Pushing the Free Trade Agenda

More than 400 business leaders from around the world took part in this year’s ICC World Business Summit. Organised by the International Chamber of Commerce (ICC) and the Hong Kong Trade Development Council, the 30 June event at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre attracted some of the leading lights in international business and economics. Speakers included Martin Wolf, Associate Editor and Chief Economics Commentator of the Financial Times; David Sokol, Chairman of MidAmerican Energy Holdings Company, a subsidiary of Warren Buffet’s investment conglomerate Berkshire Hathaway; as well as Chen Yuan, Chairman of the China Development Bank.

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Source: HongKongTrader.com

TSA: Airlines to inspect 75% of cargo

The U.S. Transportation Security Administration said airlines must screen at least 75 percent of cargo loaded in the United States by May 1, according to a message posted this week on the air cargo portion of its Web site.
   The new requirement is a sign that officials are concerned the industry has not taken enough voluntary measures to help meet the Aug. 1 mandate to screen all cargo on passenger planes. Link 

Source: American Shipper’s Florida Connection

What Border Officials Can Do With Your Laptop And Cellular Phone

Having your laptop searched or detained by Customs on your way back from a business trip would be a nightmare for most business people. This scenario is quite possible under new governmental policies. In fact, it is becoming so frequent that last August, Customs and Border Protection (“CBP”) and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) both issued their respective new policies on border searches of electronic devices. It was a coordinated effort of CBP and ICE to update and harmonize their border policies to detect an array of illegal activities, including terrorism, cash smuggling, contraband, child pornography, copyright, and export control violations. Link

Source: porterwright

Should Your Business Axe Overseas Assignments?

As businesses continue to navigate their way through—and out of—the global economic crisis, almost every multinational organization is looking to tighten purse strings as we head into another year of what promises to be cautious spending. Unfortunately, expensive international assignment programs are often one of the first areas of focus for wary managers, who could pare down or even temporarily oust these assignments from the budget. Link

Source: S. Cummins & E. Hannibal

Haiti Earthquake Provokes Wave of Text Donations

Text donations have hit prime time. In the aftermath of the devastating earthquake that hit Haiti on the evening of Jan. 12, Americans were texting their support big-time. In less than 48 hours, donations to the American Red Cross—made by texting HAITI to 90999—had reached $5 million, and donations were reported to be coming in at a rate of $200,000 per hour. That’s more than 12 times the amount that donors had sent by text in the wake of Hurricane Katrina in 2005. Link

Source: A. Feldman

In China, Google Fallout Damages Yahoo!

Long before Google (GOOG) had problems with China’s censors and hackers, Yahoo! (YHOO) was struggling to follow Beijing’s rules without alienating the company’s users in the rest of the world. Yahoo often didn’t succeed: In 2006, critics subjected it to scathing criticism: U.S. Representative Tom Lantos (D.-Calif.), a Holocaust survivor, compared the company’s executives to Nazis. A year later, at a Congressional hearing following disclosure that Yahoo had given the Chinese police information that helped jail a dissident who had used Yahoo e-mail, Lantos called Yahoo executives moral “pygmies” for cooperating with Beijing. Link

Source: B.  Einhorn

British Banks Line Up for Bailouts

To calm the financial panic, the British government has stepped in to save three major banks. So far the markets like the news

British Prime Minister Gordon Brown and Finance Minister Alistair Darling address a press conference at 10 Downing Street in London, on Oct. 13, 2008. By Stanley Reed, BusinessWeek, October 13, 2008

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