The US has been a leader in financial markets for quite a while now. Unfortunately, as anyone interested in international business knows, that may well be changing considerably. Why? Well, necessary deregulation combined with some archaic laws which remained led to a veritable regulation-phobia, and most everybody involved was making too much money to care. The result? That lack of oversight led to excessive risk taking by entities which were either implicitly government-backed or which, as it turns out, were simply “too large to fail.” That, and many Americans are sitting on properties which aren’t likely to be worth what they paid for them for quite a long time.

Now, that lack of oversight looks to beget yet another. As taxgirl reports on her blog, current proposals would give Treasury Secretary Paulson a $7000 billion blank check, with no congressional or judicial oversight whatsoever. Given the actions the executive branch has taken with oversight during the course of this administration, I’m somewhat skeptical that the money will be spent wisely or effectively.

If you’re in the US I urge you to read it and act, before it’s too late. Those of you abroad, many of whose financial markets are interdependent with ours, just hope we get this right the first time.

As everyone has figured out, the US economy is slumping. That means those with international operations are enjoying the “buffering” effect that sales in healthier economies (with more valuable currencies) bring. I’m enjoying that in my own business, on a small level, because my services have become a lot cheaper in the eyes of my European clients. DuPont, on the other hand, enjoyed those results in a really big way, to the tune of an 11% jump in sales, all on the strength of international sales.

Now, if the US economy continues to decline those foreign sales may drop as well. If you’ve got a product worth exporting, though, it may be time to look into broadening your markets a bit, don’t you think?

Starbucks may be cutting back here in the US, but they’ve decided growth overseas may well be the answer. Unfortunately, profits overseas haven’t looked as good, but growth is king, right?

image from Wikipedia, GNU Free Documentation License

As those who read this blog know, I’ve just returned from a business trip to Europe, and have reached an interesting conclusion. The most dispensable item of business clothing is - the suit.

Over the course of ten days I visited a manufacturer of plastic and metal parts, an internet service provider, a small medical devices assembler, a number of computer consulting firms, and a fashion design business. In all except one instance I would have been woefully overdressed in a suit, and in many instances I was actually overdressed in a sport coat and slacks. If not for the anniversary party thrown by one of the above businesses, I probably wouldn’t have worn the suit at all.

As noted in my previous post on the subject, this is a marked departure from the past. So, the question is, do I dare ditch the suit next time or not? What do you pack for business trips these days?

BusinessWeek has an interesting article on the need to develop management with international and transcultural skills, so if you’re reading this blog you’re halfway to a great new job!

Periodically, the business channel here at b5 has a challenge, and this one is about taking risks. Since it’s world trade month, I thought mine should have something to do with, not surprisingly, trade.

The risk I took was to start a law firm with the aim of assisting foreign (mostly German) companies set up in the US, more specifically in the Philadelphia area. Before, during, and after law school I was told that you couldn’t be an international lawyer in Philadelphia, that you had to go to New York or Washington. A combination of stubbornness and home-town pride (Go Flyers, sigh) made me think otherwise.

Then a funny thing happened - I kept bumping into lawyers who would never have called themselves “international,” but who had transactions all over the world. There was, in fact, a steady stream of trade between Philadelphia and the world, and fortunately for us we’ve been able to capture some of the legal business related to that trade. The same is true about cities and towns across the US (and the world). After all, who’d have thought that Walldorf, Germany or Redmond, Washington, USA would spawn two of the most international companies in history (to say nothing of an expensive hotel)?

The moral of the story is that trade is everywhere, and that you can probably be successful at it if you’ve got a good product and some patience.

image courtesy of Wikipedia, public domain

Since May is World Trade Month in the US, I’ll spend much of the month posting on - you guessed it - trade. While many posts will be from the US point of view, many of the resources can (and should) be adapted for exporters from other countries.

It is common knowledge that US companies lag woefully in exports as compared to their European and Asian counterparts. Part of this has to do with the sheer size of the US market and the federal system, which means laws differ from state to state. More on that some other day, but the long and short of it is that companies need to wrap their arms around “exporting” to other states before they are ready to tackle another country. Still, there’s certainly room for more exporting, and the US government has a number of resources to help companies who want to export.

The starting point is the US government’s main export page. There’s a basic guide to exporting (much of which is helpful to non-US companies as well), a readiness quiz, as well as a host of links to the various US government programs intended to assist US exporters. Once you’ve decided it’s time to start exporting, you can develop an export plan using the model outline and other website resources.

Check it out, and if you know of other good resources let us know.

For those who don’t know, the US has a tax stimulus program for 2008 which can result in significant refunds from the US tax authorities. As for taxpayers living abroad, some of you will get the rebate, some won’t (including some who pay significant taxes in the US). Check out this post from taxgirl to find out which category you’re in.

When I lived in Germany, I very rarely called home because even watching the numbers on my old phone, each one another 23 pfennigs gone, made by frugal heart drop. Now, a call from my cell phone is cheaper than the best rate I got in the bad old days, and a call from the landline is so cheap as to be almost negligible. The Economist has a chart which shows this shift quite nicely.

image from wikimedia commons

So, if you’re looking for a place to start your research for that new trading partner, or the next business trip, check out this selection of links from globalEDGE, at Michigan State University.