Globalisation is less advanced than perceived, research by Deutsche Post DHL and the IESE Business School in Spain suggests. The DHL Global Connectedness Index highlights some opportunities for improvement.
A majority of Canadian accounting executives are optimistic about the prospects of their own businesses, but that sentiment is countered by concern over the US economic outlook. A survey by the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants (CICA) shows that the US economy is seen as the biggest challenge to Canada’s growth in the next 12 months.
Companies doing business in Europe should prepare for a “lost decade,” new research suggests. Facing stagnant economic growth, low consumer demand and limited access to credit, companies must be prudent but they can’t miss out on opportunities.
Western Europe and North America are still attractive to foreign investors, but not as attractive as the top five emerging market hot spots. Even lesser-known emerging economies are gaining ground.
Economic uncertainty has made financial executives reluctant to make the significant investments in hiring or mergers and acquisitions that would spark strong growth. The fiscal cliff and higher health care costs concern CFOs in the United States, while European woes include the possibility of a request for a bailout by Spain.
Finance professionals continue to keep one eye on the bottom line and one eye on the fiscal cliff. Respondents to a new Association for Financial Professionals survey warn that US economic growth is in jeopardy if Congress can’t quickly resolve budget issues.
For the third consecutive quarter, CPA decision-makers in the United States have lower optimism regarding the economy at home, according to the latest AICPA Business & Industry U.S. Economic Outlook Survey. Political uncertainty reigns, even after the presidential election.
Transparency International’s annual Corruption Perception Index shows that several countries in the Mediterranean region – including Greece and Italy for mainly financial reasons and Egypt for political ones – are seen as being more corrupt.
Few multinationals can resists the lure of big, fast-growing BRIC markets such as Russia. Educational attainment in the country is good, but with the market economy still comparatively new, a hangover of old cultural attitudes persists. There is a dearth of leadership skills and employees seek short-term pay hikes over long-term career development. In the first CGMA panel discussion in Moscow, finance leaders from top companies address the talent challenge in emerging markets.
The ongoing euro-zone crisis hasn’t scared foreign investors away from Europe, but it has made them more selective, according to Ernst & Young research.
President Barack Obama and Congress will need to quickly agree on how to avoid the so-called “fiscal cliff” and raise the debt ceiling, if the nation wants to avoid another recession—and a credit-rating downgrade, Fitch Ratings said Wednesday, becoming the latest to cite political gridlock as a risk to the nation’s creditworthiness.
Optimism about Canada’s economy is on the rise amongst executive chartered accountants. Nearly half (46%) expect staffing at their company to increase in the next year, up from 41% in the previous quarterly survey by the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants.
CFOs started 2012 more upbeat, but sentiment shifted as the domestic economic and political conditions deteriorated. Lack of political direction toward economic reform was the top concern.
China’s slowing productivity growth is weighing down economic growth in the world’s second largest economy. Political leaders are addressing the problem in the current five-year plan, and the policy changes are affecting how companies will do business in China.
Deep spending cuts and significant tax hikes are likely to further depress consumer spending in Ireland, increasing the pressure on businesses that are already struggling to deal with the effects of austerity. Irish Times correspondent Paul Golden reports on a country squeezed by bailout debt.
The CGMA global economic index is unchanged from the second quarter, but optimism in the US economy is dropping. US chief executives, financial directors and controllers are far less positive about the economy in their country and about their own businesses. These declines are offset by small gains in sentiment in the UK and other parts of the world, leaving the CGMA index at 58 for the third quarter.
A new study finds that developed markets in North America, Europe and Oceania have a lot of strengths that help businesses with growth potential flourish. But some emerging markets, especially in Asia, are competitive.
Unknown, complex risks that often are outside the executive team’s control increasingly threaten companies. Here are five strategies for battling those unknown risks.
CFOs in the Middle East were the most optimistic about their companies’ prospects worldwide, but this optimism was muted by concerns about political tensions in the Middle East and the euro-zone crisis, a Deloitte survey suggested.
The admission in June that bankers manipulated the London interbank offered rate, or Libor, revealed a gaping regulatory loophole that European lawmakers are targeting to close.
