China’s longs market continues to fluctuate

SteelOrbis – Over the past week China’s domestic long products market has retained its fluctuating trend,with a minor slide observed in market prices in most regions and a small climb in some individual markets.

Affected by poor market demand,longs prices in the eastern China market posted an overall declining trend in the past week,which was also caused by the decrease in the steel futures market in the first half of the week. Nevertheless,given the support of high cost levels,the market has not fallen sharply. By the end of December 10,rebar inventory in Shanghai reached 460,000 mt,neutral week on week; meanwhile,wire rod inventory in Shanghai stood at 98,000 mt,up by 5,000 mt week on week.

Driven by the Shanghai market as well as by the decrease in the steel futures market,long product prices in the south registered a minor decline on the whole during the first half of the week; subsequently,however,the market began to see a certain improvement following the recovery of the steel futures market. (Alibaba Group,6 Dec 2009 02:53:24 PST)

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Payment Options for International Transactions

You and your customer will assess many factors as you negotiate the payment term that will be used for your international transaction. They include, but are not limited to:
Value of the transaction;
Your relationship with your customer, new or long-standing;
The country where the goods are destined;
The buyer’s country’s rules about how money will be released to you, the seller; and
Whether the product being shipped is customized, built to specification, or off the shelf.
The global economy is fluid; firms will benefit from regularly examining its own customer base and assessing political, credit and foreign-exchange risks to determine which payment term best suits the situation. There are several sources that provide background information on the buyer’s country and their economy. Options that are available on the internet include:

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U.S. Power Companies Seek Out Chinese Allies

Duke Chief Executive Jim Rogers said these deals are just the beginning, and that he may solicit Chinese financing for the $25 billion in capital Duke needs to raise in the next five years to build new plants and upgrade other facilities.

As President Barack Obama meets with Chinese officials this week, tamping down carbon-dioxide emissions is on the agenda. The U.S. and China together account for 40% of the world’s output of the gas, the leading culprit in global warming. The two nations’ talks are expected to explore ways they can cooperate to solve common problems, such as making coal a cleaner-burning fuel.

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E.U. Plan Could Lead to Lower Cost International Calls

BERLIN — The European Commission will urge the 27 European Union countries Wednesday to reserve a uniform slice of broadcast spectrum for a pan-European mobile broadband network, one that could enable flat-rate, international voice and data calling plans.

A copy of the proposal, reviewed by the International Herald Tribune, sets out technical guidelines for E.U. countries that choose to redeploy part of their low-frequency spectrum, a bandwidth that has been used exclusively by television broadcasters since the inception of the industry more than 50 years ago. (By KEVIN J. O’BRIEN, The New York Times, October 27, 2009)

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Outlook of Small Business Manufacturing Owners Fall 2009 Survey

Manufacturers Are Most Likely To Say Employee Morale Has Worsened; Retailers Have the Least Positive Outlook on the Economy Compared To Business Owners over All; Businesses in the Services Industry Are Least Likely To Take a Risk.(Manufacturing & Technology eJournal | October 21, 2009)

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Wal-Mart’s Painful Lessons

It’s rare that a $100 billion business can be marginalized, but such is the case with the international arm of Wal-Mart Stores (WMT). As a stand-alone company, it would rank among the top five global retailers. Inside the $401 billion retail giant, though, the business has traditionally received short shrift. Its Bentonville (Ark.) headquarters is underwhelming—a drab, largely windowless, one-story structure named after Bill Mitchell, a former Walmart executive whom nobody seems to remember. (By Matthew Boyle, Business Week)

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Business opportunities in Curacao, Brazil

Learn how to build your business with partners in Curacao, Brazil

2009 Trade Policy Agenda and 2008 annual Report

THE PRESIDENT’S TRADE AGENDA: MAKING TRADE WORK FOR AMERICAN FAMILIES

President Obama has charted a course for economic recovery that will restore growth and promote broadbased prosperity. It will emphasize improvements in the living standards of American families while reorienting our economy to meet today’s challenges – energy, the environment, and global competitiveness.

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Preventable Job Cuts

Economy: No one has pleaded as earnestly for Congress to pass a Colombia free-trade pact as Caterpillar. Now, with earnings down and 20,000 American jobs to be lost, it’s obvious why. Trade would have cushioned this blow (Investor’s Business Daily, January 26, 2009). Read Full Article

Trade: Renew the Drive to Open Markets

From opening markets to enforcing standards, business wants trade to be a top priority for the next Administration (by P. Engardio and S. LeVine, BusinessWeek, November 5, 2008).

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