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Newsletter
Finnish American Chamber of Commerce, Florida

Issue 4

Volume 5

April 2014

Florida added nearly 15,000 new private-sector jobs in March, according to the ADP Regional Employment Report released this week. The biggest gains were in the service sector, more than 11,000 jobs.

While many industries are back on steady footing, the region is also grappling with shortages of skilled labor in construction and precision manufacturing.

Simultaneously the consumer spending surged in March at the fastest pace in 4 1/2 years which could be read as a sign that the economy is gaining momentum.

We at the chamber are getting ready to plan our events for the next season. Look for a quick survey in your inbox shortly. We would love to hear your feedback as we continue growing.

At your service,

Lena Hartikainen

FACC-FL President

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News from Florida

Florida World Trade Month begins

International trade's importance to the state will be celebrated this month in a series of conferences, seminars and training opportunities, tours of cargo operations and trade missions. Read more about world trade and the upcoming events here.

Florida offers a great climate for women entrepreneurs

Women are starting small businesses in Florida at a rate faster than the national average. The state has seen a 74% increase in the number of women-owned small businesses in the past 15 years, ranking Florida as the sixth fastest-growing state for women-owned businesses. Read more here.

Miami home prices up 16 % in February

Home values in South Florida jumped 16 percent in February from a year earlier, according to the latest numbers from S&P/Case-Shiller."Five years into the recovery from the recession, the economy will need to look to gains in consumer spending and business investment more than housing,'' David M. Blitzer, chairman of the Index Committee at S&P Dow Jones Indices, said in a statement. "Long overdue activity in residential construction would be welcome, but is certainly not assured." Read more here.

Florida business owners upbeat

Nearly six of 10 small-business leaders in Florida are bullish about their company's prospects in the next six months, according to a new survey by American Express.

Read more here.

New home construction in Florida indicates growing economy

Over the last year, there have been an average of more than 4,600 housing starts monthly in our state. Privately-owned housing starts in Florida have grown, and are now more than double the rate of the recent low point in March 2009, when only 1,806 private single housing units were started in the entire state of Florida. Read more here.

Community report: West Palm Beach

Bollywood takes over Florida at India's academy awards

The so-called Bollywood Oscars roll in to Tampa Bay this month. From Indian cinema's Prince William-alike to an acting class with Kevin Spacey, here's what to expect at the IIFAs ( International Indian film academy award). Read more here.

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/02/26/3960951/um-researchers-make-small-but.html#storylink=cpy

Read more here: http://www.miamiherald.com/2014/02/26/3960951/um-researchers-make-small-but.html#storylink=cp

News from Finland

Moody's finds strength in Finnish economy

According to Moody's, Finland's strengths include a consensus-oriented and proactive policy framework and relatively healthy public finances. It also notes that because Finland's education system is among the world's best, this leads into an innovative and skilled workforce. Read more here.

Finland among top ten countries for entrepreneurship

Finland has been ranked as the 8th most entrepreneurial economy in the world, according to the 2014 Global Entrepreneurship and Development Index (GEDI). The GEDI index is based on analysis of comprehensive data sets from more than 120 countries that marshal information about entrepreneurial attitudes, aspirations, and activity. Read more here.

Verto raises millions to boost globalization efforts

Verto Analytics, a Finnish provider of digital market measurement services, has raised 5.4 million US dollars, i.e. more than 3.9 million euros in funding. The funding round was led by the new Finnish investment company Conor Venture Partners, which invests in promising technology startups.

- The funding will be used for scaling product development and accelerating sales and marketing in the United States, explains Verto Analytics's newly appointed CEO, Hannu Verkasalo. Read more here.

Finnish Moves app bought by Facebook

Helsinki-based fitness tracking app Moves has been bought by the social networking site Facebook. According to the Moves developer ProtoGeo, the application has been downloaded four million times for iPhone and Android phones since its launch in January 2013. Read more here.

Finnish K2S Architects wins an international award

The Architizer awards honour the best architecture as well as spaces and products. According to the press release, a total of 129 firms and companies are presented among this year's winning projects. The winners and honorees will be recognized at a gala held in New York City in May. Read more here.

Finnish school innovation achieves global success

Me & MyCity is a Finnish innovation that is one of the finalists in the World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE) competition. Each year the competition selects the education solutions that best answer to challenges presented by society. The finalists represent innovative and future-oriented educational projects that are backed by NGOs or charity organisations and private sector operators. Read more here.

FACC New Member - Welcome!

GMMI is a leading ISO 9001:2008 certified provider of cost containment and medical risk management solutions. Since its inception in 1992, they have been setting the industry standard for Quality Customer Service, Medical Management, and competent Claims Administration.

Clients can choose to contract GMMI for a single service component, such as Claims Repricing or they may engage GMMI for their complete Customer Service and Cost Containment needs. GMMI's services range from web-based and telephonic patient directing, to 24/7/365 Customer Service Call Center, Claims Management, Medical Case Management, Claims Payment and beyond - truly a one-stop-shop for all your medical and case management services needs.

GMMI's philosophy is to treat its Client's patients with respect and dignity in the same caring manner that they would treat its own family members and to manage their Client's money with prudence and wisdom in the same smart way they would manage their own money.

To find out more about GMMI, please visit their website www.gmmi.com

Raija Itzchaki, Chief Operating Officer

FACC Upcoming event

May 9th, 12noon to 5pm FACC Annual Planning Session

Come join us on planning future FACC events for fall 2014 and spring 2015.
FACC will conduct a questionnaire and provide you with a platform for sharing your thoughts and ideas. Look out for an email from us in near future. You can also always email your feedback to us at info@facc-fl.com or contact us through other channels. The event is open to all FACC, Florida members, but RSVP is needed to info@facc-fl.com to get directions.

Partner Trade Events

Export Financing for Small Businesses

May 9, 2014

Miami, Florida

This interactive workshop is a unique opportunity for companies to learn about federal government resources from experts with the Small Business Administration (SBA) and the Export-Import Bank of the U.S. (Ex-Im Bank). Bring your export finance challenges and concerns! Many solutions will be discussed including pre-export working capital sources & qualifications, purchase order financing, foreign receivables financing, access to capital for the purchase of a fixed asset for your company, insuring against non-payment by your foreign buyers, and using export credit insurance as a marketing tool to increase your sales and profits. The event is FREE. For information and registration, click here.

Florida Logistics and Trade Conference

May 15-16, 2014

Miami, Florida

The Florida Logistics & Trade Conference will bring together industry stakeholders and leaders from all modes of transportation, construction, academia, government and economic development to discuss the state of logistics as a sector in Florida. Speakers will include senior executives from: Atkins, Norfolk Southern; Sandler, Travis & Rosenberg; JP Morgan Chase; and the Brookings Institute. In addition, the conference will bring together Florida's construction industry to discuss the interconnectedness of Florida's transport infrastructure with those in the Americas. Speakers will include Florida Secretary of Transportation Ananth Prasad as well as senior executives from: The World Bank; US Commercial Service; ProMexico; Bilzin Sumberg; Becker & Poliakoff; and the Florida Transportation Builder's Association. Tickets $175-$450. For more information, click here.

Import & Export Seminar

May 19 & 21, 2014 (English Version)
May 27 & 29, 2014 (Spanish Version)
Doral, Florida

The Florida Foreign Trade Association invites Florida companies to attend the Import & Export Seminar. Companies will have the opportunity to learn the basics of the import and export process, concepts and regulations in the United States. Tickets $161/$175. For more information, click here.

We hope you find this newsletter useful and we love to get feedback and suggestions how we can make it better. We also have many volunteer opportunities within the chamber so let us know how you want to be involved.

Sincerely,

Lena Hartikainen
Finnish American Chamber of Commerce