Many U.S. regional jet passengers probably do not realize the jets are foreign made. They are either made by Canadian based Bombardier (ERJ) or a Brazilian company, Embraer (EMJ), The Embraer jets, in my opinion, have nicer interiors. They have higher ceilings, more comfortable leather seats and a more pleasant appearance. The story of Embraer [...]

Belgium was one of the original six members (along with France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg and The Netherlands) which started to unite Europe economically, with the European Coal and Steel Community in 1950. This evolved into the European Economic Community which became the European Union (EU) in November 1993. Along with Belgium, there are other quiet [...]

Most marketing MBA students are taught the do’s and don’ts of international marketing. This often includes a list of classic mistakes made by U.S. companies in advertising due to not understanding cultural differences or mistranslation of the language. Some classic examples of those involving advertising to Chinese include: 1. KFC experienced problems when the phrase [...]

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: • [...]