Asian Markets and Investment from Asia

Posted on October 7, 2013 by yukangzhang

Stephen Harper has gone to APEC summit in Bali in an effort to drum up support for trade and foreign investment. In my opinion, both the Asian markets and investment from Asia are important for Canada.

Asian markets are necessary for Canada. The demand from China’s large middle class is huge. In Japan and Korea, people with high income are able to buy foreign products. In India, the population is growing, and in a few years population in India will exceed that in China. More people mean more demand. Canadian companies should try to be the first ones to enter new Asian markets because the easiest way to attract consumers is to be the first company which enters that market and positions the company properly into people’s minds. People will then remember the company, which is a great advantage for that company over its competitors.

Investment from Asia is necessary for Canada. International investment in Canada can create jobs for Canadians. It helps Canadian economy grow and makes Canada more open and internationally known. Harper will talk about Malaysia’s future $36-billion investment in Canada with Malaysia’s president at APEC, which is a good sign of attracting international investment.

In conclusion, Asian countries’ economies are fast growing. Canada should attract more Asian investment, and Canadian companies should seek opportunities to expand in new Asian markets before they are too crowded.

sources:

http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/harper-heads-to-apec-summit-amid-concern-over-asian-ties-1.1893933

http://news.gc.ca/web/article-eng.do?nid=777659

http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/harper-arrives-at-apec-with-malaysian-promise-to-invest-36b-1.1927464

Picture Comes from:http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/apec-ceo-summit-2013-gathers-government-and-business-leaders-of-the-asia-pacific-to-seek-path-towards-resilience-and-growth-221571371.html

Negative Economic impacts of the U.S. Government Shutdown

Posted on October 6, 2013 by yukangzhang

Due to the U.S. government shutdown, about 700,000 federal workers are sent home on unpaid leave. National parks are closed. Also, the Small Business Administration is not working.

Based on my research, there are two views about this shutdown. First, at a microeconomic view, small businesses are hit hard. The government’s shutdown will delay payments to small businesses that have ties or contracts with the government. Small businesses will have to manage their cash flow, and they have to think about where else they can get loans since the Small Business Administration is not working. Thus, accounting departments of small businesses have to figure out how to maintain cash flow and how to cut spending in order to survive through the hard time. Second, at a macroeconomic view, this shutdown will have negative impacts on the U.S. economy as a whole. National parks and museums are shut down, which disappoints international tourists. The amount of international tourists will decrease. Also, federal workers are uncertain about their future in the U.S., so people are going to spend less. The U.S. economy will be hit hard.

I wish that the shutdown will end as soon as possible for the sake of the stability of the world economy and the U.S. economy.

Sources:

Picture is from: http://www.gambling911.com/politics/paddy-power-odds-%E2%80%98us-government-shutdown-will-not-last-more-7-days%E2%80%99-100113.html

BlackBerry’s Great Loss

Posted on October 5, 2013 by yukangzhang

The Globe and Mail reported on Sep. 20 in 2013, “BlackBerry Ltd. will cut 4,500 jobs, write off more than $900-million worth of unsold phones and abandon parts… the writedown will lead to a loss of nearly $1-billion.”

Based on my research, BlackBerry has made two big mistakes. First, BlackBerry gives up its opportunity to establish a point of difference. The all-touchscreen cellphone market has been occupied by Apple and Samsung before Blackberry Z10. BlackBerry has its easy to use key-board cellphones as its point of difference before the Blackberry Z10. It should have kept developing that point of difference. Second, BlackBerry didn’t focus on its customers.a BlackBerry insider, ““We believed we knew better what customers needed long term than they did. Consumers would say, ‘I want a faster browser.’…‘You might think you want a faster browser, but you don’t want to pay overage on your bill.’” This mistake shifts customers’ preferences from BlackBerry.

Many Canadians were once proud of BlackBerry, and it is just “too Canadian” to fail, but its future is still bleak.