Due to the downturn, is growth slowing in your home market? Do you have any particular advantage over your competitors' businesses both online and offline -- locally and globally?

How would you define your business success thus far relative to those who compete in your space?

Read the article, "Metro Plots to Overtake Best Buy by Closing the Gap in China," for ideas on how the big guys duke it out to snatch a No. 1 position in the global marketplace.

"It's not a completely unrealistic claim," said Thomas Roeb, a retail professor at the University of Applied Sciences in Bonn Rhein-Sieg. "Best Buy's success is largely an American success, while Metro has successfully expanded abroad."

Latin America and the Caribbean are expected to emerge from the financial crisis earlier than the advanced economies, according to the latest Regional Economic Outlook: Western Hemisphere report of the International Monetary Fund (IMF).

Expect growth the second part of 2009. While growth in advanced economies may not turn positive until the middle of 2010.

Read more here.

Just found out about this site:

Shibui Markets

Does anyone have knowledge about it? They claim:

ShibuiMarkets is a leading Global Financial Portal built on the spirit of Shibui, that is, going beyond simple facts and figures and into understanding financial information. It offers hard-to-find fundamental financial information about companies from all over the world as well as quotes for Foreign Currencies, Emerging Market Bonds and selected international Equities.

Test it out and let us know what you think. I did a search on General Electric using their Company Data Base Screener and the information seemed outdated.

Forbes at one time featured it as Best of the Web.

They were wrong. Here's a story that BBC tells on its Global Business repeat (run two years ago and more relevant than ever now), with an insider's commentary on the story from the chairman of Toyota, Fujio Cho.

This story is of interest to people worldwide -- in any industry -- not just car buffs. It's particularly intriguing to anyone who questions whether their business model still works for our current times.

Have you asked yourself lately: Are we relevant? Answer honestly. If you are not, it's time to exit what you are doing or make massive improvements to your existing operation to get with the times.

After all, aren't we all out to change the world?

Read more here.

Added May 8, 2009:
What is an 'American' Car?

The mission of the Global Intellectual Property Center, an affiliate of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, is to champion intellectual property as vital to creating jobs, saving lives, advancing global economic growth, and generating breakthrough solutions to global challenges.

Find out more here.

Check out the "Fight the Fakes" poster contest here.
Poster credit: Sydney Oliver, Age 11, 6th Grade, Medford area Middle School, Medford, WI.

Here's a list of the 10 worst countries to be a blogger. Be thankful for your freedom of speech, that is, if you have it.

1. Burma
2. Iran
3. Syria
4. Cuba (e.g., Generacion Y, pictured)
5. Saudi Arabia
6. Vietnam
7. Tunisia
8. China
9. Turkmenistan
10. Egypt

Read more here about the dishonor roll of countries who oppress blogging worldwide.

Great quote:

"Global trade has sponsored two decades of dramatic growth and increased prosperity in countries everywhere," says UPS CEO Mr. D. Scott Davis. He goes on further to say, "Now is the time to back away from the progress that has been achieved in the mistaken belief that any one economy can regain strength independently of the rest of the world."

Read the entire article here.