GENERAL BUSINESS NEWS
Global FDI Grows To Nearly $1 Trillion
The volume of international cross-border foreign
direct investment (FDI) grew by 5. 1 percent in 2007,
reaching $947 billion, according to OCO Global Ltd.’s
latest data, which was compiled from its proprietary
OCO Monitor market intelligence database. OCO Global
is a leading authority on foreign investment. The data
collected relates to new and expansion FDI projects that
were announced last year. The United States remained
the No. 1 source country for FDI projects globally.
Investments from U.S. companies accounted for nearly
25 percent of all company investment activity on a global level in 2007. Announced investment in the United
States created more than 107,000 jobs, representing $46
billion of investment, a 20 percent increase over 2006.
The states that attracted the most investment were
California, New York and Texas, with Florida and
Pennsylvania featured in the top 10 of preferred destinations for foreign companies expanding in the United
States. The leading investor countries in the United States
are Japan, the United Kingdom and Germany. For complete
details about the FDI data, visit www.ocomonitor.com.
Deloitte Outlines Business Issues
Deloitte and Touche USA LLP’s “2008 Industry
Outlook: A Look Around The Corner,” outlined nine
business issues that will present challenges and opportunities this year. These challenges will have dramatic
impacts across multiple industry sectors this year. The
nine issues include: globalization; convergence; environmental sustainability; rising energy and health care costs;
transparency; technology use and integration; the 2008
presidential election and talent management. “Executives
who deeply understand the issues in their industry sector can better position their organizations for competitive advantages in an uncertain marketplace,” says Ed
Carey, vice chairman and national managing partner,
U.S. industries, Deloitte and Touche. “Our experience
tells us that the breakthrough ideas in one industry sector are often realized by adapting leading practices from
other industry sectors. Our analysis takes a horizontal
view of leading practices that transcend industry sectors
and helps give executives new insights about issues and
trends that are around the corner.” The outlooks contain
trends and projects for several industry sectors. To
download your copy of the outlook, visit
www.deloitte.com/us/2008industryoutlook.
U.S. Productivity Growth Will Accelerate
Recession concerns and the credit crunch cloud the
U.S. economic outlook for this year, but U.S. productivity growth will accelerate to 1. 7 percent this year, while
Japan’s rate will pick up to 1. 9 percent, according to the
latest annual Productivity Brief from The Conference
Board, the global business research organization. The
report contains productivity figures for 100 countries,
covering 98 percent of the world’s output. With business
cycles past their peaks, annual productivity growth in
the advanced economies has slowed to between 1 percent and 1. 5 percent. Despite better European performance in the past two years, the United States maintains
its productivity edge over the longer term. The report
warns that advanced economies will need to raise annual
productivity growth to well above 2 percent above the
next two decades to maintain current living standards.
Given the limits to labor force growth almost everywhere
the onus will be on technology and innovation to drive
the growth process. Also mentioned in the report are the
emerging economies in Brazil, Russia, India and China,
whose productivity growth continued to accelerate from
7. 5 percent between 2000 and 2005. There were large
differences in these countries, such as China notching
up to 10.6 percent growth, while Brazil increased 1. 9
percent. For complete details about the brief’s findings,
visit www.conference-board.org/economics/database.cfm.
BUSINESS PARKS AND REAL ESTATE
NAI Global Releases Global Market Report
Commercial property markets worldwide enjoyed a
strong year in 2007, with slightly declining vacancy rates,
rising rents and record sale prices, according to NAI
Global’s “Global Market Report” for 2008. The report finds
the outlook for this year is clouded by uncertainty following the mid-year emergence of sub-prime debt problems,
volatile credit markets and record high oil prices. “We
believe the slowdown in activity is only temporary as the
credit markets sort themselves out and a new pricing equilibrium is established,” says Jeffrey M. Finn, president and
CEO, NAI Global. “The U.S. economy remains fundamentally strong and supply is tight, especially in resurgent
downtown areas. The U.S. story is counterbalanced by a
dynamic global landscape with vast new markets continuing to grow at a rapid pace.” Opportunities are expected to
emerge as the credit crunch is leaving many domestic
investors on the sidelines for the time being, but a weak
U.S. dollar and the relative returns to other global real
estate markets make U.S. real estate quite attractive to
investors,” Finn notes. For complete details on the report,
including a look at regional and global market findings,
visit www.naiglobal.com.
Gilbert, Ariz., Features Major Opportunities
There are numerous commercial projects and development opportunities located along Gilbert’s Loop 202 corridor.
The Pecos/Val Vista intersection in Gilbert has been named
the seventh leading intersection in the country by the Urban
Land Institute. The corridor, a major transportation link from
the southeast Valley of the Phoenix metro, is also emerging as
a leading employment center. Latest project activities in this
loop include the 202 Commerce Center, a 50-acre, 577,000-
square-foot light industrial park; and Reserve at Santan,
