The housing market is an unforeseen casualty amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. According to the Bank for International Settlements (BIS), the hot housing markets are a global phenomenon. In the United States, Canada, Europe, New Zealand, and South Korea, the housing markets are seeing a surge in price growth, in some areas reaching price overvaluation of more than 20%. More specifically, global house prices are now 22.4% higher than their level immediately after the financial crisis and up 29.2% in advanced economies. The Bank of Korea even warned that real estate is “significantly overpriced” in June 2021, along with discussing the growing household debt repayment burden. In the rest of this blog, we will go over the reasons for the increased pricing, how countries and global institutions respond to them, and the actions different countries have taken to lower the costs.

After a summer full of work, internships, and professional development, the globalEDGE team is excited to return to campus for the fall semester.  Our team is eager to begin writing blog posts and updating the globalEDGE website with the most current information on international business. Keep an eye out for blog posts about current events, various international business topics, and website updates! We will be returning to our regular Monday through Thursday blog posting schedule this week, the week of Monday, September 13.

This marks the last week of our academic year at Michigan State, and the globalEDGE team will be taking the summer off while team members will be graduating, starting full-time jobs, completing internships, traveling, and furthering their education in an effort to continue to contribute innovative and real-time news to the globalEDGE website when we return in the fall.  During a year of virtual school and virtual work, we hope that our viewers were able to use our information to their benefit as we all take on these difficult times, and we appreciate your viewership and interaction with the site.  Thank you for all of your support and we will be anticipating our return to the blog come fall.

Though COVID-19 is far from behind us, businesses and international trade are coming to life again after an unprecedented slowdown in 2020. While much of the world will be relieved by the global economy’s slow progression toward pre-pandemic levels, the recovery will inevitably bring with it some of our pre-pandemic problems. Pollution and waste represent a particular area of concern. No business comes without pollution, and in spring 2021, one facet of pollution is causing notable distress in the international business world: recyclable plastics.

In 2015, Iran, the United States, and several other world powers came together to sign the Iran nuclear deal. This deal places restrictions on Iran's nuclear program, and in return, they are granted sanctions relief. In 2018, President Trump withdrew the United States from the deal in pursuit of a more effective solution. Iran began ignoring restrictions on the nuclear program about a year after the deal was signed.

Last week, the European Union released a draft of strict regulations regarding the creation and use of artificial intelligence (AI). This 108-page document of rules and regulations aims to ban or restrict multiple “unacceptable” uses of AI, which the European Commission deems as any AI system that is considered a clear threat to the safety, livelihoods, and rights of people. This includes the use of AI in a range of activities like hiring decisions, bank lending, school enrollment selections, court decisions, and facial recognition in public places. Although the EU’s proposal faces a long road before it becomes law, as it must be approved by both the European Council and European Parliament, it has profound implications for big tech and national governments around the world.

This past week, Apple unveiled their new line of products, including new iPads and iMacs. There has already been a lot of controversy in the business world about Apple's new unveilings, including a new product, AirTag, looking incredibly similar to the product Tile, and the new podcasting app on iPhones directly competing with Spotify. However, the latest software update to their products has more profound consequences for other well-known businesses, particularly Facebook.

A unique digital asset.  The definition of a nonfungible token (NFT) may be simple in writing, but its applications stem to far-reaching uses that encompass a plethora of opportunities.  In its essence, nonfungible means the token can’t be exchanged for another thing of equal value and each token is an entirely original and unique piece.  An NFT could be an entirely blockchain-originating image.  This same image could have an exact duplicate that is a completely different NFT because of its varied blockchain code.  On April 16th, 2021, a single NFT created by the infamous whistleblower, Edward Snowden, sold for 5.4 million dollars.  So what are these new digital assets, and how are they being used in the global business world?

During the last week of March, France President Macron read the “anti-separatism” law for the first time. This law states a plan to ban women under the age of 18 from wearing hijabs in public. There is now a second amendment that would ban women from wearing their religious clothing on school trips or activities with their children. France has over 5.4 million Muslims and government senators are hesitant to proceed with these amendments.

One of the most afflicted industries from the pandemic was entertainment.  The prevention of travel and crowded environments, as well as the cancellation of many global sporting events, had a significant impact on the gambling industry. Brick-and-mortar gambling companies experienced decimated levels of revenue in 2020 due to lockdown restrictions.  However, these events gave way to the rapid growth of the online gambling market—an emerging trend that is here to stay.