Even in the age of recycling, forward and reverse supply chains have tended to be treated as separate disciplines. Now the world's largest retailer is partnering with major consumer goods manufacturers to help erase that distinction.

Epicor Software Corp. has introduced new business-management software for the automotive aftermarket.

Competition for job-creating foreign direct investment (FDI) is brutal these days in the European Union. Although it used to be the world's biggest recipient of FDI, its global share has now fallen from almost 29 percent in 2011 to 17 percent in 2013, according to UNCTAD. With European investment subdued, banks reining in lending and economies struggling to grow, foreigners with fat wallets are more than usually needed. Even France has engaged this year in a charm offensive to lure them in. So a recent study suggesting that only 12 percent of American companies with operations in France rate it positively as an investment destination is ruffling feathers.

The recent introduction of Apple Pay was widely described as the dawn of a new era for smartphone payments. But within a week, two major pharmacy chains, Rite Aid and CVS, rejected Apple’s version of the future: Both disabled Apple Pay (as well as other tap-to-pay mobile payments systems Google Wallet and Softcard).

In Stanley Kubrick's Cold War black comedy "Dr. Strangelove," the Soviets have developed a devastating "Doomsday Device," to be triggered by a nuclear attack on the U.S.S.R. It's supposed to act as a deterrent, but has been kept a secret. Asks an exasperated American president of the Russian ambassador: "Why didn't you tell the world?" To which the ambassador replies: "The Premier loves surprises."