Assignment On COUNTRY ANALYSIS (AMERICA)

SUBMITTED TO: PROF: Uddeepan Chatterjee

SUBMITTED BY: Abhinav Awasthi Abhineet Singh Aditi Singh

SWOT ANALYSIS INTRODUCTION:

STRENGTH a) Bankruptcy Treatment Bankruptcy in the United States is permitted by the United States Constitution (Article 1, Section 8, Clause 4) which authorizes Congress to enact "uniform Laws on the subject of Bankruptcies throughout the United States." Congress has exercised this authority several times since 1801, most recently by adopting the Bankruptcy Reform Act of 1978, codified in Title 11 of the United States Code, commonly referred to as the Bankruptcy Code ("Code"). While bankruptcy cases are filed in United States Bankruptcy Court (units of the United States District Courts), and federal law governs procedure in bankruptcy cases, state laws are often applied when determining property rights. For example, law governing the validity of liens or rules protecting certain property from creditors (known as exemptions), derive from state law b) Entrepreneurial / Innovative Country Culture America is becoming a leading innovation hub world, implementing proactive initiatives to foster a culture of entrepreneurship, global competitiveness, and a dynamic business environment. The country, where investment in research and development has increased 70 percent since 2005, is expected to continue growing at over 6 percentone of the

fastest paces in the region.

 Strengthening partnerships between the public sector, business community, and universities, as well as enhancing investment incentives, are top priorities for President Sebastin Pieras administration. c) Economies of Scale Following the economies of scale, cost improvements there is most likely be generated by improvement in X-efficiency and better management of resources, rather than through improved scale or scope economies. There may be more potential for efficiency gains from mergers on the revenue side than on the cost side, but these have not yet been thoroughly explored. To the degree that cross-border expansions increase local market competition, they may also yield the social benefit of slightly more favorable prices for the consumer of financial services.

d) Foreign Students According to "Open Doors 2007," the Institute of International Education's annual report on international academics Foreign students' tuition and living costs amount to $14.5billion annually in the United States Prestigious American universities are franchising their brands in the Middle East and Southeast Asia, building campuses and making it possible for students in those regions to receive an American degree while remaining at home. e) University Education American colleges and universities are still the envy of the world. More than 580,000 foreign students come here annually, paying full tuition. Despite the fact that Australia and Britain, among other countries, court them far more aggressively f) Cheap Energy Source America is self sufficient in coal. Indeed, it has several hundred years supply of it Renewable energy accounted for about 8% of total energy consumption in the United States in 2009. In the same year, approximately 10% of the electricity produced nationally came from renewable sources. Nuclear power in United States is contributed by 104 commercial reactors (69 pressurized water reactors and 35 boiling water reactors) licensed to operate at

65 nuclear power plants, producing a total of 806.2 TWh of electricity, which was 19.6% of the nation's total electric energy generation in 2008. The United States is the world's largest supplier of commercial nuclear power. Natural gas reserves in the United States were 35% higher in 2008 than two years earlier largely due to shale gas discoveries Renewable energy accounted for about 8% of total energy consumption in the United States in 2009. In the same year, approximately 10% of the electricity produced nationally came from renewable sources. g) Diverse Business Includes service oriented business including health services, technology based entrepreneurship, small scale industries, more of education based business and manyothers.

a)

WEEKNESS Unemployment Benefits Hurt Work Incentives The unemployment rate in the United States was last reported at 9.1 percent in July of 2011. From 1948 until 2010 the United States' Unemployment Rate averaged 5.70%. Historical high of 10.80 percent in November of 1982 and a record low of 2.50 percent in May of 1953.

b) Debt Level Gross debt has increased by over $500 billion each year since fiscal year (FY) 2003, with increases of $1 trillion in FY2008, $1.9 trillion in FY2009, and $1.7 trillion in FY2010. As of August 3, 2011, the gross debt was $14.34 trillion dollars, of which $9.78 trillion was held by the public and $4.56 trillion was intragovernmental holdings. Annual gross domestic product (GDP) to the end of June 2011 was $15.003 trillion (July 29, 2011 estimate), with gross debt at a ratio of 96% of GDP, and debt held by the public at 65% of GDP. c) Complexity of the Tax Code

d) Fiscal Budget Deficit Treasury Department said that US budget deficit shot up 15.7 percent in the first six months of fiscal 2011. The Treasury reported a deficit of $829 billion for the October-March period, compared with $717 billion a year earlier, as revenue rose a sluggish 6.9 percent as the economic recovery slowly gained pace. OPPORTUNITIES a) Renewable Energy &Energy Independence America is self sufficient in coal. Indeed, it has several hundred years supply of it Renewable energy accounted for about 8% of total energy consumption in the United States in 2009. In the same year, approximately 10% of the electricity produced nationally came from renewable sources.

Nuclear power in United States is contributed by 104 commercial reactors (69 pressurized water reactors and 35 boiling water reactors) licensed to operate at 65 nuclear power plants, producing a total of 806.2 TWh of electricity, which was 19.6% of the nation's total electric energy generation in 2008. The United States is the world's largest supplier of commercial nuclear power. Natural gas reserves in the United States were 35% higher in 2008 than two years earlier largely due to shale gas discoveries Renewable energy accounted for about 8% of total energy consumption in the United States in 2009. b) Consumption Boom In China Because China is now the worlds second largest economy, after the United States, and because the country has been a leading source of global growth during the last two years, money problems here can reverberate from Wal-Mart to Wall Street and the world beyond. Some cosmetic companies like Mary Kay and McDOnalds are the example of how American market is directly affected by consumption boom in China c) Oothers d) US Currency Appreciation e) Nuclear Expansion f) THREATS a) Global Slowdown Recession and liquidity crisis in US are an issue. However, it does not justify the global market meltdown. It has been observed in 2007 that the Asian markets were booming at a faster pace than Net GDP with a high level of inflation. Even with the double digit growth, the stock prices and the commodity prices were absolutely not justified. This is because of limited growth in US economy and rising interest rate lead to flow of capital from US to Asian market.

 This created a high level of liquidity and rise in demand for stock an d commodities, which in turn lead to an unjustified rise in price of stock and commodities. This could be a bubble, ready to burst anytime.

b) Credit Market, Housing & Mortgage Issues The US subprime mortgage crisis was one of the first indicators of the late2000s financial crisis, characterized by a rise in subprime mortgage delinquencies and foreclosures, and the resulting decline of securities backed by said mortgages. Approximately 80% of U.S. mortgages issued to subprime borrowers were adjustable-rate mortgages Securities backed with mortgages, including subprime mortgages, widely held by financial firms, have lost most of their value.

The United States housing bubble is an economic bubble affecting many parts of the United States housing market, including areas of Alabama, Arizona,Arkansas, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Ida ho, Illinois, Indiana, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Nevada, New Hampshire,NewJersey, NewYork, Ohio, Oregon, RhodeIsland, Tennessee, Utah, Virginia and W ashington. Housing prices peaked in early 2006, started to decline in 2006 and 2007, and may not yet have hit bottom as of 2011.

c) OTHER AREAS FOR CONCERN INCLUDES: Consumer Spending Rising Unemployment Government Intervention

PEST ANALYSIS
POLITICAL: a) FDI: largest recipient of FDI, $325.3 billion in FDI flowed into the United States in 2008, which is 37 percent increase from 2007. The $2.1 trillion stock of FDI, at the end of 2008 equivalent 16 percent of U.S. GDP .55 Benefits of FDI in America: In last 6 years, over 4000 new projects and 630,000 new jobs have been created by foreign companies,. FDI results in 30% of jobs for Americans in the manufacturing sector, accounts 12% of all manufacturing jobs in US. Parameters TRADE REGULATION The United States antitrust law, body of laws, prohibits anti-competitive behavior (monopoly) and unfair business practices. Government agencies, :- Competition regulators, along with private litigants, apply the antitrust and consumer protection laws in hopes of preventing market failure. The term antitrust, formulated to combat "business trusts", known as cartels. The federal government, via both, Antitrust Division of the United States Department of Justice and the Federal Trade Commission, can bring civil lawsuits enforcing the laws. Most famous antitrust enforcement :- break-up of AT&T's local telephone service, early 1980sand its actions against Microsoft in the late 1990s.

b) TAXATION: Income tax rates differ at the federal and state levels for corporations and individuals. Individuals are subject to federal graduated tax rates from 10% to 35%. Corporations are subject to federal graduated rates of tax from 15% to 35%; a rate of 34% applies to income from $335,000 to $15,000,000 d) ENVIRONMENT PROTECTION The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is an agency of the federal government of the United States. The Air Quality Modeling Group (AQMG) is in the EPA's Office of Air and Radiation, OAR, provides leadership and direction on the full range of air quality models SPCC - Spill Prevention Containment and Counter. The Water Sense program is designed to encourage water efficiency through the use of a special label on consumer products In 1992 the EPA launched the Energy Star program, a voluntary program that fosters energy efficiency. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) began regulating greenhouse gases (GHGs) from mobile and stationary sources of air pollution under the Clean Air Act (CAA or Act) for the first time on January 2, 2011 ECONOMIC CONDITION The savings rate decreased from 6.1 per cent in January to 5.8 per cent last month. Disposable incomes, or the money left over after the payment of taxes fell by 0.1 per cent in February after adjusting for inflation.

GNP RATES: Were highest in FY 06 & 08 The Federal Reserve decided to hold interest rates at historic low levels. Market indicators have been weaker than anticipated.

ECONOMIC STABILITY Not so very stable, reason being the increased lending & slow down.

SOCIOCULTURAL DEMOGRAPHY As of August 9, 2011, the United States has a total resident population of 311,928,000, making it the third most populous country in the world. It is a very urbanized population, with 82% residing in cities and suburbs as of 2008 (the worldwide urban rate is 50.5%. This leaves vast expanses of the country nearly uninhabited. There were 155.6 million females in the United States in 2009 The number of males was 151.4 million. At age 85 and older, there were more than twice as many women as men. People under 20 years of age made up over a quarter of the U.S. population (27.3%), and people age 65 and over made up one-eighth (12.8%) in 2009. The national median age was 36.8 years. Racially, the U.S. has a White American majority.

ii) INCOME DISTRIBUTION

iii) a) LIFESTYLE The family remains central to US society, and more than half of unmarried adults between the ages of 18 and 24 still live with their parents. American family has changed considerably in recent decades. Today only about one-quarter of all households consist of a traditional nuclear family, and more than half of all households have no children. One out of every four children is born out of wedlock, and there has been a large increase in the number of single-parent families.

c) Diet and Eating Americans eat a lot of fast food such as hamburgers, pizza, and fried chicken, but their diet embraces an enormous range of foods from all over the world. Staples include potatoes, pasta, breads, and rice prepared with a variety of sauces. In the past two decades, eating habits have changed as people have become more health conscious, but many Americans continue to eat red meat (beef in particular) as well as pork, and chicken and other fowl. People visiting the US for the first time are often amazed at the size of the steaks and other portions of food served in restaurants. Fresh fish and seafood are widely available on the coasts and near major rivers and lakes, and a wide variety of fresh vegetables and fruit is available year-round. c) Socializing Both men and women usually smile and shake hands when greeting. Good friends and family members may embrace when they meet, especially after a long absence. In casual situations, a wave may be used instead of a handshake. Americans may greet strangers on the street by saying "Hello" or "Good morning", although they may pass without any greeting. Among young people, verbal greetings or various hand-slapping gestures, such as the "high five", are common. Except in formal situations, people usually address one another by their first names once they are acquainted, and often do so on first meeting ATTITUDE TOWARDS WORK Team Culture: Guiding Collaborating/Coaching Team Activities Diversity/Flexibility Openness/Sharing Active Involvement of others Assess the situation and get results quickly Dont spend too much time building Relationships.

EDUCATION According to an UNESCO report America has the second largest number of higher education institutions in the world. Total of 5,758, with an average of more than 115 existing in each state. Highest number of higher education students in the world, 14,261,778.4.75% of the entire American population. TECHNOLOGICAL United States' emergence as one of the largest nations in the world as well as the most technologically powerful nation in the world. The United States came into being around the Age of Enlightenment, Enlightenment philosophers envisioned a "republic of science," where ideas would be freely and useful knowledge would improve the lot of all citizens. From its emergence as an independent nation, the United States has encouraged science and invention. o It has done this by promoting a free flow of ideas, by encouraging the growth of "useful knowledge," and by welcoming creative people from all over the world. o The bulk of research and development funding (64%) comes from the private sector, rather than from taxes