UN Report: Development Prospects in a Fractured World

The world is headed towards a global recession and prolonged stagnation unless we quickly change the current policy course of monetary and fiscal tightening in advanced economies, according to a new report from United Nations Conference on Trade and Development.

Supply-side shocks, waning consumer and investor confidence and the war in Ukraine have provoked a global slowdown and triggered inflationary pressures. All regions will be affected, but alarm bells are ringing most for developing countries, many of which are edging closer to debt default. Climate stress is intensifying, with mounting loss and damage in vulnerable countries who lack the fiscal space to deal with disasters, let alone invest in their own long-term development.

UNCTAD projects that world economic growth will slow to 2.5% in 2022 and drop to 2.2% in 2023. The global slowdown would leave real GDP still below its pre-pandemic trend, costing the world more than $17 trillion – close to 20% of the world’s income.

Read highlights from the report.

Travel Advisories for American Citizens


Before you travel, check for travel advisory and alerts for your destination. Be sure to read further country-specific details on the same page that could affect your travel, such as entry/exit requirements, local laws and customs, health conditions, transportation, and other relevant topics.

Access safety and security information at travel.state.gov.

IAEE Expo! Expo! Exhibition, Dec. 13-15

Expo! Expo! IAEE’s Annual Meeting and Exhibition brings the exhibitions ecosystem together for their mutual benefit through content, community and connections. The 2022 event will be held Dec 13-15, 2022, at the Louisville International Convention Center.

Content topics for 2022 include:

  • Content Creation: Content geared towards the development, contribution and expansion of information through digital media to engage and inform your end-user/audience.
  • Bridging Relationships: Content geared towards new approaches and collaborative ways of doing business that will identify, develop and grow business partnerships and relationships across all communities.
  • Game Plan Moves: Content focused on the strategic and operational design and delivery of trade shows and events, utilizing cost-effective strategies to take your show to the next level.
  • Grow Your Show: Content geared towards defining, branding, and growing your event through the discovery of new audience opportunities and the re-engagement of past audiences, both attendees and exhibitors, to drive attendee acquisition, engagement and loyalty.
  • The Evolving Professional: Content designed to expand and strengthen one’s business acumen as well as personal skills and transform them into actionable insights that positively impact work and personal life.

    Learn more or register online.

Slowing Growth and the Risk of Stagflation 

Ayhan Kose, director of the World Bank’s Prospects Group, discusses how the war in Ukraine has compounded the damage left by the COVID-19 pandemic and magnified the slowdown in the global economy. The risk of stagflation is increasing with potentially harmful consequences for middle and low-income economies alike. Learn more from the latest edition of the Global Economic Prospects report, which projects that global growth will slump from 5.7 percent in 2021 to 2.9 percent in 2022.

Forum on Global Trade and the Digital Economy 

U.S. Chamber of Commerce executive Myron Brilliant discussed three opportunities American businesses can take advantage of to impact the global economy in 2022.

The U.S. Chamber of Commerce hosted its 2nd annual Global Forum on May 10 and 11, 2022. The forum focused on how government and business leaders can address global challenges

Myron Brilliant, executive vice president and head of international affairs for the U.S. Chamber, set the stage for the day’s programming. He summarized three major issues affecting the interconnected global economy, as well as some significant opportunities American businesses have to impact the global economy.

World Faces Growing Environmental, Political, and Social Risks

World leaders are failing to prepare for a new era of complex and often unpredictable risks to peace as profound environmental and security crises converge and intensify, according to a major report by the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI). The report, Environment of Peace: Security in a New Era of Risk, offers policymakers principles and recommendations for navigating this volatile future.

MODEX 2022 Supply Chain Event Sets Attendance Record

The manufacturing and supply chain community came together in March for a return to in-person trade shows with a record-setting MODEX event, according to show producer MHI. More than 37,047 visitors connected with over 857 exhibitors across 405,000-square-feet of exhibit space at Atlanta’s Georgia World Congress Center. 

This was the largest MODEX event to date for MHI, with 20% more visitors than the last pre-pandemic show – MODEX 2018. Additionally, the direct economic impact of this event to the Atlanta area is estimated to be $45 million.

“MODEX 2022 was a huge success and a dramatic return to in-person events for the supply chain industry, said John Paxton, CEO of MHI. “After two years, exhibitors and attendees were excited to be there and energized by the opportunity to connect and get back to the business of discovering the latest supply chain technology and innovation in-person.”

The excitement on the show floor and the educational events is a sign not only of the pent-up demand for the latest solutions and technology, but also the overall strength of this industry. “Attendees representing the Fortune 500, the top 100 retailers and consumer goods firms brought large teams to MODEX to source the latest innovations and to learn leading trends impacting supply chains,” said Daniel McKinnon, executive vice president of Exhibitions at MHI. “They came to MODEX with plans in hand and budgets in place to make large deals on-site.”

The dominant trend at MODEX surrounded digital supply chain solutions including automation, robotics, artificial intelligence, autonomous vehicles, augmented reality, the Internet of Things (IoT), and data analytics. “We’re seeing a revolutionary acceleration in the adoption of these technologies in manufacturing and supply chain operations,” said Paxton. “The solutions on display this year reflected this trend.” 

The next MHI-sponsored trade event will be ProMat 2023 held March 20-23 in Chicago’s McCormick Place. For more information on exhibiting at ProMat, or to register as an attendee, visit promatshow.com. The next MODEX will be held at the Georgia World Congress Center in 2024.

Easing Supply Chain Bottlenecks for a Sustainable Future

World Trade Organization (WTO) members and stakeholders from every part of the supply chain shared perspectives on the underlying causes and trajectory of continued supply chain disruptions. They also discussed the resources, interventions and innovations needed to ease crippling disruptions, logjams and price hikes.

UN Secretary-General António Guterres: Russia Violates International Law

UN Secretary-General António Guterres: Russia Violates International Law

The World Ahead 2022 from The Economist

 The World Ahead 2022 is The Economist’s outlook for 2002. The magazine’s correspondents and outside experts consider the new reality that is emerging in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic, and ask what it means for politics, economics, business, science and culture.