The Netherlands ranked below average for foreign investors in Grant Thornton annual Global Dynamism Index (GDI)

The  Grant Thornton annual Global Dynamism Index (GDI) rates 60 of the world's biggest economies according to 22 indicators of "dynamism." These include factors such as corporate tax burdens and GDP growth.

According to the survey, Australia was the world's most attractive country for foreign in investment in 2013 among 60 nations ranked .The Netherlands was ranked 38th.
  
The GDI, however rated the Netherlands high in terms of political stability, Business Operating Environment and foreign trade relations. It also gave the Netherlands  high marks for its usage of Internet services.

Almere-Digest

Investments: Portugal still appeals - by Carrie-Marie Bratley

British interest in Portugal as an investment destination remains steadfast despite the current challenging times, it emerged this week. In recent years Portugal has become even more attractive to investors thanks to the country’s ties to other Portuguese-speaking nations with fast-growing economies, such as Brazil and Angola.

The UK has also consistently been among the top-five investors in Portugal over the past six years, with an accumulated gross investment of over €32 billion.
The latest available data from the Bank of Portugal for the first ten months of 2012 shows a gross value of €5.3 billion.

“Portugal definitely remains an attractive investment destination for British companies. Portugal alone is the 12th biggest market in the EU for the UK, representing €3 billion in bilateral trade every year, and we work to further develop the deep relationship between the two countries”, said British Ambassador Jill Gallard in comments to The Portugal News earlier this week.

Figures show that there are presently more than 400 British companies which have invested directly, with a presence in Portugal. 

Read more: Portugal still appeals - The Portugal News

Flanders Investment and Trade: Belgium world’s most globalized country

For the complete report from the Flanders Investment & Trade publication click on this link

Belgium world’s most globalized country

According to the KOF Index 2009, Belgium is the world’s most globalized country. Belgium ended up with a score of 91.02 and shares its top place with Ireland, ahead of the Netherlands and Switzerland.

The KOF Index of Globalization is calculated by the Swiss federal technical institute EPFZ. The index measures the economic, social and political dimensions of globalization. It can be used to compare the changing extent of globalization across a large number of countries and over more than 30 years.

Time Magazine - European Investors Alert: Is Florida the Sunset State? - by Michael Grunwald

For the complete report from TIME Magazine click on this link

European Investors Alert: Is Florida the Sunset State? - by Michael Grunwald

Greetings from Florida, where the winters are great! Otherwise, there's trouble in paradise. Florida is facing its worst real estate meltdown since the Depression. We've got a water crisis, insurance crisis, environmental crisis and budget crisis to go with our housing crisis. We're first in the nation in mortgage fraud, second in foreclosures, last in high school graduation rates. Our consumer confidence just hit an all-time low, and our icons are in trouble--the citrus industry, battered by freezes and diseases; the Florida panther, displaced by highways and driveways; the space shuttle, approaching its final countdown. New research suggests that the Everglades is collapsing, that our barrier beaches could be under water within decades, that a major hurricane could cost us $150 billion.

We do wish you were here, because attracting outsiders has always been our primary economic engine, and our engine is sputtering. Population growth is at a 30-year low. School enrollment is declining. Retirees are drifting to the Southwest and the Carolinas, while would-be Floridians who bought pre-construction condos in more optimistic times are scrambling--and often suing--to break contracts. This is our dotcom bust, except worse, because our local governments are utterly dependent on construction for tax revenues, so they're slashing school and public-transportation budgets that were already among the nation's stingiest. "This may be our tipping point," says former Senator Bob Graham.