Global executives are increasingly concerned about the growing risks to their supply chains and costly negative impacts such as margin erosion and inability to keep up with demand, according to a report from Deloitte. Yet as they operate in this environment of escalating risk, an alarming 45 percent of surveyed executives say their supply chain risk management programs are only somewhat effective or not effective at all.

Slowly and steadily, a handful of Indian aerospace companies are getting absorbed into the global supply chain of OEMs. For instance, in the opto-electronics segment, the new Samtel-Thales Avionics joint venture "plans to become the first electro-optic house in the country," said executive director Puneet Kaura. By 2015, the company intends to supply the infrared search and track system as standard equipment for the Dassault Rafale fighter for the Indian Air Force. Meanwhile, the Thales-Bharat Electronics surface radar joint venture is on track and will be fully operational by March, said Eric Lenseigne, Thales's country head for India. "Offsets at a later stage could be a possibility."

The nation's major freight railroads plan to invest an estimated $24.5bn in 2013 to build, maintain and upgrade America's rail network to ensure freight railroads can continue to deliver for the nation's economy, according to the Association of American Rialroads. This investment includes $13bn in projected capital expenditures, which go toward upgrading or enhancing rail network capacity in the year ahead.

An uproar in China over the safety of chicken sold at KFC "has been longer lasting and more impactful than we ever imagined," according to the chief executive of parent company Yum Brands.