Sometimes city governments issue zoning requirements prohibiting the construction of giant retail stores. The latest: Swansboro, North Carolina, where town residents are hotly debating an ordinance that, in effect, would ban construction of a Walmart.

Wal-Mart Canada Corp. has purchased two privately held Canadian logistics firms that have acted as Wal-Mart service providers: trucking company Translogic Express Dedicated Inc. (TEDI) and distribution centre operator SCM.

Panjiva has expanded its inventory of Chinese trade data within its platform.

There may now be as many as 6.5 million direct and indirect jobs in renewable energy, according to updated data from the International Renewable Energy Agency (IRENA). Earlier assessments had put the global estimate at 2.3 million jobs in 2008 (United Nations Environment Programme) and at 5 million jobs in 2012 (International Labour Organization).