Trendwatching.com

The recession and reduced expenditure has meant many consumers are increasingly looking for unfussy, practical products, which don't break the bank. The keyword is 'functionall - simple, small and cheap appeals to all', from those in developing countries to people in mature consumer markets who wish to make sustainable and ethical purchases. Trendwatching.com has been busy gathering the latest innovations to suit this market; for example, there's the mobile phone with an inbuilt solar panel - no charger required but my favourite has to be the €1 trainers by Adidas, worth a look

ps. while you're there, you may want to whizz through some of the recent Trend Briefings which have discussed Consumer Trends for 2010, Sellsumers and Foreverism...

Bloomberg.com

You may recognise the name as well-known for providing financial news on TV. The same in-depth market data can also be found on the Bloomberg website; the site can be searched by market or by industry with up-to-the minute worldwide breaking news. Other resources include business reports presented via video, radio and podcasts. They also cover related topics including politics, law and the environment as well as not-so-related such as sports, arts and culture, book and film reviews.

It's not too late to make a New Year's resolution to set up a website for your business (or revamp your current one). Not sure where to start? Some useful tips are provided on this page of the Business Pundit website. The website covers many aspects of business including finance, government, investment, management and new products, to name a few; it also advises on relevant books and journals for business, even best business movies (and songs!). A further section offers the latest news stories with an archive also available.

Merry Christmas and a very happy New Year!

If you have been following the story, the latest is that Cadbury are fighting back against the hostile takeover bid by Kraft for the Birmingham confectioner - Cadbury have stated they're worth much more than the £10.4 billion offer (we have to agree). Here's a link to the Cadbury corporate site which gives more information about the company and its brands, heritage their presentation to investors and analysts, the Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability Review and investors section which includes their annual report. There's also a section containing factsheets which provide in-depth information in a number of areas such as their Business Principles and Community Investment.

Cadbury World

Keep Cadbury independent petition

Risk Management

For the latest articles on this topic, pick up Harvard Business Review (October 09 - in print only). If you are after an example of a risk management policy, here's a fairly recent one by the NHS, a detailed section by University of Cambridge and one by South Oxfordshire District Council. Birmingham City Council have produced a number of documents relating to this subject here.

The Strategic Risk Management Progress report by the Audit Committee for Transport for London is available here.The Financial Risk Institute aims to promote a learning environment on issues relating to financial risk management; the website includes Key Risk Concepts and a Case Studies section. Deloitte provide a report on 'Risk Management in the age of Structured Products'. Another aspect of risk is discussed in the working paper 'Corporate Social Responsibility as Risk Management'. There is also an online publication by US-based FEMA entitled 'Emergency and Risk Case Studies Textbook'.

Don't forget there are a range of useful titles to be found in the library, which include many case studies and strategies as well as online resources in Athens, such as Emerald.

Business Information on the Internet

I have included a link to this site a while ago, but thought it would be worth talking about a bit more. The RBA Information Services website has been set up by Karen Blakeman, who offers a consultancy service and advice on the use of technology for accessing information. The Business Resources tab reveals a number of useful sources of information on a range of business topics including Direct Marketing, Financial and Annual Reports, Statistics, Mergers/Acquisitions and Market and Industry Research.