Bhumika Ghimire's Blog
Posted by Bhumika Ghimire
Detroit Free Press says, "The resulting leaks and the partial shutdown of the field hurt the U.S. economy by boosting oil prices, Rep. Joe Barton of Texas, the Republican chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said Thursday as BP officials appeared at a hearing. BP's failures are staggering, said Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich., who called for tighter pipeline regulation."
Congressional hearing is looking into this issue. For more information, please visit, < a href="http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060908/BUSINESS07/609080314/1020/business"> this link
Posted by Bhumika Ghimire
BBC News says, "The Netherlands is the rich nation which does the most to improve lives in developing countries, a Center for Global Development (CGD) report says.
The UK is 12th in the annual Commitment to Development Index of the world's 21 richest nations and Japan ranked last."
For more on this news, please visit: this link
Posted by Bhumika Ghimire
According to Bloomberg.com, " The world's largest retailer said it also will boost performance-based pay. Minimum starting pay will rise an average of 6 percent at 1,200 stores, spokesman John Simley said today. Wal-Mart pays full-time employees an average of $10.11 an hour, compared with $17 at Costco Wholesale Corp., the largest U.S. warehouse-club retailer.".
For more on this news, please visit this link
Posted by Bhumika Ghimire
According to the Financial Times, Google and MySpace.com have signed a multi year search and advertising deal which would make Google the search system for MySpace.
MySpace, the fast going networking site is owned by NewsCorp, which is Rupert Murdoch's company.
For more on this news, please visit this link
Posted by Bhumika Ghimire
According to Silicon.com, "Some 5,000 AOL employees, or about 26 per cent of the company's 19,000-person workforce, will lose their jobs within six months as a result of restructuring at Time Warner's AOL online division, it emerged on Thursday."
For more information, please visit this link
Posted by Bhumika Ghimire
Judge Joe Griffin of Millier County has approved $90 million settlement to the class action suit brought against Google, by Lane's Gifts and Collectibles of Texarkana and other advertisers who used Google.
Lane's Gifts and Collectibles had accused Google of falsely billing them for fradulanet "clicks". They said that the clicks were not by genuine customers. The click fraud, they said, increased their advertisment bill.
For more, please visit: this link
Posted by Bhumika Ghimire
According to the Los Angeles Times, "The economy grew at an annual rate of only 2.5% in the second three months of 2006, the Commerce Department reported. That is less than half of the 5.6% rate of the first three months of the year."(LA Times, 28 July,2006)
Something positive about the report was that, the Gross Domestic Product of the nation grew by 2.5% for the three months ending in June 30.
Posted by Bhumika Ghimire
According to Bloomberg.com, "Crude oil rose above $78 a barrel in New York for the first time as escalating violence in the Middle East and disruptions in Nigeria threatened global supplies".
CNN reports that Israeli attack on Beirut's international airport and Hezbollah's counter attack on Haifa has resulted in major escalation of the already high tensions, with Israeli and Lebanon officials calling this an act of war.
Posted by Bhumika Ghimire
According to ZDNet Australia, "Intel spokesman Chuck Mulloy confirmed the layoffs Thursday, saying they would "both reduce costs and improve decision-making and communications." He didn't disclose the financial costs or benefits of the cuts, but said Intel plans to share more details July 19 when it discusses financial results for the last quarter."
With competition from rival AMD getting increasingly fierce and the two years of sluggish performance, Intel hopes that this restructuring effort will provide a positive boost for the company.
Posted by Bhumika Ghimire
Checkout, a payment system developed by Google is seen as Paypal's(EBay)rival. Ebay has denied that this move against Checkout is retaliatory. The company said the Checkout was not approved because it could not satisfy them in terms of reliable service and a proven track record.
Google launched Checkout last week.
Posted by Bhumika Ghimire
Lay, founder of energy giant Enron, was found guilty of fraud and conspiration in May, by a Huston jury.Enron collapse, one of the biggest scandal to rock corporate America,left around 4,000 jobless.Billions in stock market were wipped off.
In 2002,Sarbanes-Oxley Law was introduced to prevent this kind of corporate fraud and failures in future.
Posted by Bhumika Ghimire
According to ABCNews.com,"Arcelor yielded to Mittal's 25.4 billion euros offer ($31.92 billion) Sunday, ending a bitter five-month battle and jilting Russian partner Severstal."
This came after the Arcelor's two largest shareholders stood in support of the deal. The new company, Arcelor-Mittal with be based in Luxembourg.
Posted by Bhumika Ghimire
Harvard president,Lawrence Summers who was close to Ellison resigned earlier this year after his controversial remarks on women in science. According to Timesonline.co.uk,""In light of Summers's resignation, Larry Ellison has decided to reconsider his decision," an Oracle official said. "There was never a formal agreement but it had been talked about." He added that Mr Ellison, 61, was expected to announce a different contribution in the coming weeks. Mr Ellison is ranked by Forbes magazine as the fifteenth-richest person in the world, with a fortune of $16 billion."
Posted by Bhumika Ghimire
According to ComputerWorld.com,"The Senate Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee's 11-11 vote means the net neutrality amendment will not be added to a wide-ranging broadband bill as it goes to the Senate floor. The amendment, offered by Senators Olympia Snowe, a Maine Republican, and Byron Dorgan, a North Dakota Democrat, would have prevented broadband providers such as AT&T Inc. and Comcast Corp. from charging extra based on the type of content transmitted by Internet-based companies."
Failure to include net neutrality means that in future it will be possible for companies like Comcast to charge extra when the user visits certain sites on the internet.Oregon Senator Wyden has promised to put the bill on hold because not having net neutrality promotes discrimination.
Posted by Bhumika Ghimire
According to the Hindu.com, "the new bottling plant covers an area of 77,610 sq. m. and cost 175 million yuan (about 21.58 million US dollars). Installed with four production lines and with a designed annual capacity of producing 400,000 tons of beverages, the new bottling factory will be able to supply products to 30 million customers in eastern areas of Guangdong."
The new plant is located in Huizhou in the Guangdong Province.
For more on Coca-Cola China operations, please visit this link
Posted by Bhumika Ghimire
According to BusinessWeek Online, " Nestle AG, the world's biggest food and drink company, said Monday it is buying weight management and diet company Jenny Craig for $600 million.
The current management team of Jenny Craig Inc., which is based in Carlsbad, Calif., will continue to run the business and report directly to Nestle, the Swiss company said in a statement."
Nestle has said that this move will prove the company's commitment towards nutrition and wellness of its consumers.
Posted by Bhumika Ghimire
To exploit economies of scale, Nokia and Siemens have agreed to join forces. According to the International Herald Tribune, "In the third major deal in the sector in less than a year, Nokia and Siemens announced Monday that they would combine their network- equipment businesses to create a new powerhouse with €15.8 billion in annual sales, a move analysts said would unleash a furious race to exploit economies of scale in a brutally competitive market."
Major competition for the new company is expected to be from Alcatel-Lucent and Ericsson-Marconi.
Posted by Bhumika Ghimire
The New York Times says that, "The lawsuit adds a new challenge for Vonage, which has seen its stock price slide precipitously since it went public last month.
Vonage's shares, which were initially sold for $17, fell as low as $8.45 this afternoon, more than 11 percent below Friday's close."
Vonage is accused of voilating atleast seven patents.
For more on Vonage, please visit this link
Posted by Bhumika Ghimire
According to Hindustantimes.com, "Chalking out an aggressive strategy for the Indian market, South Korean carmaker Hyundai Motor on Friday said it will launch two models every year that would include diesel cars, including a 1.2-litre engine hatchback."
Hyundai India currently has capacity of 2,50,000, which is company is taking upto 3,00,000.
For more on Hyundai India, please visit, this link
Posted by Bhumika Ghimire
Mr. Gates,50, who founded Microsoft when he was 20, has successfully established the company as the leader in computer and internet technology. According to Globeandmail.com, "Mr. Gates, 50, will remain as chairman and a company adviser, but will turn over the day-to-day running of the company to a key cadre of executives, who face the onerous task of keeping Microsoft on top in the fiercely competitive world of Internet services.
Microsoft, the monolith of the personal computer age, has seen its dominance eroded by upstarts like Google Inc. and Yahoo Inc. as the Internet becomes increasingly more critical and profitable."
Microsoft has doubled its revenue to $60-billion (U.S.) a year, and most recently posted its first $1-billion quarterly profit, according to reports.
Mr Gates will now focus on working for Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. A charity he founded with his wife,with assets of $29-billion (U.S.), which works on health care and education in Africa and India. The foundation is also active in providing educational materials and grants to US schools.
Posted by Bhumika Ghimire
U.S Mission to the EU This site has information on EU Tenders, Market Reserach, Government grants and Internships.
University of Alberta This site has information on business etiquette, travel information, EU corporations and
business journals from the region.
The Association of European Chambers of Commerce and Industry
Posted by Bhumika Ghimire
According to BBC News, "According to the lawsuit, Wal-Mart is selling fake handbags, wallets and key chains at Sam's Club stores in states including New York and California.
LVMH complained that the Fendi goods were being sold as "genuine" at prices that were discounted as much as 70%."
The issue of fake goods hurting revenue, brand name, is not new for the big name companies. Recently some have started to take legal action against the sellers and producers.
For more on LVMH, please visit this link
Foe more on Fendi, please visit this link
Posted by Bhumika Ghimire
According to The Independent Online Edition, " The board of the steel group Arcelor is today expected to announce the rejection of an improved offer from Mittal Steel."
Mittal's new bid,€26bn (£17.8bn), failed to lure Arcelor's board members who believe that merger with Russian company Severstal would be a better deal.
For more on Arcelor, please visit, this link
For more on Severstal, please visit, this link
Severstal's website contains details about the merger agreement.
Posted by Bhumika Ghimire
As reported in ABC News.com, "The finance ministers from the world's most industrialized nations, meeting ahead of next month's summit of G-8 leaders, said global growth "is gradually becoming more broadly based," but risks from "high and volatile energy prices and widening global imbalances" remain."
The is being held in St.Petersburg, Russia.
For more on the G-8, please visit this link
For more on rising oil prices, please visit this link
Posted by Bhumika Ghimire
According to Forbes.com and AP, a massive earthquake, measuring 6.2 in the scale has killed atleast 2,700.The Forbes.com says, "The magnitude-6.2 quake struck at 5:54 a.m. near the ancient city of Yogyakarta 250 miles east of the capital, Jakarta, as most people were sleeping, causing death and damage in many nearby towns. "
For more, please visit this link
Posted by Bhumika Ghimire
Here are the topics listed in order, Doing Business in the European Union, Business in China and Tourism Business in the USA.
If you would like to see an article on any topic on International Business, please send us an email.
Posted by Bhumika Ghimire
For more on Europen Union and its role on various issues, from economy to immigration, please visit the following links:
Posted by Bhumika Ghimire
Here is a list of website for more on South Korea,
Posted by Bhumika Ghimire
Africaeconomicanalysis.org, has reports on Globalization, Nigeria and OPEC, Corruption and other issues that affect the continent's economy.
For more on the site and the contents, send an email at:aea@africaeconomicanalysis.org, or mail at P.O. Box 1985
Bridgnorth
WV16 5YT
United Kingdom
Tel/Fax +44 (0)1746 769657.
Posted by Bhumika Ghimire
According to United Press International, "India is reeling from the largest ever free-fall of Mumbai's Sensex, apparently triggered by reports some foreign investors may be taxed on their stocks.
Mounting fears among investors prompted Finance Minister P. Chidambaram to step in and announce that the draft was merely a discussion paper, but Mumbai's stock market continued to plummet all day. "( 19 May, 2006)
The Sensex has lost 1300 points, and the critics say that this state of panic and the tax policy will scare off foreign investors.
For more please visit, this link
Posted by Bhumika Ghimire
According to Telegraph.com.uk, "The group(Mittal Steel), headed by the billionaire Lakshmi Mittal, has improved its offer to €37.74 a share from the hostile €28.21 a share bid made in January, valuing Arcelor at €25.8bn (£17.5bn).
Arcelor will hold a board meeting this weekend to assess the improved offer. A spokesman said: "No reaction or recommendation to our shareholders will be made prior to that meeting."
For more on Mittal Steel, please visit this link . For Arcelor, please visit this link .
Posted by Bhumika Ghimire
According to Chron.com, "Worse-than-expected inflation data sent stocks skidding Wednesday amid fears that soaring energy and housing costs may prompt the Federal Reserve to continue raising interest rates.
The Dow Jones industrial average fell more than 200 points after the Labor Department reported that the Consumer Price Index rose 0.6 percent in April. The spike was fueled primarily by an 8.8 percent increase in gasoline prices. The consumer index rose at a 4.1 percent annual rate over the past three months, higher than the Federal Reserve's tolerance range of 2 to 3 percent."
For more on the Labour Department report, please visit, this link
Posted by Bhumika Ghimire
According to CBS.com,"The logistical support needed to maintain a constant redeployment of National Guard troops every two weeks will be staggering," Schwarzenegger added. "From housing, food, storage, sewage, training, transportation needs, this constant state of deployment will require hundreds of additional troops just to support troop movement."
Clearly, this step has implication on state government's economy, along with business with Mexico.
For more on immigrtion reform, please visit this link
Posted by Bhumika Ghimire
According to IDRC.ca, "Despite its early lead in the past decade, Kenya's ICT sector has lagged behind its East African neighbours, Tanzania and Uganda. A key reason for this has been an outmoded regulatory regime and a lack of focus and coordination in addressing ICT challenges and opportunities. The Government of Kenya is committed to removing barriers to ICT development. To guide and co-ordinate its efforts, the government needs a comprehensive policy driven by the input and commitment of all the groups and sectors who will be responsible for turning the policy into reality."
For more on ICT policy development in Kenya, please visit this link
Posted by Bhumika Ghimire
Here are the links to the user groups, some require registration to access the articles and messages posted.
Posted by Bhumika Ghimire
According to a report published at www.american.edu following are the reasons for slow development of IT in Kenya "
Poor Telecommunication Infrastructure. Kenya's telecommunications sector suffers from under-investment and political interference. It is unreliable.
Kenya has not formulated integrated national informatics policies.
Unreliable electric power.
Lack of research and development on technology.
Lack of trained professionals in IT.
Cost of internet are high."
For more on IT in Africa, please visit this link
Posted by Bhumika Ghimire
According to allAfrica.com, "LEGISLATION to increase cellphone penetration and make it more affordable could backfire and end up slowing down the industry's growth, MTN has warned.
Two pieces of legislation affecting the industry had noble aims, but were badly drafted and likely to be badly implemented, MTN SA's MD, Maanda Manyatshe, said yesterday."
For more on various laws in South Africa, please visit this link
Posted by Bhumika Ghimire
According to AND News, "Muziwendoda Kunene a former Missionary turned an IT specialist appeared briefly in the Pretoria regional court earlier this morning, his case was postponed to June 26 to arrange for his new legal team.
He is facing a charge of contravening the intelligence service by refusing to co-operate with the intelligence agency investigators.
He was arrested in December last year for allegedly distributing hoax emails implicating top ANC officials in conspiracy against the party's deputy president Jacob Zuma. "
For more on cyber crimes in South Africa, please visit this link
Posted by Bhumika Ghimire
This week's discussion on Africa's IT industry will appear as a series, as it is not possible to have a good picture of the growing industry in one article of 400 words.
The blogs will cover news and other information on the industry, and the other part of the article will appear in the coming week.
We hope you will find this series informative. Please do send in your comments and suggestions.
Posted by Bhumika Ghimire
According to Zee News, "Bowing to pressure from traders and industrialists, Delhi government today withdrew its decision to resort to loadshedding in commercial places, which would have forced industries to close by 6:30 pm and markets by 7:30 pm."
To solve this crises, India's caiptal will receive 200 MW power from neighbouring Himanchal Pradesh.
Posted by Bhumika Ghimire
According to the Bangkok Post, "India is working on free-trade agreements with China, Japan and South Korea and on growing trade with other Asian nations, which could usher in a pan-Asian free-trade area, Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said Friday.
India, which has a "vital stake" in the prosperity and stability of Asia, had renewed its commitment to regional economic cooperation with its "'look east' policy," Singh said in an address at the annual meeting of the Asian Development Bank in India's southern Hyderabad city. "
For more on India's trade with Japan, please visit India Onestop
Posted by Bhumika Ghimire
According to rediff.com, "Industry watchers are already cautioning about the growing demand-supply manpower gap in the IT sector, which could prove to be a major impediment to further development of the market, says Vijay K Thadani of NIIT."
For more on the Indian IT industry, please visit NASSCOM Site .
Posted by Bhumika Ghimire
According to the New York Times, "Bolivian authorities said Wednesday that they planned to scour the financial records of foreign energy companies and they threatened explicitly for the first time to seize company assets if new contracts giving the state greater control could not be negotiated.
Wearing a hard hat and flanked by uniformed police officers, Andrés Soliz Rada, the energy minister, reiterated that multinational companies had six months to negotiate new contracts, many of which are likely to vastly increase the state's take."
Many foreign companies in the country, believe that this step taken by the government will negatively affect foreign investment in the nation.
Posted by Bhumika Ghimire
According to the Gazette.net, "A trade delegation from India is scheduled to sign an agreement with the Maryland India Business Roundtable in Largo today to establish a working relationship that could strengthen business for both parties."
The agreement is mainly focused on technology products, and will be signed by the The Electronic and Computer Software Promotion Council of India.
Posted by Bhumika Ghimire
http://www.carrow.com/linkindia.html: Has links to various sites on India's laws.
http://www.helplinelaw.com/docs/bareact.shtml: This site provides on-line legal help and has links to the various sections of Indian business law.
http://www.manupatra.com/asp/home.asp: A paid membership site, which is an excellent source for legal research.
http://www.laws4india.com/: A site with lots of information on various Indian laws.
Posted by Bhumika Ghimire
The report published by Fortune.com says that, the top 10 employers are McKinsey & Co., Google, Goldman Sachs, Bain & Co., The Boston Consulting Group, Citigroup, Apple Computer, General Electric, Johnson & Johnson, Morgan Stanley.
For more on the listed companies, please visit Here
Posted by Bhumika Ghimire
According to the International Herald Tribune, "Prosecutors said Thursday that they were seeking a warrant of arrest for Hyundai Motor's chairman, Chung Mong Koo, on fraud and corruption charges, overriding the pleas of suppliers and employees to show leniency to avoid harming one of the country's most important conglomerates."
His supporters fear that this move against Mr. Koo will destabilize the world's seventh largest auto marker, in turn affecting the South Korean economy.
Posted by Bhumika Ghimire
According to CNN-IBN, "After an initial setback, as India gains a diplomatic foothold in Nepal even as the Himalayan nation shows some signs of returning to normalcy, New Delhi is pressing ahead with a strong bilateral initiative, which may also involve a huge financial package to help the insurgency-hit nation recover from the economic reverses.". The news report also says that India is considering resuming military aid to Nepal, if required.
Following on India's footsteps, USA and other donor nations are expected to provide more development assistance to Nepal.
Posted by Bhumika Ghimire
According to various news reports, CEO Sun Microsystems Scott G. McNealy is resigning after 22 years on the job.
M and C news has reported that, "Known for both his litigation against rival Microsoft Corp. and a four-year streak of no yearly profits, McNealy will remain as the company's chairman and 'chief evangelist,' the Washington Post said Tuesday.
The new CEO will be Jonathan Schwartz, 40, who has been at Sun Microsystems for 10 years."
Posted by Bhumika Ghimire
Upcoming topics will be as follows: Doing business in India, IT industry in Africa, Women in business in North America.
Please send us your comments and suggestions.
Posted by Bhumika Ghimire
At present there are two telecom companies offering cellular phone services in Nepal. The government owned Nepal Telecom (NT) and the privately operated United Telecom Ltd(UTL). According to the news reports the government ordered the suspension to stop malicious and potentially dangerous rumours from spreading around the capital. The current political turmoil in the country has meant increased security measures and limited access to information.
Source:
The Himalayan Times, April 23,2006
Posted by Bhumika Ghimire
According to various news reports, the people of Nepal have denounced the King's address as a lie and an attempt to stay on the throne. The protestors on the streets have vowed to keep on protesting until the King gives up all his powers.
This week we will discuss the Nepalese economy and investment opportunities in the nation, in light of the political turmoil.
Sources:
Posted by Bhumika Ghimire
Chinese President Hu Jintao, on his first visit to the White House, failed to produce any breakthroughs during his meeting with President Bush on issues ranging from Iran and North Korea to trade and economy.
According to USAToday.com, "Hu, aware of the growing U.S. impatience with America's record $202 billion trade deficit with China, offered general promises to address the yawning gap, but his comments were likely to do little to cool calls in Congress for punitive tariffs on Chinese products."
Posted by Bhumika Ghimire
In a news report by Kathimerini, "An agreement was signed Friday in Moscow, under which Russia will pay off an old debt of USD 11 million to Greece, the online edition of Greek newspaper Kathimerini reported. The signatories were Greek Deputy Minister of Economy and Finance Christos Folias and his Russian counterpart Sergey Storchak."
This is expected to help Greece reduce its increasing national debt.
Posted by Bhumika Ghimire
According to Indiatimes.com, the Chinese economy grew by 10% in first quarter of this year (2006), far ahead of its targeted 8% growth for the whole year.
The report says that, "China's total trade surplus stood at $23.3 bn for the first three months of this year with total foreign trade volume touching $371.3 bn. China's export volume grew by 26.6 per cent year on year to $197.3 bn during January to March, while imports were worth $174 bn, up 24.8 per cent from a year ago. China saw a record high monthly trade volume of $144.9 bn in March, an increase of 24.9 per cent year on year. "
The government has been reported as saying it is not concentrating on rapid growth, but is looking to have a sustainable growth rate and bring up the living standard.
Posted by Bhumika Ghimire
According to ekathimerini.com, "The agreement, to run from 2007-2010, will provide scholarships for Greek university students to study in China and vice versa."
Chinese and Greek language will be taught in each other's country in government certified courses and the universities will work together in field of research. Scholarships will be provided to students to join each other's university.
Posted by Bhumika Ghimire
According to the People's Daily Online, "Wen(Chinese Premier) reviewed the smooth and sound development of bilateral relations, expanding economic and trade cooperation and increasing exchanges in various fields in the past 33 years of diplomatic ties."
China regards Greece as a good partner in Europe and is looking forward to increasing high level government contacts as well as people-to-people contact. Greece supports one Chinese policy, and is extending cooperation to help China with the upcoming Olympics.
Posted by Bhumika Ghimire
http://www.brazzil.com/: Launched in April of 1989, Brazzil has news about Brazilian politics, business, sports and lifestyle.
http://www.braziltourism.org/: Literally one stop solution for all of you travelling to Brazil. From visa information to nature travel, this site has all that you need to explore Brazil.
www.brazilian-consulate.org/secom/incs/DoingBusinessinBrazil.pdf: Has information on doing business in the country.
http://www.bcb.gov.br/?english: The country's central bank. Has important data on economy, inflation, also the fiscal policy and currency rate.
We hope that the series in Brazil was informative and an interesting read. Please let us know if you would like us to write about a specific region or nation.
Posted by Bhumika Ghimire
SANA has reported that,"Moualla(Rector of Damascus University) talked with Professor of Arabic language at Rio University Julio Patpista on establishing ties of scientific and cultural cooperation mainly in field of receiving professors from the Brazilian university to learn the Arabic language."
The meeting took place this Thursday in Damascus.
Home page of Damascus University is Here
Home page of Rio University is Here
Posted by Bhumika Ghimire
According to Deutsche Presse-Agentur,"America's ATSC and Europe's DVB systems are other competitive options, but President Lula said that Japan's system is the most advanced for a poor country where 90 per cent of the people have televisions."
Final announcement on this is expected to come around October.
Posted by Bhumika Ghimire
A report published in SupplyManagement.com says that with rising cost of offshoring in China, Brazil and India are emerging as the future leaders in the field. India has the advantage of talent pool and large population base, Brazil on the other hand, is more West-aligned, which helps to get contracts from Europe and US, has a large talent base and its proximity to US also adds to the advantage.
Posted by Bhumika Ghimire
According to the CIA factbook, Brazil has a huge manpower pool of 90.41 million (2005 est.), and the fact that 68% of the population belongs to the productive 15-64 age group adds to the advantage.
Here is some data on the nation:
- Total area: 8,511,965 sq. km
- GDP: $ $1.568 trillion(US GDP $12.41 trillion (2005 est.)
- GDP growth rate: 2.4% (2005 est.)
- GDP per capita: $8,400 (2005 est.)
- Major exports: transport equipment and parts, soybeans, coffee, oils
- Exports of goods and services: $115.1 billion f.o.b. (2005 est.)
- Major export trading partners: US 22.9%, Argentina 6.2%, China 6.2%, Netherlands 5.8 %, Germany 4.3%
- Major imports: machinery and electrical equipment, chemical products, oil
Sources:
CIA FactBook,Heritage.org
Posted by Bhumika Ghimire
This week we will disucss about, Brazil's bio-fuel market.Week of April 16, we will talk about the new ties between Greece and China. Week of 23 April, I will be reporting from Nepal on the country's economy, possibility of foreign investment and the tourism industry.
Please send your comments about this new arrangement.
Posted by Bhumika Ghimire
Bangladesh, one of the poorest countries with per capita income of $250, will have a growth of healthy 6.5% in 2006. This is an encouraging news, looking at all the hurdles the nation had to face in last couple of years.
The encouraging economic sign brings hope of increased foreign investment and more business from international customers.
Posted by Bhumika Ghimire
It is not an email from a mysterious person in Nigeria saying that they need your help to get their millions of dollars back from some phoney bank, it is not a junk mail that you have been "selected" to win some millions in a lotto.Internet fraud is now more sophisticated and harder to detect.
The scammers invite visitors to do business outside the legitimate site and con them, they send buyers some great deals to lure them and leave them without the product or their money.
According to the Time report, " Accoring to the list of top consumer complaints to the FTC in 2005, Internet related scams accounted for 46% of all fraud gripes last year."
Posted by Bhumika Ghimire
According to Kantipuronline.com, developmental aid to Nepal from UK, Denmark, Finland has come down significantly. The news says that"DFID, the British Funding Agency, for instance, has cut aid from £ 47 million (Rs 5.8 billion) it proposed in 2004 to below £ 32 million (Rs 3.9 billion) in 2006."
This is expected to slow down the alreday marred development process in Nepal, one of the poorest countries in the world.
Posted by Bhumika Ghimire
Until very recently, women in countries like Saudi Arabia, UAE, Iran were limited to the traditional roles set for women, like being a wife, mother.Now many women are entering the workforce, some are even starting their own business.
This week we are going to look at the women who have started their own business in the middle east, how they deal with their traditional society and what the governments are doing to encourage them.
Posted by Bhumika Ghimire
According to the news report published in The Sydney Morning Herald,"The Administration(Bush administration) has used an annual report to intensify pressure on China to deal with such long-simmering trade disputes as the piracy of copyrighted music, movies and computer software, which American companies say costs them billions of dollars a year in lost sales and fees."
The report, with special emphasis on China, says that the Chinese government had failed to protect intellectual property, stop the rampant piracy of software and merchandise, and has not made an effort to stop the smuggling of these illegal good to USA.
Posted by Bhumika Ghimire
Hooters Air, with women in shorts and tight tops is ready to cut its wings. The ariline is cutting all servuces and will only run private charters out of Winston-Salem, N.C.
Airports services by the airline were:Allentown Lehigh Valley International Airport (ABE),Ft. Lauderdale - Hollywood International Airport (FLL),Myrtle Beach International Airport (MYR),Newark Liberty International Airport (EWR),St. Petersburg - Clearwater International Airport (PIE),Wilkes-Barre Scranton International Airport (AVP).
Its website http://www.hootersair.com/, says that it has three boeings. No report yet on the reason for the closing.
Posted by Bhumika Ghimire
In an attempt to stay competitive and produce graduates able to work in a bilingual environment, the Japanese government has decided to make English compulsory at elementary school by 2008. Since neighbouring China and South Korea have made English compulsory in school, this move by Japan is seen as a national strategy.
Source:http://www.crisscross.com/jp/news/368156
Posted by Bhumika Ghimire
After the second world war, Japan has developed itself to be the technology leader in the field of electronics. Sony, Toshiba, Hitachi, all Japanese companies, are leaders in their fields. Even in car making, Japan has made tremendous strides. We have included links to sites, for more information in doing business in the nation.
We invite the readers to take part in the discussion.
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2195.html
http://www.buyusa.gov/japan/en/doing.html
http://www.jetro.go.jp/
Posted by Bhumika Ghimire
According to Reuters, Alcatel is set to buy its American rival Lucent. The new company will be based in France.The merger would allow Alcatel to have increased access to the US market.
Source:Reuters
Posted by Bhumika Ghimire
Sabeer Bhatia, who founded Hotmail has launched BlogEverywhere. According to rediff.com BlogEverywhere is "a simple way to log one's thoughts and comments on any web page without leaving it. It enables one to have a conversation with other readers of that page".
Victor Menzes, the former chief of Citigroup,is co-funding this venture.
Source:www.rediff.com
To learn more about BlogEverywhere, please visit http://blogeverywhere.com/
Posted by Bhumika Ghimire
According to the United States government, "The Central America-Dominican Republic-United States Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA-DR)creates the second-largest U.S. export market in Latin America, behind only Mexico, and the 10th largest U.S. export market in the world."
The agreement was signed into law by the President on August 2, 2005.
Although the signatories to the agreement have praised the agreement as being revolutionary in increasing trade between US and Central America, there are oppositions. The opponents say that the agreement in the long term will hurt America, increase corporate domination over democracy, and reduce labor rights.
This week we will discuss CAFTA looking at positives and negatives. We invite you to take part in the discussions to share your views about the agreement.
For more information on CAFTA, please visit the following sites:
Opposition to CAFTA: http://www.stopcafta.org/article.php?list=type&type=2
Washington Office on Latin America:
http://www.wola.org/economic/cafta.htm
Posted by Bhumika Ghimire
The news report says that, "KinderStart charges that Google without warning in March 2005 penalized the site in its search rankings, sparking a "cataclysmic" 70 percent fall in its audience -- and a resulting 80 percent decline in revenue.
At its height, KinderStart counted 10 million page views per month, the lawsuit said. "(CNN, 2006)
Google has not commented on this, but the company has defended its search ranking system and has said that it is justified in changing the ranking system to adapt to changing needs of its customers.
Posted by Bhumika Ghimire
These inner cities and villages far from the booming costal towns like Shanghai are lagging behind in developement and do not attract much of the international inverstment flowing into China.
This marginalization of large section of population is growing in many developing nations.International business community, eager to cash into the booming economies is not thinking about the population left behind in this gold rush. India, China, Russia, South Africa all having a growing population of dissatsified citizens who are less impressed by their nations status as the boom economy.
Posted by Bhumika Ghimire
Importance of having good relations with international business partners cannot be overstated.The relationship with trust and confidence is important but after the sour deal with Dubai Port Authority will our business partners be able to trust us? I donot mean trust as in lack of confidence.I mean trust as in being treated as equal and as a partner.
National security is important but the way this was handled and the politics that came along may be counterproductive for our image as a great business partner.
Posted by Bhumika Ghimire
International Business Leaders Forum: http://www.iblf.org/about_us.jsp
The World Bank:http://web.worldbank.org/
International Chamber of Commerce:http://www.iccwbo.org/
Posted by Bhumika Ghimire
Back in Nepal, the Soviet government used to sponsor children of writers, scientists who were not so strong financially to study medicine, engineering in the Soviet Union. At present there are many "opinion formers" is Nepal who are Russian educated.
After the fall of Soviet Union, that kind of sponsorhsip ended. But still hundereds of Nepalese students go to Russia annually to study on scholorships and reduced fees scheme. The Russian cultural center is very active in the capital Kathmandu.
With all this, people of Nepal have always regarded Russia as a friend, not only in a political way but also because of the people to people relation we have. In today's world, this kind of cultural closeness is gaining importance as polititcs is getting more and more divisive.
Posted by Bhumika Ghimire
Following is the link to his papers and research findings, more can be found at the Eller and MIT website.Dr Gupta is now associated with the Eller College of Management at Arizona.He was previously associated with MIT Sloan School.
http://ebusiness.mit.edu/research/papers/203_Gupta_24Hour.pdf
Posted by Bhumika Ghimire
Here are some sites to learn more about Russia
http://www.internationalist.com/business/Russia.php
http://www.cbr.ru/: Russia's Central Bank
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/rutoc.html: Library of Congress on Russia
Posted by Bhumika Ghimire
#http://www.computerworld.com/managementtopics/outsourcing/resourcepage/0,5242,,00.html
#http://www.managementlogs.com: A blog to discuss outsourcing
#http://www.rediff.com/money/bpo.htm: A list of latest happening in the world of outsourcing
#http://blog.go4outsourcing.com: A blog to discuss outsourcing
Posted by Bhumika Ghimire
Many Indian and Philipino papers have reported on this but there is lack of news on this in American media.To learn more, please visit the link. Please join us in discussion to share more on this issue.
Posted by Bhumika Ghimire
Even President Bush in his visit to India said that outsourcing is painful but necessary.
In the coming week we will be discussing about outsourcing, focusing on call centers in India.
Posted by Bhumika Ghimire
http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2006/01/google-in-china.html
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4735662.stm
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/4645596.stm
www.google-watch-china.org