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Newsletter
Finnish American Chamber of Commerce, Florida
Issue 02
Volume 4
  February 2013

Greetings!

 

 again we are happy to bring you many interesting and positive news from sunny Florida, where the climate is perfect for business as the new business branding campaign condense the message. 

Last year was also Florida's record year in trade with the world.  

We are happy to see that United States is investing heavily to Helsinki as a regional hub.

 

We are also spreading the good news of Finnish educational system by hosting Dr Sahlberg together with Palm Beach State Collage.

 

 

Read more about the coming events below and remember to bring your ideas to the board!

Looking forward of seeing you at our events!

 

Sincerely,

 

Lena Hartikainen

FACC-FL President

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News from Florida

New York's Hedge-fund Executives are Fleeing South
An increasing number of financial firms, especially private equity and hedge funds, are fed up with New York's sky-high city and state tax rates and are relocating to the business-friendly climate in Florida's Palm Beach County. Comparing the Sunshine state's income tax to New York, where the state and local governments took $14.71 of every $100 earned in 2010, according to state records. Read more here.

West Palm Ranked No. 1 for Entrepreneurs in PBS List
On Friday, PBS' Next Avenue web site named West Palm as the country's surprising No. 1 hot spot for entrepreneurs, citing research from a Harvard University economics professor and an associate professor at Harvard Business School. Read full article here.

58% of Florida Business Owners Optimistic
Florida business owners saw the health of their company improve in 2012, and nearly 58 percent are optimistic that progress will continue this year, according to a new survey by CPA firm Kaufman, Rossin & Co. Read more here.

Florida Growth Projection Highest in 7 Years
A Federal Reserve leading index for Florida's economy posted some encouraging numbers. Florida's economy is expected to keep growing through 2013. Florida's economy should grow by about 1.7 percent during the next six months, the Fed says. That's the strongest growth predicted by the index since August 2005. See full index here.
 
"Florida: The Perfect Climate for Business." 
Gov. Rick Scott joined top business leaders Thursday to unveil a new "business branding" campaign, the latest initiative in a multipronged effort to cast the state of Florida as an attractive place for commerce. The branding campaign will feature orange-colored neckties, strategically-placed sand-sculptures and the slogan: "Florida: The perfect climate for business." Read more here.

A Palm Beach ZIP Code Ranked #1 on Wealthiest ZIP Codes List.
A Palm Beach ZIP code ranked first on the South Florida Business Journal's wealthiest ZIP codes list. The ZIP code earned the top spot based on indicators of affluence compiled by ESRI (Environmental Systems Research Institute), including average household income and average net worth. Read more here.
 
Record Year for South Florida's Trade with the World
Last year set a record for South Florida's trade with the world, and 2013 is shaping up to be another solid year - with a few exceptions. Overall, the Miami district's trade with the world climbed to $114 billion, a 10.6 percent increase, through the first 11 months of 2012. Learn more here. 
 
Palm Beach County Home Sales Surpass Peak Market 
 The 13,688 sales of single-family homes countywide during 2012 was a 10 percent increase from the previous year and on par with the number of purchases made during the real estate frenzy of 2005, according to a Tuesday report from the Realtors Association of the Palm Beaches. Read full article here.

FL Unemployment Rate Down to Lowest Rate in 4 Years
Governor Rick Scott announced at Obrascon Huarte Lain's Southeast Region headquarters  in Miami, that Florida's seasonally adjusted unemployment rate dropped to 8.0 percent for the month of December - down from last month and the lowest rate since November 2008. The December 2012 rate was 1.9 percentage points lower than the year-ago rate of 9.9 percent.  Since Governor Scott took office, the state's unemployment rate has dropped 3.1 percentage points. Read more here.
 

News from Finland

 

Finnair Named as the World's Safest Airline Finland's national carrier, Finnair, has been named the world's safest airline by a European group of airline safety enthusiasts. The Germany-based Jet Airliner Crash Data Evaluation Centre, or JACDEC, calculates its annual rankings based on aircraft loss accidents and serious incidents where an accident nearly occurred over the past 30 years. Read full review here.
 
Finnish Short Film Wins at Sundance
The Date (Treffit), directed by Jenni Toivoniemi, has won the Short Film Jury Award for International Fiction at the Sundance Festival. The film was chosen out of 14 candidate films. The film, also scripted by Toivoniemi, is about a young man who tries to save face in front of two young women while simultaneously hosting a date for Diablo, the family's stud cat. Read more here.
 
The United States Boosts Helsinki as a Regional Hub 
The US government is opening a $125 million business building in downtown Helsinki. The space is a one-of-a-kind tool to enhance trade and investment between the United States and Europe at the center of the rapidly developing Northern European market. 
Learn more here. 
 
Finland Ranks #1 in Media Freedom Index 
Finland heads the 2013 World Press Freedom Index, published by Reporters Without Borders, followed by the Netherlands and Norway. Finland has been top of the table or tied first place every year since the index was first published in 2002, apart from 2007 and 2008 when it was in joint fifth and fourth place respectively. See full index here.

Forbes Names Jolla as One of the Game Changers in 2013
Forbes, the global business information provider, predicts in an article that Finnish smartphone provider Jolla will be one of the key "disruptors" on the smartphone markets this year. Forbes compares Jolla's smartphone inspired by Nokia's MeeGo platform to sports car manufacturer Ferrari, and believes that the company can be profitable with lower sales numbers than traditional mobile manufacturers. Read full article here.

Finnish Companies Among 100 Most Sustainable Companies in the World
The Global 100 list is based on an expert analysis of around 4,000 listed companies across a range of industries worldwide. Companies are compared in terms of their energy and water consumption, greenhouse gas emissions, the amount of waste they generate in relation to the financial benefit they produce, their safety performance, remuneration, personnel turnover, etc. Read more here.
 
Finnish Oat Products Gaining Shelf Space in US Stores
In just a year and a half, the Finnish Simpli product family, best known for its snack drinks, has found its way to over 2 000 stores in the United States. The Simpli brand has won three food awards in the US - for example in 2011, the Simpli OatShake snack drink was awarded as the best smoothie of the year. Learn more here. 
 
Finland and the US Join Forces in the Name of Learning 
The Academy of Finland, the Finnish Funding Agency for Technology and Innovation (Tekes), and the American National Science Foundation (NSF) have embarked on research collaboration funding in the areas of learning and education. 

US Fund Manager Ranks Finland #5 in the World to Lend to
In its quarterly update of the BlackRock Sovereign Risk Index (BSRI), the company ranks Finnish government bonds as the world's fifth least risky. Norway, Singapore, Switzerland and Sweden top the list. Read more here.

Finnish Wave Energy Innovation Makes Seawater Drinkable
A concept for producing drinking water from seawater using wave energy has been developed at Aalto University. This is globally ground-breaking technology, as similar plants currently in operation use either electricity or thermal energy. Learn more here.

Member Introduction

Pinewood Stables

 

Pinewood Stables, Inc. offers a beautiful, big house for rent as a holiday home or for other purposes in Wellington, Florida. Wellington is situated perfectly 20-30 minutes from downtown West Palm Beach, very close to Florida's Turnpike. 

 

The house is located in a safe residential neighborhood, and within a mile you can find everything you need; shops, restaurants, gyms, a movie theater, banks and grocery stores. The house has 3 large bedrooms, a den, a beautiful big kitchen, a formal dining room and a heated pool. It comes fully furnished and equipped with several cable TV's, a computer, high-speed wireless internet and Playstation 3. Don't worry about linens, towels and such - we have it all ready for you! Just come and enjoy yourself. Even transportation from nearby airports (Palm Beach International, Fort Lauderdale or Miami) can be arranged.

 

Please see more details on our website www.pinewood.fi.

 

  

 

What We Can Learn From Finnish Educators?
Thursday, February 7th 
 

 

  

Sahlberg
Pasi Sahlberg 2

 

Pasi Sahlberg is Director General of CIMO (in the Ministry of Education) in Helsinki, Finland. He has experience in classroom teaching, training teachers and leaders, coaching schools to change and advising education policy-makers around the world.
 
Dr. Sahlberg has lived and worked in the United States (World Bank in Washington DC) and Italy (European Commission).
 
He is an international keynote speaker and has published over 100 articles, chapters and books.
 
Dr. Sahlberg is a member of the Board of Directors of ASCD and Adjunct Professor at the University of Helsinki and the University of Oulu.
 
His latest book is "Finnish Lessons: What can the world learn from educational change in Finland?"
 

Read here what Seattle Times wrote about Dr Sahlberg�s recent visit to the NW

 

Contact us for more information:

561-582-2335


Other Events organized by our partners 

 

 

 
The Association of Bi-National Chambers of Commerce in Florida and its bi-national chamber cordially invite you to the  ABiCC International Business Card Exhange
 
Tuesday , February 12th 

 From 5:00-PM to 7:00-PM 

at 
With a beautiful view of Biscayne Bay 
Location: 3201 Rickenbacker Cswy, Key Biscayne, FL 33149 

 

Enjoy a nice atmosphere and increase your network!

  FREE ENTRANCE and Cash Bar

 

RSVP: Make your reservation
Latest Friday February 8th by email to [email protected]

  

REMEMBER TO BRING LOTS OF BUSINESS CARDS!!!!! 
  

 

 

2013 International Days FL Chamber

 

Featuring Keynote Speaker Tom Donohue, President of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce

 

April 1-3, 2013
Tallahassee, Florida

  
Join the Florida Chamber of Commerce and Florida's international business community to hear from top international trade experts and promote the significant role international business has in Florida's economy and in your business.
 
Participants will have the opportunity to:

  • Meet with Florida's legislators and top decision makers to promote the importance of trade and international business
  • Discuss the importance of manufacturing exports and the industry's significant role in our goal to double Florida-origin exports in 5 years
  •  Hear from experts on trade issues and regulations affecting Florida's international business economy and more
 

  

April 8-9, 2013 
Palm Beach County Convention Center 

  

International economic forum
See more here for more information on the event website.

 

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