Everyone has heard off Apple, but there is a new tech giant sweeping the world. Huawei, a Chinese based company has surpassed Apple as the world’s top cellular-equipment maker, and they are only continuing to grow. Huawei is not a popular name because it currently is illegal in multiple countries due to spying and cyber theft accusations, but around the globe, it continues to grow. The problem with Huawei for the U.S. is that no matter what the U.S. does, it will continue to grow.

The world has been gripping the edge of its seat watching the protests continuing in Hong Kong. Hong Kong has had a long and complex history with its relationship to China. 19th-century conflicts led to the colonization by Britain, removing the territory from Chinese control. Hong Kong was returned to China a century later, being allowed to control many of its own systems. The wildly different forms of government (Communist China as opposed to the limited democratic Hong Kong) have led to culturally and politically different regions. The 2019 protests have not been the first occasion where citizens of Hong Kong rallied against governmental decisions. In 2014, over 100,000 people protested Chinese intervention into their election process.

As technology advances and connectivity increases, countries are closer to each other than ever. Economically, trade blocs have increased partnership among countries and encouraged production specialization. Politically, countries are moving towards a free market and competing for additional foreign investments. Recently, however, these trends seem to be going in a slightly different direction. Governments are encouraging more domestic investments and developments. A stronger sense of nationalism is developing while the term "globalization" now has a negative connotation to some audiences.

Whether you call them soda, pop, coke, or fizzy drinks, soft drinks are popular across the globe and are defined as a carbonated, nonalcoholic beverage by the Merriam-Webster dictionary.  The term soft drink was originally coined to distinguish flavored drinks from hard liquor, and the first soft drinks were marketed in the 17th century as a combination of lemon juice, water, and honey.  Later, the first carbonated drinks appeared in the 18th century as health remedies.  Today, soft drinks are mass-produced using a combination of water, carbonation, flavoring syrup, and bottling the product to sell to consumers.

After a busy summer of international travel, work-related, and academic pursuits, the globalEDGE team is returning to Michigan State University for the 2019-2020 academic year.  With six new members, the team anticipates sharing exciting, fresh ideas and information on the globalEDGE blog—again featuring a Monday through Thursday schedule.  Our team will also be working diligently to update website content and provide users with comprehensive and useful business knowledge to accommodate their goals.  We look forward to a great year!

As the academic year comes to a close, the globalEDGE team would like to thank all of our readers for another great year. We have enjoyed posting blogs and interacting with our readers throughout the year.

The globalEDGE blog will be taking a break from regularly posting blogs over the summer. We may be checking in occasionally with new posts; however, the normal schedule will not resume until September.

In 2018, China experienced its worst economic growth in 28 years, with its GDP only growing at a rate of 6.6%. This year economists say that the worst is behind them and that they expect sustained improvement of GDP growth. That is due to two main factors; a stimulus package by the government and increased manufacturer productivity.

On January 1, 1994, the United States, Canada, and Mexico came together and signed the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). This trade bloc aims to reduce trade restrictions among the three countries, thus encouraging investment and increasing market access. Under President Trump's administration, the three countries reached a new agreement called the United States-Mexico-Canada Agreement (USMCA) which replaces the former NAFTA. These two agreements have many similar points, yet several unique distinctions as well.

Whether you call them soda, pop, coke, or fizzy drinks, soft drinks are popular across the globe and are defined as a carbonated, nonalcoholic beverage by the Merriam-Webster dictionary.  The term soft drink was originally coined to distinguish flavored drinks from hard liquor, and the first soft drinks were marketed in the 17th century as a combination of lemon juice, water, and honey.  Later, the first carbonated drinks appeared in the 18th century as health remedies.  Today, soft drinks are mass-produced using a combination of water, carbonation, flavoring syrup, and bottling the product to sell to consumers.

Historically known as one of the most closed off economies in the world, Japan has always had an interesting relationship with foreign investors. Japan first began to warm up to foreign investment in the 1990s as the island nation was in the midst of a decade long period of stagnation. Foreign investors jumped, perhaps too aggressively, at the opportunity to park their capital into what was then the world’s second-largest economy. Foreign ownership of Japanese company stock skyrocketed from 4% in 1988 to 28% in 2006.