The the third biennial survey commissiond by the International Legal Services Advisory Council canvassed the legal industry over a year to measure earnings from legal services provided to overseas clients and to Australians working on overseas projects or investments.

The 2008-09 survey returned figures showing an increase in the value of legal exports from $675 million in 2006-07 to $709 million in 2008-09.

The major areas of demand for legal exports were intellectual property, information technology and telecommunications, followed by general corporate, banking and finance, and litigation related services.

The largest markets for legal and related services was North America, including Canada, at $184 million, followed by China and Hong Kong at $101 million, continental Europe at $73 million and the United Kingdom at $67 million.

Legal exports to Continental Europe increased by 9 percent but decreased to other major markets, while those to Japan increased by 60 percent and to Singapore by 16 percent. Asia in general represents 32 percent of the overseas market for Australian law firms.

“ILSAC’s survey is particularly valuable as it reveals emerging markets and demands in new areas of law,” McClelland said.

The advisory council was established by the Australian Government to promote Australian legal services internationally. Go to ILSAC’s website: www.ilsac.gov.au/thirdsurvey for the full survey results.

A global consulting firm recently published results of its global economic snapshot. While it was interesting to read, it was also with no surprise that the BRIC nations are predicted to trump over USA, eurozone and Japan as the drivers of world stimulus into 2011. It was no more surprising that the major insights are that inflation will rise and exchange rate volatility will remain. Doesn’t really speak too much of anything new does it? Sounds more like a confirmatory survey.

As I perused the content, I wondered about the credibility and validity of the respondents; turns out the only information related to this is that the survey was online for four days in early December and attracted 2,076 respondents. But, there was nothing explaining who those respondents were and how they can validate the result. There was no outline of the questioning approach, it may have been biased in some way, shape or form to produce the confirmatory result the survey was covertly seeking to achieve so as to concur with popular opinion and, as such, gain enhanced perception with a particular audience. To help valid a survey result, it’s ideal to know who are the respondents, what roles do they serve in industry, and are they qualified to make opinion on the topic?

At a local level, we are exposed to numerous examples of small operators and industry associations that have plucked some consensus from their database or membership. But I question how much thought is given to whether the results are biased. Is the sample representative of a valid population? What average is used, and why are there no reference to the questions and analysis of the respondents to display substance? This helps build credible survey results.

While many surveys make for interesting and thought provoking reading, their benefit lies in their means to complement our individual thinking and not over-influence us one way or other. As decision makers in business, it’s imperative we question the credibility of surveys before hastily directing resources into action or initiating policy. I’m sure most of you do anyhow. Often, survey results may not be what they seem.

Interpreting the relevance is all part ‘n’ parcel for marketing decision makers because inevitably they will either be asked to support or be influential in guiding a strategic initiative. A little devil’s advocacy will assist to ensure the execution of proposed tactics remain intact and with integrity. So, next time you are presented with a survey result consider delving a bit deeper.

The drop was a decrease of 5.6 percent compared with arrivals in the same period last year, according to data by the Australian Bureau of Statistics. This included double-digit declines from some of our biggest European visitor markets.

“The disruptions to aviation in Europe mean Australia welcomed 10,900 fewer visitors from the UK in April compared to last year,” said Brett Gale, executive director of TTF. He added that arrivals from Germany were down 1,400 and visitors from France dropped by 700. “Those declines from our top three European source markets account for more than half the overall loss for the month.”

The loss of visitors also meant a drop in tourist spending as European visitors on average spend more than $5,000 per capita.

According to the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS), the balance of goods and services recorded a surplus of $134 million in April, seasonally adjusted, compared with a deficit of $2.04 billion the month before.

The small surplus was enough to see the Australian dollar climb to almost US$0.85 after the dollar dropped into the low US80-cent mark last month.

Much of the trade surplus came from the increase in value of iron ore exports, up 29 percent, according to the ABS.

The March quarter showed a deficit of $16.5 billion, down from $18.4 billion in the quarter to December 2009.

A rise in the terms of trade helped erase some of the deficit, with prices earned from our exports rising 4.2 percent while import prices remained steady on a stable Australian dollar.

Economists expect the trade balance to improve later this year due to higher export contract prices for commodities such as coal and iron ore. Some predict a surplus by the September quarter.

SA exports dropped more than 20 percent to $8.3 billion on the back of a 51.1 percent decrease in trade with the USA. Car exports declined by a massive 85 percent.

However, exports to China rose by 21.3 percent to $1.18 billion and sales to India lifted by more than 50 percent to $367.6 million.

Nationwide, Queensland suffered an 18 percent drop in exports, while Tasmania and Victoria were down 16 percent, NSW down 10 percent and Western Australia down 10 percent.

The Bureau’s Australian System of National Accounts publication reports that our financial sector continues to grow more rapidly than most other sectors of the economy, benefiting from significant structural reforms and strong and resilient economic growth over the past two decades.

As one of the most sophisticated and advanced financial sectors in the Asia-Pacific region, Australia’s has been underpinned by a highly skilled, multi-lingual labour force, world-class regulatory framework, and competitively-priced business infrastructure.

Download an Austrade summary of the report.

Figures released by the Australian Bureau of Statistics revealed that the balance of trade widened from $1.65 billion in August to $1.85 billion in September, seasonally adjusted, which was the largest trade deficit recorded in 18 months and the fifth consecutive deficit.

Despite the widening gap between exports and imports, the deficit was not as large as predicted, with analysts initially tipping a rise to $2.15 billion.

The German Federal Statistical Office reported that more than 16,000 companies filed for bankruptcy between January and June this year, a rise of 14.8 percent compared with the same period in 2008.

June showed the highest number of corporate bankruptcies, 2,788, almost 16 percent up on the same period last year.

The figures exclude data from the state of North Rhine-Westphalia, which reported some 2007 bankruptcies in the first quarter of 2008.

The export-exposed German economy showed some modest growth in the latest figures from the second quarter.

The seasonally adjusted deficit sat at $441 million for June, far lower than the $800 million deficit predicted. Exports contributed two percent more to the balance sheet than in May, while imports remained steady.

However, Australia’s terms of trade showed signs of weakening, which may affect our overall trade position in the current quarter. Major export commodities such as iron ore and coal have dropped in price.

Federal Treasurer Wayne Swan warned that lower terms of trade would have a negative impact on the economy: “There are still very substantial challenges out there in the global economy.”