China in 2012: What's Next for a Developing Economy
Business Property

China in 2012: What’s Next for a Developing Economy

- by Gabriela Wilson

It is almost impossible to open a newspaper or open a world news station without finding stories that cover China’s economic growth in recent years. With a consistent annual growth rate of around 10 percent over the past decade and the title of the country which is the largest global exporter of goods, this country is a center of industrial strength that can be understood as the goal of many companies considering international expansion.

Witnessing China’s meteoric rise over the past few decades has been interesting, but the latest news about slowing growth raises the question: What will happen next for this growing economy? Is growth sustainable? What factors will emerge and what challenges will develop for those who want to do business in this opportunity-rich country?

Global interconnectedness and the impact of a connected world economy

An economy that has traditionally been seen as a foundation for the health of the world economy is being shaken. The Eurozone is teetering on the brink of a crisis, while the United States hopes to prevent a double recession. But China can no longer rely on the isolated remnants of this problem. Our integrated world economy does not allow one country to function as an island. Economic problems, both in the G8 countries or in a small country far apart, causing ripple effects throughout the world.

In the case of China, the impact of the world economy in chaos can be devastating. As the world’s largest exporter of goods, shrinking purchasing power in places like the US and Europe reduces consumer demand, which means less demand for low-cost products. China has an interest in positive economic growth throughout the world

Dealing with internal deficiencies

While China’s push in recent years has been to boost economic strength, rapid growth is beginning to catch up with its inadequate infrastructure and internal state of affairs. Lax environmental regulations, sharp income inequality and an overloaded national pension system are just some of the issues that this still emerging nation needs to tackle in order to maintain consistent growth.

The Chinese government is working to address these issues through reform. While its 12th five-year plan, released March 2011, is heavily focused on sustaining the country’s extraordinary success (targeting an annual GDP of 7 percent), the plan also outlines several objectives around improving infrastructure and improving quality of life for the average Chinese citizen. Some highlights include: developing the western regions of the country, investing in priority industries (clean energy, biotech, high-end manufacturing and more), reducing pollution, increasing life expectancy, developing affordable housing units, and boosting the service sector.

A challenging environment with huge opportunities

Though China is working to improve its infrastructure, it’s a market that is still notoriously difficult for foreign companies to break into. This is not likely to change; in fact, it may become more difficult as the country works to cultivate more sophisticated, native industries, rather than looking to overseas businesses to take the lead.

While no one has a crystal ball that …

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Tips on Buying Homeware for Your New Home
Business Today

Tips on Buying Homeware for Your New Home

- by Gabriela Wilson

Life is in phases and everybody desires to get to that stage when they can move to their apartment. They might have had little experience of moving out of home when they were in colleges and universities, but they always went back home and were still a part of that home. At this point, however, after the person starts working formally, hopefully after finishing from the University, it will be time to have his own home and start his own family. Some people start by renting apartments, which is cheaper while others who are luckier will buy their own homes either by paying out rightly or through a mortgage. Irrespective of how they can get the home, they would have to furnish the house and buy a lot of homeware. This could be a very expensive venture. Here are some tips on buying homeware for your new home especially when you are on a budget.

Make a list of preference

The first thing you want to do when you want to move into a new home and you need to buy homeware products is to make a list of preferences. A list of preference entails writing out all the things you would need in your home and arranging them in order of importance. For instance, considering you will need to cook, sleep and host visitors; cooking utensils, a mattress at the very least and chairs will be more important than buying a home theatre system or a PS4 game. However, what people look at as important differ from person to person. Thus, arrange all the items you hope to have in your house in the order you feel they are important to you. The most important item should be at the top while the least important item should be at the bottom of the list.

Buy the most important items first

The next thing you will have to do is to start buying your items. Since you should have arranged them in descending order of importance, you start from the very top of the list and keep going down as you can afford them. Try as much as possible not to skip items on the list, except an important reason, came up why the importance of getting a particular object rose or decreased. Always make sure you get the next most important thing at every point in time.

Taking credit

If you have a stable job, it will not be a bad idea to take credit. This is especially if you had spent all you had in getting the house. You could take a loan that would be enough to furnish your house with the most important items and payback between 12 and 24 months.

Do not buy the latest devices

You don’t have to go for luxury or the best first if you are on a budget. The latest devices are often very expensive. However, products that have been around for 2 to 3 years would almost serve …

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Chinese influence on the US and Global Economy Part 4 of 4
Business Current Events

Chinese influence on the US and Global Economy Part 4 of 4

- by Gabriela Wilson

In the fourth and final series of my four sections on China’s influence on the US and the global economy, we focus on the benefits of working with international expertise for your business if you have plans to enter the Chinese business market. My extensive Asian market business experience encouraged me to write this series so that you can help you better understand how you can open your business to benefit from the Chinese market.

Cultural mistakes can take a lot of time

In 1973, Procter & Gamble sought to expand their Camay soap line in Japan. Their ad showed a Japanese man meeting a Japanese woman for the first time, and praising her on porcelain dolls like her skin (achieved with a firm soap, of course).

Over the next 13 years, the company lost $ 25 million in the market. Japanese people shouldn’t be soft soapy.

Best intentions …

P&G is a large corporation, and has been warned by advertising consultants that advertising (which has been running successfully in many other countries) will not work. But P&G executives ignored it.

The problem is that while Western culture sees the ‘porcelain doll’ praise flattering, in Japan it is seen as disrespectful. The ad said ‘use Camay and attract abusive comments’.

That is a very special cultural difference because of the lack of understanding between Western norms and people in societies that are as different as those around the Pacific Rim. Often differences are more down to earth: legal, logistical, linguistic, even meteorological, and they can become minefields.

International experts can save you time, money and your shame

If you do or think about doing business with China, for example, consider hiring international experts who will bring with them the kinds of experiences and knowledge that will help you learn from the mistakes of others. Experienced international consultants will help you to:

look at potential disasters in time so that you take avoidance measures.

educate you and your employees in certain cultural differences and perspectives.

understand Chinese economic and marketing strategies.

identify important components of your international business plan and their impact on culturally different markets.

sort out the rules and regulations of law and government.

avoid expensive mistakes.

Building your company in the Chinese market is a long-term project, and requires huge time, money and resources. The rewards have great potential, but also the risks, so that frugality in a small part of the project can cut both ways: not only can you lose a profitable business, the whole exercise can open you at costs that you don’t dream of. from.

Measure that against the ability to have someone on your team who has spent a lot of time in this country, know people, know the law, know the market and clearly the benefits it will bring.

Auditors and business consultants with international expertise, especially in Asian countries like China, which are just emerging quickly, can make a big difference in whether your international business ventures soar or sink.

Understand …

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Here Are a Few Reasons You Might Need a CPA This Year
Financial News

Here Are a Few Reasons You Might Need a CPA This Year

- by Gabriela Wilson

While tax season might be a dreaded reality each April, the truth is that a financial obstacle could present itself any time of the year. For those who might encounter such a hurdle in the coming months, it is important to know where to turn for help.

A CPA Does More than Taxes

Sure, it might be commonsense to think of a certified public accountant as roughly the equivalent of a bookkeeper or related tax professional. In reality, these specially trained professionals are often affiliated with the United CPA Association (UCPAA) or another organization and are experts who can offer financial services on many levels.

A CPA Can Make Sense of It All

Sometimes a client just needs someone to bounce ideas off of or otherwise provide some targeted and effective feedback. The right accountant can be as much of a consultant as someone relied on to expertly prepare tax returns each year.

A CPA Is an Ally and Representative

Not only can typical clients count on a successful CPA to provide guidance when things are going well, they will also know where to turn in a potentially bad situation. A certified public accountant is able to represent an individual in front of Internal Revenue Service agents.
There are many reasons you might need an accountant, so reach out to a professional if any of the needs outlined above sounds familiar.…

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How to Find the Worthwhile Ones?
Business Today

How to Find the Worthwhile Ones?

- by Gabriela Wilson

If you are keen on stocks and want to know ways in which you can make money with them, it is recommended that you learn to identify the ones that are good and worth your time and money. Most of the time, people that are interested in stocks are not completely sure about how they work. They end up investing in companies that they are only somewhat familiar with. This can really cause a big problem and can even end up working against the investment. This is something you should be cautious about in order to safeguard your money.

Follow the Stocks

Before making any investment in the stocks, it is recommended that you follow them and keep an eye on them. You should learn more about it and be sure to understand how the stock behaves with the market. Based on this, you might be able to determine whether or not this is something that you would want to put your money on. Don’t treat stocks like a game of Russian roulette, as you are bound to lose money if you do so. A little bit of sensibility here goes a really long way.

Research your Alternatives

It is also recommended that you research all the different stocks that are out there and identify the ones that you could put your money on. This is a very important thing to take care of, as you will be able to easily go in for stocks that you might have previously not considered. Have a broad perspective and ensure that you take all the different options into account. From this, you will be able to figure out the different stocks that you would want to put your money down on.

Follow Financial News

Finally, it has to be mentioned that you will stand to gain quite a bit if you were to follow the financial news and learn about the stock market that you are interested in. There are many different sources of such news. You should figure out the right one before you begin trading in stocks, so you make a wise move every time. It might sound like hard work to follow news, but just reading it for half hour regularly will make a big difference. You can avoid potentially disastrous stocks, if you were to know the consequences of investing in them. This will in turn help you eliminate risks and minimize losses.…

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