Friday, May 28, 2010

Asda to Buy Netto's U.K. Stores


Wal-Mart, a U.S. company, bought Asda, a British company, a few years ago. Asda runs large grocery stores similar to what Wal-Mart has in the U.S. Now, Asda (using money from its parent Wal-Mart) is buying the U.K. stores of Netto, a chain of grocery stores majority owned by Dutch shipping container group Maersk. The price is $1.12 billion. The reason? So that Wal-Mart can enter into smaller, more convenient, in-town grocery retailing in the U.K.

Asda to Buy Netto's U.K. Stores - WSJ.com

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

Apple Investigating Hon Hai Precision's Steps to Deal With Suicides





Is a key Apple supplier in China, the producer of the iPad, a sweatshop, with working conditions so bad that workers are killing themselves? That's the allegation being made by human rights groups against Foxconn, also known as Hon Hai Precision Industry Co. The Taiwan-based company has a factory in Shenzen, China, where nine workers have died this year. Many have been ruled suicides, as this video and article discuss.

Apple Investigating Hon Hai Precision's Steps to Deal With Suicides - WSJ.com

Wednesday, May 19, 2010

IPhone Cracks Japan's Tough Market

Nokia, Samsung and Blackberry have all failed in Japan's smartphone market, where Japanese manufacturers dominate with highly sophisticated devices. The iPhone, however, is a huge hit and is making everyone examine their assumptions that the Japanese won't adopt a foreign phone brand. Even though the hardware is less sophisticated than the local competition, the software and aggressive pricing, as well as the App store, are winning over thousands of new customers. Which just goes to show once again how important the PRODUCT is to business success!

IPhone Cracks Japan's Tough Market - WSJ.com

Sears Canada Cuts Payments to Suppliers Due to Strong Loonie

The Canadian dollar (aka the Loonie) is on a tear, nearing parity with the U.S. dollar. At the beginning of 2009 it was worth 80 cents, but this week it's been trading at around 96 cents. Theoretically, with the currencies so closely aligned that should mean Canadians pay roughly the same as Americans for goods and services right? Not so fast. A pair of jeans at Sears U.S. is $29.99, but at Sears in Canada the same pair is C$70 (about $67.50). The WSJ explores what's going on in Canada at the retail front.


Sears Canada Cuts Payments to Suppliers Due to Strong Loonie - WSJ.com

U.S. Farmers Suffer From Ban On Mexican Trucks



In spite of legal promises made under the decade-old NAFTA to open U.S. highways to Mexican trucks, the U.S. continues to insist that Mexican trucks and drivers are too unsafe to allow into the country. This has led Mexico to (legally) impose tariffs on over $2 billion worth of U.S. exports to Mexico.


U.S. Farmers Suffer From Ban On Mexican Trucks : NPR

Tuesday, May 18, 2010

Economic Woes Threaten Chavez's Socialist Vision



How can one of the world's richest oil countries suffer from chronic electricity blackouts and a general povertization of the population? The answer may lie in a philosophical debate that has been taking place for centuries: should societies organize under socialist or capitalist economic principles? Venezuela is finding out that its experiment with socialism may have been a grave mistake.

Economic Woes Threaten Chavez's Socialist Vision : NPR

Europe’s Debt Crisis Casts a Shadow Over China

The falling Euro is making Chinese companies less competitive in Europe, one of China's most important export markets. While the falling Euro makes European exporters like Dior happy (above, a grand opening for a Dior in Shanghai), it is complicating moves by Beijing to de-couple the yuan from the U.S. Dollar, meaning that any weakening of the yuan (which in turn would help U.S. companies hoping to sell in China and make Chinese imports in the U.S. more expensive) will likely to have to wait a little longer.

Europe’s Debt Crisis Casts a Shadow Over China - NYTimes.com

Friday, May 14, 2010

Life On An American Campus In The UAE



American universities such as Michigan State and NYU are setting up branch campuses in the Middle East, especially in the United Arab Emirates. NPR reports on two of these campuses in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

Life On An American Campus In The UAE : NPR

Thursday, May 13, 2010

Middle East Woos U.S. Colleges



One American export that is gaining market share and growing rapidly is higher education. Many U.S. universities are now opening branch or satellite campuses around the world to offer American degrees. This NPR story explores the Carnegie Mellon business school in Doha, Qatar.



Middle East Woos U.S. Colleges : NPR

Strange Signs From Abroad - Interactive Feature - NYTimes.com

Last week I blogged about Shanghai's efforts to clean up bad English signs around the city in an article in the New York Times. Times readers submitted their own photos of bad English from travels around the world, and they're hilarious. Click through to see more.

Strange Signs From Abroad - Interactive Feature - NYTimes.com

Japanese Makeup Companies Have Trouble Cracking the U.S. Market

Japanese cosmetic manufacturers have a strong reputation, especially in Asia and Europe. After years of trying to make inroads into the U.S., however, several are giving up and quietly pulling out of department stores. This is happening even as American and Japanese standards of beauty are converging, highlighting the difficulties foreign companies have in entering the U.S. market without a clear marketing strategy.

Japanese Makeup Companies Have Trouble Cracking the U.S. Market - WSJ.com

In Amazon, Rain Forests Give Way to Shopping Malls

A few decades ago, most believed that major swaths along the Amazon river in Brazil were inhabitable. Today, shopping malls are sprouting up in the region as new cities take root, giving rise to a consumer culture that was previously absent.

In Amazon, Rain Forests Give Way to Shopping Malls - WSJ.com

Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Goodyear Tires of Its Miniature Factories

Akron-based Goodyear is one of the most globalized American companies. After all, it costs a lot to ship tires around the world, so setting up tire manufacturing where ever cars and trucks are made makes sense. Decades ago, the company was so proud of its global footprint that it set up a visitor center at its Akron headquarters complete with scale models of all its factories worldwide. There was even a full-time model expert who worked to maintain and create the sets. He's now retired, and the company is moving and no one knows what to do with the miniature models, a relic of a time past when being global was something special to crow about.

Goodyear Tires of Its Miniature Factories - WSJ.com


In this interconnected world, there's only so much a company can do to protect its own intellectual property. Apple recently found that out when an employee accidentally left behind a prototype iPhone 4G at a bar in California. Now, another prototype has shown up... in Vietnam. How did it get there? What will Apple do next? Only time will tell, but in the meantime enjoy the sounds of a Vietnamese cafe, complete with Bee Gees (of course) in the background....

Tuesday, May 11, 2010

Square Brings Credit Card Swiping to the Mobile Masses, Starting Today



This is too cool -- a company called Square has released an iPhone app (free) that allows anyone with an iPhone and a card reader (also free from Square) to accept credit card payments from anyone. The technology is totally mobile, and the fee is less than 3% per transaction. This is the kind of disruptive technology that can revolutionize the way small businesses operate, and it's also a sign of how mature the banking market in the U.S. is, a key advantage for small companies looking to enter or expand in the U.S.

Square Brings Credit Card Swiping to the Mobile Masses, Starting Today | Fast Company

Wasabi Kit Kat


Monday, May 10, 2010

Chinese, Foreign Car Makers Target Same Customers

Traditionally, large automakers such as GM, Ford and Volkswagen compete on the higher end in the Chinese auto market, while local Chinese manufacturers such as BYD, Chery and Geely compete on the lower price end. That situation is about to change, with the foreign carmakers getting ready to release lower-priced subcompacts and the Chinese carmakers tooling up their capability to compete in segments that are new to them. The prize? The 65 million households in China that in the next four years will achieve an annual income above the magic $9000 mark deemed necessary to afford a basic automobile.


Chinese, Foreign Car Makers Target Same Customers - WSJ.com

Wednesday, May 5, 2010

Seh Daeng



Seh Daeng is a former Thai army general who now sympathizes with the Red Shirt protesters, making him a target of the military and government. This video profiles Seh Daeng and the role he is playing in the protests.

Protesters in Thailand Welcome Premier’s Offer

Peace seems to be in the air in Thailand, where the red shirt protesters are considering backing down after receiving a promise from the government to hold elections by November, cutting Prime Minister Abhisit's term short by more than a year. Click here for a great video on the differences between the reds, yellows, and pinks, and what it means for Thailand's future.

Protesters in Thailand Welcome Premier’s Offer - NYTimes.com

Tuesday, May 4, 2010

Intrigue in Turkey's Bloodless Civil War - WSJ.com




Unlike the political chaos in Thailand, Turkey is undergoing its own version of a civil war without guns or violence. Just like Thailand, the war is between the old and the new. A new and younger generation, more interested in relaxing the walls between Islam and government, is demanding change from an established military order that zealously kept religion out of politics. The result is dramatic, including the arrest of one of Turkey's top prosecutors by a junior subordinate caught on video, above.
Intrigue in Turkey's Bloodless Civil War - WSJ.com

China Job Squeeze Sends 'Ants' to Fringes




UD just celebrated graduation weekend, as about 1100 students received their diplomas on Sunday. Meanwhile, in China, 6.3 million students will graduate this year and hit the job market. Although the economy is healthy, the sheer number of graduates hitting the job market at the same time causes underemployment for this population, leading them to establish tenements outside of major cities. A UIBE professor calls these graduates "ants" for their hard working nature and harsh living conditions, and a song has been composed about them.

China Job Squeeze Sends 'Ants' to Fringes - WSJ.com

Monday, May 3, 2010

Shanghai Is Trying to Untangle the Mangled English of Chinglish


There's Hinglish (new words born out of Hindu and English) and Singlish (new words born out of English spoken in Singapore) and now, Chinglish -- words born out of very bad translations in China. In Shanghai, an effort is underway to eradicate signs such as the one above from public view, but some are wondering whether this will close a window into the way the Chinese think.
Shanghai Is Trying to Untangle the Mangled English of Chinglish - NYTimes.com

Sunday, May 2, 2010

China’s Economic Influence Entices Indonesians to Study Mandarin

Although ethnic Chinese can be found throughout Southeast Asia, tolerance of their presence varies widely in the region, from complete assimilation in Thailand to legal discrimination in Malaysia. Indonesia has had an uneasy relationship with the Chinese in the past, but that is changing rapidly as China expands its economic influence in the region. The rise of Mandarin-language classes in Indonesia is only one sign of this rapidly changing dynamic.

China’s Economic Influence Entices Indonesians to Study Mandarin - NYTimes.com

Saturday, May 1, 2010

Seeking Closure: Plastic Stoppers Crack 400-Year-Old Natural Cork Monopoly

For centuries, wine bottles have been topped by cork harvested from trees, especially from Portugal. The cork is naturally spongy to permit squeezing into a bottle, and expands to form a tight but breathable seal. Scientists discovered that cork can sometimes ruin wine, and a search for alternatives was on. In the U.S., innovators have developed plastic corks that are cheaper and just as effective as natural cork, leading natural cork producers to search for a strategy to differentiate their product.

Seeking Closure: Plastic Stoppers Crack 400-Year-Old Natural Cork Monopoly - WSJ.com

Anti-government clashes in Thailand bring stalemate to a city and nation

Street demonstrations continue in Bangkok, where anti-government protesters have shut down important parts of the city. The media has generally not done a great job covering this story, but this morning's WaPo has an excellent summary of what's going on here -- who the players are from the King to the Crown Prince to former PM Thaksin, to what the issues are. Highly recommended as a primer to what's going on in Thailand these days.

Anti-government clashes in Thailand bring stalemate to a city and nation