“In this special report, students from the Joseph H. Lauder Institute of Management & International Studies examine current trends and recent developments shaping today’s global marketplace. The articles cover a wide variety of topics ranging from technology, innovation and brand building to infrastructure, entrepreneurship and social impact. A section on consumer markets looks at the popularity of e-cigarettes in France and elsewhere, efforts by Japanese firms to expand their businesses into Asia, new trends in French gastronomy, changes in Japan’s traditional food-consumption habits, and how a sector of the Chinese population is spreading, and spending, its newfound wealth. The report offers an analysis linking market-driven strategies with social impact in Peru and Colombia, as well as an article describing South Carolina’s embrace of innovative research. Other articles look at the Russian government’s attempt to reboot the city of Skolkovo as an innovation hub, the mixed success of innovation efforts in China, and the growing threat of cybercrime to businesses across the world. The challenges of infrastructure and planning are addressed in analyses of transportation in areas of Latin America, deficiencies in Brazil’s infrastructure, and real estate’s impact on Peru’s emerging middle class.”