P.O. Box 1008 Goodlettsville, TN 37070-1008 USA Tel: 615-202-9108 Fax: 615-826-0166 e-mail: info@casselinternational.com Website: www.casselinternational.com May 2005 Going Global! globalEDGE™ Research Center It’s not my habit to give away trade secrets, but I have to share this wonderful website for international business research. globalEDGE (http://globaledge.msu.edu) was created by the Michigan State University Center for International Business Education and Research, and is chock-full of fabulous information! Country profiles, statistics, international news, trade leads, company directories, trade law information, language tools, travel tips – you name it, you can find it here! National NAWBO Conference – Not Too Late! It’s not too late to come to Orlando June 9-11, 2005 for the national NAWBO conference. And if you’re coming, don’t forget to come to the “Expanding Your Horizons – Maximizing Your Marketing Strategy” seminar being held Friday, June, 10, 2005 at 11:00 am. Carol Webster will be one of the panelists, with the topic “Preparing to Market Your Product Internationally”. All the speakers promise to be very interesting! And also don’t forget to visit the International Booth at the exhibition! Summer is Travel Time If you’re planning a trip overseas this summer (or anywhere for that matter), Tips 4 Trips is a great website that has many useful suggestions for traveling (including some for those of you who will be traveling with small children!). Go to http://1000tips4trips.com and take a look at the hundreds of tips travelers from all over the world have contributed as a result of their journeys. Business Women’s Summit to Advance Leadership and Entrepreneurial Skills of Arab Women The Middle East Partnership Initiative will host a 3-day forum in Tunis, Tunisia from 24 – 26 May, 2005, featuring practical business training for almost 200 women entrepreneurs from 16 countries and territories in the Middle East and North Africa. All of the attendees are recognized businesswomen and organizational leaders from their respective regions, and have demonstrated a desire to expand economic opportunities and spur job growth in their own countries. The conference is very timely as MENA (Middle East and North Africa region) is becoming a new global market opportunity. Women attendees will build peer networks, learn from regional and American experts, and look for new venture partners. For more information on the Middle East Partnership Initiative, go to www.mepi.state.gov. Featured Country – Malaysia Malaysia has always been a major crossroads in Southeast Asia for trade routes from Europe, the Orient, India and China. It maintains a healthy trade sector today, with 2003 statistics showing US$98 billion in exports, and US$74 billion in imports. Despite the tsunami in December 2004, it is recovering quickly with international assistance. To learn more, go to Malaysia: An Annotated Director of Internet Resources (http://newton.uor.edu/Departments&Programs/AsianStudiesDept/malaysia). This site is published by the University of Redlands and has dozens of links to all kinds of useful information. Two great talkers will not travel far together. --Spanish Proverb