marovich, Chicago, Illinois, was not accepted for publication at the Wall Street Journal yet I felt it was important to share with the world.  It is in response to a column by Peggy Noonan, "The Most Important Presidential Debate Ever" (Saturday/Sunday, June 29-30, 2024).  Unfortunately the column has a paywall, otherwise I would share the link.  I took a photo of it for your review so you can appreciate Bob Marovich's letter and put it into context.

"Dear Editor:

I read Peggy Noonan's column regularly because I respect her experience, appreciate her depth of knowledge, and appreciate her cogent arguments. I always will. But I strongly disagree with her description, in "The Most Important Presidential Debate Ever" (June 29 - 30), of former President Donald Trump's demeanor at the debate. He was not "calm, sure-voiced, focused....self-disciplined" He didn't debate - he ranted his greatest hits like a carnival barker on caffeine, delivered more than 30 lies, and even seemed to make some things up on the spot. Hyperbole and inaccurate superlatives, no substance, as usual. 

But what Ms. Noonan failed to mention, and what needs mentioning, is how despicably Mr. Trump spoke of the United States. President Reagan referred to the US as "the shining city on a hill." Trump, in front of more than 50 million viewers, referred several times to the US as a third-world country. Those are fighting words; in times past, proud Americans would have told him to put up his dukes. Would Mr. Reagan have suffered such an insult?

Yes, our nation has many problems, it always has, and we need to fix them, but we are not a third-world country, we are a first-rate country. Any candidate who denigrates his country so vociferously as Mr. Trump did on Thursday shouldn't even qualify for the presidency of a book club. President Biden stumbled significantly during the debate. We saw it. He knows it. I agree with Ms. Noonan that he missed landing several easy punches that could have turned the tide of the debate. But what Mr. Trump said about our nation is unforgivable. He insulted all of us that evening. The party of Ronald Reagan should hold its head in shame that Mr. Trump is the best they can offer." 

Best,

Robert M. Marovich

Chicago, IL

wegginar® 7/10/24 with Missy Kelly, Co-Founder and CEO of CatTongue Grips

©Women Entrepreneurs Grow Global®.  All rights reserved.

Join free of charge 7/10/24 at 11 AM CT thanks to generous sponsors as noted in the graphic.  To learn more and to register, visit, "Scaling Globally:  Insights and Inspiration from a Global Leader in Innovation."  Missy Kelly, the presenter, is co-founder and CEO of CatTongue Grips.  Learn about innovation.  Invention.  Entrepreneurship.  Scaling globally. 

Today in Global Small Business: Making Supply Chains More Resilient, Collaborative and Networked

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What's affecting me, my clients, my colleagues and other global small business owners:

• Research shows severe disruption through the pandemic is driving enterprises to make their supply chains more resilient, collaborative and networked.   
• Social commerce is key.
• Quote of the week:  "The best way to reduce your supply chain inventory is to sell it.” – Dilbert
• Well what do you know.  An instant global cross border payment system – NEW!
• What is Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC)?
• New trade pacts show trade collaboration is still possible.

Cling to Your Vision

©2024 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

"Do not give up your dream because it is apparently not being realized, because you cannot see it coming true. Cling to your vision with all the tenacity you can muster. Keep it bright; do not let the bread-and-butter side of life cloud your ideal or dim it." – Orison Swett Marden

Why We Celebrate 4th of July and How Fireworks Became a Part of the Tradition

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Here are five things to know about July Fourth, including the origin of the holiday, why we celebrate it and how fireworks became a part of the tradition.

Happy 4th of July from the Global Small Business Blog

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"America is another name for opportunity.” – Ralph Waldo Emerson

Is India the Future?

©iStock/Henk Bogaard

In a global marketplace reshaped by volatile forces — not least the animosity between the United States and China — India shows signs of emerging as a potentially significant place to manufacture products. 

Yet the trouble is they – in India – are slow.  Slow on samples.  Slow on producing.  Slow on deliveries.  Can we afford the wait?

Read:  For American Brands Worried About China, is India the Future?

wegg® showcase Issue 2, July, 2024 with Coni Lefferts

©2024 Women Entrepreneurs Grow Global®.  All rights reserved.

Bob Marovich, Chief Operating Officer of Women Entrepreneurs Grow Global®, interviews Coni Lefferts, President, Creative Packaging Solutions for the wegg® showcase Issue 2, July, 2024:  Global growth is in the bag.

Today in Global Small Business: Grants, Loans and Programs to Benefit Your Global Small Business

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What's affecting me, my clients, my colleagues and other global small business owners:

• Check out 60 grants, loans and programs to benefit your global small business.
• Trying to determine best website builder for your business?
• Quote of the week:  "Success isn’t about how much money you make, it’s about the difference you make in people’s lives.” – Michelle Obama, First African-American First Lady of the United States
• A new survey of 1,000 small to medium-sized business owners from DHL shows two-thirds of small enterprises are optimistic about growing ecommerce.
• In the month of June, small business owners continued to identify inflation as the single most important problem for them in operating their business, as upward price pressures continue to increase expenses and lower profitability.  Learn more from the House Committee on Small Business.
• 25 business grants for women who have started and are growing a business.

That Toddlin’ Town

©2024 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

"Chicago, Chicago, that toddlin’ town.” – Fred Fisher “Chicago,” (1922)

IMF Chief Urges U.S. Policymakers to Pay Off the Deficit

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International Monetary Fund (IMF) chief Kristalina Georgieva recently urged U.S. policymakers to take advantage of the U.S. recovery from the pandemic and pay off the deficit.

Georgieva said policymakers should put the U.S. national deficit on a “decisive downward path,” in part to ensure investors do not start losing interest in U.S. treasuries. 

The IMF has a more positive outlook for U.S. inflation than the Fed does, expecting it to renormalize to 2 percent by the middle of next year. The Fed does not expect inflation to normalize to 2 percent until 2026

Why Did Apple Suspend Temu From Its Digital App Store in 2023?

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A lawsuit filed by State Attorney General Tim Griffin in Cleburne County is targeting the holding company of an online shopping service, Temu, and its business dealings, citing consumer privacy risk as a byproduct of the company making a profit.

"While this is my [says Griffin] first state lawsuit against Temu over its deceptive trade practices, it is not the first time Temu's tactics have been called into question. Apple suspended Temu from its digital app store in 2023, prompting multiple investigations into the company's dealings, including an ongoing investigation being conducted by the U.S. Congress."

Griffin also outlined some of the data he says Temu is obtaining, saying biometric data, which includes fingerprints stored in devices, and location are some examples.

Globalization: Connectedness and Interdependence of Economies

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For those new to globalization, it is a term used to describe the increasing connectedness and interdependence of world cultures and economies.

National Geographic gives us an education on when globalization began, and the benefits and disadvantages of globalization.

Chatbots Will Play a Major Role in Customer Service for 25% of Companies by 2027

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Gartner predicts that by 2027, chatbots will play a major role in customer service for 25% of companies. 

For marketplace owners, it's an opportunity to engage with their online audience in real-time. There are three types of technology to meet the challenges of the industry: 

1. Based on artificial intelligence
2. Rule-based 
3. Hybrid

Learn about all the other top digital marketplace trends 2024.

Today in Global Small Business: How Small Business Owners Make It Happen

©iStock/Drazen Zigic

What's affecting me, my clients, my colleagues and other global small business owners:

• How small business owners make it happen.  Impact in action.
• Small business owners spot opportunities to boost productivity.
• Quote of the week:  "Supporting small businesses is not just about commerce, it's about community." – Michael Dell, Founder of Dell Technologies
• Global Small Business Study surveyed the owners and IT decision makers at small businesses across six countries to discover their thoughts and behavior around cybersecurity.
• Trade directly benefits small- and medium-sized businesses according to FedEx study. 
• Google favors e-commerce sites and user-generated content, study finds.

The Store That Helped Build Chicago

©2024 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

"Right or wrong, the customer is always right." – Marshall Field

Ecommerce Market Expected to Gross $930 Billion This Year

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The U.S. e-commerce market is projected to gross $930 billion this year, up 15% from 2023, and constitute 25% of the world's total online retail sales. 

However, Statista data analysis indicates the Asian e-commerce industry, spurred by online retail giants such as Alibaba, AliExpress, JD.com and Rakuten, will gross $1.93 trillion in 2024, 16% more than in 2023 and accounting for more than half of global e-commerce revenue.

Statista expects around 300 million more people to utilize e-commerce sites and shopping apps this year, pushing the total user count to more than 3.4 billion, or 42% of the world's population.

Read more here.

Challenges in Going Global, One Is Execution

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Despite their ambitions, few companies are ready to build and run truly global organizations. Globalization may be their goal – it may even form the backbone of their strategy – but only a tiny fraction have the execution capabilities needed to bring that strategy to life.  Why is that?

According to a recent Global Readiness Survey of 362 executives, only 10% of companies think that they have the full complement of capabilities required to win overseas, with most barely mastering the basics. 

If execution is everything, why aren't more companies perfecting this skill?  Learn more about how to get it done.

The Struggle for Freedom

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Juneteenth remains a day to reflect on the enduring struggle for freedom, equality, and self-determination in the African American experience. 

Learn more about what it is and what it means.

Think With Google and Move Your Business Into International Markets

©iStock/Jacob Wackerhausen

With more than half the world’s population now online, the opportunities for businesses to reach new customers abroad have never looked brighter. But how should companies prepare for international expansion? And just how easy is it?

Google guides you by looking at your potential customers. 

Today in Global Small Business: Father's Day Traditions From Around the World

©iStock/Lesla Larionova

What's affecting me, my clients, my colleagues and other global small business owners:

• Father's Day traditions from around the world.
• Celebrating Father's Day - the day after – because it is dedicated to all the fathers, grandfathers, and step-dads and recognizes their love, support and guidance. 
• Quote of the week:  "My father gave me the greatest gift anyone could give another person, he believed in me.” – Jim Valvano
• A fun history of Father's Day: traditions and languages around the world.
• How people celebrate Father's Day around the world.
• Father's Day dates around the world.

Flowers Always Make People Better

©2024 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

“Flowers always make people better, happier and more helpful; they are sunshine, food and medicine for the soul.” – Luther Burbank

Transforming Anonymous Global Users into Loyal Customers

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To grow in new territories, businesses must build faith with new target audiences.  Trust signals are key to transforming anonymous global users into loyal customers.

When a business is ready to expand internationally, establishing reputable online security is vital. Users want to know that all their data, especially financial data, is effectively protected online. With vast diversity in security standards across territories, online businesses in different regions have their own ways to gain credibility from target audiences.  This can cause challenges for companies looking to move into new markets.

Find out why. 

Winning New Exports

©iStock/Alberto Marrupe Gutierrez

Whether you are based in Ireland or the United States, winning new exports comes in handy for newfound growth at your business.

In this case, the Going for Growth program, which Enterprise Ireland and KPMG support, is designed to help female entrepreneurs achieve their growth ambitions by growing their sales, creating additional employment, and winning new exports. 

Over the past 16 years, over 950 businesswomen have participated in this unique program.

Check it out here.

Calm the Mind (Music video)

Supporting Women in Tech Across the Globe

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Women in Tech® Global is built on four foundational pillars: education, business, digital inclusion, and advocacy.  This came about by challenges women face in the tech industry,

Its mission is to create a strong, supportive network for women in technology, while also implementing practical programs that empower women to succeed in the tech industry. By addressing these key areas, Women in Tech Global aims to create a more inclusive and equitable tech industry for women across the globe.

Read the interview with Ayumi Moore Aoki, Founder and CEO of Women in Tech Global. 

Today in Global Small Business: FedEx Awards More than $230,000 to 10 Small Businesses

©iStock/Olivier Le Moal

What's affecting me, my clients, my colleagues and other global small business owners:

• FedEx boosts 10 small businesses with award dollars.
• Global e-commerce revenue to hit record-breaking $3.64T in 2024.
• How to drop ship on Shopify.
• Quote of the week:  "If you really look closely, most overnight successes took a long time." – Steve Jobs
• How to master international payments (sponsored content).
• Take your social media strategy to new heights.

Adult on a Bicycle

©2024 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

"Every time I see an adult on a bicycle, I no longer despair for the future of the human race." – H. G. Wells

Alibaba Courts the U.S. and Europe to Get Global Growth

©iStock/Robert Way

Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba is ramping up its global expansion with new services aimed at attracting small businesses in the U.S. and Europe.

Alibaba.com — the company’s business-to-business platform which sells to companies outside China — is launching “Alibaba Guaranteed.”  The new service will provide buyers with greater certainty on delivery, payments and dispute settlement.

How to Use AI Right For Transforming Global Small Business Marketing

©iStock/Khanchit Khirisutchalual

iStock (which we use at the Global Small Business Blog for images), an e‑commerce platform offering images, videos, and illustrations to small and medium‑sized businesses (SMBs) and enterprises (SMEs), today unveiled new data‑backed tips to help businesses of all sizes navigate the use of generative‑AI in marketing to customers. 

They just released a new study which captured the sentiment of over 30,000 adults in 25 countries to understand the impact for small businesses of using generative AI visuals in their marketing.

Discover their key finding here.

Need a CFO? Freelancing Goes Global

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What once was incidental and supplemental is now routinely baked into companies’ operating model. An astonishing 72 million Americans, or about 45% of the workforce, reaped at least some of their earnings from independent contracting last year. 

Need a CFO?  The highest-profile fractionals would be C-suite-level executives, ranging from part-time, long-term CFOs to M&A specialists who pop in to help close specific deals. The category also includes anyone who receives a retainer, from a foreign correspondent to a training specialist.

A major hiring shift is transforming how businesses find and utilize talent and how that talent finds and establishes relationships with companies that need its skills. Outsourcing work to freelancers is by no means a new phenomenon, but as the figures indicate, in the past five years it has jumped to an entirely new level. 

Read, "Use of freelancers of all types, even temporary CFOs, has mushroomed in the last five years. Here’s why more employers around the world are moving away from the full-time staff model."

Sisu Global Health's Gillian Henker Presents "Providing Access to Blood for a World in Need" (wegginar®)

©2024 Women Entrepreneurs Grow Global®.  All rights reserved.

Gillian Henker, Co-Founder & President is a two-time founder with a proven track record of execution. Gillian is the primary inventor of Hemafuse and two other medical technologies. She led Hemafuse development, global regulatory clearances (including FDA), and launch in 5 countries across Africa, Asia, and Europe.

She has been published in the International Journal of Gynecology and Obstetrics, has presented at the Midwest Biomedical Engineering Career Conference and Appropriate Healthcare Technologies for Developing Countries Seminar in London, and was named Baltimore Technologist of the Year. 

Wouldn't you love to meet her and pick her brain?  Now is your chance. Attend Women Entrepreneur Grow Global's free of charge wegginar® with Gillian presenting, "Providing Access to Blood for a World in Need," on Wednesday, June 5th at 11 AM CT.  The free of charge program is due to wegg's amazing, supportive sponsors as noted in the graphic.  

See you there!

Today in Global Small Business: What the New China Tariffs Mean for World Trade

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What's affecting me, my clients, my colleagues and other global small business owners:

• What the new China tariffs mean for world trade.
• U.S. import tariffs have dealt free trade a heavy blow.
• The impact of U.S.-China trade tensions.
• Quote of the week:  "The benefits of a tariff are visible. Union workers can see they are "protected". The harm which a tariff does is invisible. It's spread widely. There are people that don't have jobs because of tariffs but they don't know it." – Milton Friedman
• Musk opposes US tariffs on Chinese electric cars.
• Biden outdoes Trump with ultra-high China tariffs.

I Need to Be Outside

©2024 Laurel J. Delaney.  All rights reserved.

“I need to be outside. I need to be in the world and to remember that I am of it.” – John Green

When Your Home Market Weakens, Expand Overseas

©iStock/Picsfive

In an interview with the Financial Times, chief financial officer Eason Zhang said low-cost China-based retailer Miniso plans to open roughly 400 stores in China, but this year would be the first since at least 2019 that most of its new outlets were outside the country.

Minis will shift its focus of rapid expansion away from a domestic market – China – plagued by weak consumption.  Further, the falling cost of goods produced in China’s factories is also making them more competitive abroad.

Read the entire article here.

Small Business Productivity Issues Differ From Country to Country

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The McKinsey Global Institute aggregated a richly granular data set of micro-, small-, and medium-size enterprises (MSMEs) and large companies across 12 broad sectors, 68 level-two sub-sectors, and more than 200 level-three sub-sectors for 16 countries that account for more than half of global GDP.

In these countries, MSMEs on average have only half the productivity of large companies, and less than that in emerging economies. Raising MSMEs to top-quartile levels relative to large companies represents value equivalent to 5 percent of GDP in advanced economies and 10 percent in emerging economies.

The visual presentations here summarize the findings for the 16 countries in McKinsey's research representing different income levels. 

Risks Confronting the Global Economy in 2024

©iStock/libre de droit

Last year, the global economy defied expectations in potentially history-making ways. Amid wretched conditions—wars, surging inflation, and the biggest interest-rate surge in 40 years—the global economy did not suffer a significant downturn. It merely slowed.

This was an unfamiliar plot line: It implies the world economy has grown more resilient in ways we might not yet fully understand.

Yet it would be a mistake to think the danger has passed.   Here are 5 major risks confronting the global economy.