| |
Hello International Traders! John McDonnell here, with your latest issue of Really Useful Sites for International Trade Professionals. Finland is a country with a tech-savvy population and a competitive economy, and I've got a site in this issue that will help you increase your trade with it. Also, I've got a site that will give you quick facts about any country worldwide with the click of a mouse. Need to check your voice mail while you're traveling? I found a site that will let you do that, for free. Finally, I have a link to the Old Farmer's Almanac -- a publication that's been dispensing useful information for 215 years.
And don't forget -- if you'd like more information about
international trade, go to FITA's Really Useful Links (
http://fita.org/webindex/index.html ), which has a link library
of more than 8,000 sites related to international trade.
| FINLAND
Our Featured Country
Finland has thousands of lakes and islands, and 75 percent of its land is covered by forests. If you think Finland is nothing but a sleepy little camper's paradise, however, think again. The number of cell phone subscribers and Internet users is among the highest per capita in the world, and Finland is very comfortable with technology. This is a modern country with a bustling economy -- Finland is ranked among the top 50 in the world for imports and exports, and its economy was ranked Number 1 (with Switzerland and Sweden) for competitiveness by the Global Competitiveness Report 2006-2007.
If you'd like more information about Finland, a good site to visit is the U.S. Commercial Service Country Commercial Guide to Finland ( http://www.buyusa.gov/finland/en/ccg.html ). Here you'll find lots of information, including: an overview of the political and economic scene, leading sectors for export and investment, trade regulations and standards, trade and project financing, and business travel, to name a few. The information is geared toward U.S. companies, but anyone can find valuable tips here, no matter where you're from.
You'll also find plenty of good research at the Finland Mini Portal (http://fita.org/countries/finland.html ), a feature of the FITA Web site. The Finland Mini Portal has an overview of the country, with facts about the language, currency, climate, etc., plus more specific information about the economy, Finland markets, taxes, labor market indicators, tips on doing business in Finland, and a search engine to help you find free market research on the Internet.
Click on "Useful Links" and you'll find a variety of sources for market research, trade leads, business directories, logistics, government contacts, travel, financing, and lots more.
The Finland Mini Portal is one of many research gateways at the FITA site. To find Mini Portals for other regions or countries, just click on "Country Profiles" from within a Mini Portal, or at the FITA home page ( http://www.fita.org ).
FITA's Global Trade Book Store has an excellent book about doing
business in Finland. Check out Finland - Culture Smart!: a quick guide to customs and etiquette
 |
INFOPLEASE COUNTRY PROFILES
Facts at a Glance
I try to find sites for this newsletter that have in-depth information, but there are times when you need a quick hit rather than exhaustive research. If you're looking for some general information about countries, Infoplease Country Profiles ( http://www.infoplease.com/countries.htm ) is just what you need. This site has facts at a glance about every country, including: a map, the country's flag, current government officials, brief history, facts on the capital and largest cities, an economic summary, demographic facts, and links to further information. Infoplease has a very good encyclopedia, dictionary, atlas, and other reference works, and there are links to these resources on the top of every page. This is a good site to bookmark for when you need a quick overview of a country.
|
webPlus STREAMLOGICS WEBCASTING
http://fita.org/marketplace/conferenceinfo.html
The use of the Internet as a medium for marketing services has continued to evolve and grow in recent years. Companies now use Webcasting as a cost-effective means to securely and reliably deliver their rich media messages to a targeted audience. Webcasting services are ideal for enhancing keynote addresses, tradeshows, conferences, effective brand building, product launches, lead generation, lead reporting and more. Webcasting provides a compelling tool to get your message out to customers quickly and effectively. Webcasting is available for both your audio and video requirements.
Streaming Webcasts allow you to stream your live or pre-recorded audio or videoconference over the Internet. Streaming is ideal for reaching a large audience or for playing video recordings into your conference. You can even include a slide presentation to help emphasize your point! For more information or to sign up today, please call 1-800-930-7714, then select Option 3 on your touchtone pad or click here.
View a streaming demo URL:
http://events.streamlogics.com/conferenceplus/demo/index.htm
Learn more URL:
http://www.conferenceplus.com/ConferencePlus/services/webplus/webcasting.aspx |
|
CHECK YOUR MESSAGES FOR FREE WITH GOTVOICE
Voicemail on the Run
Here's a nifty idea for travelers. GotVoice ( http://www.gotvoice.com ) is a free service that lets you receive voice mail messages from your home or cell phones as e-mail attachments. How do they do it? By recording your phone messages as MP3 sound files, which you can then listen to when you download your e-mail. This is a money-saving idea for travelers, because instead of paying for a phone call to check your messages, you can access the Internet in your hotel for free and check your messages that way. GotVoice doesn't erase your phone messages in the process, so the messages will be there whenever you want to dial in to your voice mail number. This isn't just a boon for travelers, by the way. Parents and grandparents can use GotVoice to save those cute phone messages from children, and have them available forever (unlike most voice mail systems, which erase messages after a certain amount of time).
THE OLD FARMER'S ALMANAC
More Than Just the Forecast
My Dad used to swear that the Old Farmer's Almanac ( http://www.almanac.com ) was never wrong about the long-range weather forecast. Nobody's perfect when it comes to predicting the weather, but the Old Farmer's Almanac has been around a long time (since 1792) and I don't think farmers would have been buying it all these years if it didn't have a pretty good track record at predicting the weather. The online version of this popular publication has weather forecasts for the U.S. and Canada, but it also has lots more. There are astronomy charts, gardening tips, an eclectic collection of recipes, tide predictions, articles about camping and fishing, puzzles, quizzes, trivia, and more. This is a great site to while away some time, even if you're not a farmer.
FITA CAREER HEADQUARTERS - FEATURED JOB
Export Specialist
In the FITA Career Headquarters
job seekers can now apply for jobs online
and post their resume--free of charge--in an exclusive database that will be searched
by hundreds of industry employers seeking employees with international degrees
and/or related work experience. Featured job this week is for an
Export Specialist
for Synbiotics Corporation, a leading developer, manufacturer and marketer of diagnostic products dedicated to the worldwide companion and food animal industries in Kansas City, MO.. Click
here to browse more than 700 other positions! Employers -
Click
here to advertise your job openings on FITA's Career HQ.
|
|
|
GIVE US FEEDBACK!
Please tell us what you think of these Really Useful Sites! Send us your comments (newsletter@fita.org) about this or past issues or to give us suggestions about future editions!
ADVERTISING
"Really Useful Sites for International Trade Professionals" and the FITA website offer unique opportunities for advertisers to reach a targeted international market of people involved in international trade. Click here for information about advertising programs and rates.
BENEFITS FOR OUR SUBSCRIBERS
http://www.fita.org/marketplace FITA offers our subscribers many benefits. Go to the "Global Trade Shop" for services that are of great value. For example:
Take a look! We welcome our subscribers to publish this whole issue or articles from it. But please note that all material is copyrighted by FITA and must be copied with the following attribution: "This is copied from the newsletter Really Useful Sites for International Trade Professionals, a free, bi-weekly email publication of FITA - The Federation of International Trade Associations. Please feel free to subscribe to this newsletter at http://fita.org/useful."
If you'd like to see all back issues of Really Useful Sites for International Trade Professionals, the full list is at http://www.fita.org/useful/archives.
|
|
Published by Federation of International Trade Associations
Copyright © 2006 Federation of International Trade Associations. All rights
reserved.
|
|
|
|
|
Powered by Xtenit
|
|
