Global supply chain risk reached an 18-month low in Q2 2014, decreasing for three consecutive quarters for the first time since the 2008 financial crisis, according to the Chartered Institute of Purchasing & Supply's (CIPS) latest CIPS Risk Index (CRI).

Along with its warning that delaying action on climate change would cause enormous economic losses, the White House has announced a series of data-related initiatives to prepare U.S. food and water supplies - along with the industries and jobs that rely on them - for climate challenges.

Already China's biggest restaurant operator with 4,600 outlets, KFC is pursuing Chinese consumers so avidly it opens two more every day. That dramatic growth comes with a big catch: KFC's quality control is struggling to keep up.

Chief financial officers of corporations that have already set up captive insurance companies or are thinking about setting one up should ponder the benefits of self-insuring cyber perils and supply chain business-interruption risks via a captive to supplement commercial insurance coverage.

The focus of c-suite and senior executive attention has shifted from economic uncertainty to data, technology and the supply chain, according to the Global Top of Mind Survey from KPMG International and the Consumer Goods Forum. More than half (54 percent) of respondents cited digital strategy for mobile/digital platforms as top of mind for their business during the next 12 months.