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.

Despite high hopes for Arctic business from mining to shipping as the ice melts rapidly and temperatures rise twice as fast as the global average, few firms say the sums still make sense.

Robot orders and shipments in North America set new records in the first nine months of 2014, according to Robotic Industries Association, the industry's trade group.

SupplyChainBrain and JobsInLogistics have joined forces in 2014 for the specialized purpose of:

More than two-thirds (68 percent) of B2B buyers now purchase goods online, up from 57 percent last year, according to a recent report from the Acquity Group.