Joensuu Region, Time for Growth

The Joensuu region provides excellent opportunities to fulfill the dreams of the modern age. In the Joensuu region, the closeness of the natural world is combined with a wide range of services. Excellent connections and service networks make North Karelia a convenient place to live, work, and pursue various interests. With its beautiful and clean environment and comprehensive services, the region is a natural choice for people who want to get more out of their lives.

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Finland – Out of the Woods

It’s good to know Finland’s economy grew at an astonishing rate in the first three months of this year, increasing at an annual rate of 5.5% on the back of inward investment.

Finland weathered the global downturn well; that’s the opinion of the nation’s central bank governor, Erkki Liikanen. Talking to the New York Times recently, he had this to say:

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Ukraine; You Saw; You Invested…

ImageIs it time to start looking to emerging markets once more?  Judging by official stats recently released in Ukraine it is.  Investment is flowing into the Ukraine faster than the mighty Dnieper river flows into the Black Sea. 
 
According to a new report from the nation’s State Statistics Committee, foreign investors poured nearly a billion dollars ($ 925.7 million) into the Ukrainian economy, which is a whopping 29.1% more than in January-March last year.  According to Goskomstat, EU based investors provided the bulk of investment.
 

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Check in – France’s best kept secret

ImageParis loves to show off and with the newly re-opened Royal Monceau there’s no need to share the limelight.

Located in the heart of the 8th arrondissement, famous for its haute couture fashion houses and multinational businesses the building is a short walk from the Champs Elysées, Arc de Triomphe and the Parc Monceau. This grand salon first opened in 1928 and immediately became a destination for artists, intellectuals and celebrities including Ernest Hemingway, General Eisenhower and Ho Chi Minh. Originally designed by Louis Duhayon the hotel closed for renovations In 2008 and over the following two years underwent a magnificent transformation, overseen by the doyen of French chic, Phillip Stark. Reminiscent of its heritage Stark delicately wove period detail into the interiors and public spaces giving the building a lux-chic persona with a warm heart.

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Final Bell – Energy Crisis – Soap Opera or Comedy of Errors?

ImageIt was much simpler in the 1960s – Oil, that is; Black Gold; Texas Tea… 

The public chuckled about the plight of the Beverly Hillbillies – those impoverished rustics turned gazillionaires, rich beyond imagination by the mere fact that their humble farm was sat on an oil reserve. 

It was funny because it was true – large swathes of USA actually did strike oil; and once they’d got the Great Depression out of their system, Americans drove around in cars as big as boats, with huge grins, and smoking enormous cigars.

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Take five with Merlin J Piscitelli, Regional Director, International, Merrill DataSite

Merlin Piscitelli

Merlin Piscitelli

Martin works closely with M&A professionals to provide first class virtual data room (VDR) solutions for their transaction and due diligence needs. Prior to joining Merrill, Martin led the hedge fund strategy group at Morgan Stanley Capital International and the global equity product strategy group at Reuters International, London.

 

He received his B.A. from Dartmouth College, a marketing certificate from the University of Michigan Business School and currently resides in New York City with his wife and children

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Data Rooms – Easing the Way for M&A

ImageIn the dark ages of Mergers and Acquisitions – less than a decade ago – caffeine-fuelled tours of duty where a suitor's team of experts assembled to paw through boxes brimming with confidential documents that held the financial secrets of a prospective acquisition. The process could stretch on for days or weeks and would cost a small fortune.

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Switzerland: the ideal business location in Europe

Tranquil mountain lakeSwitzerland is the intersection point of different cultures, and the communication and transport centre joining the north and south of Europe. This makes it an ideal starting point for business in countries of the European Union. The service sector of Switzerland generates some 70 percent of the gross domestic product, 28 percent are contributed by the industry sector. The Swiss economy is strongly geared towards exports, with a ratio of about 65 percent going to Europe. Apart from agricultural and food industry products, trade has complete freedom.

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