Global business travel spending is expected to grow in 2012 and 2013, due in large part to a surge in emerging markets such as Brazil, China, India and Russia. Companies in developed nations, however, are reining in travel budgets as the euro-zone crisis continues.
The deepening debt crisis in the euro zone has lowered European consumer and business confidence in past months, increased unemployment and raised the risk of a region-wide recession. Updated figures due to be released in the week ahead will show how Europe is faring.
Russia will take a momentous step August 22nd by joining the World Trade Organization (WTO). The WTO membership for the world’s ninth-largest economy comes with binding trade rules that are expected to alter Russia’s business landscape and lead to a permanent normalisation of trade relations between the US and Russia, former Cold War archenemies.
With the US economy still relatively sluggish, mid-size US companies are increasingly looking for opportunities to boost revenue overseas, a KPMG survey shows. Canada and Europe top their list of preferred locations, followed by China, Mexico and India.
Rising domestic demand will help reverse the slowdown in rapid-growth countries, an Ernst & Young projection suggests. To tap this emerging demand, companies will have to pay attention to the different challenges and opportunities shaping up in specific national and regional markets.
Industrial production in the euro zone and the European Union increased in May, raising hopes after back-to-back decreases in March and April that Europe would avert an economic contraction in the second quarter.
Consumer credit data due out in the week ahead could shed light on the economic picture in the US, where a slowing rate of growth is playing a key role in the approaching US presidential election.
This decade, Asian companies are projected to expand rapidly across the globe. A poll of more than 600 business executives in East and Southeast Asia provides clues about their business growth strategies and how they plan to face potential growing pains along the way.
In an uncertain economy, companies expect to continue making money by focusing on efficiencies, according to a Deloitte survey of CFOs. But the strategy won’t last forever, some CFOs warn.
The US unemployment rate, which dropped to a three-year low in April, appears to have levelled off. And in the week ahead, we’ll find out whether the lull has stalled the recovery of the US housing market. Housing, a broad barometer of the nation’s economy, has displayed signs of movement this year following a sluggish 2011. But if the US jobs situation worsens, the housing market could follow.
Revenue and profit projections dropped sharply in the second quarter, according to a global CGMA survey of finance executives. Those and several measures of economic sentiment led to a decline in optimism worldwide.
Spain, one of five European countries that has sought international financial assistance, may find out by July 9th the terms of a deal to bail out its beleaguered banks.
Product cycles have long adapted to new economic conditions. So too is the role of finance team leaders, who are increasingly charged with helping the broader management team understand where the company is creating value in the product life cycle.
Revenue expectations are down, and talk of cuts is up among CFOs of private-equity-backed businesses in the UK. The euro-zone debt crisis also appears to be sapping expectations for initial public offerings—and not just in Europe.
European leaders, who continue to try to solve the euro zone’s debt problems, are expected to visit Cyprus, the latest country to seek a bailout. That will happen as GDP figures are due out for the euro zone. Meanwhile, the US will see if global economic jitters are causing employers to clamp down on hiring.
European leaders are expected to consider proposals on bank capital requirements, deposit-guarantee programmes and how to handle cross-border bank failures, during a summit in Brussels.
Mergers and acquisitions of small and midsize companies are expected to increase in the coming year, but financing and valuation issues could limit deal volume, a recent survey of M&A advisers indicates.
The European crisis, and how the US stimulates its economy, could be a focal point of a two-day G20 summit, which starts Monday in Mexico. US President Barack Obama has been pushing European leaders to work to resolve the crisis, citing stimulus programmes that the US government used in 2009.
