International Franchise Show 2025

London Welcomes the World: Highlights from the International Franchise Show 2025

By 100% NEWS Correspondent

London, UK – April 2025.
This year, the UK capital once again became the global epicentre for innovation and entrepreneurship as it hosted the much-anticipated International Franchise Expo 2025. Held at the iconic ExCeL London, the event attracted thousands of entrepreneurs, investors, and franchise visionaries from over 60 countries, making it the largest and most dynamic gathering in the history of the Expo.

Over three action-packed days, more than 500 franchise brands showcased their business models, innovations, and opportunities across sectors such as education, food & beverage, retail, technology, wellness, real estate, and sustainability.

Shifting Sands: How Politics, Protectionism, and War Are Redrawing the Global Economic Map

Introduction: The Global Economy at a Crossroads

As of April 2025, the world finds itself navigating through a convergence of crises: resurgent protectionism, geopolitical turmoil, and the erosion of multilateral economic cooperation. The very foundations of the global economy, shaped over decades through trade liberalisation and interdependence, are under threat. Once-trusted norms are giving way to new paradigms in which power, not principle, increasingly dictates direction.

From Beijing to Brussels, from Wall Street to the Persian Gulf, decisions made in political capitals are sending shockwaves through financial centres and industrial corridors. The result is not merely economic uncertainty — it is a realignment of influence, capital, and opportunity.

This article explores how political interventions — particularly the renewed wave of protectionism under U.S. President Donald Trump — and regional conflicts in Ukraine, the Middle East, and East Asia are reshaping global financial architecture. As a professor at the International Business Academy Consortium (UK), I offer this analysis not only as an academic but as a concerned global citizen.

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Part I: The Cost of Political Interference in Market Systems

Markets thrive on stability, predictability, and mutual trust. Yet in the last decade, and particularly since the COVID-19 pandemic, we have witnessed an increasing tendency for governments to override economic rationality in favour of short-term political gain.

The Trump administration's return in 2024 saw the reintroduction of punitive tariffs, mass withdrawal from international agreements, and an aggressive rhetoric aimed at "rebalancing" trade. In April 2025, sweeping new tariffs came into force:

• 10% on all imports,
• 54% on Chinese goods,
• 20% on EU products,
• 24% on Japanese goods.

While marketed as protection for American workers and industries, the reality was different. The immediate consequences included:

• Retaliatory tariffs from China and the EU;
• Surge in consumer prices in the US;
• Supply chain disruptions across sectors from semiconductors to agriculture;
• Decline in business confidence and inward investment.

These measures have shaken the bedrock of international trade. The World Trade Organization, long weakened by unilateral actions, now struggles to mediate disputes. Multinational corporations are rethinking manufacturing strategies, diversifying operations away from predictable hubs like the U.S.

WESIO Accreditation: A Key to Excellence for Modern Educational Institutions

WESIO Accreditation: A Competitive Edge for Private Schools Worldwide

In an increasingly competitive global education market, schools, colleges, and universities must continuously prove their commitment to quality, innovation, and excellence. Accreditation is no longer a luxury—it is a necessity. 

The World Education, Science and Innovation Organisation (WESIO) offers a globally recognised accreditation system that empowers educational institutions to enhance their reputation, attract high-calibre students, and meet the highest international educational standards.

What is WESIO Accreditation?

Valeriy Pekar: Ukraine prevents today's America from doing two things

 

It took a week to put together a picture of all the trash that swirled around us. Finally, we did. This text should be supplemented with important details that will become known later, but I am publishing it quickly so that we can get acquainted with the new reality. But first of all, pour yourself some tea so that you have enough strength to read to the end.

1. So, the old world order has come to an end.

The old world order, based on rules, agreements and values, no longer exists. It was never perfect, but it existed. Now it no longer exists.

The reasons for the destruction of the world order should be described in a separate article, here I will only briefly note that developed countries benefited from the world order, and developing countries (those that are developing and catching up or at least pretending to) tried to destroy it, because it is unprofitable. At some point, developing countries (primarily China) began to catch up with developed ones, and the most powerful developed country, the USA, decided that it was time to move from protecting the old order to destroying it. That is why the American people elected Trump, who became the exponent of this idea. This is not a coincidence, but the embodiment of a trend (like everything else in the world). Previously, on one side they would tear down the supporting structure, on the other they would support and repair it; now the structure is being destroyed from both sides, and it will go much faster.