#78 Chinese Exports Revisited
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!
About Apfel
Posts by Gerhard Apfelthaler:
#77 Transnational Take-Over Alert: Deutsche Boerse – NYSE
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 […]
#76 Will there be a US Export Avalanche?
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 […]
#75 The Dragon is Only Nibbling
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 […]
#74 Shanghai Disneyland
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, […]
#73 Vuvuzelas for Bentonville
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 […]
#72 The King is Dead. Long live the King!
Looking at the mere numbers, Burger King does look impressive. Burger King operates close to 11,000 franchises and owns close to 1,500 restaurants globally. It is present in 76 countries where 40 % of all of its restaurants are located. Unfortunately, 40 % of the restaurants abroad only generate about 30 % of the […]
#71 The Shape of Things to Come
There’s something remarkable going on in China’s automotive industry. Yes, there’s growth, but there’s more to it. Chinese automaker BYD that is backed by Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway, Inc has set up a Chinese 50-50 joint venture with Daimler in late May. The goal of the joint venture is to jointly design and produce an […]
#70 The Phoenix Rises from the Ashes … in China
Of course, what is commonly referred to as the Chinese phoenix, the fenghuang, only distantly resembles the phoenix of the West. So, erudite reader, please forgive the amateurish use of the phoenix as a metaphor for what’s going on in China’s automotive sector. Mercedes, BMW, or Audi are all reporting very positive developments from the […]
#69 The Globalization of Healthcare
Yes, we have all heard the stories. Stories of patients in need of treatment in the Western hemisphere traveling to countries such as Thailand or India in need for more affordable healthcare, stories of hospitals in the so-called developed world outsourcing certain diagnostic procedures to the so-called emerging markets, or stories of hospitals in the […]
#68 Transnational Take-Over Alert: ASDA of US buys UK operations from Danish Netto
If approved by UK authorities, Asda, Wal-Mart’s British arm will be acquiring almost 200 UK stores of the Danish Netto chain for an alleged amount in excess of 1 billion US$. Acquiring smaller stores seems like a good move for Wal-Mart in Europe. First, shopping habits in many regions seem to change in a way […]
#67 What is it with global retailers?
In a recent post, Australian business blogger Andre Sammartino reports that South African grocer Pick’n’Pay has sold off its Franklins supermarkets (“Australia’s Original Discount Grocer”) to the biggest Australian grocery wholesaler Metcash. It’s not the first time that Franklins has been sold off after a somewhat unsuccessful takeover. In the late 1970s Franklins was sold to […]