After a long cold winter spring is finally upon us.  If it wasn’t so damn corny I might even suggest that it’s a good analogy for the Continent’s economy.  But the evidence is hard to refute.  Germany’s regrowth speaks for itself, and a handful of articles in this issue are given over to Germany’s recovery.  From the sap rising through the economy and the in-fighting it’s causing amongst their neighbouring politicians, to a rundown of the best cities to host meetings and present your company’s renewed confidence to the world.

Rupert Murdoch feels the pinch

It was the US’s most popular networking site in 2006, then something happened.  Something that all the business brains at Harvard can identify, but still can’t quite harness or reverse.  Facebook – set up by Harvard student Mark Zuckerberg, ironically - stole its crown.

There was a time when you couldn’t open a newspaper without finding a chart-topping band or artist whose raw talent had been uploaded and immediately discovered like the Arctic Monkeys, Lily Allen, and legions of other ingénues who’ve since fallen by the wayside.  MySpace was literally a goldmine and News Corp. quickly set up MySpace Records to capitalise on the undiscovered talent still waiting to reveal itself.

Situated on a hammer-head peninsula jutting out from Canada into the North Atlantic, Nova Scotia’s raison d'être for the last three hundred years has been fishing.  Nowhere in the province is more than 42 miles from the ocean, so fishing still plays a big part in the region’s economy which is centred on the city of Halifax. 

However, Nova Scotia is fast emerging as one of North America’s most dynamic economies.  It is a hotbed of activity in what is erroneously perceived as the frozen north.

The spotlight will shine on Canada

Canada will be in the spotlight as the country welcomes the world for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games. A country known for its strong and diverse economy, rich resources, sound banking system, and access to over 443 million consumers in the North American market – the 2010 Olympic Winter Games will attract investors and enhance awareness for the benefits of doing business from within Canada’s borders.

While athletes and spectators gather on Canada’s West coast in Vancouver, it will be business as usual on the opposite side of the country, in Nova Scotia. Surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean, Nova Scotia is making waves as the economic hub of Canada’s East coast.

With a population of 1.5 million inhabitants, Durango is the 4^th largest State in México. Strategically located in the most dynamic economic zone,The Northeast.  The Region offers also the advantage of swift and easy accessibility to the border of the USA. Being part of the North American Super Corridor Coalition (NASCO) and because it stands at the crossroads of the transoceanic corridor between the Pacific Ocean and the Gulf of México, Durango is a site of competitive and logistic advantage for manufacturing and finishing processes. 

In 2008, the FDI magazine, from the Financial Times, ranked Durango as one of the five small cities of North America with best economic potential and best development and investment promotion. This fact has been attracting new sectors and supply chain companies in the Autoparts, Electric and Software development Industries, with capitals from Japan, Germany, Canada and the USA.