Japan has clearly had economic, political and financial challenges, along with the 2011 catastrophic tsunami, earthquake and the partial meltdown of the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Station. The country has had six prime ministers in the last five years and an increasing debt. Regardless, Japan is an important U.S. trading partner and that relationship influences [...]

We hear about the BRIC nations and their exciting growth and foreign investment, but the news typically focuses on China, India and Brazil, not Russia. Although Russia still suffers from blatant corruption and behind the scenes support of unsavory nations like Iran, it’s making headway in a number of ways. This includes the following: • [...]

Consumer shopping behavior can often take on a new meaning in China. Some large retailers such as Wal-Mart found out Chinese consumers like to buy their fresh (e.g. alive when bought) at Chinese food markets. However, non grocery retailers confront new challenges as they enter the Chinese market. A fun and interesting success story in [...]

Global corruption is getting worse. More companies and government officials are being caught for graft, kick-backs, price fixing or bribes. Anti-corruptions laws, whistle-blowers and diligent law enforcement agencies area not making enough of a difference on global crime. Increased corruption, especially in countries like Africa have held back economic progress, health and benefits to a [...]

One industry analyst claims “the Indian car market is the world’s toughest with players coming from all sides.” There is a plethora of new cars being launched in India. Many of the new cars are mini and sub-compacts, but others are SUVs and sedans. One of the largest car manufacturing centers in India is Chennai. [...]