Steadily improving economic fundamentals should moderately boost holiday sales in the stores and online this year, according to Deloitte's annual holiday sales forecast.

Global e-commerce platform Alibaba recently made headlines with its record-setting New York initial public offering, the largest ever in the United States. The company's aggressive growth aspirations are rooted in the success it has seen in its home country of China, where it is one of the biggest retail players. Alibaba is the Amazon of the Chinese marketplace without equal competition. But how will the company fare in its expansion in the U.S.?

Three days after U.S. warships fired 47 cruise missiles at Sunni militant targets in northern Syria, the Pentagon signed a $251m deal to buy more Tomahawks from Raytheon Co., a windfall for the military giant and its many subcontractors.

For many companies, 2015 is looking rosy. The overall economy is finally accelerating out of the worst recession since the 1930s, helped in no small part by construction as the Construction Backlog Indicator (published by Associated Builders and Contractors) reached an all-time high in June.