I am probably trailing behind a lot of people, certainly behind some of my students who just introduced me to a wonderful interactive site, called “The World’s Best Countries“. The very sophisticated interface and the tasteful graphics make it a real pleasure to enjoy profound data in categories such as health, education, quality of life, […]
The race is on. India just announced that it will allow foreign majority ownership in its retail industry. This paves the way for global retailers such as Wal-Mart, Tesco, Carrefour, or Metro. And it’ll be a brutal race, too. One might think that a retail market that is estimated at around $ 400 bio this […]
You have certainly heard of Adidas, Bayer, Henkel, Linde, or Siemens – all German companies and major players on world markets and a major source of pride for most Germans. Well, think again. It’s been a while since I read this feature about foreign ownership of German companies in a German weekly. For the vast […]
As has been announced a few days ago, Walt Disney is plunking down about $300 mio to acquire a major stake in the Russian Channel Seven with the objective of entering the Russian market. This is their second attempt. About three years ago, Disney had plans to acquire a 49 percent stake in Russian Media-1 […]
Who would have ever thought? Not only is Volvo in Chinese hands, now Saab is, too! Zhejiang Youngman Lotus Automobile Co. and Pang Da Automobile Trade Co. of China have announced that they will purchase insolvent Saab for approximately 100 million Euros. What remains to be seen are two things – first, if the Chinese […]
A while ago, a student of mine (yes, I’m also a professor at a business school), has written an interesting term paper. The general topic was – of course – failure in international business, and the student who was working for a US-based mid-sized cosmetics company decided to focus on cosmetics in Japan. The outcome […]
Interesting piece in the McKinseyQuarterly about metrics for Chinese exports. Very much in line with my recent postings, this contributes a bit to the debunking of the China myth. Don’t be afraid! All will be good!
Looks like Deutsche Boerse and the New York Stock Exchange are in their final stages of negotiations over a takeover by the Germans. Price-tag: about 10 billion. Upside: synergies and better competitive position vis-a-vis emerging stock exchanges in other parts of the world. Downside: integration is never easy. Neutral: the home of capitalism is no […]
Exports were mentioned repeatedly in President Obama’s State of the Union address. Such U.S. presidential focus is very special and hasn’t happened since the “Export Now” campaign in Reagan days. Though exports have no party affiliation –the policies leading to them do. The U.S. economy needs a boost. Though the world may count on the […]
Not too long ago, at the end of the 1980s (although I acknowledge that for some of the followers of this blog this equals a lifetime), Japanese investment in the United States peaked at about US$ 20 billion. By then, management scholars had long begun to study the Japanese miracle. Based on a general fear […]
News agency Reuters reported on Friday that Disney and Shanghai Shendi Group have signed an agreement on the establishment of a Disneyland theme park in Shanghai. On an area of about four square kilometers, a total investment of approximately $3.75 billion will bring Mickey & Co. to Middle Kingdom.This should have really been big news, […]
Wal-Mart has made a multi-billion Dollar offer to acquire South African retailer Massmart Holdings. As someone who’s been following Wal-Mart’s failures around the globe, I can’t help but to think, why? And, more importantly, how? Well, what is the attraction of the African market to a company that employs about 2 million people around the […]
