Where's the Bright Light?

There's an expectation of a slowdown in export growth ...

Asian companies have been on a tear, but this may be as good as it gets. Despite a stellar round of earnings for the last quarter, the outlook for many of the region’s companies — household names around the world — is dimming.

And a snippet from Alibaba.com:

“We continue to take a cautious view on the global economy and small-business development,” said David Wei, Alibaba’s chief executive, “and expect a slowdown in export growth for the following quarters.”

Read more here:
Pessimism in Asia Despite a Solid Earnings Season

Posted by: The Global Small Business Blog

Wanted: UPS to Help Double SMB Exports

What a great job to have! The U.S. has asked UPS to help double exports for small and medium-sized U.S. businesses. UPS will use shipping data to identify those SMBs.

President Barack Obama set a goal of doubling exports to more than $3 trillion over the next five years to help create or support 2 million American jobs.

Less than 1 percent of America's 30 million companies export, which is significantly less than in other developed countries, the Commerce Department said in a statement.

Of those that do export, 58 percent export to only one country, providing what U.S. officials see as a big opportunity to expand exports.

A lot of the above stats can be found at UPS Business Monitor.

Read more here.

Another interesting piece: Export volumes: Is it possible to double exports in five years? ~ The Economist

Graph source: here.